Slow Down 13

Thought I must share the following with you (received via email):
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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, Nokia 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. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this globalized world.

I read to the end and thoroughly agree. In fact I walked to work this morning (pushed my bike) because I was enjoying the music I was listening to and didn't want to miss the end.

Very interesting.....

I read to the end (it made me think the whole way thru).

There has come a time (and I will admit that I do rush thru my life) in my life where I am looking at the past and wondering where it has gone to and looking at the future and wondering where it will be.....Funny that the present is the bit I am failing at miserably.

Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

I love the quote about parking further away. It just goes to show that there are people out there who think of others instead of themselves.

I would love to slow down what I do, but often feel I am caught up in everyone elses rushing around. Kinda like a log in a fast flowing stream. Im also sure I would be able to do a better job, with less mistakes. I should maybe move to Sweden, the women are quite attractive as well, or so I believe.

And if I have to nitpick, Nokia are Finnish as opposed to Swedish

Ussuri, I also found the parking lot story fascinating..., and agree that me too find it extremely difficult to slow down even after taking a deliberate decision to do just that. Many times one has about no choice as to simply fall in with the planning as passed on, or with what was scheduled for a diverse crowd of people with vastly different routines/obligations.

Yes, one should be able to do a proper job more consistently whilst also enjoying it! (must be a good cycle; you are likely to stay healthier too – available to perform your task).

As they say; there’s never time to do a proper job first time, but always time to do it over! Everything needs to be cheap, but then, how long does it last? Of course there is a balance, but I think we lost it. And, how much money do you really need to make?

I think Nokia would nitpick that point, Ussuri.

Journalists writing at an eighth grade level still have no excuse for third grade geography knowledge.

Al Pacino and John Lennon philosophy.

Although I'm a European and obviously do buy into the quality of life, slow down, enjoy your food etc idea, I do have some difficulty to see this whole story as a back-up for the first point you made:
"Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule."

I guess this philosophy fits in the spirit of Volvo cars, which are (pardon my french!) somehow the dinosaurs of cars, like the 240 which is an early 70s or maybe even late 60s design but was still sold new I believe until into the 21st century. Sure before you introduce any change to such a concept you will want to wait 2 years and think about it (also Volvo being a small cars producers does not have the means to change and reinvent their models too often).

However if, I'm using your own example, Nokia had the same philosophy, I think it would have never grown as big as it is today.

I liked the parking lot story, an excellent excuse to stay in bed a little longer!

On the ubiquity and longevity of Volvos...

Back in 1999 we needed a replacement car. Two guys at work were selling: a Fiat Tipo and a Volvo 740 - similar ages (c. 10-12 years old). My wife didn't know what a Tipo was so I set out to show her some (didn't fancy driving a tank). But I could not find one surviving Tipo anywhere amongst a sea of 100k+ Volvos. It's still going strong. I guess someone somewhere got something right.

PS re "slow Europe", low working hours, etc: I think it is a bit of a luxury to adapt this philosophy. I have nothing against it, but it is a philosophy of workers in a big company that will make plenty of money anyway whatever they do.
Be assured that the bakers here in the area, who bake those delicious baguettes, the winemakers who make excellent Hermitages and other jewels of this area since I don't know how many centuries, and all the other self made people, work their @$$€$ off day in day out! (although I do believe they take appropriate time for a good lunch)

yeah a Tipo... that's quite the opposite :-D

The Tick


Note the Line "from a riverside papermill in southwestern Finland to a global telecommunications leader"

I often wondered about the "slow down" life style in Europe. I have read about it and seen reports on it on tv, however, do you guys (in Europe) really do practice it?

Do you reaaly work 20 to 30 hrs a week? I have also read somewhere that if the a couple has a baby, both parents can take a year off to spend with the child, now that's cool.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

I guess high speed trains are out of the question in Sweden?
Isn't marijuana legal there too?
If you eat slower, how long are your lunches and breaks?
IMO, I don't care if everyone decides to work slower or faster, as long as the job quality is there, they are consistant, and communicate well.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-08-07)

NOT AT ALL at least engineers.
The 35 hours working week in France means a 40 hours working week + a lot of days off. Depending on the company these are more or less fixed, e.g. mine are one day (Monday when most shops are closed :-( ) every 3 weeks. They're a blessing when you want to paint the house and things like that, actually the things you would otherwise have someone else do if you worked that day and had the extra money.
Actually the system has been introduced to lower the soaring unemployment rate (not really succesfully though), not at all because of some "slow down" philosophy. There is more and more discussion, president candidate Sarkozy stated that in order to get going (cf China and other emerging countries) France should rather consider getting rid of the 35 hrs week or at least give people a choice.

Anyway 40 hours on paper still means more in practice for people with some responsibility.

Re the baby, the mum gets I believe 16 weeks off in total, the dad can take time off too but you do pay for that. No way can mum and dad take a year off in any country in Europe (I put my head in the guillotine for that) while being paid. That would be a pretty senseless way to spend taxpayers money...

And note also that this whole slow down thing is something Mediterranean, in places like Holland people have 30 minutes lunches just like in the US.

Epoisses, just to clarify – I did not write the story (neither do I live in Europe), but posted it because I belief there is some merit in!

The statement about 2 years for any project, in my opinion, is not to be taken very seriously (e.g. was the Saab Grippen fighter developed in 2 years only?). Also did not particularly like the Al Pacino line, but found all the rest useful to be reminded about.

As I said: it is meant to be a balance. If you use the philosophy simply as an excuse (not to work), you are loosing out big time. Something else: to be on site or in office is one thing, but to be busy in a productive way another…

Somebody mentioned another benefit of shorter hours per week is likely to be that more people at least have a job. Not sure what to think about this.

The yin of "slow europe" is the yang to "hot, heavy, and sweaty asia".

Nice story, but...

We'll see in the end that there is no answer for a determined, aggresive, and vigorous competitor.

gfbotha
about 2 mins after reading your post I took a call from an old colleague I used to work with who is based in Switzerland. I hadn't heard from him in a few months despite sending a few emails. He hasn't been to work since Feb, he had literally burnt out (he's about 34) otherwise termed as a breakdown due to work pressures and simply driving himself too hard.
This is Switzerland for goodness sake... a very similar work ethic to the Scandanavian countries!
I sent him the story. Thanks for the post.

I worked briefly with some Dutchmen. Okay, I watched. They showed up on time, took their breaks on time, and went home on time. I went to lunch with them, and they talked about everything, except work. While they were at work, they worked like dogs. It seemed a reasonable balance, and the day was productive.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA