The London Visit 21-24 October

We’re finally organising a trade delegation visit to London - hurrah!

With so much talk of the need for Estonian firms to sell themselves better abroad, this visit is long overdue and is an ideal opportunity for companies to make their first foray. The schedule that Agnes and her Latvian collegues has put togthter offers just the right balance between organised events (none of which are compulsory!) and free time for people to organise their meetings / run up their expense account. There are all sorts of good reasons for your company to join us on this first trade mission Agnes and I have come up with a short list:

• you will get to know what should be taken into consideration in terms of Marketing & PR in London

• you will learn how to set up and succeed in London

• you will get to know in which way London Olympic Games 2012 could be an opportunity for your company

• you will get a special inside view of the centre of British democracy

• you will have an opportunity to make new business contacts in addition to the contacts you set up for yourself prior to the visit
• you can share experience with Latvian companies which you might have a lot in common with

For the companies that sign up for the London visit we’ll be organizing a seminar on ‘how to make the most of your visit’ in early October.

Early Autumn Events

As you may have noticed, there is a strong ‘people skills’ focus to our events early this Autumn. In addition to the monthly mingle this month we’ve organised 2 seminars; one on Coaching on the 24th and another on Networking next week on the 16th and it’s nice to be able to point out that 2 of the 3 events this month are completely free of charge to our members

Why the focus on people skills? Well, we’ve organised these events due to requests from our members – many of whom apparently consider themselves to be poor networkers. It seems to me that this topic is commonly regarded as culture-bound. In other words, some cultures do it ‘better’ than others somehow. However, ‘Networking’ as a topic in need strikes me as strange in a way. After all, Estonia is, without a shadow of doubt, the most thoroughly networked place I have ever encountered!

Is it the ‘working a room full of strangers’ aspect which some people regard with particular anxiety? Is it any less dreadful for a Brit than an Estonian? Is networking a skill that can be taught?

I for one, will be attending next week to find out. Hope to see you there!

What do we actually do? The BECC & the British Embassy.

I thought it might be of some interest to some if I wrote something about what happens behind the scenes at the BECC, who does what and what relationships we maintain.

An important and logical relationship is the one forged between the BECC and the British Embassy. When the management and seven member board meet once a month, the British Ambassador, Peter Carter, usually comes along. Fortunately, Peter seems to regard the board meetings as a decent way to spend some of his time.

Whilst the BECC is very much its own organisation, close links with the British Embassy are, in our view, essential to maintain. In addition to the Ambassador’s participation at the meetings and as a regular host and supporter of our events, the BECC management team meets once a month with the Embassy’s UKTI team which is headed up by Annely Lautre and Indrek Pällo.

The primary objective of the meetings is to share information on what each organisation is planning to do and thus avoid the kinds of ‘misunderstandings’ which sometimes occurred in the past. This seems to be working well. Long may it be so!

Monthly Mingle

Yesterday evening we kicked off the new academic year with a wine drenched networking evening at the Nordic Forum Hotel. I thought it went rather well and enjoyed meeting some new members and some people from the Finnish Estonian Chamber of Commerce as well as finding out about the Valencian wines provided by Altia.

After the mingle, I went into the old town to wish the Estonian Cricket team a bon voyage. Estonia is participating in it's first world-ranking tournament in Corfu from 05-10 September and should do well against the likes of Slovakia, The Czechs and Greece.

Then I found myself in a Karaoke bar . . .

Unforunately, I awoke this morning not feeling well, with what could be described as flu-like symptoms; headache, nausea, chills, sore eyes, etc.

From the results of some initial testing, I have unfortunately tested positive for what experts are now calling Wine Flu.

This debilitating condition is very serious - and it appears this is not an isolated case.

Reports are flooding in from all around, of others diagnosed with Wine Flu. To anyone that starts to exhibit the aforementioned tell-tale signs, experts are recommending a cup of tea and a bit of a lie down.

However, should your condition worsen, you should immediately hire a DVD and take some Nurofen. Others are reporting a full English or a McDonald's Happy Meal can also help in some cases. If not, then further application of the original liquid, in similar quantities to the original dose, has been shown to do the trick.

Wine Flu does not need to be life threatening and, if treated early, can be eradicated within a 24-48 hour period.

Welcome to my BECC Blog

Well, I decided to take the plunge into web2.0 today. I joined facebook today and within minutes discovered I had all sorts of friends! I also decided to start this blog and to add a link to it from the BECC facebook page.

This will be a place for me to write about what's going on in the BECC in a lighthearted way. Please note that views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the board of management of the BECC!