Mellowness

Back in 2010 a friend and I visited Portugal for a few days. One of the things he pointed out during our time in Lisbon was how laid back the Portuguese are. “Mellow” was the word he used, a word I have not heard often since, oh, 1979. But it was a fair description of a pretty relaxed population that did not seem to take themselves too seriously. They had a nice style about them, they seemed pretty chill (though you do not want to get between the older ladies and their afternoon pastries and espresso!), and you do not see the running around and craziness of a Washington DC or London or many other capital cities. The locals just seem to enjoy life, and yay for them…more people should.

That mellowness comes with a price tag, of course. Though in the past Portugal was the home of many important explorers, the Portugal of today seems more content to let the rest of the world do the discovering and exploring. Google “Portugal” and “Nobel Prize” and you only find two (Literature in 1998, Medicine in 1949). You don’t see too many inventions coming out of Portugal, though one of their contributions to the world — port wine — just might make up for that. And of course, a couple years after we were there, Portugal’s economy really went down the toilet and they needed bailouts from the European Union just to keep the lights on. It is easy to think there’s a trade-off at work: less energy equals less output (or at least, less commercial output).

I started thinking about all this when an American teacher at an international school in Bangkok told me how much he enjoys being in Thailand because of the relaxed atmosphere. He came to Bangkok from New York and sees a 180-degree change from the environment he had there. People in Thailand are more relaxed, he feels, and less worried about pushing hard for success (if you define “success” in material or commercial terms). At the same time, of course, the Thai economy is not currently doing that great, and when I ask companies about their preparations for the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (which kicks off in December), I get wayyyyy too many of them saying “oh, I guess we should start thinking about that.” Perhaps a Portugal-style trade-off is at work there, too.

If this is the case, then you may have to consider a similar trade-off in your firm’s culture. A laid back, relaxed, mellow company might not have the energy to take on competitors or build new business. You may not do cutting-edge work, you might not land the big clients, you may not make a ton of money…and that might be OK.

There is nothing wrong with having a less profitable, but more fun and relaxed, firm, IF that is what you want. If you do not have money at the top of your list of goals, then you might be able to afford to take a different attitude, one with a better work-life balance in the company. But if you want to have a mellow approach AND make lots of money, that might not be viable. As the boss, you need to figure out what is most important and move your firm’s culture in that direction. And you need to make it clear to potential employees what your goals are and what kind of approach you expect; hard-chargers who come into a very chill workplace will be disruptive, and probably feel underchallenged.

Many people will tell you that your first priority should always be profit. Very often, though, when people offer you advice about how you “should” do things, they are basing that advice on their own plans and desires. That does not help. Your best bet is to dismiss the advice of people who do not understand your priorities, then make sure YOU know what those priorities are and how to achieve them. Make sure, too, that you are aware of the implications of those choices and are willing to accept them. If you’re not, your priorities might be out of whack.

Suddenly, I’m in the mood for an espresso and a Portuguese egg tart.