What is it that makes you not only consider yourself successful, but also ensures that the outside world reflects that self-perception? It’s hard to say exactly what it is, but I think I can safely call the 15 years ABC has been in business a success. But what does that really mean? I think there are many different takes on that.

One measure of success is, of course, the financial factor. That’s probably the first thing people think of these days if you ask them about success. This applies to all sectors of society, and of course to the construction industry as well. Who has won the biggest and best projects, who has the highest growth, who has earned the most?

But another definition of success (and one that I find at least as exciting) is innovation. Who is challenging the conventional frameworks and norms within their field? When we think of success stories throughout history—whether in business, art, politics, the world of sports, or something entirely different—we often think of those who were ahead of everyone else and who could see which way the wind was blowing. We remember those who don’t just fit into the boxes, but who manage to shape the boxes and think outside of them.

It’s easy to talk about innovation, but actually driving it is something else entirely. It requires having the courage and self-confidence to dare to believe in your own abilities, even when everyone else is doing things differently than you. It requires having the right people around you who challenge and expand your own ideas and beliefs. And it requires creating the best possible environment for learning, creativity, and development.

I’ve tried to explore all these reflections here and support them with some examples of how we’ve put them into practice over the past 15 years at ABC.

THE COURAGE TO BE A PIONEER

When you do something for the first time, there are a lot of unconscious factors at play. So being a first mover isn’t without risk. Perhaps that’s why most people just go with the flow and make the safe, familiar choices. But that’s not how you get ahead, especially not when the other engineering firms—with which we’re now on equal footing—have been around for many decades. That’s why it’s always been a priority for ABC to push the industry forward. To compete with the others, we challenge them not only on the projects themselves, but also on the processes, the tools we work with, and the culture we’ve built here. That way, we’ve not only managed to keep up but can actually compete on equal footing.

One area where this is particularly evident is digitalization. The construction industry has been slow to adapt to the enormous digital potential, and because we’ve invested in it, we’re now in a favorable position to capitalize on that potential. We’ve established an in-house digital innovation department that’s working to develop digital tools that take our services to a whole new level. Of course, it’s a gamble to invest a lot of time and resources in this kind of thing, especially for a relatively young company like ours, but because we dared to take that risk, we’re now in the driver’s seat in this area.

Another key initiative has been our immense focus on transformation and reuse. These days, it’s a theme that resonates throughout the construction industry, but a few years ago, very few engineering firms had their sights set on it. Here, our strategic business ambition has been to ensure that we not only had the resources to invest in transformation but have also actively contributed to spreading knowledge about the discipline within the industry. We’ve done this, among other things, through our work on the Danish Agency for Social Affairs and Housing’s Guide to the Reuse of Load-Bearing Structures (2023), which ABC produced in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute. We have also contributed to knowledge sharing through our major industry event on transformation, which we hosted in collaboration with the Danish Construction Society.

We have also sought to steer the industry in the direction we believe is most appropriate when it comes to the selection of building materials, with ABC placing a strong emphasis on wood construction. For many years, we have built up and disseminated expertise in timber structures—both internally and throughout the industry—through our in-house center of expertise. Here, we have managed some of the country’s largest and most ambitious wood projects and have also contributed to pilot and test projects such as Build-In-Wood Demonstrator, a pan-European EU Horizon demonstration project led by the Danish Technological Institute, which aims to lay the groundwork for the future use of wood elements in construction.

These initiatives have, of course, not been without risk, but today we can look back and conclude that it has all been worth it. It has clearly been a major part of our success story so far.

MAKE ROOM FOR DIVERSITY

To be a first mover, you have to be able to think outside the box. But that’s easier said than done, because innovation is, by definition, something beyond the ordinary. So how do you create a good environment that fosters innovative thinking? One thing that has had an enormous influence on this at ABC is our great diversity. It’s something that has been part of our DNA since our founding and continues to play a major role for us.

It has always been my belief that innovative thinking arises when differences come together. Innovation cannot exist if everyone thinks the same way; it arises from the intersection of different backgrounds, personalities, and worldviews. When these elements work closely together on a project, and when different ideas and approaches come together, we can create something new.

