BRICS Business Magazine English Edition No.5
Our civilization has no plans to do away with weapons and money. With this in mind we still place high hopes on ‘soft power,’ which means the ability of any country to convince and attract people and entire institutions by demonstrating that its system is reliable, viable and, most importantly, appealing. In such matters every detail counts. Music, literature, cinema, the standard of living and the way of life, internet accessibility and even approximate ideas as to what future prospects lie ahead – all play an important role.
To convince and attract means to inspire trust. There is no other tool that is more rational than trust – after all, it is capable of bringing down costs in any processes – from business to international relations. However, very few people are able to learn to trust and afford this luxury, which is rather unfortunate. In today’s world trust has truly become one of the most sought-after commodities. Expanding trust and its reach is a key priority, which I am sure can be addressed.
Naturally, the ‘attract – convince – inspire trust’ formula needs to be augmented to include the notion of ‘understanding.’ We need to fully recognize and take account of the difference between ourselves and other people and bear in mind that we think and perceive information in different ways. In any communication there is a risk of pseudo-communication when the difference between the meaning conveyed and the meaning perceived is too great. Many developing nations suffer from this problem to varying degrees.
Therefore, it is not enough to just accumulate soft power with all of its components in the hope that it will work out automatically by itself. One needs to have a long-term plan spelling out how this soft power will be used. This task can be simplified if we comply with the rules of the game that are the same for everyone. Deep down these rules amount to respect and the aforementioned trust. Not everyone seems capable of it – far from it – but each of us needs to strive to respect others while remembering to respect ourselves. The same can be said about trust.
To convince and attract means to inspire trust. There is no other tool that is more rational than trust – after all, it is capable of bringing down costs in any processes – from business to international relations. However, very few people are able to learn to trust and afford this luxury, which is rather unfortunate. In today’s world trust has truly become one of the most sought-after commodities. Expanding trust and its reach is a key priority, which I am sure can be addressed.
Naturally, the ‘attract – convince – inspire trust’ formula needs to be augmented to include the notion of ‘understanding.’ We need to fully recognize and take account of the difference between ourselves and other people and bear in mind that we think and perceive information in different ways. In any communication there is a risk of pseudo-communication when the difference between the meaning conveyed and the meaning perceived is too great. Many developing nations suffer from this problem to varying degrees.
Therefore, it is not enough to just accumulate soft power with all of its components in the hope that it will work out automatically by itself. One needs to have a long-term plan spelling out how this soft power will be used. This task can be simplified if we comply with the rules of the game that are the same for everyone. Deep down these rules amount to respect and the aforementioned trust. Not everyone seems capable of it – far from it – but each of us needs to strive to respect others while remembering to respect ourselves. The same can be said about trust.