Jarek Ruminski
Books & Education
Walk into a Swedish company and you may quickly identify the CEO. Identifying the person who can actually say “yes” can be considerably more educational.
Swedish organisations are famously flat. Titles exist, of course, but they are treated more like useful administrative information than declarations of royal status. Junior specialists challenge senior managers, employees expect to be consulted, and important decisions often travel around the organisation before returning to the person you originally assumed was in charge. For international sellers, this can be confusing.
You present your proposal. The director listens carefully. The questions are intelligent. Nobody objects. You leave thinking the contract is practically waiting for a signature. Then comes the email: “We need to discuss this internally.”
Welcome to Sweden. This is not necessarily indecision. Swedish consensus culture aims to build support before the decision, reducing resistance afterwards. It may take longer to reach “yes”, but once agreement exists, implementation can move surprisingly smoothly.
The commercial lesson? Never sell only to the most senior person. Understand the users, influencers, specialists and quiet sceptics around the table. In Sweden, the CEO may have authority. But everyone else has an opinion. And ignoring those opinions is an excellent way to turn a promising deal into another polite meeting.
Doing business in Sweden? Aurixon’s business-culture guides explain how Swedish companies communicate, build trust and make decisions—so you know who really matters before your next meeting begins. Explore the guides at Aurixon.io.
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