On 9 December, 2024 Government Ministers, Industry CEOs, and Financial Investors met in New York City to discuss the future of Greece.
Along with other Capital Link attendees, I loved celebrating the remarkable turnaround of the Greek economy.
Across sectors – construction, transportation, banking, hospitality, energy – CEOs and Ministers gave optimistic forecasts of the future. Greece is growing and its decision-makers believe growth will continue.
Speakers also agreed there are more challenges ahead. More reforms are needed to realize the full potential of Greek society.
In particular three calls-to-action were repeated by decision-makers: the need for a stable regulatory environment, the need for more innovation, and the need for leadership.
Stable Regulatory Environment
Economies do not exist in vacuums. The role of government is to create both the game and the rules by which companies operate.
From banking to energy, Greek CEOs are urgently requesting government officials ensure more stability. Stability creates predictability, which allows for more risks on long-term, expensive projects.
Case in point, this same week we celebrated the opening of the Thessaloniki metro after 20 years and billions of euros in expenditures. Long-term projects like the metro thrive on stable and predictable environments.
In short, businesses and investors are asking the Greek government to create a sense of safety. Unsurprisingly, private sector executives don’t want to live inside a Harry Klynn comedy sketch.
Safety is more than just military bases near borders. Safety is a feeling that lives inside each one of us.
To ensure a green energy transition, adequate water, and large-scale digitization, the Greek Government must continue to balance between incremental change and business continuity.
Increasing Innovation
According to Financial Investors at the conference, Greece is slowly investing in emerging technology and start-up incubation. Government Ministers want to nurture an innovation hub that incentivizes innovation.
As these start-ups mature, CEOs want to absorb them to modernize Greek corporates. In essence, corporates are outsourcing their research & development to the capital markets, confident that innovation can be acquired and integrated into existing operations.
In my experience working in Mergers & Acquisitions, consulting Private Equity buyers, and coaching CEOs, I have rarely seen this model work. Too often, giant corporates remain resistant to change. I’ve seen billions of dollars wasted under the assumption that innovation can be managed by an Excel sheet.
Whether from within or outside, innovation takes place on the periphery of a network. Risk-takers and non-conformists thrive on experiments. Meanwhile, the core business prizes efficiency over change.
Leaders interested in innovation must foster a “middle ground”– the integrators – that translate bold experiments to the pragmatic core.
When I consult companies, achieving a culture of integration often feels quite intangible.
In my consulting company, we’ve found four keys to unlock integration: fostering a change mindset, creating psychological safety, seeing technology as an enabler, and having adequate conflict resolution tools.
These four keys to integration may seem “soft”, but they are developable skills and lead to much greater innovation.
Investing in the Greek start-up scene is a great step, but if companies want to avoid buy-and-kill, training is needed to ensure their cultures are ready.
More Leadership
In almost every panel discussion, decision-makers called for “more leadership”.
But that word – leadership – was never defined or expanded upon.
As Greece takes its position as a regional player, decision-makers cannot afford to miss out on building great leadership and teams.
Plus, each stakeholder group is asking the other for good leadership!
CEOs are calling on the Greek government to create more stability. In turn, Greek Ministers are calling on CEOs to create more innovation and opportunity.
Business wants Government to change and Government wants Business to change.
All the while, even if Greece is growing steadily, the world around us is increasingly in crisis.
Whether geopolitical shakeups, fears of eurozone recession, or outright war, we must adapt to change.
How do we continue long-term investments during chaos?
How do we innovate if capital markets are disrupted?
How do we manage through global crisis?
Great leadership.
At the heart of each business, at the heart of each society, are people. Only through people do we ensure our future.
Greece is wildly benefiting from investments in infrastructure, hospitality, and green energy.
Let us make sure that we also invest in people.
As we’ve seen over the past 15 years, the Greek people have the strength to turn crisis into opportunity. Let us build on this success. The future depends on it.
Mino Vlachos is a CEO Coach and the Founder of 3Peak Coaching & Solutions, a leadership consultancy dedicated to elevating executive mastery. 3Peak specializes in transforming businesses through leadership and team development during transitions and times of crisis. Mino is also the host of the 3Peak Master Leadership Experience podcast and the author of the book “Crisis & Leadership”.
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