Every year Gofore hosts Intelligent Industry event for customers and stakeholders. Annually the event revolves around a selected core theme to help us focus on topics that are necessary for future success. For this year’s theme we picked courage.
Mainly since in 2025 we conducted an interview study on almost 30 leaders of intelligent industry. One main thing they called action upon was to be more courageous; not playing it always safe, but to dare more.
Let’s look deeper into what courage actually means.
The word courage derives from the Latin word cor, meaning the heart. Originally courage had a meaning to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. No pretending, no filtering, no masking – just telling your story in its purest form, from the heart.
According to the acclaimed Professor Brené Brown of the University of Houston…
- Courage is the strength to face uncertainty with confidence and determination even when one cannot control the outcome.
- Courage is not the total absence of fear. It is about moving forward and showing up even when you are afraid.
- Courage is the unwavering resolve to pursue what is right, even when the path ahead is daunting.
Unlocking courage in the intelligent industry set-up
So, what is courage in an intelligent industry power houses context today? And why courage is important?
In a business context, courage stands also for a deep belief that you and your organisation has what it takes to overcome the struggles ahead – you just need to keep moving forward.
It is easy to be courageous or even bold when the times are high and financial success pours in. When business results drag, many organisations tend to withdraw to safer options instead of the courageous ones.
This is understandable, yet too predictable. However, often in a storm we should steer the ship even harder to keep it on course, rather than waiting for the storm to pass and find your ship drifting.
Courage is not something you learn from books. Organisations and individuals will find it from within. From a more concrete perspective, I think courage is about rethinking what and how we do the things we do– and move ahead and trying out new ways to move forward. One asset that often plays well with courage, is time; the ones that start ahead, tend to stay ahead.
Finding courage in the era of unrest
It is said that we live in an era of unrest — a time marked by uncertainty and constant change. For organisations, this raises a critical question: how can we lead and operate effectively in such a volatile environment?
At Gofore’s Intelligent Industry business area, we see the courage to grow and thrive as a shared responsibility — one we are proud to embrace every day with our customers.
For us courage is about stepping into a role of business advisor or partner rather than just a supplier of services. It is about knowing our customers’ businesses inside out to be able to provide solutions that help our customers improve their business in a future-ready way. Sometimes this is done by challenging the status quo, sometimes it shows up as a proposed insight to support optimal decision-making and courageous choices to prepare and secure future growth.
One more thing about the nexus of future growth and courage for industrial companies:
You cannot practice courage and comfort at the same time.
For industrial companies, courage means moving forward and showing up for future growth, even when the outcome is uncertain.
What is needed for your organisation to dare and be courageous the most?
Industry is undergoing a transformation
Technology, data, and people are becoming increasingly interconnected. Companies must respond to growing customer, safety, and sustainability requirements while leveraging AI to strengthen their competitiveness.
