Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas lights in Gothenburg, Sweden

Dear reader of my blog!

This final blog for this year will take us out on a journey of semantics.  To give you Christmas spirit and to build bridges among the nations I am providing you a list of more than 50 ways to say Merry Christmas!

Equality Not Observed!

The American Declaration of Independence signed in 1776 states the following: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

In 1789, the French created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.  Among other things, it states: "All the citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally admissible to all public dignities, places, and employments, according to their capacity and without distinction other than that of their virtues and of their talents," eliminating the special rights of the nobility and clergy”.

China - work in progress!

I recently visited China.

China’s activity level is amazing, glowing and parisionic to its size!

There is no doubt that China will take up the economic global leadership position in a near future, surpassing both Japan, as it has already, and the US.  In 1990, China’s contribution to the global GDP was 3%.  Within five years that number will be greater than that of the US, and be around 22%.

Do what you say and say what you do!

In the financial world the saying goes, "Buy on rumours, sell on facts!"

In the political world the saying goes, "Elect on promises, deselect on deliverables!"

President Obama and his democratic party was hit badly at the mid term election.  I believe though that
this is not a public expression of confidence in the republican party, bearing in mind that the President's
approval rate is higher than the approval rates of the Republican party and that of Congress.

No, it is something else. For me it is actually poor communication and a tactical political mistake to be too
centric. This combination is lethal when in dialogue with the voters.

Free Trade for Sustained Global Prosperity

Not so long ago I was I invited to a dinner to listen to Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE), one of the biggest and most admired companies in the United States.

With great pathos, he spoke about the financial crisis in the US and spoke in particular about the world economy and one of his remarks rings true to me, he said: “The best insurance we have for prosperity, peace, and democracy is free trade across borders, without any restrictions in terms of national competitiveness.”

And I couldn't agree more!

AMERICAN POLITICS: A HINDRANCE TO REAL PROGRESS

After three years of living in New York City, I am very interested in the political debate in the US.  It thrills me, it excites me and it concerns me.  I also, however, find it disturbing that it seems there is no will whatsoever among politicians to work together in a bipartisan way and do what best for the country and the American people.  Regardless of what is proposed, the other side, almost in a knee-jerk reaction says NO!  Polarisation is a fact and is almost like a given in today’s political atmosphere and in most political debates in the US. The lack of will is tiresome, old and hinders progress!

Set your mind on a positive note. Don’t do a Pike!

To have a positive view of the future is perhaps not a fact based view and certainly not more true than to have a negative view of the future, however, it simply feels better to be positive!

Positive energy results in greater productivity and those close to you, like your family, working colleagues, pets, and fellow car drivers will just love you.

So make up your mind! Be happy and optimistic! Picture it!

Taylor/Brook, in 1988, stated that there are three attributes that are well recognized in a happy, healthy and adjusted human being:

-        Person has unrealistically positive estimates of his or own capabilities.

-        Overestimates his or her ability to control the situation.

-        Is unrealistically positive about the future.

And that, by the way, is me in a nutshell!

A DIVERSIFIED TEAM DELIVERS MORE!

Last week I visited the Volvo Ocean Race Office in Alicante.

What joy! What energy! The office building is glowing with energy and opportunity. At present the race office based in Alicante, Spain has 35 people working on the Volvo Ocean Race.

There are younger people as well as more experienced people.  There are women, men, people from Spain, the U.K., Sweden, representing different cultures and traditions with unique personalities. In order to seize the day and to capture the momentum of the upcoming race, the number of employees will increase to a total of 65 during the race itself. One of them could be you!

Go Vote!

September 19 is the national Election Day in Sweden. This is the day when we have the right and, in my opinion, the duty to vote for the well being of our democratic society and not just to vote for a political party or a government that we want to see running our nation. The government we elect is the government, we the people, deserve neither more nor less. This is why it is vital that citizens of a democracy do what is necessary and speak up.

Back in Sweden and some of my observations...

I returned to Sweden three months ago after living abroad for eight years; five years in Brussels,
Belgium and three in New York City, USA.

The timing was perfect. I returned in June to a summery, sun drenched Sweden. Ahh - summer life!

However there are some issues that concern me in my mother land…

Human Rights must be Respected as much as the Affairs of State

President Sarkozy is deporting the Roma people from France!

A bold move? A necessary move? A stupid move? A move that contradicts France’s own, old, and famous revolutionary motto: Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood?

Transnational Companies, Global Economies and Global Competition: A Paradox!

It is widely recognized that changes in technology and competition have diminished many of the traditional limitations of business location. Yet clusters or geographic concentrations of interconnected companies are a striking feature of virtually every national, regional, state, and even metropolitan economy.
Michael E. Porter, Professor at Harvard University in the United States defined this phenomenon in 1998, calling it the “globalisation paradox”, which means that in a globalized economy the importance of locally anchored, well established clusters will increase significantly.

SEE YOU IN AUGUST!

