Friendship and Loyalty Mature Like Wine

It's harvest time. And as I was thinking about what to write this time, it struck me: loyalty is like a vineyard/vine. If you neglect it, it quickly becomes overgrown, the grapes aren't beautiful or good, and the same goes later for the wine. But if you devote time, care, and the right measure of patience, it bears fruit, and the wine turns out wonderful - just as in business, and in personal life.

In the business world, loyalty has been a recurring topic for years, even decades. On one hand, the question is how to achieve greater customer loyalty; on the other, countless experts discuss what needs to be done to retain it. But what about in personal life?

Of course, marriage and partnership certainly dominate the topic of fidelity. But that's not what I want to dwell on - I'd like to touch on loyalty in friendship. Andrej Šifrer already has a beautiful song » Za prijatelje si je treba čas vzet« ("You need to make time for friends"). And he continues: » se poveselit in znati potrpet« ("to rejoice and to know how to endure"). That pretty much sums up my last two weekends.

Where my wife comes from (Croatian Zagorje), it's a bit strange if you don't have a vine. Harvest there is a celebration. And it's divided into two parts: the family harvest - you absolutely must be there; I wouldn't dare tell my in-laws that I won't come :), and the harvests where you are invited, which is considered an honor. Those are days when » you need to rejoice«, but truth be told, when you have so many in a row, and if you also help with the "cellaring," where the grapes are crushed, then » you also need to endure a little«.

I admit, I myself feel at home among the vines - it's genuinely pleasant to be there.

At the second harvest, we were invited to a friend's place who means a lot to us. From the moment we met, it just clicked. Unfortunately, we don't see each other often enough, but every time I leave with stomach pains - from laughter and from too much good food. Yes, I admit, I have that problem - I find it very hard to resist good food...

This year too, we joined him for the harvest. Here things are much more advanced, mechanized, so the harvest is mostly about spending time with friends. Of course, there's still some work, but far less thanks to technology. We faced some challenges in organizing ourselves to be able to come, but we did. Because we felt responsibility, respect, but also joy toward him and his family.

Such gatherings in this wild and fast-paced world strengthen friendship, trust, and respect. And we do it with our hearts. It's warm and beautiful for both sides in these shared moments. And that's why you need to make time.

And if I go even further - co-creation is the key to success. Let's listen to customers, respect them, sincerely ask for their opinions and suggestions, and then show them that we heard and acted on them. Just as in a partnership we co-create a home and a family, so too can we co-create relationships with friends and with our business clients.

There is also co-creation among business partners, when they come together to create something greater for a specific group or segment. And here, trust, understanding, and transparency are essential. In other words - genuine collaboration. In this area, our region still has plenty of room to grow.

And here's my main thought: digitalization, artificial intelligence, and robotics can speed up and automate many things. But friendships, loyalty, and genuine bonds - nothing can replace those. And that is the secret ingredient that connects both business and personal relationships.

So: invite your partners for a coffee, call your old friends, attend events like harvests, or simply send a short message. These are small steps, but in reality, the greatest investments in loyalty - both personal and business.