Thursday, December 7, 2006

The Quest

This is the first line of my first blog. Voila. I donnit. What's in it for you? Revelations about the constraints and realities in doing business in Macedonia, and the wider Balkan Region. What's in it for me? Thought cleansing process. Idea generation. Fun.
Let the games begin.
Here is a constraint for doing business in Macedonia. Yesterday, I needed to fly out of Skopje out to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Fog is the name of the game this time of the year. All flights canceled. No alternatives but taking a 500Euro Taxi, or flying out of Prishtina the next day, if seats available. Canceled my trip. Back at the office, writing this blog instead. It is interesting to mention that none of the national media reported Skopje Airport was shut-down due to weather. Something that will be a front-page news in any country, is a non-issue in Macedonia. Wow! This experience underlines the key issues that preoccupy my mind. It seems that Macedonia does not enjoy the main postulate of life, that is: being Free. Our Freedom is limited in many respects, most imporant: our thought process. The capacity for a momentum building is non-existent. Many little silos, many wisemen, many cooks, all kings of their own castles, but no CLOSURE, no broth, no action, no export.
So far, so good.