“This is strictly confidential”

What does confidence in business mean? I received quite the lesson on the topic, as I listened to a story by Aki Aunola, the CEO of Luonnosta Oy, on the last day of the Kasvu Open event. Potato merchant Aunola told us about the biggest mistake on his company’s path to international operations – a wrong partner, clad in red leather gloves and a fox fur collar, who managed to bring the company temporarily to its knees.

In my view, confidence in another person can only be born out of experiences after careful consideration and correct choices. For example, I find myself, once again, going to a nearby restaurant for lunch, because the food is delicious and their customer service always friendly and fast. Experiences have formed a level of familiarity and created a feeling that everything works.

However, experiences formed in such situations are subjective. A colleague may have a completely different perception of the lunch break. I was perplexed, as I listened to Luonnosta Oy’s experiences on taking their first steps to the international markets with Google Translate. They were quite brave (daring, rather), as they were confident enough in using this tool to translate the company’s communication.

From confidence to confidentiality

I often handle documents that are strictly confidential. These documents may be contracts or stock exchange announcements or they may contain trade secrets. Non-disclosure agreements and my solicitor’s advice have often come in handy. The format of the documents may also result from the client’s creative work, making them valuable. Even then, the documents were provided to us in confidence.

Confidence carries particular significance in traditional banking. We translated a Finnish banking group’s documents into English, for a client of Kumppania, a communications agency. The translations of the bank’s interim report and annual report were exported directly into a layout, which saved the communication agency’s time and other resources to a great extent. We at Lingo made sure to handle the layout file with the respect it deserved.

Kumppania’s Account Manager Nina Toivola states that the agency is happy to collaborate with Lingo.
– We, as well as our clients, have been pleased with the translations. The delivery time has always matched our expectations even though I’m sometimes of the opinion that the delivery time we’ve requested from Lingo is unfeasible.

The potato store’s story about international business is an important reminder to us. The significance of trust is highlighted in every aspect of Lingo’s operations. It is also one of the corner stones in customer relationships.

– Collaboration with Lingo is smooth, professional and convivial.

Thank you for your confidence in us.

Three tips for selecting a trustworthy partner: