Unexpected business trip to Europe #8

Day two in Prague! I suppose I’m finally getting into the swing of this overseas business trip.

We started with a tour of the client’s vast factory, where we were shown the production line. Following to that, we finalized the positioning for installing Sonora’s semi-anechoic chamber.

Then, lunch was kindly arranged for us in the staff canteen. Visiting a local staff canteen while on an overseas business trip is a valuable experience. For an external visitor, it is the only opportunity to see where the company’s employees gather and to observe them in their natural environment.

I have visited staff canteens in many different countries, the one that stands out most vividly in my memory is the one I visited while supporting a start-up in Sweden.

It was the day that I visited the canteen for the first time on a business trip to the company’s headquarters in the suburbs of Stockholm. Located within an industrial park zone, it was a place where employees from all kinds of companies in that zone — ranging from cutting-edge technology start-ups to large warehousing logistics firms — gathered for lunch.

It was a buffet-style arrangement set-up that allowed us to select our preferred dishes. Unlikely though, the chef came out of the kitchen, smiling from ear to ear, and proudly explain the menu he had prepared. I had never seen anything like this in a Japanese company cafeteria before.

Both AI-driven intellectual workers and transport industry manual laborers were eating the food with genuine relish, chatting and laughing. That company lunch, enjoyed during the brief mid-day break between morning and afternoon work, bathed in Sweden’s soft sunlight during its short daylight hours, remains unforgettable and one of the most impressive company lunch in my past experience.

Whether or not everyone in that position takes pride in their work. Whether that pride is evident to external parties. I realized that one’s mindset is entirely up to oneself.

You can either function like a gear in the machine, accepting that you are ultimately just one part of the organization, or you can polish yourself and shine as brightly as possible, even as just one gear.

The staff canteen in Prague was orderly, giving the strong impression of an efficient organization that was well organized, with an atmosphere similar to that in Japan.

After lunch, following the morning’s tour of the vast factory, a tough negotiation meeting took place in the afternoon. A variety of issues were discussed, including design, pricing, delivery date, construction and customization of installation location and more.

Mr. K, the senior sales manager of Sonora Technology, tackled each one meticulously. He explained everything clearly and fluently, using language that everyone could understand and providing relevant examples from his extensive past experience. He possesses a strong spirit and mindset that could not be fully captured by the mere phrase “highly experienced”.

Moreover, he takes pride in his work and genuinely “enjoys” it. He is just like the chef I met in the staff canteen in Sweden. It’s quite rare to encounter such people who truly embody that way of working.

Do you drift along with inertia, thinking “it won’t work out anyway”, or do you approach what lies before you with sincerity and diligence, believing “there’s no reason it shouldn’t work”?

You can change the status quo in any way you choose.

This idea resonated deeply with me on my second day in Prague, making me realize that this shared strength lies at the heart of a start-up’s power — and is precisely why Sonora Technology is capable of taking on a gigantic global corporation.

< to be continued…>