Review of When Business Is Love
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Chhaya Manna
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Review of When Business Is Love
[Following is a volunteer review of "When Business Is Love" by Jan Ryde.]
This book, "When Business Is Love," isn't a textbook; it’s more like a heartfelt conversation with Jan Ryde, the CEO of Hästens. It’s a journey that took me back to my first encounter with the company and left me thinking: Is this for real? Can you really run a company on love? This book makes you ponder the very core of your existence, not just your business practices. He starts right from his birth, literally, recalling a memory of being afloat in warmth and peace before his delivery. He uses this memory to explain how we all have a "mission" that defines us and then shares his own journey, the awkwardness, the bullying, the longing, and his love for his wife, which lead him to be at the position he is in today. As he said in his book. “I wasn’t even aware a girl like that existed, and I had found her at Hästens of all places.” That love became his motivation. It is not just a business book; it is more like a life manual.
Ryde doesn’t shy away from his company’s struggles, especially during what his son calls the “Dark Ages." He tells it all, how the family almost lost the company due to internal strife and how his parents worked tirelessly to keep it afloat. “That's all right, I told myself. Whatever those people think of me, it doesn't matter, so never mind,” he says as he recalls his experience being bullied in childhood; this also is something he has applied to his work as a leader. He also mentions a peculiar incident where one of his mother's relatives would call his father every Christmas, promising to bankrupt them. This vulnerability, this openness, makes the book feel real, like a shared experience. He takes you through the family history of Hästens, starting with his great-grandfather, Pehr Adolf Janson, who had a vision of providing an abundant life through mastery, how his great-grandfather believed in mastering a craft as the path to abundance and love. And how he himself had difficulty adapting and understanding that belief, as he states: “I absorbed from modern society the idea that it’s somehow wrong to follow in the footsteps of your parents, that it’s unmerited nepotism, or that it indicates a lack of ambition or imagination.” It is not a fairytale; it is filled with human emotions, failures, and growth, which are all a part of the human experience.
The book’s core is that true success springs from love—not just for products, but for people. Ryde talks about Hästens operating with an "infinite game" mindset, focusing on serving others rather than competing: “In this worldview, our only competition, the only force that can work against us, is our own limiting beliefs.” He also takes you through other core concepts like imagination: “We are here to experience life in all aspects and to learn things and serve other people in the process.” Or, abundance, “Abundance only disappears when you start to compete.” And not just the business side of the book but every side of the book is human; you can relate to it, you connect with it, and that is what makes it so different from the usual business books.
What I appreciated most was how Ryde dives deep into the seemingly abstract concepts of "frequency" and "vibration." He didn’t just tell me; he showed me. When talking about the importance of the product, he doesn’t just mention the facts; he goes into the minute details, stating, “In a Hästens bed, each horsetail hair becomes an amazingly resilient curled strand that functions as a tiny spring.” This level of detail allows you to connect with the products and the mission in a more human and relatable way. He gives you the importance of how we think, what our mindset is, as he states: “Brain science has awakened us to the critical importance of sleep—both for mental health and mental acuity. Yet the extraordinary quality of a Hästens bed is surpassed by the values and culture that define the company.”He also states the importance of rest and also gives the effect of low-quality sleep. “Studies suggest that losing just an hour of high-quality sleep has the same effect as being slightly drunk.” He further goes on to give us the example of how they treat their employees: “We don’t work our employees to death, and unlike many other companies, we don’t just throw them away the moment they no longer seem immediately useful.” And all these things bring a realization that this isn’t just a business; this is a mission of making the world a better place for humanity.
Ryde also talks about leadership; he explains his position at the company and says that he only keeps the title because of the business world: “Today, I hold the title of CEO of Hästens. I have a title only because, in the business world, people need to know who you are and what you do.” He states that he likes to give the power to people who have different skill sets and how that makes the organization even better: “Instead of the prior model, a master working with apprentices and journeymen to create products, David scaled up the company, moving to a factory model but maintaining the focus on quality craftsmanship.” He talks about not micromanaging but empowering them to do what they think is best for the organization. In my favorite example, he talks about how they approach interviews, stating, “Because a Hästens interview is so different from anything they’ve ever experienced, applicants sometimes worry they’ve done something wrong when we tell them the interview is over. They may have wanted to relay details about their work experience that we didn’t ask about in our conversation. Or they may have felt they didn’t get to present things an applicant typically presents in a job interview. But nothing was wrong. We ended the interview because we just didn’t have any more questions”. This example shows how open they are to people and how they hire people based on their mission and value alignment and not just on their résumés. All of this makes you think, is this the kind of leader the world needs?
The editing of "When Business Is Love" is absolutely flawless. I didn’t find a single typo or grammatical error anywhere, which is incredibly rare. It added to the book’s authenticity for me; it was as though it is a truly well-crafted manuscript, a testament to how well everything has been created and executed.
As for criticisms, I’m genuinely struggling to find something to nitpick. If anything, some of the personal anecdotes, while deeply moving, might take some readers a little away from the core concepts. I enjoyed them, as it allowed me to connect with the author on a human level, but some readers might find it to be a distraction.
My rating? It's a solid 5 out of 5 stars. It’s an exceptionally high rating, but this book deserves it. The book is not just well-written or informative; it's transformative. It made me question my own beliefs, it broadened my perspective on business and life, and it gave me an almost tangible feeling that a better way of operating is possible. It’s a book that left me feeling uplifted, hopeful, and, strangely, more at peace.
