Client Case
A Socratic response: Rethinking strategy in a world that refuses to stand still
In 2025, Aarhus Vand faced a fundamental question: How do we create a strategy that sets a clear long-term direction while remaining flexible enough to adapt in an ever-changing economic, social, and political landscape.
Together with Voluntās, the company set out to move beyond traditional approaches to strategy, rooted less in control and more in adaptability, participation, and purpose.
Kristin Kveller Winberg
Victor Borberg
Anders Tinggaard
From fixed plans to living systems
Since 2019, Voluntās has supported Aarhus Vand as a strategic advisor, where the initial engagement was advising the company on the development of the 2025-strategy – running from 2020 to 2025. This strategy marked a turning point. It helped position Aarhus Vand among the most innovative utility companies globally and establishing its purpose as a guiding north star: To create health through clean water – for the people and the planet. It strengthened Aarhus Vand’s local impact for the citizens of Aarhus, while also expanding its national and global engagement through partnerships, knowledge sharing, and technological collaboration.
As the strategy period approached its conclusion, a new question emerged: What could be the next step for a purpose-driven organization in a world that refuses to stand still?
At the same time, Aarhus Vand had in 2024 begun transforming internally.
The company had moved towards an organizational structure defined by non-hierarchical distributed decision making, collaboration, and a view of the organization as a living organism – evolving through purpose rather than rigid planning.
This shift became foundational for rethinking strategy itself. Socrates, the foundational Greek philosopher, built his philosophy on a core premise: progress begins by questioning what we think we know. Traditional strategy, by contrast, has often been built on the opposite assumption – that the future can be (somewhat) predicted and controlled. Socrates never claimed to have the answers. Instead, he asked questions that exposed assumptions and invited others into the process of thinking. Strategy, in a world that refuses to stand still, demands much the same discipline. For Aarhus Vand, the challenge was not simply to define a direction – but to create a strategy that could continuously be questioned, tested, and renewed.
Aarhus Vand is one of Denmark’s largest water utility companies, was founded in 1872 to secure public health following a cholera outbreak. More than 150 years later, this founding ambition still defines the purpose of the organization: To create health through clean water, for the people and the planet.
Choosing nature as a strategic language
As Aarhus Vand started to see itself as a living organism rather than a fixed organization, the company was looking for a strategic approach that was an extension of that. Traditionally, corporate strategies have utilized either militaristic language (using words such as battlefield, must win battle, frontline), competitive sports language (game plan, team spirit, playing field) or architectural language (foundation, silos, blueprint). For Aarhus Vand, none of those seemed to be fitting.
Instead, nature became the guiding inspiration. Concepts such as seeds, roots, ecosystems, growth, and regeneration were not only used as metaphors, but as a logic for both the development and structure of the strategy itself. Strategy was no longer something static. It became something that grows, adapts, and responds to its environment.
This perspective also shaped the process. Throughout the organization, all employees – from student workers to executives and board members – were invited to share their perspectives, ideas, and ambitions. From this rather Socratic method, key themes emerged – referred to as “seeds.” Each seed represented a potential strategic direction. Selected groups of employees, known as “spire groups,” were then tasked with exploring the future potential of these seeds: What could they grow into, if nurtured?
The insights formed the foundation for leadership decisions, ensuring that the strategy was not imposed from the top, but grown from within.
“For us, this was never just about defining a new strategy. It was about changing how we think about our direction. In a world that constantly shifts, we needed an approach that allows us to adapt without losing sight of who we are and why we exist: To create health through clean water. By understanding ourselves as a living organization, strategy becomes something we grow together, rather than something we simply execute.”
CEO, Karina Topp
Strategy as an infinite rhythm, not a finite roadmap
By taking inspiration from nature, the strategy moved beyond static planning and embraced a more dynamic logic. Nature offers a way to think about strategy as something that evolves over time, shaped by changing conditions while remaining anchored in a clear purpose.
Inspired by natural cycles, Aarhus Vand thought in rhythms rather than linear timelines – periods of exploration, growth, harvesting of results, and regeneration. This created a rhythm where initiatives are continuously assessed, matured, or replaced, ensuring that the strategy remains relevant in a changing environment.
At the same time, the use of nature as a conceptual framework introduced a shared and intuitive language across the organization. Rather than being perceived as an abstract top-down exercise based on meaningless lingo, strategy became something that employees could actively relate to and contribute to, reinforcing the understanding of Aarhus Vand as a living organism.
At the core of this approach is a clear long-term vision towards 2030, combined with a fundamentally new way of defining strategic priorities. Instead of static focus areas, Aarhus Vand works with dynamic development areas – temporary priorities that guide attention and resources for a limited period, typically six to twelve months. These exist both within individual departments and across the organization.
Each development area represents a focused exploration of a strategic opportunity or challenge. Over time, they are tested, developed, and evaluated. Based on the insights generated, they may be integrated into operations, extended for further exploration, or discontinued. This creates a continuous feedback loop, where each cycle of learning informs the next. Strategy becomes an ongoing process – shaped by both internal insights and what’s happening in the world around it. Loyal to the philosophy of Socrates, true wisdom lies in knowing one’s own ignorance and continuously re-examining it to make better decisions and execute meaningfully.
For Aarhus Vand, strategy is no longer a fixed plan for the future. It is a living practice – one that helps Aarhus Vand to navigate change, adapt with intention, and remain anchored in what matters most: creating health through clean water – for the people and the planet.
Collectively, more than 500 individual pieces of input were given throughout the development of the strategy. This included:
- +200 hopes and concerns for the future from the entire organization
- +100 concrete ideas from all employees towards the strategy
- 10 completed “spire cards” – explorations of a specific topic’s future potential
- 21 news articles written from the future about the changes made in Aarhus Vand in 2025
- 39 concrete ideas and pieces of input given by the board
“From a board perspective, this approach strengthens both clarity and adaptability. It ensures that we set a clear direction, while creating the space to learn and adjust along the way. That balance is essential in a world defined by uncertainty. I’ve truly enjoyed collaborating with Voluntās again during this strategy process.”
Chairman, Flemming Besenbacher