A Good Summer — And the Good Work Continues

By Owe Pettersson — Seeking the Obvious®

Even if I won't close my laptop completely, I hope you can slow down for a few weeks and let the summer light do what it does. Before you do, take a moment to pause with me — not because I want to sell you anything, but simply to say: have a wonderful summer, and thank you for being part of what we're building.

Here's a short recap of four things we've been putting our hearts into this year. The first thing we ever put out there was about why seekingtheobvious.com exists in the first place — so that's where we'll start.

1. Our Vision & Mission — the "why" behind everything

Kofi Annan saw the need for a market with a human face already in 1999. A memorable group of people later concluded that Value Change for Survival was needed to actually save the world as it is.

Even Anita Roddick, after selling The Body Shop, reflected that she wished she had known about this way of building a company. These aren't slogans we put on a slide once and forgot — they're the conviction we keep returning to: that the purpose and structure of the limited company needs to be challenged, not just polished at the edges. And not only as a business matter, but in every aspect of life. Everything else we build sits on top of this.

When this helps: when you're standing in front of a classroom trying to explain why today's business models don't serve the next generation — or when you're drafting policy and need a real-world case for why the limited company needs to change, not just improve.

2. Juridikguiden — the law, made accessible

Most people are told they have rights, but not given the language to understand them. Juridikguiden.online was built on a simple conviction: legal knowledge shouldn't be a privilege reserved for those who can afford a lawyer. It gives ordinary people free, clear access to the real legal fundamentals, currently across Swedish, German, US and Indian law. Read the full story on our blog.

When this helps: when you're signing a lease, negotiating your employment contract, or facing a consumer dispute and need to know your rights before you call a lawyer — or when your organization is choosing its next CSR initiative and wants one people actually use. We use it ourselves a lot, both private and business. It can't be totally free but extremely cheap. If you are a company that needs a CSR project to invest in, this has all aspects of a super good CSR initiative.

A tip: you get the answer as you ask, so please be as specific as you can. Of course this isn't legally binding, but it gives you the guidance to know your rights as a private person or legal entity.

3. BrandIQ — knowing who you actually are

Most brand work measures behaviour: tone of voice, visuals, messaging. BrandIQ measures something deeper — an organisation's actual DNA, mapped across four defining tensions: Open/Closed, Innovative/Follower, Spirit/Knowledge, Predictable/Unpredictable. It doesn't ask how you present yourself. It asks how you believe you are perceived by others today, and how you wish to be perceived instead — the current position versus the desired one.

When this helps: when your leadership team can't agree on what the brand actually stands for, or when you're about to launch a new communication platform and need everyone aligned on how you see the world, how you see your business, what you base your decisions on, and how you are perceived — before it becomes a costly misunderstanding. It's every aspect an organisation needs to uncover about itself. Today it lives in people's complex brains — tomorrow it's a hard decision memorandum. See more on brandiq.site.

4. The Companization — a company built to last generations

This section is dedicated to the memory of Mats Hellström, senior advisor to Plantagon and one of the earliest and most devoted believers in the Companization. His conviction that business could be built differently helped shape everything we do here. He is deeply missed.

Our flagship idea, first proven through Plantagon: a company structure with a non-profit association holding shares and guarding against greed, long-term capital raised through believers rather than short-term investors, and a real, inheritable instrument — the 7 Generation Share. Not a better version of the old model. A different one.

When this helps: when you're structuring a new company and want it to outlive a funding round, or when you're a policymaker looking for tools that make owners responsible for how — not just how much — money is earned.

That's the short version of a long spring. We'll continue with more stories, more conversations, and, as always, an open door.

If any of this feels like something you have been looking for — reach out.

Have a great summer.

Owe