Hastening to Love: Spotlight on Jan Ryde

The Swedish firm Hästens has an international reputation for creating the finest beds in the world. Purchasing the company’s luxurious, handcrafted Grand Vividus bed requires a six-figure investment. But three decades ago, the 171-year-old, family-owned business was struggling. At the time, Hästens CEO Jan Ryde promised himself that when annual sales reached one billion Swedish kronor (or 100 million U.S. dollars), he would write a book explaining how a business is best served by being run on love. “At the time, I had just joined the family company after completing my doctorate at the Linköping Institute of Technology,” Ryde says. “I made many discoveries working at Hästens that couldn’t be learned in any business school. I remember saying to myself, ‘There is so much to write a book about and to share with the world,’ but I had no proven track record at the time.”

Three decades later, with Hästens flourishing, Ryde was ready to write. His book, When Business Is Love, will be published this fall. While the book falls under the business, leadership, and motivation genre, it’s meant for anyone who wants to realize their true potential by living a life filled with love, joy, peace, and abundance.

Ryde spoke with Publishers Weekly about various topics, including his reasons for writing When Business Is Love and what he hopes will be the book’s biggest takeaway.

What made you want to write When Business Is Love?

My motivation for everything—making the world’s best beds, writing this book—is to serve people and make their lives better. I want to model for people that when business is love, when we work honestly, with integrity, humility, gratitude, forgiveness, and a spirit of encouragement, we all prosper.

What do you hope is the book’s biggest takeaway?

That there are no limits. There is an abundance of happiness, joy, and love for everyone who dares to open up to that possibility and let go of limiting beliefs.

In When Business Is Love, you argue that lives can be transformed through how we conduct ourselves at work. How does our behavior at work affect one’s overall life?

Love is the most powerful energy; it is the essence of our existence and the driving force behind everything we do. When we approach our work with love, we not only have a positive impact on our coworkers, customers, and products, but we also transform our own lives. This is because love is a powerful energy that flows through us, and when we align our actions with this energy, we attract more love and abundance into our lives. How we are at work affects our overall life.

Why did Mad Men star Jon Hamm make sense as the audiobook’s narrator?

Jon Hamm has a wonderful personality, and his voice and magnetism will further inspire listeners to bring compassion, gratitude, humility, and love into their professional and also their personal lives.

What were the most challenging and rewarding parts of writing this book?

The challenge was to summarize everything in one book. The reward has been the positive responses and personal stories I’ve received from people who are reading it.

What is the best career advice you have ever received and why?

The best career advice I have ever received came from my grandfather’s grandfather, Pehr Adolf Janson, who founded Hästens in 1852. On March 22 of that year, he became a certified master saddlemaker, and his primary focus was always to serve others and provide them with something they really needed. His love for handcraft and his pride in the products he created are the same values that go into every Hästens bed today. This is a legacy that has been passed down through generations, and it’s something that we value highly at Hästens. We are here to serve our customers, and we never lose sight of that foundational value.