Working as a high-profile CEO in an industry as competitive as investing can be a difficult task. For Ragnar Horn, staying ahead of the competition has always been about embracing his competitive spirit while focusing on developing real, actionable plans for his company. Today, we want to take a moment to highlight a few of the strong practices that have led Ragnar Horn to experience such a high level of success while leading the Norwegian investing firm, Taconic AS.
Ragnar Horn currently operates as the Chairman at Taconic, AS. Taconic AS is a family-owned company that focuses on investing in several key sectors throughout Norway. Horn and his team at Taconic AS have focused on investing in such sectors as hedge funds, media, telecoms, shipping, real estate, and even offshore projects. With such a large portfolio of expansive projects, Horn’s work is spread far and wide for his company’s assurance and promise of benefits in the future.
While Ragnar Horn has been operating as a high-level professional with his work at Taconic AS, his ascent to this position was not one granted to him easily. Horn had to work his way through several top-flight educational programs in order to land the information and extensive knowledge required to work within the investing sector. Ragnor Horn would attend Williams College in Massachusetts where he would earn his B.A. of Economics. Upon graduation, Horn would go on to land his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the unrivaled Harvard Business School. Armed with a top-tier education, Horn would go on to ingratiate himself into the market almost immediately.
As a premier investor at a burgeoning new firm, Horn’s work is gaining notoriety and attention from peers and rivals around the country. As a result, Horn has decided to open up about some of the techniques, skills, and thought-patterns that have proven so effective for his life and his work as an investor. Looking back to his time at college, Horn highlights his competitive nature and his efforts as a collegiate athlete as a prime motivator for his success. Horn succeeded as a DIV 1 skier before moving on to perform as a cross-country skier for a number of events throughout Norway. Horn points to his work as a leader in order to highlight the fact that “nobody really understands” what it “takes” to become a true leader. Horn believes that competition can breed a healthy work environment that causes all boats to rise with the tide of competition. Horn believes that this mindset is not only healthy but natural as well.
Aside from his efforts in collegiate sports, Ragnar Horn has understood for a long time that success requires a willingness to be flexible with the way that you think and feel in the workplace. Horn highlights his work as a listener and underscores that skill with his open-minded approach to business. Horn likes to interact with anyone who wants to sit down and discuss a project, focusing on their words and ideas rather than his own personal limitations or opinions. Horn believes that when you open yourself up to new ideas and concepts, you end up growing not only as a person but as a professional, too.
While Horn is quick to talk about what works, he is equally alert when it comes time to discuss what does not work. One situation that Horn sees constantly repeated in the business world is an unwillingness to avoid cognitive bias. The chairman at Taconic AS believes that it is more important to be prepared and humble than it is to be over-confident while simply throwing caution to the wind.
