Søren Jensen is a Danish engineering company that was experiencing challenges from sustained success and accelerated growth, including a bottleneck for decisions and different cultures across offices. To address this, CEO Frank Jensen hired Niels Lilleør as a change agent. Niels implemented a new project management system and middle management layer after attending the Leading Change program at London Business School. He then sent Frank and other managers to the Essentials of Leadership program. Mark Edwards from LBS followed up with a workshop that further reinforced the learning. The programs helped Søren Jensen improve leadership skills and implement cultural changes to successfully restructure and continue growing.

1. Executive Education:
Flexible Learning Solutions
Søren Jensen
London Business
School
FrankJensen,
CEO
www.london.edu

2. ‘The old way of
running the company
was no longer
possible. The projects
were bigger, more
complex. They were
in need of people- and
project-management
skills.’
Niels Lilleør,
Change Agent,
Søren Jensen
Botanical Garden Hothouse,
Commended,
Education and Healthcare Structures,
Structural Awards 2013
In 2013, 38-year-old Frank Jensen
became the third generation of his family
to assume control at Søren Jensen.
His grandfather Søren established the
business in 1945, and his father Erik
took it over in the late 1960s.
Frank had already played a crucial part in
the company’s recent growth – leading its
engagement with the Danish government
to revitalise the country’s hospitals and
health infrastructure. Its Botanical Garden
Hothouse was commended for the
Education and Healthcare Structures
category of the Structural Awards 2013.
‘From the outside, the company was
very successful,’ remembers Frank,
‘but from the inside it was frustrating.
Everything was crossing one desk and
it became a bottleneck for decisions.
There was also a different culture in
each office. It just wasn’t working.’
Frank decided that he needed someone
to look after quality – someone to bring
in a project management system and
put everyone in the company on the
same track. The man he chose was
Niels Lilleør, an experienced 46-year-old
Project Manager from a large international
company in the industrial sector.
‘I walked the floor,’ says Niels, ‘and
interviewed 40 or 50 people to get a
sense of how everything was running.
It became obvious that roles and
responsibilities weren’t at all clear.
Erik successfully ran the company
almost single-handedly as the CEO,
QA manager, Project Manager and
Specialist. He delegated tasks rather
than responsibilities but the company
had outgrown this kind of leadership.
‘I told Frank that I could easily make a
new project management model for
him but that it would only end up on
the shelf. What we needed was a new
middle management layer to make
sure that people followed the model.’
Frank remembers the conversation well.
‘Basically Niels was telling me that my
father and I were the problem, which
was not what we were expecting to
hear! But he was right. And that’s when
it all started. I said, ‘Let’s redefine what
you do. I want you to improve quality in
the broadest possible sense. You can
change anything you like.’
‘In that case,’ said Niels, ‘I’m going to need
some tools. I need to go on a course.’
‘Not a problem,’ Frank told him. ‘But
it really matters who you listen to. Go to the
source. Find the top places in the world
where you could do this.’ And Niels came
back with the Leading Change programme
run by London Business School.
Søren Jensen is a Danish engineering
company with a well-deserved reputation
for rigour, excellence and innovation.
Quality has brought success, and success
has brought growth.
In the last ten years alone the
company has doubled in size, opening
project offices across Denmark
and becoming one of the country’s
award-winning top 15 multidisciplinary
consultancies. Sustained success
and accelerated growth have also
brought challenges. For solutions
the company has benefited from the
tailored open learning programmes
provided by London Business School.
Diagnostic workshop
We’ll work with
you to understand
your organisational
objectives and their
link to your leadership
pipeline strategy.
Individual pre and
post assessments
We identify specific
development needs through
line manager and participant
conversations and align
them with course content.
Open Enrolment
programmes
Human Resources
Innovation
Leadership
Career Transitions
Strategy
Finance
Marketing Preparation workshop
A session with participants
prior to the start of programme
attendance to discuss and
suggest possible approaches
to effective preparation.
Tutoring
Additional learning
to ensure correct
application of concepts
and to help accelerated
personal development.
