Since 1990s, when Finland became a global player in technology, many international companies have collaborated with Finnish firms and research institutions, and we've learned to work together with many nationalities.
However, to get the most out of cooperation with Finns, it might be desirable to know something about our business and cultural customs and traditions.
Finns highly appreciate punctuality, planning far ahead and following deadlines. One of the reasons behind that is due to the extremely cold winter weather. Being schedule-conscious and able to plan ahead has long been a matter of survival.
We Finns are generally most comfortable when we can focus on task until completion. Relationships are not prioritized in the work context as in some other cultures. Finns might start a project together and upon completion will go out together to eat. In France or Italy, for instance, partners would start by eating together and then work on the project. Because they believe a good relationship makes the project work more smoothly.
The quantity of oral communication is often minimal. Finns often say things in the shortest way possible.
In many cultures, interactive information gathering is the norm, where the person will ask direct questions (Who are you? What are you doing? Where are you from? etc) to get the desired information. A Finn would rather get the information by observation and not asking too many questions.