Dear Readers,
Thank you for your interest in my blog, Stefan's Sidebar!
Over the past few months my aim has been to update the blog weekly with issues of great interest to me and hopefully to you as well.  I appreciate readers' comments and welcome other perspectives.
Also, please don't hesitate to suggest topics for this blog.
During the coming few weeks, however, I will be on summer vacation, far away from blogs, computers, cell phones...and civilization!
I will return in August. I hope you will as well!

TIME FOR FIKA!

We have varied perspectives when we think about work in different parts of the world.  In general, it is my experience that in the US, work, career and to make a dollar are all more important than having time to for relaxation and personal development. In Europe we manage the balance between work and family differently, that is by focusing more on the family rather than on work. Either way you create wealth. The American way of working and living is more focused on the bottom line perhaps, whereas the European way is more philanthropic.

A SINGLE WORD TAKEN TO HYSTERICAL PROPORTIONS

The United States, having English as its most commonly spoken language, is a country founded by immigrants who appreciate freedom and come from all parts of the world looking to pave their way to the American dream. They all bring various languages and cultural traditions that
slowly weave into our communities and become part of our culture and heritage.

21ST CENTURY MEGA-CITIES

The world's mega-cities are merging to form vast mega-regions, which may stretch hundreds of kilometers and be home to more than 100 million people. The good part is that these cities create wealth.  The bad part is that it comes with significant income inequality as well as enormous congestion problems that cause constraints on the economy and GDP.

FRESH WATER GENERATES GDP

Clean water sustains life and provides prosperous economic development. I believe, as many agree, that access to clean and safe potable water is a basic human right.

About 60% of the human body is made up of water. Equally as important is that water covers 70% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life. Oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. Therefore, less than 1% of water on our planet is fresh water that is available for human consumption, irrigation and industrial application.

Independece Day!

June 6 is a very important day for Europeans. It is the day that marks the greatest invasion of all time. On June 6, 1944, 160,000 Western Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in an effort to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation. It became known as D-Day, the day when parts of France were liberated, leading to the eventual liberation of Europe.

Change is constant! Progress is a choice!

The unique and best part of an open society is that it is based on democratic principles and supports a free market economy.  The inherent driving force within such a system is the human creative momentum that ambitiously fuels social, economic, and political movement and thereby, progressive change. 

Get out of the sandbox! Get into the EMU!

In conjunction with the financial turmoil in Greece and Europe, there is a gathering of those who are greedy, self-absorbed, isolationist, and anti-solidarity. In Sweden we can hear them screaming like children in the sandbox since they believe that Sweden should not join the Economic & Monetary Union (EMU) and change the currency from SEK to the Euro. It seems that some people in Sweden want to exclude themselves from membership in the EU, EMU, NATO, and even the UN.

I strongly disagree! For me, it is evident that Sweden should be a part of the EMU for at least four reasons:

FAREWELL TO NEW YORK, GOTHENBURG, HERE I COME!

 Everything in life eventually comes to an end. So does my term as the President of Volvo Group North America, based in New York City. After eight years abroad, five of these in Brussels, Belgium, and three in the United States, I have decided to move back to Sweden, as of June 1, 2010.

SEE YOU AT THE WORLD EXPO

If you walk through Central Park in New York City, you may come across an old house called the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater. Originally, this was a 19th century schoolhouse designed as an example of Swedish architectural design for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. After the exposition, the New York City Parks Department purchased the house for $1,500 and moved it to Central Park where it sits today. Being a Swede, I can assure you that this is a real Swedish cottage. And it is beautiful!

IMPROVE ROADS TO MOVE BUSINESS

Everything we consume, use, touch, and see has been transported by a truck or some other means of transportation at one point! At Volvo Group we produce trucks, buses, earthmoving equipment, marine engines and airplane components globally as well as in our plants in the United States. With our products, we meet the needs of our modern society as we know it today. We are truly moving the world.

TOWARDS ZERO ACCIDENTS

Traffic accidents are one of the world’s major public health problems. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million people are killed and 50 million are injured in traffic every year. Road traffic accidents are the most common cause of death among young people in many parts of the world. In the United States, there were an estimated 33,963 motor vehicle related fatalities in 2009. This is one reason why the Volvo Group strongly supports the decision of the United Nations to proclaim 2011 - 2020 the Decade of Action for road safety aiming at saving 5 million lives over 10 years.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - PART OF OUR BUSINESS

Making a profit has always been the objective of running a business of any size, whether a small entrepreneurship or a large corporation. Companies today operating within a global economy are facing greater competition and must maintain a significantly more efficient and responsible standard of operation. Therefore while the objective remains the same, the prerequisite for sustaining and increasing profitability in today’s business climate compels companies to consider the social impact and the environmental footprint of their operations.

AMERICAN COMMUNICATION IN THE TWENTY- FIRST CENTURY

Since the founding fathers created and signed the Constitution of the United States of America, the rights of all individuals in this country are legally defined and protected. The First Amendment states that all citizens have the right to freely express their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. Freedom of expression, therefore, is part of the American way. Schools encourage children early on to express themselves by promoting and teaching various communication skills that develop their individual social interactive skills and creative expression. This gives the Americans a competitive advantage and they certainly make use of it.

