It is hard to overstate just how dominant Nokia was in the pre-iPhone era. The company gave Finland its first global brand beyond the Moomins and Marimekko.
Jorma Ollila was the unlikely hero of Nokia’s rise from a failing conglomerate making everything from toilet paper and rubber boots to cables for the Soviet Union. He spent 25 years at the helm of one of the most curious success stories in the history of the technology sector.
Yet Against All Odds proves to be a more cautionary tale than one that revels in how the Finns beat the world. The book begins with the phrase “no one was happy”, which sets the tone for the rest of his story detailing the pitfalls and financial crises that almost subsumed the business. He rarely dwells on its periods of rampant success.