The godfathers of strategy are Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton - mandatory reading for all slightly seasoned business graduates out there. They created a framework for strategy execution and have written several books that have become classics in strategic management.

- The challenge is a classic one: A leadership team goes offsite and develops a strategy for the company. But how on earth are they going to implement it? asks Bjarne Rugelsjøen, almost interrupting himself as he continues:

- And I’ve seen it far too many times: The strategy is called profitable growth. But profitable growth is not a strategy! Financial targets are not a strategy. Strategy is about how the company will position itself in the market, which customers they will serve - and not serve - and how they will achieve this in practice. Strategy is about direction and priorities. Ultimately, it’s about getting the organization on board, understanding why the strategy is what it is, and what it means for each individual. Nagged his way into a job in London

Rugelsjøen grew up in the mountain town of Røros, an industrial community, together with his friend Pål Høye - the boy who was always better than him at math. Høye went to the United States, while Rugelsjøen studied business at NHH and took courses in philosophy, psychology, and sociology at NTNU before moving to Oslo to work as a consultant at Bekk.

“A leadership team goes offsite and develops a strategy for the company. But how on earth are they going to implement it?” - Bjarne Rugelsjøen

- I was an advisor and worked a lot with digital strategies. That’s when I decided I wanted to become truly good at strategy. The interplay between strategy, people, processes, and technology is fun! To get even better, I called Kaplan and Norton’s office in London hoping to get a job. I didn’t - so I joined PA Consulting in London while I kept pestering Kaplan and Norton. Eventually, I got a job there, and it opened every door.

Rugelsjøen traveled the world working with leadership teams and implementing strategies at companies such as BMW, Cisco, and Panasonic.

- After doing this for 250 companies and countless leadership teams, I started to notice some patterns. They also wanted help buying software, but it was all poor quality. Every solution was just about reporting numbers. Any engagement or enthusiasm that existed was crushed. That’s when I got the idea to combine strategy, organization, and leadership with digital tools. I tried to involve some developers, but I couldn’t explain well enough what I wanted.

Back to his childhood friend Rugelsjøen then joined PwC, where he led a team helping companies turn strategy into action - and his idea was still alive. There was just too much PowerPoint and Excel. Not optimal at all.

- That’s when my friend Pål Høye called. He was CTO at a startup in the U.S. that had quickly grown to 400 employees and was struggling with the same issues I had. He said it was impossible to get the whole team on board with the strategy.

Three years ago, the childhood friends from Røros decided to start the company BlueJam. Their business idea: an engaging strategy platform for all employees.

An easy-to-use and intuitive platform built in Norway. In the beginning, we focused on the Norwegian market, and now we are also launching in the U.S.

- How many customers do you have?

- 40 Norwegian customers subscribe to the platform. At first, we only sold to our own network, but now we’ve hired someone with a background from Meta and started marketing. It’s been a busy fall with high demand. We’ve also sold to Sweden and the Faroe Islands. The challenge with scaling in the U.S. is that it’s expensive to hire there.

Today, BlueJam has six employees spread across Brazil, the U.S., Poland, the Philippines, and Oslo.

- There’s so much nonsense when it comes to corporate strategy. Leaders raise it to such a high level of abstraction that it doesn’t reach anyone. But communicating the strategy is not enough. People need to be involved. What is it, why do we have it, and what does it mean for you and your team?, says Rugelsjøen.

He adds that he now has a very different perspective on the world than when he was sitting in the mountains of Røros:

- I think it’s an advantage to come from a place with both feet firmly on the ground. I speak well with top executives, but I speak just as well with the team on the floor.

Link to article in Finansavisen (in Norwegian): https://www.finansavisen.no/karriere/2025/10/25/8301429/norske-bluejam-har-utviklet-en-strategiplattform-som-involverer-alle-ansatte