tl;dr: The unlikely connection between humility and accomplishment.

My coach, Joe, suggested I watch one of the episodes of “This is Pop” on Netflix, entitled “Stockholm Syndrome.”

Apparently, the influence of Swedish producers on global pop music over the past few decades has been extraordinary and outsized, to say the least.

In the documentary, there were a number of reasons given for this, including the Swedes’ high proficiency in English and the fact that they knew, if they wanted to ‘make it big,’ it had to be in a language other than Swedish.

The story actually begins with ABBA, the first massive Swedish music export and then goes on to remind us that Roxette, Ace of Base, and the Cardigans, among many others are swedish as well.

Even less well known is that musical acts like the Backstreet Boys, Brittany Spears, and many others actually went to Sweden to produce their music.

So, why is it that Swedish producers are so good?

Well, you’ll have to watch the full show to get the complete story, but a few things stood out

• Work hard, play hard
• If it’s boring, kill it
• Be humble

Work hard, play hard is not unique to Sweden and though the Swedes seem to be relentless when it comes to “if it’s boring, kill it,” there are plenty of other innovators who have impatience with crap.

The part that stood out to me was that all of the Swedes said it was very “un-Swedish” to talk about one’s accomplishments or brag in any way. It’s just not part of the culture.

It’s a good reminder of the adage that “it’s amazing how much can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.”

As I was thinking about it, it occurred to me that the humility provides the additional benefit of possibly reducing pressure on oneself, thereby allowing creativity to flourish.

If you’re always talking about your accomplishments, you’ll feel the need to continue to meet or exceed them which creates pressure to perform.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in studying OKRs for a year now, it’s that superlative results come when there is a culture of encouraging people to try and fail, not where they must perform.

When you take a “Swedish” approach to creativity, by keeping your work to yourself, perhaps you are more willing to try new things, since you’re not always trying for the next big hit.

And we end with an homage to some of Sweden’s greatest hits….