Marcos de Quintoformer vice-president of The Coca Cola Company and former Member of Parliament for CitizensIn a new PROA video, he reflects on what Spanish companies should do in the face of this crisis and what his experience has been in relation to his time in politics. Finally, he highlights the fundamental role of communication in this context: "The important thing in communication is to be different".
It seems that the most adverse effects of the pandemic will be seen from autumn onwards. We would like to hear your views on how this crisis may affect Spanish companies during the course of this year.
The crisis will affect all countries and all companies. The problem here is not whether it affects or not. The problem is the extent to which it is going to affect and I believe that this is what is unacceptable. In the case of Spain, according to the International Monetary Fund, we are going to be one of the countries most damaged by this crisis. And the truth is that we should all ask ourselves why. We have been the most damaged from the point of view of the health crisis, and now we are also going to be the most damaged from the point of view of the economic crisis. From the point of view of the health crisis, I believe that we are among the most damaged because the government reacted late and badly, and I believe that this is part of the circumstances that are causing us to be at the bottom of the class in terms of the economic crisis. And why do I say this? Because I think that the government, having reacted late and badly to the health crisis, is in a situation of absolute nervousness, so that the prudence that they did not have at the beginning of this crisis they want to have now at the end of this crisis, which is why they have made a lot of mistakes. At the beginning, they made it seem very structured, which in the end the years have blown it out of the water. They also started talking about quarantining all tourists in a country where we live off tourism. Then they really backtracked. But it all goes to show that they care about the issue when at the beginning of the crisis they showed a tremendous lack of awareness.
Spain is a country that has great entrepreneurial talent and this has been demonstrated both at home and abroad. In your opinion, as an entrepreneur with an international background, what aspects of business management in Spain could be improved?
I think our economy needs more freedom and much more openness. There is still a certain excess of protectionism, not so much externally, but also internally. If you look at the big companies or the big business owners that exist in Spain, they are probably still the same as they were 20, 30 or 40 50 years ago. However, some economies are constantly reinventing themselves, such as the United States, while in others, such as ours, there is no such mobility and dynamism within the business spheres. I am deeply liberal, both socially and economically, and I believe that there is nothing more illiberal than crony capitalism, because many governments do not favour the best or the most competitive, but those with the best connections.
In fact, some of this we have been seeing during this health crisis, where we have seen that the government has been going to outside companies that were newly formed, or that were not in the business of bringing in materials, or going to a firm of labour lawyers who brought in masks, etc. All those kinds of things are what really make an economy progress or not. That's why I think we need a lot more freedom and, above all, a lot more transparency. It is unacceptable that during this crisis the government has closed the transparency portal. What does it want to hide? What are the contracts, the contracts that have been made on the basis of non-transparency and restrictions on freedom? This is very important for a well-functioning economy.
We also wanted to ask you about this. About your recent political experience.
For me the experience has been wonderful, very gratifying, because it has been a real master's degree. When you have been working all your life and then you see where the kitchens are, where the decisions that affect you in your personal and professional life are really being taken, and to be up close and personal, well, for me it has been a wonderful experience. The saddest thing is to realise that there is a lot of mediocrity, that we are depending on people who, when you see them up close, when you see them in all the debates, in all the speeches, people in general, because there are many options, in general quite mediocre. I take away very positive things. For example, most of my colleagues. They are extraordinary people, people who come from a professional world and who are also very committed. On the other hand, I have seen people who are in politics because they have nowhere else to be. They have always been there and possibly if they weren't there, they wouldn't be able to find anything else. And there is another issue that has surprised me a lot is that there are not many people in the Chamber, there are too many people who are experts in economics and those who are, either because they are professors of economics, or because they are tax inspectors, but there are very few people who understand all this from the business world, and it is surprising that these Members of Parliament as a whole can be drafting or preparing laws and taking decisions on issues where they have not experienced them. I think it would be very interesting for the country if more businessmen could join Parliament, regardless of which party they belong to, but if there were people with much more business experience. This would also help the country.
What aspects of good communication in times of crisis would you highlight?
Well, I have been involved in this from another point of view, but I have managed a very important multinational company and I don't like to give advice, because I believe that everyone has to have their own style. One of the things I don't like is when companies try to communicate in a way that tries to be grandiloquent, that tries to be very cool, that tries to take on roles that are almost presidential, to inspire people. I think honesty always works. Telling people please buy us, because we are in a bad situation and we are in a bad situation, is a bad thing to say. It can be said in an honest and open way. And that kind of thing for me is what gives a lot more authenticity. Now, when we all get super sensible, applauding and encouraging, in the end, you see that there is a great convergence in the communications of many corporations, whether it is a bank or a food company, but they go with a more or less similar message. I think that in communication the important thing is to be different, better and special, because similarities in the end do not give value.