Coaching
Post programme we can
provide further support in the
form of additional coaching to
address individuals’ personal
development needs.
Capstone project
Implementation of the
learning, linking programme
content and tools to address
critical issues in a mini
consulting style project.
Impact measurement
We can help you identify
the most appropriate
KPIs for impact
measurement upfront
as well as the optimum
timeline for evaluation.
Erik and Frank Jensen,
Chairman of the Board and CEO
02 03
www.london.edu www.london.edu
Søren Jensen
London Business School
Executive Education
Corporate Open ProgrammesTailoring open learning
programmes for maximum
business impact
The business challenge

3. In April 2013, less than two months
after being hired, Niels Lilleør was
on his way to London Business
School to take part in the open
learning programme on Leading
Change. It would prove to be the
start of a fruitful relationship between
the School and Søren Jensen.
‘I didn’t really know what to expect
from the course,’ says Niels. ‘I had
run lots of small changes before but
introducing a project management
system and a middle management
layer was a big, big cultural change.
‘It turned out to be the best learning
experience I ever had. It was mind-
blowing because I finally had all the
different tools and models and theories
to connect with what I knew in my heart
was right. Everything they said was useful.
‘By the end of it I had a model for running
the change and the influence methods to
present my ideas to Frank. To convince
him about a new company structure
and middle management tier, and to
give up some of his responsibilities.
Later, Frank and Erik decided to
complete a full generational switch
and structural change.’
When Niels returned to Denmark after
the Leading Change course, he was a
man on a mission. It was time to make
use of the tools and models he had
gained from the programme.
‘When Niels came back from London
Business School, I didn’t know what
had happened to him,’ says Frank. ‘He
was full of energy and very inspiring.’
The first thing Niels did was introduce
Frank to a model for strategic
prioritisation: ‘I told him that we needed
a structured approach to our change
process if we were going to realise his
ambitions for the company. The model
explains how you need to align your
company’s strategy, brand, structure,
culture and talent. Frank really bought
into the idea.’
Once Frank was on board, the two
men put their ideas to Erik, who was
now chairman of the board. Erik agreed
– a key moment in the completion of
the generational switch at the company.
Niels then suggested that Frank take
the four department managers away
for a weekend and work on aligning
the company’s strategy with each
department’s strategy.
‘It was the first time Frank had really
positioned himself as CEO with his
line managers and it was a real
milestone. The new managers loved it.
They said it was the best thing they’d
done in a long time – open, honest
and, best of all, productive. The culture
change had begun.’
It was one thing talking about what the
new middle management team would
do, but quite another to make them do it.
‘The problem,’ says Frank, ‘is that we
were a group of engineers and now we
had to manage people. Somehow we
had to understand ourselves in a different
way – a fundamental personal shift.’
Niels agrees: ‘They didn’t really
understand why it would do Søren
Jensen any good. When I talked to
them about it, it was like I was speaking
a totally different language. The problem
was they hadn’t had any leadership
education at all. I told Frank that we
needed to put this right.’
‘When Niels came back
from London Business
School, I didn’t know
what had happened to
him. He was full of energy
and very inspiring.’
Putting change into practiceLearning to lead change
Niels Lilleør,
Change Agent,
Søren Jensen
Frank Jensen,
CEO
04 05
www.london.edu www.london.edu
Søren Jensen
London Business School
Executive Education
Corporate Open Programmes

4. ‘There were lots of
little tools and the
one-to-one coaching
really worked.’
In Spring 2014, Søren Jensen sent
eleven people to the Essentials of
Leadership programme. Among them
were CEO Frank Jensen, Niels Lilleør
and nine members of the new middle
management tier, including 38-year-
old Project Manager Brian Damgaard
Lauritsen and 54-year-old Department
Manager Jesper Meldgaard Jensen.
‘When Niels came back from the
Leading Change programme, he was
full of ideas,’ remembers Jesper, ‘but
it all seemed fluffy and theoretical to
me. I wanted to go on the Essentials of
Leadership programme because it might
be more practical. And it was useful – it
made me think about being a leader.
There were lots of little tools and the
one-to-one coaching really worked.’
