“Economy in focus – Small giants on the rise” October 6th 2015

“Economy in focus – Small giants on the rise” is the topic of the Small & Medium Business Forum Conference organized by the Croatian business organization Poslovni dnevnik, which was held on October 6th 2015 in Zagreb. The conference was aimed at encouraging and promoting the business of small and medium-sized companies in the Republic of Croatia.

This interesting day-long conference, comprised of lectures, panel discussions among acclaimed business advisors, successful entrepreneurs and local start-up companies, was attended by members of our team.

The panel discussion “Synergy of success – how the big depend on the small and vice-versa” included the discussion about conditions required for sustainable growth of small businesses, the sectors that will have the greatest potential in upcoming decades, the examples of successful cooperation between large and small businesses and the comparative advantages of small and medium-sized companies in local markets.

The panel discussion “Challenge of the generation – small business, the world of great opportunities” focused on the issues of encouraging the development of innovative business ideas and concepts, how to facilitate the management of a company in its initial phases, whether Croatia is an overly bureaucratized state and whether Croatia could become recognizable for the development of its start-up sector.

The most impressive part of the conference by far was the lecture of Pierluigi Collina, one of the best and most recognizable football referees of all time, who, after the end of his successful career, became a business consultant and a motivational speaker. His lecture was called “The art of making decisions”. It is no wonder that he chose this as a theme for his lecture, for the essential quality of a good football referee is making the right decision in front of some ninety thousand people in the stands and millions watching from home. He compared making decisions as a referee on the football pitch to decisions that are being made by managers and entrepreneurs while running their business. In both instances the decisions that are made are based upon courage, with the focus on results and responsibility.

Collina also emphasized the importance and the necessity of changes, and within that context he sent a powerful message to managers and entrepreneurs – it is not the strongest that win, but those who best adapt to changes.