11/15/2023
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Monthly address by Christopher Sanders: Avoid making decisions for gains in the short term; rather, think about long-term sustainability of the company

"The most important aspect we should discuss is sustainability. For me, sustainability means making a profit. Because if you don't have the profit, you won't be able to do what you want to do, you won't be able to avoid doing things you don't want to do, and in the long run, it will help you ensure that the way society develops is beneficial for everyone. Therefore, business should be conducted in a sustainable and profitable manner," emphasized Christopher Sanders, special adviser to the President of the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, Branko Azeski, in the monthly address on current topics, which this month was titled Global Geopolitical Developments - Challenges for Business Internationalization and Following New Industry Trends.

In his address, Sanders highlighted the importance of innovation as a means of tracking new trends, global challenges, workforce migration, and how entrepreneurs and businesses can adapt and thrive in this new global reality.
"We can only be satisfied through successful clients. This means that we need to follow our clients. The goal is not to make decisions for short-term gains but to achieve the sustainability of the company in the long run," emphasized the adviser.

Regarding the conditions in the region and the country, Sanders assessed that for potential investors and businesses in general, a major risk is that the country places its main focus on EU membership.

"You must have a real vision of where you're going, a strategy you know how to apply, with defined responsibilities. These are very simple business tools. Unfortunately, politics in this region, in my opinion, disrupts all these aspects, which means that the real potential of the country, a country that I got to know a few years ago, is not realized because there is no strategy. The last strategies for industry or education are from 2018, and what has happened since then? Where are the new versions of them, where are the new plans? What is being done? In this country, I don't see such things. And without that, how do you expect any company to invest here when people's only aspiration is to become an EU member? How many people will leave this country when that happens? Where are my workers in the future when that happens? Where is the focus in Macedonia on skill development, capabilities, on an educational basis that will help surpass other countries, come in first, say 'I can create a team in Macedonia to get what I need, today, tomorrow, in the future, knowing that I will get it and that the undertaken commitments will be fulfilled.’ That is the big risk I see at the moment," highlighted Sanders.