3 ms·

Interesting. This "almost total lack of rank" is also present in Finland (mandatory conscription could be the reason why). In Finnish the personal pronouns sec

by Ras_ 17y ago

Interesting. This "almost total lack of rank" is also present in Finland (mandatory conscription could be the reason why). In Finnish the personal pronouns second-person singular (you) and plural (you) are not the same. Second-person singular is "sinä" and plural is "te". Latter can be used as a singular when talking with an older person, but most don't like to be addressed with it (equality - people don't want to stand out). For example if I were to meet the CEO of Nokia, I probably would use the singular "sinä". Even more so it is appropriate to address cabinet ministers with their first name. Finnish women always use their first names when addressing each other, but men might not. We quite often use surnames (that practice certainly comes from the military) - could this be because we might have more unique surnames than first names? We don't have that many start-ups. Instead we have 5th most patents per capita (Israel #16). http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_pat_gra_percap-economy-patents-granted-per-capita http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_pat_gra_percap-economy... Our "Chutzpah" would be "Sisu". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu Does communication in Israel often include small talk? In Finland it certainly does not.

nir 17y ago
Funny you mention Finland, it is often brought up as a model of success in Israel. Many say that startups should aim to imitate Nokia's success instead of preferring short term gains by selling out to major US companies. I think one reason for the difference may be that in Europe (though I haven't been to Finland yet) there's a very strong sense of continuity/stability - companies and indeed nations have been around for centuries - while in Israel everything feels fluid and uncertain, so people rarely do long term plans. As for small talk, it exists but isn't required. It's not nearly as refined & important an art as it is in the US. People are comfortable with or without it. BTW, I just realized that many of the small talk among Israelis that just met is finding mutual acquaintances - with the country so small, you almost always find some. Is that so in Finland?
- Ras_ 17y ago
  It is so. About emulating Nokia (est. 1865)... it "never" was a tech start-up so it shouldn't be compared to new companies in terms of continuity/selling out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia#History I think it has more to do with its old industry - forestry and wood products. Some of the oldest companies in Scandinavia come from that industry. Swedish Stora Kopparberg (est. 1347) current Swedish/Finnish StoraEnso, which is the oldest LLC in the world was a mining company. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stora_Enso#History%20of%20Stora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stora_Enso#History%20of%20Stora Strong tradition of continuity can also lead to risk aversion. That's a bad trait for entrepreneurs & VCs. We should take more risks, because our worst case scenario does not include losing health coverage etc.

by Ras_ 17y ago

nir 17y ago

Funny you mention Finland, it is often brought up as a model of success in Israel. Many say that startups should aim to imitate Nokia's success instead of preferring short term gains by selling out to major US companies. I think one reason for the difference may be that in Europe (though I haven't been to Finland yet) there's a very strong sense of continuity/stability - companies and indeed nations have been around for centuries - while in Israel everything feels fluid and uncertain, so people rarely do long term plans. As for small talk, it exists but isn't required. It's not nearly as refined & important an art as it is in the US. People are comfortable with or without it. BTW, I just realized that many of the small talk among Israelis that just met is finding mutual acquaintances - with the country so small, you almost always find some. Is that so in Finland?

Ras_ 17y ago
It is so. About emulating Nokia (est. 1865)... it "never" was a tech start-up so it shouldn't be compared to new companies in terms of continuity/selling out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia#History I think it has more to do with its old industry - forestry and wood products. Some of the oldest companies in Scandinavia come from that industry. Swedish Stora Kopparberg (est. 1347) current Swedish/Finnish StoraEnso, which is the oldest LLC in the world was a mining company. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stora_Enso#History%20of%20Stora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stora_Enso#History%20of%20Stora Strong tradition of continuity can also lead to risk aversion. That's a bad trait for entrepreneurs & VCs. We should take more risks, because our worst case scenario does not include losing health coverage etc.