• Gânduri

    DIY și…Mental Balance

    La primul val, când povestea lacătelor și barierelor era abia la primele ei paragrafe, mă uitam și eu în dreapta-stânga, cu intrigă și curiozitate, încercând să înțeleg ce și cum, să mă prind de legitățile de funcționare a noii lumi. Recunosc că, la acel moment, am fost oarecum mirat de wild-card-ul primit de magazinele tip Do-It-Yourself, ale căror porți au rămas deschise (spre bucuria mea și a multor altora), în condițiile în care numeroși frați sau veri într-ale comerțului s-au văzut siliți să țină lumina închisă. Am bătătorit și eu în perioada aceea poteca spre Hornbach (opțiunea cea mai apropiată de mine), am învățat prețurile la câteva sute de produse,…

  • English,  Sport vs. Business

    Sport vs Business (5) – Winning

    Winning is a core attribute of sports. It is encapsulated in its DNA. It motivates, it creates a purpose, it provides returns. But is winning-centricity the right philosophy in companies or societies? The concept of winning is quite challenged lately, by many theoreticians or specialists in various domains, from business to education. Is winning a chimera? Is it just a habit (eventually, a bad one?), something we might have learnt in childhood and now we realize there are no positive outcomes beyond it? Many people in sports would raise an eyebrow. Or both. However, talking about facts, let’s take a look into neuroscience. As no-one would dare to argue, in…

  • Gânduri

    De ce citesc (eu)?

    Un birou, undeva prin București, secolul XXI: – Eu nu citesc – Cum așa? (confuz) – Nu citesc romane (cu franchețe și seninătate)… Un scurt dialog, real, pe care l-am avut, mai demult, cu o persoană pe care am cunoscut-o în context profesional. Un rol de conducere și, categoric, o persoană foarte smart, un profesionist de top. M-a mirat. Îmi amintesc cum, mai recent, am văzut o postare a unui cunoscut, aș putea să-l numesc un influencer prin ceea ce face, despre cărțile pe care le-a citit. Erau toate de business (sau din zona help-yourself) și a precizat că nu vom găsi la el romane, ficțiune. Și atunci m-am mirat……

  • English,  Sport vs. Business

    Sport vs Business (4) – Lessons learnt from running marathons

    Running a Marathon is often quoted as a major challenge a regular person of our times could face. I have been through inner debates myself, whether to dare it or not. Passed through and felt elated. Like many others before me. Like many more to come, enlarging this wonderful “army” of finishers. Every single person completing those 42.2km takes his/her own take-aways. However, by discussing over and over again about this provocation with lots of people, being involved in organizing sport events myself, I hereby wrap up a few learnings, which I find useful in business and life in general. As completing a Marathon is much more than achieving a…

  • Business,  English,  Gânduri

    Story Telling. Friend or Foe?

    I LOVE Storytelling! Just wanted to make this clear statement from the start, as I guess I will be questioned in a couple of minutes, once you finish reading this small paragraph… Storytelling is great because it wraps data in digestible layers of meaning. It connects the dots, it concentrates our attention from vast arrays of numbers and charts to the take-away, to contexts and conclusions. Stories are memorable, they could be better recalled, they imprint in our memories. They are the music of numbers and facts. Imagine trying to learn by heart hundreds or thousands of musical notes. It would be quite a challenge for our brains. But as…

  • Business,  English,  Gânduri,  Sport vs. Business

    Sport vs Business (3) – 5 Learnings for entrepreneurs

    Are you eager to start your own business? Have you already decided and you’ve taken your first steps towards fulfiling your dream of independence, money and control of your life? I wish you good luck! At the same time, we must both agree that the road ahead is not an easy one. I will try to draft a bit of guidance by replicating experiences sport performers faced in their early stages. It takes time to succeed. It goes without saying that reaching some goals may take time. The higher the goal, the longer the required time to get there (in most instances). I want to play tennis like Federer, dribble…

  • Business,  English,  Gânduri

    Client or Agency?

    I’ll be friendly and give you a small advise: don’t scroll down to check the verdict! The main reason would be… the lack of such a thing. Disappointed? I hope not. I’ll add my perspectives in the end of this text. I realized I have spent about 10-11 years in the client’s shoes and relatively similar in agenies. It seems like a proper time to put this postures in the ring, facing each other for the ultimate match. Which is better? The answer is like trying to vote between rock or classical music. Between Dostoevsky or Kafka, between Forrest Gump or Star Wars. It surely differs from person to person.…

  • Lifestyle

    Ce îmi place să fac…

    Desigur, putem enumera numeroase lucruri care ne plac, activități care ne creează plăcere. Am încercat multe și, la felul meu de a fi, m-am regăsit în tot felul de hobby-uri. Pun în lumină mai jos câteva, care cred că sunt mai reprezentative pentru mine, cel de până acum… Sportul este, fără doar și poate, un leit-motiv al vieții mele. Fără să fac vreodată un anumit sport la nivel înalt (să folosim apelativul uzual, ”de performanță”), m-am tot lovit de sport, încă de mic. Și la ora asta, în ceas de maturitate (o formă semi-mascată de a admite că, poate, chiar în plin avânt pe partea descendentă a evoluției mele, cel…

  • English,  Profession & Job

    Profession & Jobs

    I started as an intern in Citibank Romania, dealing with electronic banking app installations and trainings (in ’97). It was an emerging sector, in a world class organization. However, I felt I was not fit for the specs of that job and decided to step off, after about 1 year. I applied for a marketing research analyst at Connex, a newly launched mobile operator. It was a Canadian company, with Vodafone shares. Connex was an iconic company in Romania around 2000, something like Google, Apple or Tesla today. Or all in one… The company became full Vodafone branch in 2005. I had several positions and responsibilities in Connex/Vodafone, during the…