Many years ago, a friend of mine established his own small but refined enterprise. It is an enterprise that is into demanding subjects and quite successful internationally. Besides Germany, they have offices in, for example, London and New York.
Recently, we met for lunch and he happily told me that he had just opened a new office, this time in Copenhagen. It is intended to serve the Scandinavian market.
I was in Copenhagen a short time a go, and I quite liked it. Still, I wonder how he came to decide on Copenhagen.
His answer was simple:
he found exactly the right person to promote his business in Scandinavia. And that person lives in Copenhagen. And he added that, if he had found someone as good in Madrid, he would have expanded to the Iberian Peninsula and the southern-European market.
That is the secret of success. It is always about finding the right people, and then orientating business to suit those people.
That is better than the other way around. First analyzing strategically which market would be the best and then looking for the right person costs a lot more money and time. And more often than not, it still does not work out well in the end.
I am sure it is not the worst strategy to take advantage of the wind and the drift, instead of being obsessed by some strategic/military analysis and stubbornly trying to make things work.
RMD
P.S.
This picture, for a change, is not from Greece! I took it early in June in Copenhagen!