Do not enter the "rut" from which you cannot escape later

Introduce yourself in a few sentences!

My name is Boris Slav Stefanov and I am a consultant in the field of strategic and management services. I have a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and lived for about ten years in London, Dubai, Boston, and Moscow before returning to Bulgaria in 2009. Besides being a consultant, I worked for 4 years at the Bulgarian Investment Agency, in the regional logistics center of "Daimler" for the Middle East, and for various investment funds.

What did you dream of becoming in your childhood?

When I was a child, the usual answers varied from "astronaut" to "militiaman". I, on the other hand, wanted to become an academic. I was taught to read at about three years old. For some reason, I really liked encyclopedias – they were more engaging to me than children's books. Probably, because of that, I decided that being an academic must be an incredibly interesting job. It so happened that I developed professionally in a completely different direction, but still today I visit Wikipedia several times a day, so probably some part of that interest has remained.

At what age did you earn your first money? Share an interesting story with us?

I don't remember if I was already in first grade or not, but one day I was helping my grandfather in the yard of our house in Apriltsi. As a reward, I received 5 BGN, which in the mid-80s was an impressive amount for a day's work. When I was about ten years old, I helped my cousins in Shabla for a few weeks, who had a stall in the center – they taught me how to make coffee and help with orders. It was a lot of fun… Otherwise, unlike most of my friends, I didn't start a "real" job until the end of my second year, when I went on a student brigade in the USA, but after that, I quickly caught up.

What are the main factors and examples that shape us as individuals at an early age and form our interests? What is your recipe for curiosity, sources and wells of information and inspiration at this stage of our human development?

Small children are naturally curious. Put their toys in a cabinet with one of those "child locks", leave them alone for a while, and they will have figured out how to "hack the system" before you realize what's happening. But if this desire to explore how the world around them works is not constantly nurtured, it cannot develop. So, my recipe is very simple – talk to children constantly, explain all sorts of things to them, answer their questions, and encourage them to ask even more (or at least, up to the fifth "why" in a row). And less phones and television, of course.

Has there been any significant change in your perceptions in more mature age regarding what motivates you to do or not do something?

Definitely. When I was at the beginning of my professional career, I neither knew exactly what I wanted to do, nor did I invest time and energy in all sorts of endeavors. This certainly helped me gain experience, but it was probably not the most effective way to do it. At some point, I discovered that time is actually my most limited resource, and I became much more selective about who and what I spend it on. This went hand in hand with learning to say no – I try to maintain good relationships with everyone, and for many years I had a problem saying "no", which meant I had to do many things that weren't particularly interesting to me. This lesson that focus and personal interests are key is one of my most valuable discoveries.

Whose decision was it where to pursue higher education and what to study? Was that decision correct, looking back today?

I have three degrees of higher education, and the funny thing is that for none of them was the decision entirely mine. I graduated from the first class of the American College in Sofia and applied to a university in the USA at the end of 1996. Back then, the process was entirely "on paper", endless letters with forms, essays, and whatnot were sent. I was accepted to a university in Virginia, but I had missed sending some documents for financial aid and we had to pay tens of thousands of dollars.… So, with the results from the SAT and TOEFL, I entered AUBG – back then I didn't even want to go to Blagoevgrad, but those four years turned out to be some of the most useful for me.

After that, I completed a master's degree in international management at Regents University in London. This, too, was pure coincidence. In my last year at AUBG, I took the GMAT, one of the most important exams for MBA programs in America, achieving an extremely high score (and extremely limited professional experience – apparently, the leading universities in the USA were not impressed by the fact that one summer I cleaned hotel rooms for ten hours a day, and another I was a waiter at two different places simultaneously). I was not accepted for MBA and decided to look for a job – in the early 2000s, I think the most prestigious among my classmates and friends was working in Big 4 and the large international firms in Sofia. However, my parents insisted that I have some degree from a university outside Bulgaria, so by chance (and urgency) I started my master's degree in London – but it helped me start working at a small firm in the UAE, from where I moved to "Daimler", and the professional experience from there was the "missing link" to start my MBA four years later.

