Halla Tomasdottir: A feminine response to Iceland's financial crash

Translator: Kaur Sinissaar Reviewer: Triin Sinissaar

It sure used to be a lot easier to be from Iceland,

Vanasti oli palju lihtsam islandlane olla,

because until a couple of years ago,

sest vaid paar aastat tagasi

people knew hardly anything about us,

ei teadnud inimesed meist suurt midagi

and I could basically come out here

ja ma oleksin võinud siia tulla

and say only good things about us.

ning meist vaid head rääkida.

But in the last couple of years

Kuid viimase paari aastaga

we've become infamous for a couple of things.

oleme paari asja tõttu kurikuulsaks saanud.

First, of course, the economic meltdown.

Esiteks muidugi majanduskriisi tõttu.

It actually got so bad

Asi läks koguni nii hulluks,

that somebody put our country up for sale on eBay.

et keegi pani meie riigi eBays müüki.

(Laughter)

(Naer)

Ninety-nine pence was the starting price

Hind algas 99 pennist

and no reserve.

ilma miinimumita.

Then there was the volcano

Seejärel oli vulkaanipurse,

that interrupted the travel plans

mis rikkus paljude reisiplaanid,

of almost all of you and many of your friends,

nii teie endi kui ka teie sõprade omad,

including President Obama.

teiste seas ka president Obama.

By the way, the pronunciation

Seda nime, muide, hääldatakse

is "Eyjafjallajokull."

Eyjafjallajokull.

None of your media got it right.

Üheski teie meedikanalis ei öeldud seda õigesti välja.

(Laughter)

(Naer)

But I'm not here to share these stories

Kuid ma ei ole siin, et jagada lugusid

about these two things exactly.

neist kahest juhtumist.

I'm here to tell you the story of Audur Capital,

Ma tahan teile rääkida loo Audur Capitalist,

which is a financial firm founded by me

finantsettevõttest, mille asutasime mina

and Kristin -- who you see in the picture --

ja Kristin - keda te pildil näete -

in the spring of 2007,

2007. aasta kevadel,

just over a year before the economic collapse hit.

veidi rohkem kui aasta enne majanduskriisi algust.

Why would two women

Miks peaksid kaks naist,

who were enjoying successful careers in investment banking

kes nautisid edukat karjääri investeerimispanganduses,

in the corporate sector

korporatiivsektoris, sealt lahkuma,

leave to found a financial services firm?

et luua finantsteenuseid pakkuv ettevõte?

Well let it suffice to say

Piisab, kui öelda,

that we felt a bit overwhelmed

et meil sai villand

with testosterone.

testosterooni keskel hulpimisest.

And I'm not here to say

Ma ei taha öelda,

that men are to blame for the crisis

nagu mehed oleksid süüdi kriisis

and what happened in my country.

ja selles, mis meie riigiga juhtus.

But I can surely tell you that in my country,

Kuid võin kindlalt öelda, et minu kodumaal,

much like on Wall Street and the city of London and elsewhere,

samuti nagu Wall Streetil, Londoni finantskeskuses ja mujal,

men were at the helm

olid mehed finantssektori mängudes

of the game of the financial sector,

tüüri juures.

and that kind of lack of diversity

Ning selline mitmekesisuse puudumine

and sameness

ja samasus

leads to disastrous problems.

viib katastroofiliste probleemideni.

(Applause)

(Aplaus)

So we decided, a bit fed-up with this world

Sellest maailmast veidi tüdinult

and also with the strong feeling in our stomach

ja tugeva kõhutundega, et

that this wasn't sustainable,

selline olukord pole jätkusuutlik,

to found a financial services firm

otsustasime asutada finantsettevõtte,

based on our values,

mis toetub meie väärtustele.

and we decided to incorporate feminine values

Otsustasime tuua finantsmaailma

into the world of finance.

naiselikke väärtusi.

Raised quite a few eyebrows in Iceland.

Islandil pani see paljud kulmu kergitama.

We weren't known

Kuni selle ajani

as the typical "women" women

ei tuntud meid Islandil

in Iceland up until then.

kui tüüpilisi naisi.

