Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In this episode, we go inside one of the most dramatic collapses in modern business history: Nokia’s fall from smartphone king to also-ran—and the surprising force behind it.
Rather than a lack of talent, strategy, or intelligence, Prof. Quy Huy (INSEAD) and Prof. Timo Vuori (Aalto University) reveal how shared emotions—especially fear—reshaped what people paid attention to, what they reported upward, and what leaders could truly “see.” The result: critical warnings softened or unsaid, optimism trumping honesty, and a company that drifted into short-term fixes while long-term innovation slipped away.
We unpack the research behind the 2016 paper “Distributed Attention and Shared Emotions in the Innovation Process: How Nokia Lost the Smartphone Battle”, and connect it to leadership, psychological safety, and why organizations sometimes lose to themselves.
🎙️ Guests
Prof. Quy Huy — Chaired Professor of Strategy, INSEAD
Prof. Timo Vuori — Professor of Strategic Management, Aalto University
🧠 In this conversation
Why “where you sit” shapes what you notice—and what you don’t say
How fear gets misdirected (fear of competitors vs fear of your boss)
Why “psychological safety” can be necessary…but not sufficient
The hidden cost of “poker-face leadership” and toxic positivity
What leaders can do to build truth-telling systems (not just slogans)
00:00 Sponsor Message
00:23 Nokia Collapse Teaser
01:41 Meet The Researchers
02:48 Why Emotions Shape Strategy
05:22 Information Filters And Fear
14:21 Innovation Emotions And AI
20:35 Power Status And Leadership
24:19 Actions Create Shared Emotions
30:35 Misaligned Fear Inside Nokia
34:31 Psychological Safety Limits
41:38 Poker Face Culture And Burnout
48:56 Other Corporate Disasters
50:39 Teaching Takeaways And Wrap
54:04 Where To Find The Guests
55:06 Sponsor Closing
Find Quy
https://www.insead.edu/faculty-personal-site/quy-huy
https://knowledge.insead.edu/strategy/nokias-reinvention-was-emotionally-driven
Find Timo
research.aalto.fi/en/persons/timo-vuori
adaptivevolcano.com/about
Find Aidan McCullen, Ireland Keynote Speaker:
aidanmccullen.com
In this episode, we go inside one of the most dramatic collapses in modern business history: Nokia’s fall from smartphone king to also-ran—and the surprising force behind it.
Rather than a lack of talent, strategy, or intelligence, Prof. Quy Huy (INSEAD) and Prof. Timo Vuori (Aalto University) reveal how shared emotions—especially fear—reshaped what people paid attention to, what they reported upward, and what leaders could truly “see.” The result: critical warnings softened or unsaid, optimism trumping honesty, and a company that drifted into short-term fixes while long-term innovation slipped away.
We unpack the research behind the 2016 paper “Distributed Attention and Shared Emotions in the Innovation Process: How Nokia Lost the Smartphone Battle”, and connect it to leadership, psychological safety, and why organizations sometimes lose to themselves.
🎙️ Guests
Prof. Quy Huy — Chaired Professor of Strategy, INSEAD
Prof. Timo Vuori — Professor of Strategic Management, Aalto University
🧠 In this conversation
Why “where you sit” shapes what you notice—and what you don’t say
How fear gets misdirected (fear of competitors vs fear of your boss)
Why “psychological safety” can be necessary…but not sufficient
The hidden cost of “poker-face leadership” and toxic positivity
What leaders can do to build truth-telling systems (not just slogans)
00:00 Sponsor Message
00:23 Nokia Collapse Teaser
01:41 Meet The Researchers
02:48 Why Emotions Shape Strategy
05:22 Information Filters And Fear
14:21 Innovation Emotions And AI
20:35 Power Status And Leadership
24:19 Actions Create Shared Emotions
30:35 Misaligned Fear Inside Nokia
34:31 Psychological Safety Limits
41:38 Poker Face Culture And Burnout
48:56 Other Corporate Disasters
50:39 Teaching Takeaways And Wrap
54:04 Where To Find The Guests
55:06 Sponsor Closing
Find Quy
https://www.insead.edu/faculty-personal-site/quy-huy
https://knowledge.insead.edu/strategy/nokias-reinvention-was-emotionally-driven
Find Timo
research.aalto.fi/en/persons/timo-vuori
adaptivevolcano.com/about
Find Aidan McCullen, Ireland Keynote Speaker:
aidanmccullen.com
