"SLOW DOWN" - A MUST READ - An excellent piece to read and enjoy. 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. Globalized 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. 1. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants. . 2. Stockholm has 500,000 people. 3. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned companies.  Volvo even supplies 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 arrive  in their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the second  or third days. One morning I asked him, "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,  don't you think that whoever gets in late will need a place closer to the door?"  Imagine my face. Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named 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, 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, fuelled 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 driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA, the pupils of the fast and "do  it now" brigade. 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  re-establishing 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 work  place 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. 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 Pacino responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance the  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 to live for 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 this email 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.. Life Is, yes, Short, Break The Rules, Forgive Quickly, Kiss Slowly, Love Truly, Laugh Uncontrollably, And Never Regret Anything That Made You Smile. Life May Not Be The Party We Hoped For, But While We're Here, We Should Dance... This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have received it by mistake, please delete it from your system and do not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone. 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