Brian agrees: ‘There were lots
of examples you could relate to.
And lots of little things that made
you think: “OK, of course!”’
‘That’s the thing about Essentials of
Leadership,’ says Programme Director
Mark Edwards. ‘It’s not about what
makes people great leaders, but how you
become a great leader. You acquire good
models, tools and techniques. We have
one tool in particular that’s very powerful.
It makes people focus on how they can
bring their best selves to work – and
make full use of their signature strengths.’
By the end of 2013, CEO Frank Jensen
and his new middle management team
had started mapping out a working
model for the company. Now it was
time to give the new leadership team
the skills they needed. The company
decided to send two cohorts of the
middle management team on the
Essentials of Leadership programme
in early 2014 – sparking a continuing
conversation with the School about
how to get the most out of the course.
When Frank agreed to invest in
leadership training, Niels Lilleør had
no hesitation in contacting London
Business School again. He decided
that the best way to maintain the
momentum of change was to enrol Frank
and all ten middle managers on the
Essentials of Leadership programme.
‘I thought there was a real beauty to
this approach,’ says Mark Edwards,
Programme Director at London Business
School. ‘Getting all your top leaders
over at once really condenses the
learning. When you have a common
experience, you’ve got a common
language – a coherent thread when
you’re all back in the office.’
Mark was also sure that Niels had
chosen the right programme: ‘Essentials
of Leadership covers communication,
influencing people, enabling change,
building and leading teams,
understanding yourself and energising
others. So it both laid a foundation for
how the managers would lead and also
had a large change component, which
made sense for them.
‘Before the programme started, I had
a conversation with Niels and asked
him to brief me about who the people
were – their strengths and personal
development needs – and what they
were looking to get from the programme
as an organisation. That’s the thing
about our open programmes – we can
carefully top and tail them for the client,
conducting design around their needs
beforehand and afterwards. On this
occasion I also asked Niels if he would
share the Søren Jensen story during
the organisational change part of the
programme – the company’s journey,
his role and the challenges involved.
Niels admits that he was nervous
about how Frank and the other
participants would find the programme.
‘I did wonder: “How are they going
to take it?” And Frank was even
more uncertain: ‘I think most of them
thought it would be a waste of time.’
Frank, in particular, was struck by
the personal and practical focus of
the programme. ‘I was surrounded
by people who made leadership
interesting and inspiring. This whole
managing people thing wasn’t fluffy at
all. There’s tools, there’s methodology,
there’s a framework. It made me
realise that the impact I can have on
society is much bigger if I use the firm
as my tool than if I behave just as a
very capable technical engineer.’
Frank wasted no time implementing
the action plan that he drew up on the
programme with his coach. ‘I immediately
stepped back from all the projects and
became a full-time CEO. I concentrated
on creating a sense of purpose, going
round all the offices, listening to them
and then explaining my ambition.’
Niels meanwhile was concerned with
the middle management tier. ‘I kept
telling Frank that we needed to pick up
on the learning from the programme.
I was worried that people were too
busy with their everyday work and
that it might all disappear. Then Mark
contacted me to see how everything was
going and we came up with a plan...’
Jesper Meldgaard Jensen,
Department Manager,
Søren Jensen
‘That’s the thing about
our open programmes
– we can top and tail
them for the client, doing
some design around
their needs beforehand
and afterwards.’
Mark Edwards,
Programme Director
London Business School
(pictured below)
Søren Jensen
London Business School
Executive Education
Corporate Open Programmes
www.london.edu
06 07
www.london.edu
www.london.edu www.london.edu
Before the Essentials
of Leadership programme
Impact of the programme

5. Mark Edwards,
Programme Director,
London Business School
A few weeks after the second cohort
of Søren Jensen managers returned
from the Essentials of Leadership
programme, London Business School’s
Mark Edwards phoned Niels Lilleør to
follow up on how the programme had
impacted on the company.
‘We had a chat,’ says Mark, ‘and one
of the follow-up options I suggested to
Niels was for me to come over to do a
wrap-up workshop for his people. He
jumped at the chance.’