So it was almost like coming out of the closet

Teatud mõttes oli see kui kapist välja tulek -

to actually talk about the fact that we were women

rääkida sellest, et me olemegi naised

and that we believed that we had a set of values

ja et meil on oma väärtushinnangud

and a way of doing business

ja oma viis äri teha,

that would be more sustainable

mis on jätkusuutlikum kui see,

than what we had experienced until then.

mida olime senimaani kogenud.

And we got a great group of people to join us --

Me veensime endaga liituma hulga vahvaid inimesi -

principled people with great skills,

inimesi, kellel on põhimõtted ja suurepärased oskused,

and investors with a vision

ja investoreid, kellel on nägemus

and values to match ours.

ja väärtused, mis sobivad meie omadega.

And together we got through the eye of the financial storm in Iceland

Koos pidasime Islandil möllanud finantstormile vastu,

without taking any direct losses to our equity

kaotamata otseselt midagi meie omakapitalist

or to the funds of our clients.

või meie klientide rahadest.

And although I want to thank

Ja kuigi ma tahan selle eest

the talented people of our company

tänada peamiselt meie ettevõtte

foremost for that --

andekaid inimesi -

and also there's a factor of luck and timing --

unustamata ka head õnne ja ajastamist -

we are absolutely convinced

oleme me täiesti veendunud,

that we did this because of our values.

et saime sellega hakkama tänu oma väärtushinnangutele.

So let me share with you our values.

Lubage, et jagan neid väärtushinnanguid teiega.

We believe in risk awareness.

Me usume riskiteadlikkusse.

What does that mean?

Mida see tähendab?

We believe that you should always understand the risks that you're taking,

Me usume, et sa pead alati mõistma riske, mida sa võtad,

and we will not invest

ja me ei investeeri

in things we don't understand.

asjadesse, millest me aru ei saa.

Not a complicated thing.

See pole ju keeruline.

But in 2007,

Kuid aastal 2007,

at the height of the sub-prime

mis oli eluasemelaenude tippaeg

and all the complicated financial structures,

koos kõigi keeruliste finantsstruktuuridega,

it was quite opposite

oli see täielik vastand

to the reckless risk-taking behaviors

hooletule riskikäitumisele,

that we saw on the market.

mida me turul nägime.

We also believe in straight-talking,

Samuti usume me otsekohesusse -

telling it as it is,

rääkida asjadest nii, nagu nad on,

using simple language that people understand,

kasutada lihtsat keelt, millest inimesed aru saavad,

telling people about the downsides

ja rääkida inimestele nii halbadest külgedest

as well as the potential upsides,

kui ka võimalikest plussidest,

and even telling the bad news that no one wants to utter,

rääkida neile koguni halbadest uudistest, mida keegi ei taha välja öelda,

like our lack of belief in the sustainability

nagu see, et meil puudub usk

of the Icelandic financial sector

Islandi finantssektori jätkusuutlikkusse,

that already we had

sest me tundsime nii juba

months before the collapse hit us.

mitu kuud enne majanduse kokkuvarisemist.

And, although we do work in the financial sector,

Ja kuigi me töötame finantssektoris,

where Excel is king,

kus Excel on kuningas,

we believe in emotional capital.

usume me emotsionaalsesse kapitali.

And we believe

Ja me usume,

that doing emotional due diligence

et emotsioonide audit

is just as important

on niisama oluline

as doing financial due diligence.

kui majanduslik audit.

It is actually people

Need on ju inimesed,

that make money and lose money,

kes teevad raha ja kaotavad raha,

not Excel spreadsheets.

mitte Exceli tabelid.

(Applause)

(Aplaus)

Last, but not least,

Viimane, kuid mitte vähem oluline asi on see -

we believe in profit with principles.

me usume kasumisse koos põhimõtetega;

We care how we make our profit.

meile läheb korda see, kuidas me kasumit teenime.

So while we want to make economic profit for ourselves and our customers,

Kuigi me tahame toota endale ja oma klientidele majanduslikku kasumit,

we are willing to do it with a long-term view,

oleme nõus tegema seda pikemas perspektiivis.

and we like to have a wider definition of profits

Ja meile on tähtis defineerida kasumit laiemalt

than just the economic profit in the next quarter.

kui pelgalt majanduslik kasum järgmises kvartalis.

So we like to see profits,

Meile meeldib näha tulu

plus positive social

pluss positiivset ühiskondlikku

and environmental benefits, when we invest.

ja keskkondlikku kasu, kui me investeerime.

