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An
interesting reflection
: Slow Down
Culture
It's
been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish
company. Working for them has proven to be an
interesting experience. Any project here takes 2
years to be finalized, even if the idea is
simple and brilliant. It's a rule.
Globalize
processes have caused in us (all over the world)
a general sense of searching for immediate
results. Therefore, we have come to posses a
need to see immediate results. This contrasts
greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish.
They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate,
hold x quantity of meetings and work with a
slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields
better results.
Said
in another words:
1.
Sweden is about
the size of San Pablo,
a state in Brazil.
2.
Sweden has 2
million inhabitants.
3.
Stockholm, has
500,000 people.
4. Volvo, Escania,
Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned
companies. Volvo supplies the
NASA.
The first time I
was in Sweden,
one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel
every morning. It was September, bit cold and
snowy. We would arrive early at the company and
he would park far away from the entrance (2000
employees drive their car to work). The first
day, I didn't say anything, either the second or
third. One morning I asked, "Do you have a fixed
parking space? I've noticed we park far from the
entrance even when there are no other cars in
the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here
early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets
in late will be late and need a place closer to
the door. Don't you think? Imagine my face.
Nowadays,
there's a movement in
Europe name Slow Food. This movement
establishes that people should eat and drink
slowly, with enough time to taste their food,
spend time with the family, friends, without
rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart:
the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for
as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a
bigger movement called Slow
Europe,
as mentioned by
Business Week.
Basically,
the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and
"craziness" generated by globalization, fueled
by the desire of "having in quantity" (life
status) versus "having with quality", "life
quality" or the "quality of being". French
people, even though they work 35 hours per week,
are more productive than Americans or British.
Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and
have seen their productivity been driven up by
20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the
US's attention, pupils of the fast and the "do
it now!".
This no-rush
attitude doesn't represent doing less or having
a lower productivity. It means working and doing
things with greater quality, productivity,
perfection, with attention to detail and less
stress. It means reestablishing family values,
friends, free and leisure time. Taking the
"now", present and concrete, versus the
"global", undefined and anonymous. It means
taking humans' essential values, the simplicity
of living.
It stands for a
less coercive work environment, more happy,
lighter and more productive where humans enjoy
doing what they know best how to do. It's time
to stop and think on how companies need to
develop serious quality with no-rush that will
increase productivity and the quality of
products and services, without losing the
essence of spirit.
In
the movie,
Scent of a Woman,
there's a scene where
Al Pacino
asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't,
my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To
which Al responds, "A life is lived in an
instant". Then they dance to a tango.
Many
of us live our lives running behind time, but we
only reach it when we die of a heart attack or
in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others
are so anxious of living the future that they
forget to live the present, which is the only
time that truly exists. We all have equal time
throughout the world. No one has more or less.
The difference lies in how each one of us does
with our time.
We need to live each moment.
More
Thoughts......
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