She makes the Nordic countries work together

Her job is to coordinate work between the Nordic countries to develop new offerings for consumers. Simplicity is the keyword, both for customers and TeliaSonera. "Together with the other countries, I identify what we can do together so that it will be better and less expensive," says Mica.

Mica describes herself as Champaign: cheerful and bubbly - a description we can only agree with. During our talk, she spoke quickly and with an obvious accent, punctuating her words with laughter. She had been in meetings most of the day and reviewed what offerings were on the table for Sweden and Finland. These might be pan-Nordic offerings or offerings that have been developed together and then marketed under different brand names in each country. She began working at Marketing, Products, and Services (MPS) in late Summer 2004 with offerings for the Nordic market. Previously, she worked with the same type of things, but only in Sweden. One of her favourite jobs was working for the Telia Go package, the mobile internet portal, in Sweden (equivalent to Sonera Plaza Goes Mobile in Finland and Mother in Norway).

"It's great fun. I already know my colleagues in Finland since I had contact with them from my old job. I've even worked with contacts in Denmark and Norway through previous Telia jobs. It's exciting to change jobs since I see the organisation from another perspective," says Mica.

"This taught me that the Swedish way of seeing things wasn't the only way or the best way. Understanding cultures and backgrounds explains many reactions and behaviour," she says.

Before Mica started at Telia, she had not lived north of Lund in southern Swedish province of Skåne, and she stills feels like a Skåning in exile. She claims her Skåne gene causes her to love cooking and eating food. Since her job is so theoretical, she enjoys doing practical things when away from work. She cooks everything from simple meals to large meals. She also paints, reupholsters furniture, and sews her own clothes.

"I began sewing dolls' clothes when I was seven, and now I sew my own clothes. If you are as short as I am, you almost have to in order to have something to wear."

Mica is a social person and thinks that being social on the job is just as important as the work itself. She is temperamental, and, even if she laughs at most things, she can get really mad, too. "But it passes quickly. It is important to be honest and care about others, whether it is about small things or large. Sometimes, you can show you care by giving someone something as simple as a bowl of popcorn on a Friday," says Mica.