Lack of ambition holds back industry and economy
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Chairman of the Board, IXIO Grupp; Chairman, Chamber of Innovation Acceleration at Estonian Employers’ Confederation; Best Leader 2024
Estonian industries and the country as a whole face limitations in their development due to a lack of ambition. The hunger for progress that once drove us has now been replaced by frugality, and the pursuit of achievement has given way to contentment. However, without economic growth, we cannot address the increasing needs and aspirations of our society.
To explore these challenges, the Estonian Employers’ Confederation commissioned a study among Estonian industrial companies in autumn 2023. One significant finding was that our cultural-historical background often holds us back. When we achieve something, we tend to become conservative, losing the hunger for progress that characterised our early years. A comprehensive management study conducted by Enterprise Estonia a few years ago reached a similar conclusion: ambition is lacking.
Ambition encompasses vision, determination, and courage. While the vision to enhance productivity in our economy and industries exists, what we now need is the will and courage to take the necessary steps to achieve it.
Therefore, over the next decade, prioritising the development of a higher-value economy should be a central goal for the Estonian state, transcending political administrations. In spring of 2024, business unions also proposed this as a part of an economic agreement “Ambition Is a Choice” with political parties.