Business Meetings

Meetings usually begin after a brief interlude of small talk. Taking your time is important because this is all a part of developing relationships. Slovenes prefer to do business with people they know and trust, despite not being a relationship-driven culture in the traditional sense.

This period of social interaction may be slightly prolonged when you initially meet with a company so that your Slovene colleagues can get to know you better and form opinions about your character. You should initially anticipate your Slovene colleagues to be quite formal and reticent. A calm atmosphere and a sense of connection between people may not emerge until several meetings.

Slovene business practices combine German efficiency with Italian zest for life, but the latter quality isn't usually immediately apparent. Slovenes take some time to open up, but they eventually do, especially after a few glasses of wine. Many business choices are still made at the top levels of the organization, which is often the basis of business decision-making processes. Final judgments frequently result in detailed action plans that are expressly carried out.

Slovenes' egalitarianism is evident when working in groups or teams. The organization is comparatively flat. All team members are thought to have something to offer, even though the team leader is the expert. Disagreements arise because people interpret the same information differently in a culture that values tolerance. Actual decisions could be more influenced by subjective opinions than by hard data.