MY VISIT TO GETTYSBURG

Napoleon’s last battle in Waterloo, Belgium, changed the landscape and the course of history for Europe in June of 1815. Comparatively, during the American Civil War, in July of 1863, a three day battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is remembered as one of the most decisive events in United States history; an event that changed the course of American life.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE RETURNS TO THE U.S.

Today I participated in a well attended press conference in Miami where it was announced that the Volvo Ocean Race will return to the US in 2012. This is a global sailing race that is one of the most challenging sporting events in the world and is considered the Formula 1 of sailing!

THE PEOPLE MAKE NEW YORK CITY

New York City, with its population of over 8 million citizens and land area of 305 square miles, has been considered the financial, cultural, fashion, and even the culinary capital of the world.  And although the Big Apple has been hit hard by recession recently, I find it one of the most magnetic cities in the world. What makes this city so unique? Well, after three years of living in this lovely city I have finally arrived at the answer. It is the people!

ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS A LITTLE LIKE ALPHABET SOUP

The economic stimulus package, of which a considerable amount will be spent on improving the American infrastructure, will likely impact the sales of Volvo Group products in the U.S. We offer the commercial products that are needed for these projects, such as construction trucks, articulated haulers, excavators, road building machinery and buses, all represented under different brands like Volvo, Mack, Prevost or Nova Bus.
The question is have we measured the effect of the stimulus on our businesses and the economy?

VOLVO AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Almost 40 years ago, in June of 1972, the Volvo Group formulated its first environmental declaration! At that time our Group's environmental approach was considered controversial. Today, it is a given!

The US Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, has just established that greenhouse gases threaten the health of human beings and that US greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced.

THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

New York City – The financial, commercial, cultural and entertainment center of the world...And the largest consumer of mass transit in the USA.

The population of the New York metropolitan area is about 19 million people. The City of New York, which includes the five boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island, exceeds 8.3 million people. This is close in size to the population of Sweden, my home country. Manhattan, where I now live and work, has approximately 1.7 million residents on 23 square miles.

Every weekday, nearly 8 million people commute into Manhattan for work!

THE VOLVO GROUP AND 2010 EPA CERTIFICATION

When Volvo Group changed its business strategy to focus entirely on developing and manufacturing commercial vehicles and related services, we began with selling the Volvo Car operations to Ford Motor Company in 1999. As part of our strategy we acquired Mack Trucks in the US and Renault Trucks in France in 2001 and purchased UD Trucks in Japan (formerly Nissan Diesel) in 2007. In our construction equipment sector we acquired - among others - Samsung Excavator in Korea, Lingong in China and Ingersoll Rand's Road Machinery division in the US. In our Bus sector we are 100% owner of Prevost and Nova Bus in North America.

MAYBE NEXT YEAR...

Parts of New York City received more than a foot of snow this week, with blizzard-like conditions during much of the storm on Wednesday. So it wasn't a surprise that my flight from New York to Florida for the Miami Boat Show this week was canceled. I was very disappointed for two reasons: 1) I believe that it is important for me to get out there and mix with our customers, employees, and stay close to the business operations; and 2) I love the Miami Boat Show!

Volvo Group and Penn State Sign Academic Partnership Agreement at RETECH 2010

RETECH 2010 has come and gone and I am very pleased with the Volvo Group participation in the event.  Over 300 companies and organizations from all renewable energy sectors had a presence at the exhibition and the show boasted over 5,000 registered participants. During the 3-day business conference, over 250 industry-leading experts spoke, the most notable being Carol Browner, Assistant to President Obama for Energy and Climate Change.

Volvo Group Displays Mack Hybrid at RETECH 2010

I am very excited to be standing at the Volvo Group booth at the Renewable Energy Technology Conference & Exhibition (RETECH 2010) in the Washington, DC convention center. RETECH 2010 is co-produced by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), an organization with which Volvo is pleased to have a long standing relationship. Volvo Group is a proud silver sponsor of RETECH 2010.

Volvo Group in North America– trucks rather than cars!

When the founders of Volvo retired, they invited a clever young man to take the reigns as CEO. In 1956 he introduced the Volvo in the United States by introducing Volvo Cars, prompting some to say that trying to sell Volvo cars to Americans was “Like selling refrigerators to Eskimos”. And after over 40 years of proving them wrong with success, the Volvo Group decided to focus on commercial vehicles and sell the car operations to Ford Motor Company in 1999.

More than 50 years later, in North America we have a population of more than 500,000 vehicles, including heavy duty trucks, buses, dump trucks, and articulated haulers. We also produce marine engines and aircraft engine components. Today, the Volvo Group represents great brands like Volvo, Mack, UD Trucks, Prevost and Nova Bus and our operations in North America alone amount to $8 Billion in sales. That represents 16% of Volvo Group’s total sales. We have 13,000 employees in North America – 9,500 of them in the U.S. with manufacturing facilities in seven states. We also have manufacturing facilities in Canada and Mexico.

And you thought Volvo only made cars!