******
When Business Is Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
This book, "When Business Is Love," isn't a textbook; it’s more like a heartfelt conversation with Jan Ryde, the CEO of Hästens. It’s a journey that took me back to my first encounter with the company and left me thinking: Is this for real? Can you really run a company on love? This book makes you ponder the very core of your existence, not just your business practices. He starts right from his birth, literally, recalling a memory of being afloat in warmth and peace before his delivery. He uses this memory to explain how we all have a "mission" that defines us and then shares his own journey, the awkwardness, the bullying, the longing, and his love for his wife, which lead him to be at the position he is in today. As he said in his book. “I wasn’t even aware a girl like that existed, and I had found her at Hästens of all places.” That love became his motivation. It is not just a business book; it is more like a life manual.
Ryde doesn’t shy away from his company’s struggles, especially during what his son calls the “Dark Ages." He tells it all, how the family almost lost the company due to internal strife and how his parents worked tirelessly to keep it afloat. “That's all right, I told myself. Whatever those people think of me, it doesn't matter, so never mind,” he says as he recalls his experience being bullied in childhood; this also is something he has applied to his work as a leader. He also mentions a peculiar incident where one of his mother's relatives would call his father every Christmas, promising to bankrupt them. This vulnerability, this openness, makes the book feel real, like a shared experience. He takes you through the family history of Hästens, starting with his great-grandfather, Pehr Adolf Janson, who had a vision of providing an abundant life through mastery, how his great-grandfather believed in mastering a craft as the path to abundance and love. And how he himself had difficulty adapting and understanding that belief, as he states: “I absorbed from modern society the idea that it’s somehow wrong to follow in the footsteps of your parents, that it’s unmerited nepotism, or that it indicates a lack of ambition or imagination.” It is not a fairytale; it is filled with human emotions, failures, and growth, which are all a part of the human experience.
The book’s core is that true success springs from love—not just for products, but for people. Ryde talks about Hästens operating with an "infinite game" mindset, focusing on serving others rather than competing: “In this worldview, our only competition, the only force that can work against us, is our own limiting beliefs.” He also takes you through other core concepts like imagination: “We are here to experience life in all aspects and to learn things and serve other people in the process.” Or, abundance, “Abundance only disappears when you start to compete.” And not just the business side of the book but every side of the book is human; you can relate to it, you connect with it, and that is what makes it so different from the usual business books.
What I appreciated most was how Ryde dives deep into the seemingly abstract concepts of "frequency" and "vibration." He didn’t just tell me; he showed me. When talking about the importance of the product, he doesn’t just mention the facts; he goes into the minute details, stating, “In a Hästens bed, each horsetail hair becomes an amazingly resilient curled strand that functions as a tiny spring.” This level of detail allows you to connect with the products and the mission in a more human and relatable way. He gives you the importance of how we think, what our mindset is, as he states: “Brain science has awakened us to the critical importance of sleep—both for mental health and mental acuity. Yet the extraordinary quality of a Hästens bed is surpassed by the values and culture that define the company.”He also states the importance of rest and also gives the effect of low-quality sleep. “Studies suggest that losing just an hour of high-quality sleep has the same effect as being slightly drunk.” He further goes on to give us the example of how they treat their employees: “We don’t work our employees to death, and unlike many other companies, we don’t just throw them away the moment they no longer seem immediately useful.” And all these things bring a realization that this isn’t just a business; this is a mission of making the world a better place for humanity.
Ryde also talks about leadership; he explains his position at the company and says that he only keeps the title because of the business world: “Today, I hold the title of CEO of Hästens. I have a title only because, in the business world, people need to know who you are and what you do.” He states that he likes to give the power to people who have different skill sets and how that makes the organization even better: “Instead of the prior model, a master working with apprentices and journeymen to create products, David scaled up the company, moving to a factory model but maintaining the focus on quality craftsmanship.” He talks about not micromanaging but empowering them to do what they think is best for the organization. In my favorite example, he talks about how they approach interviews, stating, “Because a Hästens interview is so different from anything they’ve ever experienced, applicants sometimes worry they’ve done something wrong when we tell them the interview is over. They may have wanted to relay details about their work experience that we didn’t ask about in our conversation. Or they may have felt they didn’t get to present things an applicant typically presents in a job interview. But nothing was wrong. We ended the interview because we just didn’t have any more questions”. This example shows how open they are to people and how they hire people based on their mission and value alignment and not just on their résumés. All of this makes you think, is this the kind of leader the world needs?
The editing of "When Business Is Love" is absolutely flawless. I didn’t find a single typo or grammatical error anywhere, which is incredibly rare. It added to the book’s authenticity for me; it was as though it is a truly well-crafted manuscript, a testament to how well everything has been created and executed.
As for criticisms, I’m genuinely struggling to find something to nitpick. If anything, some of the personal anecdotes, while deeply moving, might take some readers a little away from the core concepts. I enjoyed them, as it allowed me to connect with the author on a human level, but some readers might find it to be a distraction.
My rating? It's a solid 5 out of 5 stars. It’s an exceptionally high rating, but this book deserves it. The book is not just well-written or informative; it's transformative. It made me question my own beliefs, it broadened my perspective on business and life, and it gave me an almost tangible feeling that a better way of operating is possible. It’s a book that left me feeling uplifted, hopeful, and, strangely, more at peace.
******
When Business Is Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Raw Meaty Bones by Dr Tom Lonsdale