‘We couldn’t have run the workshop
ourselves,’ explains Niels. ‘We needed
someone with Mark’s authority to pick
people up on their learning. Together,
Mark, Frank and I came up with a
structure for the day. We invited all the
leaders of the company to come and
then we asked the people who had been
on the programme to present their key
learnings to the others.’
Brian Damgaard Lauritsen says the
impact of the workshop was obvious:
‘After Mark came, I could see my
colleagues reacting. They really
became aware of leadership.’
Twenty-seven-year-old IT Manager
Johannes Pham agrees: ‘I’ve noticed
a difference in the line managers.
They’ve changed the way they perceive
themselves and how they do things.
I think they’re playing a big part now in
the culture change.’
‘They really embraced it,’ says Mark.
‘It was gratifying for me to see the impact
of the programme on these people –
and to journey further down the road with
them. It’s a good relationship.’
Brian Damgaard Lauritsen attended
the Essentials of Leadership course
in Spring 2014 and has worked closely
with Niels Lilleør to create a new project
management model for Søren Jensen.
He is a key member of the new middle
management tier at the company.
‘All of this change has definitely been
a good idea,’ says Brian. ‘It’s not been
easy though because the company has
always been in the Jensen family and
now the responsibility has been spread
to people not called Jensen!
‘I was a Project Manager before the
change in the company’s structure
but I wasn’t really aware of myself as a
leader. On the Essentials of Leadership
programme my coach and I talked about
the fact that I’m an introvert and about
how difficult I find it to stand up and talk.
It made me realise that I can do this.
‘For example, I used to have weekly
project meetings with my team but
now I sit at the end of the table and lead
the meetings – just a little thing but it
makes a big difference. I also have more
tools to use in the meetings. I ask the
team three questions every time: what
have you done since last time; what are
you going to do; and do you have any
problems? They love it. Everyone can be
held to what they say and do.
‘Later Niels suggested the idea
of constructive feedback meetings,
where we talk about everything apart
from the project – how we are working
together in general. We tried the new
style of meeting three times and the
last time it was actually the team
leading on this style. It’s become a
whole new thing at Søren Jensen.’
More recently Brian has introduced
another initiative – an evaluation meeting
with the external stakeholders on a
project. He started by suggesting the
idea to an architectural firm. Niels was
impressed: ‘Traditionally there tends to
be a little hostility between engineers
and architects but Brian used the change
model I showed him to win them over.’
‘Yes, I consciously used the model to
make the meeting happen,’ says Brian.
‘Its three steps are just so simple to
remember.’ And, as Niels explains,
Brian’s persistence has paid off: ‘The
architects were a bit reluctant at first,
but now they’re welcoming it. In fact
they’re paying for the lunch!’
‘One of the follow-up
options I suggested to
Niels was for me to come
over to do a wrap-up
workshop for his people.’
‘I wasn’t really aware
of myself as a leader.
I didn’t have all the tools
that I have now.’
Brian Damgaard Lauritsen,
Project Manager,
Søren Jensen
(pictured below)
Anders Lauersen,
Project Office Manager,
Søren Jensen
Jesper Meldgaard Jensen,
Department Manager,
Søren Jensen
Søren Jensen
London Business School
Executive Education
Corporate Open Programmes
www.london.edu
08 09
www.london.edu
www.london.edu www.london.edu
Following up the programme Impact on individuals

6. ‘I’ve helped Søren
Jensen lead the
way for others in the
industry.’
‘A continuous engagement
with London Business
School is a way of keeping
our ambitions high. We
haven’t got everything out
of the relationship yet.’
Johannes Pham, IT Manager at Søren
Jensen, has been heavily influenced
by the learning that Niels Lilleør
brought back from the Leading Change
programme. As he explains, the culture
change at the company has also helped
it gain an enviable position within the
wider industry.
‘Technology is part of Søren Jensen’s
identity. We use it as a business enabler.
But many of the companies we work with
think in more traditional ways. One of the
challenges in my job is to persuade them
to buy into another way of doing things.
So, in a way, my job is all about change.
