In March 2010 AmCham organized Business Breakfast titled Look from inside and outside on Slovenian business environment as mag. Ajša Vodnik Executive Director of AmCham stated. Guests of the event were regional director Emerging Markets East 14 Giovanni Di Filippo from Cisco Systems and Peter Ribarič, MSc from Directorate for Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness.

In his opening speech, the president of AmCham Mr. Tomaž Lovše, emphasized the compulsion of vision of the future position of Slovenian and the ways of increasing competitiveness of Slovenian economy. He exposed four most critical European states: Greece, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. He also emphasized the necessity to realise the seriousness of current position of Slovenia, while we have 15% deficit and the revision of the governmental budget is needed. We need to revive stability with various macroeconomic instruments and decision-makers need to start realising that the problem exists.

Guest from Cisco Systems Mr. Giovanni Di Filippo stressed that the key to greater competitiveness lies in education. Remaining three drivers of economy are: infrastructure (broadband, water, energy, and transport); market transition (innovations and productivity); and governmental support (dialog public-government). The role of educational system is to prepare personnel for the year 2015, and the role of the companies is to adapt their workplaces to this new generation.

Mr. Di Filippo enumerated the most important characteristics of leading personnel of each company: energy is 75% of success; you need to be energetic and you need to believe in what you teach; you need to share your ideas; do not look for praise, but look for constructive feedback; have positive approach; do not promise more then you can deliver; make a mistake, but not the same one twice.

He is convinced that the main advantage of Slovenia lies in its size, which enables it to provide services that others cannot. Our country can be a pilot project for many novelties. »The government must act as entrepreneurial.« The most successful are the one who can adapt before the others do (early adapters). It is important to begin with new products and innovations, because these will become your main competitive advantages on the market. There is widely excepted rule that says, 10% increase in investments mean 1% increase in GDP. Factors of productivity increase are: investments in technology; improved quality of work; and capital investments. The winner adapt in early faze, the rest are losers.

»The change begins in the head. Different way of thinking is needed. If you do not succeed and you fail, begin from the beginning.«

2020 Challenge:

– Empowered customer – consumer are increasingly more educated, they want their services to be personalized

– Real time information – if you want to be update supplier, you need to provide informations in real time

– Concept borderless organization – until 2020 as far as 50% of ideas and product will come from outside of the company through Internet and consumers

– Internet generation – there is necessity to adapt for new and more educated generations (work environment and technologies)

The view from inside was presented by Mr. Peter Ribarič, MSc, Directorate for Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness. He presented in details Slovenian exit strategy 2010 – 2013, which is, in his opinion, quality political document that enables stability of Slovenia, but there is still much work to be done. Contents of the document: measures of political economy; structural changes; and institutional adaptations. He stressed that we need to demand more from civil service, which is in his opinion agency for citizens and economy: »You need to ask and you need to demand.« Small- and medium side companies can receive various forms of help and funds, but sometimes you need to be more proactive. »Be demanding, execute pressure, demand return flow, all of us in civil service are agency for citizens and economy.«