News & Events

Watch our activity in one place

2025-01-29

More of the same won’t be enough – Eimantas Kiudulas

29 Jan 2025

Before the winter holiday season in recent years, I often wished colleagues and partners new energy, bolder steps, greater ambition, enthusiasm, courage and similar qualities. While these wishes remain relevant, in 2024, I realized that we are overly focused on evolution. Each year, we plan for more sales, expanded markets, new products, processes or skills, aiming for higher efficiency or innovation. However, this often represents a continuation of past efforts, merely scaled up or improved in quality.

Of course, gradual progress is understandable. Why dismantle what works? With minor improvements, we can achieve slightly better results, and stepping somewhat out of our comfort zones offers a manageable balance between risk and reward. The problem, however, is that we have entered an era where “more of the same” may no longer suffice.

Let me start with an example that, while distant, strongly affects us indirectly – Germany. Few people in recent years have not heard about the struggles of Germany’s automotive industry, one of our largest export partners, in competing with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. Paradoxically but evidently, the engineering powerhouse that invented the internal combustion engine over 150 years ago is struggling to keep up with the electric revolution. While this equation includes many variables – resources, costs, regulations, different business and governance structures, among others – one fact is clear: Germany can no longer rely on “more of the same” or even “better of the same.” I believe German entrepreneurship and craftsmanship won’t give up easily and will surprise the world again. It will be fascinating to see whether, what, and how Germany will do things differently – not merely more, slightly better, or a few percent more efficiently, but fundamentally differently.

Now, let us return to Lithuania, a country that has been building its prosperity for only a few decades, not millennia. I have often rightfully praised Lithuania’s rapid progress, which in just a few decades has brought us back into the club of developed Western nations. I have also rightfully praised the people and bold decisions that allowed us to stand out not only regionally but globally. However, it is essential to acknowledge that we have also been aided by favorable external circumstances, which we managed to approach with more boldness and agility than others. While our challenges today differ from those in Germany, it seems clear that “more of the same” won’t be enough for us either.

There’s no need to expand on where we currently stand. The only key to long-term success lies in building a financially, physically and socially stronger state. Part of this success (his)story has already been written, but I emphasize the word “history” – its future chapters are being created today. While this puzzle consists of countless pieces, and my work focuses mainly on the Klaipėda business community, universal opportunities and inspirations are visible even from here.

We constantly talk about improving the investment climate, including developing human capital, streamlining procedures, international marketing, prepared infrastructure, or even subsidies. All of this is necessary and will continue to be, but we have entered a time when these things are no longer differentiators – they are just “hygiene.” In other words, improving these areas no longer propels us forward in today’s competitive world – it merely keeps us from falling behind. This is vital, but it has become just “more of the same.” Even resolving last year’s bureaucratic scandal involving Teltonika won’t give us much to be proud of. The issues faced by this company are “hygienic,” and addressing them won’t amount to a revolution.

For this and the years ahead, I wish for us to focus not only on “more and better” but also on “differently”. Fortunately, we already have examples of this.

Teltonika, in my view, is an excellent example of how decades of effort can be transformed into significant new steps by investing in industries that are new to Lithuania, not only in Vilnius but also in recreational Molėtai, unlocking the immeasurable potential of Taiwanese partnerships and the semiconductor industry. “Semiconductors in Lithuania” or even “semiconductors in Molėtai” – could anyone have dreamed of this a decade ago? Teltonika wasn’t afraid of this vision, acted differently, and even though this path is more complex and uncertain, it already proves to thousands of Lithuanian businesses that our limits are mostly in our minds.

Even in the public sector, we sometimes manage to think differently. Multimillion-euro investments by German defence powerhouse in Baisogala – who would have believed it just a few years ago? While this project was born out of extraordinary circumstances and remains incredibly complex, someone managed to use a challenging moment not for a percentage point or two of “more of the same” but to introduce a completely new, strategic manufacturing sector to Lithuania. And even before its doors are open, this initiative already benefits Klaipėda—for instance, through ballistic protection manufacturer KOVO Armor, which joined our FEZ last year. Similarly, the Independence LNG terminal was a bold and a “different” move. Just more than a decade ago, we feared for our energy security, and today, we are a regional energy hub thanks to it.

It is clear that even in a wealthier Lithuania that may be entering a temporary comfort zone, opportunities abound to not just do more and better but to do things differently. “Differently” is one of the most valuable aspects of the freedom we have fought so hard to secure and cherish. “Differently” may also prove crucial in the new geopolitical reality. It’s clear that the United States, our long-standing ally, will be somewhat different moving forward. Fortunately, nothing prevents us from thinking and acting differently. But let’s not forget that this freedom is still available to our neighbors as well.

It’s also true that doing things differently is a thankless task. Aside from competitors and adversaries, it is doomed to face resistance from within – scientifically proven human nature resists change. The paradox is that in the event of success, the same people later express gratitude for the change once initiated. However, I believe that all significant changes happen more smoothly when they are pursued with care, communication and empathy.

So, as you may have guessed, this year, I wish for us to do things differently – building on our existing strengths and accomplishments but daring to break out of the mental boxes we’ve drawn for ourselves. Bold investments, regional specialization, targeted subsidies for science, business, or even quality of life – everything is possible; we just need to discuss, agree, attempt, and execute.

Of course, not everything will succeed, but the very ability to think and act differently naturally attracts people and businesses. The Klaipėda FEZ team is always ready to join in any discussions, collaborations, and actions aimed at doing things differently.

Eimantas Kiudulas and
Team Klaipėda FEZ

Follow us on Linked In