The Swedish mentality can be a surprise. Many potentially profitable contracts have failed not because of a lack of agreement on financial or qualitative level, but because of people being… people. You need know how to communicate with a Swede. And avoid what annoys him the most.
A Danish writer, Aksel Sandemose created the fictional settlement of Jante for his novella “A Fugitive crosses his tracks”, modelled on his hometown of Nykøbing Mors from the 1930s, where no one was anonymous, which was typical of all small towns and communities at the time. The residents of Jante were to portrait the societies of the northern countries and represent the group behaviour towards individuals, common to Nordic countries. Interpersonal relations in the town were governed by specific law, contained in ten simple but very strict rules, applied to the nature and behaviour of citizens. Among them were points such as:
- a ban on considering yourself special,
- a ban on showing that you are better or smarter than others,
- a ban on lecturing others and exposing one’s knowledge,
- or even a ban on thinking that you are good at something
For representatives of other cultures, this attitude can be associated not only with modesty, but even with extremely low self-esteem or lack of self-confidence, and in a business context, rather indicate the inability to conduct business, than an approach worthy of social recognition.
While the law of Jante remains fictitious and slightly exaggerated,it did not come from nowhere.
In fact, the Swedish mentality differs from the rest of the Nordic countries and even more so, from the mindset of the proud and confident residents of Western Europe.
How does the law of Jante affect business contacts with the Swedes?
Aksel Sandemose not only created an unusual novel, but also gave us, people who work in business, an important lesson on how get about on the Swedish ground. It turns out that self-confidence can go hand in hand with modesty, which for the Swedes is such an important feature, that it often is decisive on our success in business.
Let not forget that preference for certain attitude usually manifests itself on the subconscious level. Therefore, it is not said at all that the people you are going to interact with have adopted such criteria and intend to follow it. Let’s put it this way: if a business partner sees in you features that are not compatible with his/her value system, he/she will be less supportive of being able to cooperate with you.
Mismatches at the subconscious level can also be a barrier – often insuperable – at a further stage of doing business.
Interrelating with a business partner is therefore a bit like interrelating with a life partner – the plateau on which we build the relationship is different, but the rules remain the same.
In order to avoid learning from mistakes, it is therefore important to get to know his/her preferences, character and habits very well before the first encounter.