But it wasn't just about the values,

Kuid asi polnud ainult väärtushinnangutes,

although we are convinced that they matter.

kuigi me oleme veendunud, et need on olulised.

It was also about a business opportunity.

Asi oli ka ärilistes võimalustes.

It's the female trend, and it's the sustainability trend,

Naiselik joon ja jätkusuutlikkuse joon

that are going to create

on need, mis loovad

some of the most interesting investment opportunities

kõige põnevamaid investeerimisvõimalusi

in the years to come.

tulevatel aastatel.

The whole thing about the female trend

Mis puudutab naiselikku joont,

is not about women being better than men;

siis asi pole selles, nagu naised oleksid meestest paremad,

it is actually about

vaid hoopis selles,

women being different from men,

et naised on meestest erinevad,

bringing different values and different ways to the table.

nad toovad mängu teised väärtused ja abinõud.

So what do you get? You get better decision-making,

Mida me sellest saame? Parema viisi otsuseid teha.

and you get less herd behavior,

Ja vähem karjakäitumist.

and both of those things hit your bottom line

Need mõlemad tegurid annavad lõpuks

with very positive results.

väga positiivseid tulemusi.

But one has to wonder,

Paratamatult hakkad selle üle mõtlema,

now that we've had this financial sector collapse upon us in Iceland --

vaadates finantssektori kriisi, mis meid Islandil tabanud on -

and by the way, Europe looks pretty bad right now,

ja muide, ka Euroopa on üpris halvas seisus.

and many would say that you in America

Paljud ütleksid, et ka teil siin, Ameerikas,

are heading for some more trouble as well.

seisavad ees uued raskused.

Now that we've had all that happen,

Nüüd, kui kõik see on aset leidnud,

and we have all this data out there

ja meie ees on nii palju infot,

telling us that it's much better to have diversity

mis ütleb meile, et mitmekesisus

around the decision-making tables,

on otsuste langetamisel parem,

will we see business and finance change?

kas me näeme, et äri ja finantssektor seeläbi muutuvad?

Will government change?

Kas muutub valitsus?

Well I'll give you my straight talk about this.

Ma ütlen teile otsekoheselt, mida mina sellest arvan.

I have days that I believe,

Mul on päevi, mil ma usun,

but I have days that I'm full of doubt.

kuid ka päevi, mil ma olen täis kahtlusi.

Have you seen the incredible urge out there

Kas olete märganud ümberringi tohutut iha

to rebuild the very things that failed us?

ehitada üles needsamad asjad, mis meid alt vedasid?

(Applause)

(Aplaus)

Einstein said

Einstein ütles,

that this was the definition of insanity --

et see on hullumeelsuse definitsioon -

to do the same things

teha ühtesid ja samu asju

over and over again,

aina uuesti ja uuesti,

hoping for a different outcome.

lootes erinevat tulemust.

So I guess the world is insane,

Nii et võib-olla on maailm hullumeelne,

because I see entirely too much

sest ma näen liiga palju seda,

of doing the same things over and over again,

et tehakse samu asju uuesti ja uuesti

hoping that this time it's not going to collapse upon us.

lootuses, et seekord ei varise kõik me pea kohal kokku.

I want to see more revolutionary thinking,

Ma tahan näha rohkem revolutsioonilist mõtlemist.

and I remain hopeful.

Ja ma olen endiselt lootusrikas.

Like TED, I believe in people.

Nagu TED, usun ka mina inimestesse.

And I know that consumers

Ja ma tean, et tarbijad

are becoming more conscious,

on muutumas teadlikumaks,

and they are going to start voting with their wallets,

nad hakkavad hääletama oma rahakoti kaudu

and they are going to change the face

ja nad muudavad

of business and finance from the outside,

äri ja finantssektori nägu väljastpoolt,

if they don't do it from the inside.

kui nad ei tee seda seestpoolt.

But I'm more of the revolutionary,

Kuid mina olen rohkem revolutsionäär

and I should be; I'm from Iceland.

ja peaksingi olema, olen ju Islandilt.

We have a long history

Meie ajaloos on palju

of strong, courageous, independent women,

tugevaid, julgeid ja iseseisvaid naisi

ever since the Viking age.

juba viikingite ajast peale.