‘The problem is, I’m a technical guy and
that’s the way I describe things – with
lots of details. I used to get met with
this wall! When Niels came back from
London Business School, I knew he had
picked up some tools and methods for
influencing and persuading people. I
asked him to take a look at a proposal I
had for introducing a new collaboration
platform on one of our biggest projects.’
The issue for Johannes was that Søren
Jensen was the sub-consultant on that
project and he was just an advisor. He
not only had to convince the Project
Managers to make the change, he
also had to convince the IT Manager
of the lead consultant company.
‘Niels introduced me to two models –
one for communication and another
for change. They were just so easy
to understand. Instead of flooding
them with information right from the
beginning, I started very simply with
a base document explaining why the
change was a good idea. Then I built on
top of that week by week and question
by question so that they understood it
every step of the way. I also did a lot
of work to say that this is not my idea,
this is teamwork. We have a challenge.
And I really noticed the difference.
They were on board all the way.
‘Changing the collaboration platform was
a real game-changer for that project.
Everyone could see how powerful it was.
In fact, now that I’ve changed people’s
perceptions of what collaboration is, it’s
something that the consultant company
has tried to implement too with its own
clients. I’ve helped Søren Jensen lead
the way for others in the industry.’
In the last two years, Søren Jensen
has embarked on a process of
profound change. Along the way, it
has developed a productive, flexible
relationship with London Business
School, picking up the change
management and leadership skills it
needs to achieve success. Everyone
involved has seen the benefits.
‘It’s an on-going process,’ says Niels,
‘but people are thinking differently, Frank
is thinking differently. He’s clear where
he wants the company to go – doing
different, creative projects. And if you
want to think differently, you need the
structure to give you that freedom.
That’s what the new management
tier and model have been about. And
that’s what we wanted to get from the
programmes and from our relationship
with London Business School.’
Mark Edwards agrees, and credits CEO
Frank Jensen for leading from the front:
‘I think the Essentials of Leadership
programme was a real catalyst for
change – especially for Frank. At our
wrap-up workshop in Denmark, I
watched him communicate a really
simple, exciting strategy for the company.
‘I think Søren Jensen were already
conducting leading edge work in the
engineering space. Now they have a
common leadership language to best
enable them to execute against this’.
Frank himself points to the impact on his
new middle managers: ‘They are getting
a lot further with the projects. They’re
not just doing what they’re told. They
have the autonomy to make decisions.’
That’s something that the middle
managers agree has made a big
difference. ‘I thought the change
of structure would be difficult,’ says
Jesper Meldgaard Jensen, who has
just celebrated quarter of a century
with the firm, ‘but it’s working. I
make decisions myself now.’
IT Manager Johannes Pham confirms
the changing dynamics in the office:
‘The managers are there, available to
talk. There wasn’t so much focus on
that before. There are more people
making decisions, discussing things in
groups rather than going to one man.’
But what about the company as a
whole? Have the changes had an impact
on its performance? ‘Yes,’ says Frank,
‘we’re making good money. But it’s
about quality more than the bottom line.
You can go to lots of engineering firms
and get things done according to best
practice, but we should be the ones who
improve practice – we’re good enough
and we’re already making it happen.
That’s why we’re investing a lot in the
future, and it’s been money well spent.
Our employee engagement is really high.’
‘Yes, it’s a very inspiring environment
to work in,’ confirms Brian. Johannes
goes further: ‘I wouldn’t change my job
even if someone doubled my salary!’
After returning from the Essentials
of Leadership programme and
becoming full-time CEO of Søren
Jensen, Frank Jensen was
nominated by his own staff for
the Young Business Leader of the
Year award. He won the award in
his home city of Aarhus and is in
the running for the national award.
Johannes Pham,
IT Manager,
Søren Jensen
(pictured below)
Frank Jensen,
CEO
Søren Jensen
London Business School
Executive Education
Corporate Open Programmes
www.london.edu
10 11
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www.london.edu www.london.edu
Looking to the futureImpact on individuals
To learn more, please
contact us by phone
on +44 (0)20 7000 7390
or email us at
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