It's funny that even the decision for Harvard was not entirely mine. Besides there, I was accepted at INSEAD, also a leading business school - and for about a month I hesitated because I preferred to study in Europe. In the end, finances helped me decide – at that time, INSEAD practically did not help students. They said, "if a company is not paying for you, the master's degree costs about 50 thousand euros, not including housing and other expenses – how you will find them is your problem." Harvard, on the other hand, had a contract with one of the big banks in the USA, which covered not only the costs of education but all related expenses. So, in the end, all three of my higher educations contributed greatly to my development both professionally and academically – only for none of them did things develop exactly as I expected…

Share more about your interests, knowledge, skills, and hobbies?

At home, we have a three-year-old boy, so lately all interests and skills revolve around him, and there isn't much time left for hobbies. But I am among the lucky ones for whom work is so interesting that it allows me to learn something new every day. Otherwise, I try to exercise for at least half an hour to an hour a day. We live near Borisova Garden, so I try to run at least twice a week. Music is one of the most important things in my life. I can't play and it's better not to hear me sing, but I listen to everything from Vivaldi to "Rammstein". Fortunately, my partner is just as passionate about music as I am.

Would you change your profession today and which fields of activity capture your interest?

Aside from the fact that I envy people who can explain their profession in two words, I wouldn't change it for anything. What I really like about it is that I am not connected to any industry or company, and every new project is like a new job. This is wonderful in terms of the opportunity to learn new things and skills (and it's terrible in terms of the fact that every few months, when I start a new project, I feel as if I just graduated from university and am starting work for the first time).

They say that your personal brand is everything that people say about you when you are not in the same room with them. What would you like to hear today?

I have been fortunate to work with all kinds of people – from those everyone knows from television and the media to those no one suspects exist (but thanks to whom many companies and industries manage to work as we know). There are two things that have always "captivated" me – a person being a true professional in what they do, as well as treating their work with respect. Unfortunately, both are not particularly common lately – the world has developed in a way that a person can quickly become famous, resulting in all sorts of people who cannot tell their left hand from their right living as experts on all sorts of topics. For many people, work is a necessary evil, something they try to rush through, but there's no way around it because they need money for cars, phones, and vacations. Well, I would really like to hear those two things about myself – that I am one of the best in my field and that I equally respect everything I undertake.

Emotional intelligence, adaptability, and flexibility, as well as our soft skills, are key conditions for success in recent years. How do you cope with daily life challenges to stay in good shape and mood?

For good shape and mood, I try to avoid driving in Sofia during busy hours. Joking aside, I completely agree that social skills are among the most crucial prerequisites for success. None of us lives on a deserted island, and every day we interact with dozens of people on all sorts of topics and reasons. Someone may be the smartest in the room or offer the most correct solution, but if they cannot "reach" the others, then all that knowledge and experience may go to waste. I personally am very empathetic, so I almost always try before I react in any way to look at the situation through the eyes of the people around me. Sometimes, because of this, I find myself saying exactly the opposite of what I thought a moment ago before I called, but it has often helped me in communication and teamwork.

What are the most important conclusions you have drawn so far about maintaining the right communication considering the different characters of the people you meet every day – colleagues, friends, relatives?

This is probably related to the previous answer… I try not to create stereotypes, not to succumb to first impressions, and to accept that everyone has some knowledge and skills and that everyone has something useful to say, no matter how different they are from me.

What do you think about money? What is their influence on your life? What is your advice to people who often ask themselves questions related to money and how sufficient they are?

When I was a child, we were taught that money is a bad thing and that it was good that September 9th came to free us. Then it turned out that it wasn't exactly like that, but due to some coincidence, many of the people who got money after November 10th were just as annoying as the rich before 9/9. At the same time, because of my life in Dubai and Moscow, through my contacts from Harvard and the companies I have worked for, I know many millionaires and billionaires who are wonderful people and their wealth has not changed them at all. So, my conclusion is that money in itself has no particular influence – rather, people are decent or not, and some of them have a lot of money… Otherwise, money is important to the extent that it gives freedom to do what you want – and that is not unimportant.

What is the most valuable career advice you would give to people?

To get to know themselves and do what "resonates" with their inner self. At a young age, a person is prone to take on everything just to have some job. Over time, it turns out that what they do is boring or unsuitable for them, but they don't want to try something else - for one reason or another, and after another year or so, they find themselves in some "rut" from which they cannot escape. So, try to engage in things that make you happy and that you find interesting – the rest is easy.