Press release

MORTEN MORTENSEN, the man who created Jack & Jones and was instrumental in gearing it to become one of the biggest menswear brands in the world, has  written a book about leadership and creative renewal, as well as about himself. The son of a West Jutland housepainter and told by one of his teachers that he  could ‘never amount to anything’, he became the driving force in the Bestseller Company, one of Denmark’s biggest commercial successes.

The book ‘Wholehearted Leadership’ introduces the leadership philosophy Straction, a revolutionary approach running counter to many of the ways companies are managed and led today. Mortensen reasons that the creativity and bubbling innovation that most people possess are too often stifled by middle managers, HR departments and inside-the-box thinking, which ultimately can threaten the very existence of companies. His book is a rallying cry and challenge to release the passive energy hidden in the nooks and crannies of corporate hierarchies. Indeed, we should put greater trust in each other’s intuition, natural enthusiasm and curiosity than in strategic plans, which in the modern world are outdated the moment they are printed.

‘Wholehearted Leadership’ is written for everyone who wants to lead others or become their own leader. The book contains guidelines, recommendations, claims, topics for discussion, provocations. Perhaps most importantly, it builds its theories on pioneering, practical experience harvested by the author himself over a long career that started in the stock room. As Morten Mortensen says: ‘It’s time to get into Straction.’

Morten Mortensen is 51 years old, married to Tina and the father of three children.
He lives in Ringkøbing, Denmark.