"a highly centralized country will not create a Mittelstand"

Em Maio de 2008, pela primeira vez, escrevi aqui no blogue sobre os Hidden Champions:

"Estes campeões esquecidos e muitas vezes mal vistos:

"Unfortunately, across Europe there remains a post-Socialist reflex to quash entrepreneurial spirit rather than to praise the contribution that energetic businesspeople make to a nation's growth and employment. This attitude is changing, but slowly. Hidden champions show how important it is for Europe, which too often perpetuates mediocrity, to instead celebrate and support excellence."
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Isto é o que precisamos "Hidden Champions The little-known European companies that are conquering the world " mais do que gigantes sanguessugas, nacionais ou multinacionais, que à custa do negócio do preço e das relações privilegiadas com o poder vão perpetuando um modelo de desenvolvimento que vai fazendo o país definhar."

Ontem ao ler “A Remarkable Journey from Farmhouse to the Global Stage” de Hermann Simon encontrei esta passagem sobre os Hidden Champions:

"France is a special case with respect to Hidden Champions. The French took a very close look at the German model in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008–2009. Wanting to understand the reasons behind Germany’s success and learn from them, they homed in on the Mittelstand. That led to my being invited to give numerous talks on Hidden Champions, including one to the French Senate. I introduced the Hidden Champions concept and posited two provocative theses. First, a highly centralized country will not create a Mittelstand. Second, if a country places extremely high value on elite education, it can hinder the development of a Mittelstand.

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In my opinion, both of these hypotheses apply to France. The country’s high level of centralization means that Paris attracts all the talent. The recipe for the dream career in France is a degree from an elite school, followed by a job in a large company or a ministry. Hardly anyone is interested in working in a rural area or for a small- or medium-sized business, which by definition has little name recognition and status in a centralized society."

A propósito de Paris ... e que tal Lesboa?

Medo: this isn’t the end of the “too big to fail” era. It’s the beginning.

"Once a system grows sufficiently complex, it doesn’t matter how badly our best and brightest foul things up. Every crisis increases their authority, because they seem to be the only ones who understand the system well enough to fix it.

But their fixes tend to make the system even more complex and centralized, and more vulnerable to the next national-security surprise, the next natural disaster, the next economic crisis. Which is why, despite all the populist backlash and all the promises from Washington, this isn’t the end of the “too big to fail” era. It’s the beginning."

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Trecho retirado de "The Great Consolidation"

Os efeitos da liberdade e do empowerment

"In most organizations, the decision-making freedoms of frontline employees are highly circumscribed. Sales reps, call center staff, office managers, and assembly line workers are usually trussed up in tangle of top-down policies, “best practices,” and standard operating procedures. Yet it’s impossible to build a highly adaptable organization without first expanding the scope of employee freedom. To create an organization that’s adaptable and innovative, people need the freedom to challenge precedent, to “waste” time, to go outside of channels, to experiment, to take risks and to follow their passions."
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Aconselho a leitura deste artigo sobre a experiência realizada pelo Bank of New Zealand.
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Por exemplo, como é que o controlo central poderia gerar esta acomodação às necessidades dos clientes?
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"In Takapuna, a tiny Auckland suburb, BNZ became the first bank to open on Sunday mornings. This allowed the store to serve the thousands of customers who flocked in to the local farmers’ market. In South Island ski towns, store managers opted to stay open until late in the evening, so skiers could attend to their banking needs after a full day on the slopes. Within city centers, many store managers chose to synchronize their schedules with nearby retailers, rather than to keep bankers’ hours. Within 6 months, nearly 95% of BNZ’s 180 stores had altered their opening hours in some way"
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"“It’s amazing,” says Blair. “If you get head office out of the way and give people accurate data about their performance, they quickly figure out that its good to be open when there’s money to be made!”
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Reparem na conjugação dos três parâmetros: incentivos, liberdade/autonomia e dados!!!
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"At BNZ, store employees have the incentives, the data, and the freedom that are typical of a small business owner. As a result, most regard themselves as more than mere clock-punchers; they’re folks who have a real stake in a real business—and they run it as if it was their own."
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Cuidado com os bem intencionados crentes no Grande Geometra

Á atenção dos crentes no Grande Geometra, no Grande Planeador que tudo sabe e que vela por nós melhor do que nós próprios.
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"Managers doomed to repeat the mistakes of history"

Aqui parte-se do princípio de que quando há um problema é para resolver

Duas mentalidades diferentes:

"Numa das últimas edições do matutino Hoy, o mais influente jornal da Extremadura espanhola, Carlos Gómez, responsável máximo da Autoridade de Saúde de Badajoz (ASB), questiona o Ministério da Saúde português por retardar a aprovação de vários protocolos para a prestação de vários serviços às crianças alentejanas, no Centro Materno-Infantil de Badajoz."

"O atraso na assinatura dos acordos dever-se-à "a problemas de ordem administrativa" resultantes da dependência dos serviços de saúde do Alentejo em relação a Lisboa. "Aqui parte-se do princípio de que quando há um problema é para resolver", argumenta Carlos Gómez. "

Qunado era miúdo, muito miúdo, havia um jogo qualquer em que para dar um passo tínhamos de perguntar "Minha mãe dá licença?", parece que por cá os adultos, ou gostam, ou têm de continuar a jogar esse jogo.

Será que a actuação da ETA influenciou esta diferença de mentalidades?
Basta comparar os tabefes da Guardia Civil espanhola ao deputado Louçã, com a actuação da GNR na cena do milho trangénico.

Trechos retirados do Público de hoje, do artigo "Autoridade de saúde de Badajoz critica Governo português" assinado por Carlos Dias.