Closed minded - Romania through international eyes

Closed minded versus open-minded



A fost publicata de curand de catre un roman crescut si educat in USA, o evaluare devastatoare a unor stari de fapt din societatea romaneasca . Nu veti gasi in nici un discurs oficial aceste lucruri pentru ca dintr-un instinct de conservare foarte sanatos nimeni nu-si poate da tot oficial cu un ciocan in cap. Pe de alta parte, citind aceste randuri scrise de un practician "neprofesionist" , realizam cam la ce distanta cosmica se afla fata de realitate discursul psihologiei si sociologiei oficiale de la noi. Prietenii stiu de ce...

Textul original :



Closed minded

By Vivid writer: Matei Paun

As long as they live in fear, Romanians will never succeed. Romania's most powerful people are distrustful, pompous and won't admit to what they don't know
"I was recently asked why there were no Romanian private or publicly owned companies in a top 300 ranking of CEE companies. Initially I offered the usual explanations: underdeveloped capital markets, lack of political vision, and lack of willpower.

But the question remained with me. I knew I was missing something. That something became crystallised recently after a presentation to one of Romania's most powerful individuals. I drove home the psychological barriers we Romanians are facing in fully realising our potential. In the soon to be twelve years since my return to Romania, I have met and discussed with just about every local "oligarch."
They live in a world of pride and paranoia - an often fatal combination. They instinctively distrust most people, but Romanians in particular (yours truly being no exception!) From the start, they adopt a defensive, sometimes even hostile position. They relish showing you that you are wrong and that they, in fact, know better. Regardless of the topic at hand. When they don't understand something, they will never let you know it, for fear of losing face.
There may be some rational explanations for these types of behaviour. Many of these people come from shady backgrounds, linked to the former communist regime or to the intelligence services. Inevitably, they grew accustomed to a certain set of values which were required for success in those circles. The skills required to build their empires often relied only marginally on good business sense. It was far more about whom you knew and how you played those relationships. It was about carrots and sticks - manipulation by any means. Ultimately it turned into an obsession with keeping what they got, afraid that any meeting, any proposal is somehow designed to steal from them.
We do not have world class companies because we do not promote the values required for such companies to exist. We do not have the backbone to resist a twist of the arm or a sweet "inducement." We lack the strength to fight for a vision. We do not believe in ourselves. We have a massive inferiority complex. We live in fear.
You cannot live in fear and succeed. Not in the long run and certainly not as a nation. You cannot continue to treat your citizens as stupid cattle. Expect the best, and they will give their best. Expect the worse, and they will never disappoint you. In my travels I often come across Romanians who have emigrated - they are some of the best behaved, hardest working and most diligent people I have ever encountered. They are so because the societies in which they live value such characteristics.
I have met, as well, my fair share of foreign billionaires and top executives. Why do we so lack their intellectual openness? Their vision? Their civility?
Of course, I have also met Romanians who are open-minded, have good business sense and most importantly, have the modesty to know what they do not know. Those individuals are a rare breed; they will surely outlast the others. The values they instil in their businesses and in their families will live on and form their legacy. The others will be quickly forgotten, as they should be.

http://www.vivid.ro/index.php/issue/97/page/Economics%20and%20Business/tstamp/1231418794


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