We have a wide variety of personalities at ABC, many different cultural and national backgrounds, and a wide age range—and we place a strong emphasis on ensuring that everyone feels included and welcomed into the community. I’m truly happy and proud to see how close the relationships are among people here and how eager they are to learn from one another. Whether it’s at the Christmas party, an Eid dinner, or Oktoberfest, or in the many social clubs that ABC members have started on their own initiative, people come together and enjoy each other’s company, regardless of their differences.

It’s important to us to do what we can to ensure that everyone feels included. For example, we’ve dedicated one of our meeting rooms as a space for reflection and prayer for our employees, so everyone has a safe and quiet place to go if they need to unwind, reflect, pray, or the like.

Another initiative to promote inclusion was holding a democratic vote on which special days we should celebrate publicly, so that we ensure ABC represents our employees whenever we speak on behalf of the company. This means that we now annually celebrate International Women’s Day, Eid, World Environment Day, Earth Overshoot Day, Women in Engineering Day, and Christmas.

These may seem like small things, but they help people feel seen and valued, and that is the foundation for them to dare to innovate and challenge the status quo.

WELL-BEING, SATISFACTION, AND GROWTH

Existing ideas must be challenged to make way for new ones. That’s why disagreements are sometimes necessary for innovation. But disagreeing can be uncomfortable, especially when people are under pressure and emotions are running high. That’s why we’ve placed an enormous emphasis on creating a positive and safe work environment where people feel comfortable, because well-being is a prerequisite for good collaboration and a breeding ground for creativity. As Clement says in *Debatten*, the more you disagree with someone, the more politely you should speak to them.

And here I’m truly glad to see that these efforts have paid off—both when I look at our MTU results and simply in our day-to-day interactions, when I see how well we treat each other here at ABC, even during peak periods. I have absolutely no doubt that one of the secrets behind our success is the existence of an environment where people can collaborate closely and safely, and where there is room for objective disagreements. Because we all agree that we need to deliver the best possible work, so the disagreements are only about how we achieve that goal—that’s the ideal scenario, after all.

Another key prerequisite for rethinking how we’ll do things tomorrow is having a 100% grasp of how we do them today. That’s why professional development and upskilling are also among our absolute cornerstones at ABC. We’ve been working on this for many years through our internal knowledge and development center, the ABC Academy, where we invest significant resources and thousands of hours annually. Here, we have subject matter experts for each of our disciplines who serve as go-to specialists and mentors in their areas of expertise, sharing their knowledge through internal workshops, knowledge-sharing articles, training, and much more.

At the same time, it is also through the Academy that we train and upskill our employees, as each department has a designated portion of its budget to send staff to courses, seminars, and training as needed. This way, we not only ensure that knowledge is widely disseminated internally, but also that we bring in the latest knowledge from outside and stay up to date with industry developments. And when employees have attended a course or training program, they often share what they’ve learned when they return to the office, so that as many people as possible can benefit from their experience.

This focus on professional expertise is one of the reasons why we are now one of the country’s largest certification firms, with 17 certified structural engineers—five of whom are certified for the highest consequence class— and 8 certified fire safety consultants, three of whom are certified for the highest fire class, including third-party inspection.

With deep insight and expertise within a discipline comes the confidence and competence to dare to challenge the status quo. For through professional development, we not only learn how to do things better, but we’re also equipped to consider how they can be done entirely differently.

SUMMARY

So what is success, and how do we achieve it? It’s not that straightforward to answer. For me, success isn’t a specific end goal or destination we’re aiming for. Instead, I see success in the continuous process where we constantly strive to become more skilled, always make room for people’s differences, and constantly dare to challenge the norms of the industry.

Of course, our financial results, our impressive growth trajectory, and the many large, exciting projects are also important milestones. They demonstrate that we run a healthy business and create value for our customers, and they are strong examples of the success ABC has experienced since we founded the company. But on their own, they don’t tell the whole story.

When I look back on the first 15 years of our history, it’s not all the dry numbers I’m most proud of, but rather the choices we’ve dared to make along the way. Our decision to invest in digital innovation long before it became a broader priority in the industry. Our ambition to focus on timber construction, transformations, and reuse, and our efforts to put these topics on the industry’s agenda. And not least, our ongoing focus on creating a workplace where diversity is seen as a strength, and where professional development and well-being go hand in hand. This is where I truly believe ABC has triumphed.