And I want to tell you when

Ma räägin teile, millal

I first realized that women matter to the economy

ma sain esimest korda aru, et naistel on suur mõju

and to the society,

majanduses ja ühiskonnas.

I was seven -- it happened to be my mother's birthday --

Ma olin seitsmeaastane - juhuslikult oli mu ema sünnipäev -

October 24, 1975.

24. oktoober 1975.

Women in Iceland took the day off.

Islandi naised võtsid vaba päeva.

From work or from home, they took the day off,

Kas töölt või kodust, nad võtsid vaba päeva

and nothing worked in Iceland.

ja mitte miski Islandil ei töötanud.

(Laughter)

(Naer)

They marched into the center of Reykjavik,

Nad marssisid Reykjaviki kesklinna

and they put women's issues onto the agenda.

ja tõstsid naiste küsimused päevakorda.

And some say this was the start of a global movement.

Mõned on öelnud, et sealt algas ülemaailmne liikumine.

For me it was the start of a long journey,

Minu jaoks algas sealt pikk teekond,

but I decided that day to matter.

ma otsustasin, et see päev oli oluline.

Five years later,

Viis aastat hiljem

Iceland elected Vigdis Finnbogadottir as their president --

valiti Islandi presidendiks Vigdis Finnbogadottir -

first female to become head of state,

esimene riigipeaks valitud naine,

single mom,

üksikema

a breast cancer survivor

ja rinnavähist edukalt jagu saanud naine,

who had had one of her breasts removed.

kes oli pidanud laskma ühe rinna eemaldada.

And at one of the campaign sessions,

Ühel kampaaniakoosolekul

she had one of her male contenders

vihjas üks tema meesrivaalidest,

allude to the fact that she couldn't become president --

et ta ei või saada presidendiks,

she was a woman, and even half a woman.

kuna ta on naine ja koguni poolik naine.

That night she won the election,

Sel õhtul võitis ta valimised,

because she came back --

sest ta tuli -

not just because of his crappy behavior --

mitte ainult oma vastase jämeda käitumise tõttu -

but she came back and said,

aga ta tuli ja ütles:

"Well, I'm actually not going to breastfeed the Icelandic nation;

"Ma ei kavatse Islandi rahvast rinnaga toitma hakata,

I'm going to lead it."

ma kavatsen seda juhtida."

(Applause)

(Aplaus)

So I've had incredibly many

Mul on olnud uskumatult palju

women role models

naistest eeskujusid,

that have influenced who I am and where I am today.

kes on mõjutanud seda, kes ja kus ma täna olen.

But in spite of that,

Kuid sellest hoolimata

I went through the first 10 or 15 years of my career

veetsin ma esimesed 10 või 15 aastat oma karjäärist

mostly in denial of being a woman.

peamiselt eitades fakti, et ma olen naine.

Started in corporate America,

Alustasin Ameerika suurfirmades

and I was absolutely convinced

ja olin täiesti veendunud,

that it was just about the individual,

et loeb ainult inimene ise,

that women and men would have just the same opportunities.

et naistel ja meestel on täpselt samad võimalused.

But I've come to conclude lately

Kuid viimasel ajal olen jõudnud järeldusele,

that it isn't like that.

et see siiski pole nii.

We are not the same,

Me pole ühesugused.

and it's great. Because of our differences,

Ja see on suurepärane - oma erinevuste tõttu

we create and sustain life.

me loome ja hoiame elu.

So we should embrace our difference and aim for challenge.

Peaksime väärtustama oma erinevusi ja keskenduma väljakutsetele.

The final thought I want to leave with you

Tahan lõpetuseks öelda veel ühe mõtte:

is that I'm fed up with this tyranny

mul on kõrini

of either/or choices in life --

"kas see või teine" valikute türanniast elus -

either it's men or it's women.

kas mehed või naised.

We need to start embracing the beauty of balance.

Meil on aega hakata hindama tasakaalu ilu.

So let's move away

Loobume sellest,

from thinking about business here and philanthropy there,

et mõelda ärist ja heategevusest eraldi,

and let's start thinking about

ning hakkame mõtlema

doing good business.

hea äri tegemisest.

That's how we change the world. That's the only sustainable future.

Niimoodi muudame me maailma. See on ainus jätkusuutlik tulevik.

Thank you.

Tänan teid.

(Applause)

(Aplaus)