JANEK MÄGGI: STOCK UP ON WOOD AND HAY. EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE FINE

Where there’s a will – to get somewhere, to fix something, to get something done – there’s a way to a brighter, happier future, even at times when things aren’t quite so rosy. So writes public relations specialist Janek Mäggi in response to an Äripäev questionnaire for opinion leaders.

Autumn will be great. The leaves will turn yellow, and in the countryside in particular it will be lovely stepping outside when everything’s just starting to freeze over. Ice crystals will have turned the ground a glittering white. There’ll be no point in worrying about anything; it’s bad for your health. Everything will be fine.

People can plan their work and whatever else they do well in advance, but by their very nature, things that take you by surprise are impossible to predict. Nobody saw the pandemic coming. No one foretold the war in Ukraine or its knock-on effects. Both struck like bolts from the blue.

The fact that autumn will come around needs no predicting, and for the most part we know from previous experience what it will be like. Likewise, we know that it can get very cold in winter and that it makes sense to stock up on wood for the fire.

But we still can’t divine every twist and turn, which forces us to do things on a daily basis that are only ever crucial in the short term. None of us prophesied the coming of tens of thousands of refugees to Estonia, nor were we able to plan for it, but in taking them in we’ve coped remarkably well. In that regard, Estonia has been both enthusiastic and indefatigable.

Eager and ardent even as the bullets fly

Work should be done well, regardless of the circumstances in which you have to do it. You should try hard and be motivated. You have to have the will – to get somewhere, to fix something, to get something done. Then no single setback will be fatal, and the future will look brighter and happier, even at times when things aren’t quite so rosy.

There can only be one strategy in business: growth. Even if you don’t grow at all for a few years, that doesn’t mean you won’t double in size the next. Your desire to grow and evolve has to be constant; you have to remain eager and ardent even as the bullets fly. We know how successful a motivated army can be, and the lack of success that unmotivated forces meet with.

Que sera, sera – just make sure you stock up on wood and hay before autumn comes around. You mustn’t give up, whatever situation you find yourself in. It’s like in draughts: the game’s not over until your opponent has no more pieces on the board or can make no further moves.

My 5000-year working plan

I face the future full of joie de vivre. I try to make the smartest move I can every day, but at the same time I look 5000 years ahead, like the Chinese and the Japanese do. Their plans don’t have a five-year cut-off or come with a 99-year lease: they make plans spanning five millennia. Compared to Western society, that makes them invincible in quite a number of respects. It’s not satisfaction but survival that’s predicated on success.

My working plan spans 5000 years, too. Why should the odd setback, the occasional low ebb worry me? Autumn will be beautiful. The leaves will turn yellow. Even if a cold snap cuts down some of the tomatoes in my greenhouse before their time, spring will be just around the corner, and I’ll just have to do everything I can to maximise next year’s crop.