My mother used to urge me to put on clean socks and underwear every day, reminding me, “You never know if you’re going to get hit by a bus.”

My recent column on the importance of establishing an ethos of strong customer service that extends all the way from the CEO’s office to the front lines touched a nerve for some readers. These two questions are typical of many of the responses I received: 

One of my favorite sayings is, “Ninety percent of life is just showing up,” because finding the courage to pursue your vision and start a new business often hinges on just that first step.

There is no better way to learn how to succeed in business than to learn from mistakes – yours or someone else’s. I often come across case studies looking into how and why certain companies smashed records, busted budgets and succeeded beyond all imagination. Those studies have their uses, of course, but it’s the stories of businesses that didn’t turn out so well that truly interest me. I learn much more from them.

People start to think, there seems to be a shift in the mindset. Surprisingly enough, if you look at the seminars on human resources in Western countries, you find a shift in topics. HR managers are talking more and more about values, and of how to give sense to the activities of the staff.

People tend to think of entrepreneurs as lone heroes, but this isn’t how it works in real life. Many live up to their reputation as risk-takers and some remain outsiders, but despite this outlier status, entrepreneurs need support to be successful. 

189 new multinational companies will emerge out of Romania in the next 15 years, shows a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) report. Romania will thus be at a similar level from this point of view with Ukraine (192 new multinational companies in the next 15 years) and Hungary (221). However, the most new multinational companies in Central and Eastern Europe will emerge out of Russia (930) and Poland (287).

If he hadn’t become a doctor, he would have been a photographer or maybe a guitar player. He almost shocks everybody with his restless, candid and happy-go-lucky manner by which he starts each conversation. Relaxed, likable and confident in the miracle of life, this year Enayati is the artisan of an important transaction on the medical services market, one that is currently estimated at some 40 million euro.

Vodafone Romania registered 142,000 net additions in the 2009/2010 fiscal year, for a total of 9,730,000 clients. Compared to 2008/2009, the company increased its closing client base by 1%. Subscribers accounted for 38 % and prepaid for 62 % of the total Romanian client base.

Why is it when the economy shrinks by 2%, orders drop by 50%? Because recession in the economy as a whole doesn't mean an equal, across the board, reduction in your activity or your costs. Some costs are fixed, so those that can be controlled, your discretionary spending, has to be cut by a disproportionate amount. If you're a supplier of these 'discretionary' items, your orders suffer accordingly. That's why, in the consumer market for example, a 2% slowdown in the economy has produced a 40+% fall in new car sales. At an individual level it's no big deal for Mr or Mrs Average to put off the luxury of buying a new car for a year or so.

As part of the strategy to extend on the Eastern European market, Genpact will inaugurate a center in Cluj-Napoca. By extending the capacity, hundreds of jobs will be created, which make the company “one of the most locally active employers in 2010”, said Patrick Cogny, CEO Genpact Europe.

Fiat plans to lay off 5.000 employees in Italy, more than it estimated, and could move its automotive industry operations to another company, in the following months, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

The Austrian Gutmann Bank, specialized in private banking, will open in May an office in Bucharest. This year, the bank aims to have 50 clients with assets of at least half a million euro.

Some companies have reassigned the tasks of the employees who were laid off, others are going through internal reorganizing, they reset their priorities and responsibilities. In other words, positions are changing within organizations, in the benefit or in the detriment of the employees.

Romanian businesspersons are encouraged to seize the opportunities offered by Hong Kong. With the occasion of a seminar held in Bucharest, the Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic Trade Affairs to the European Union, Mary Chow, presented Hong Kong’s enduring advantages as the world’s freest economy with the rule of law, stringent intellectual property regime, strong anti-corruption culture, free flow of information and low and simple taxation system.

Piata serviciilor de training de limbi straine pentru afaceri s-a diversificat si a evoluat extrem de mult in ultimii ani. Dintre acestea, o evolutie interesanta o au cursurile aplicate, care, pe langa cunostintele de limba straina, dezvolta si abilitatile necesare intr-un mediu de afaceri dinamic. In acest sens, Catrinel Popa, Communication Department Manager la Interact, vorbeste despre "Doing Business in English".