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.
Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the
world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have
come to possess 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.
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Volvo, Escania,
Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned companies. Volvo even supplies
NASA.
The first time I was in
The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the
second or third days. One morning I asked him, "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, don't you think that whoever gets in late will need a place
closer to the door?" Imagine my face.
Nowadays, there's a movement in
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, 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, fuelled
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 driven up by 20%.
This slow attitude has come to the notice of
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 re-establishing 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 work place 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.
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 Pacino responds, "A life is lived in an instant." Then they dance
the 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 to live for 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. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to
you while you're busy making other plans."
Scent of a
Woman—Al’s speech: the ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH4p9BQ3V9o