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An interview with Maria Jose Pita

Company: CEV Consultores em Engenharia do Valor Ltd.
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Position: Director

Where did you learn the basics of running a business?
There isn’t a specific place where we can learn “all” the basics of running a business. College helped a lot particularly on the way of thinking which means on the rational part, the rest is completed by experience and by the information we share with our colleagues. Running a business is not just an intellectual act in the classical assertion, we must also follow our instinct which we also learn to listen to.

Whom did you work with before becoming a consultant?
For several years I worked in a cork exporting company which was a very good school for the consultancy business. I worked in an office but had also a plant. My experience was very diversified: I had responsibilities in the commercial, marketing, budgeting and planning areas and used to travel a lot. This very diversified activity helped me a lot to understand and work with very different people and very varied realities.

What will you do in ten years?
In ten years I hope to be mainly running people and co-ordinating projects than doing consultancy. I hope to have more free time to enjoy my hobbies but also to improve my knowledge. Hopefully all our consultants will have the same opportunity as our company grows.

What kind of people do you like to work with?
I prefer to work with open minded, creative, flexible, motivated people and with people, who have a very good level of emotional intelligence. I like to work with people who make a difference and who like to share.

Is there someone whom you would describe as intelligent?
For me intelligence does not consist of a mere deductive capacity. Intelligence is a blend of deduction, emotions and ethics no matter whether we are speaking about private or professional life, which in fact I believe are too much connected to be seen independently. People like Sérgio d’Espiney, from whom I learnt and still learn a lot, are an example of an intelligent person for me .

After working many years as a consultant you managed many projects. Are there really special ones among them?
All projects are special or have a special particular characteristic no matter how tiny they are. We can always learn something from a project even from the simplest one. I am at time being working in a very special project with other partners on the social development and entrepreneurial initiative. The creativity and involvement it requires and all the different people I am working with makes it very very interesting - it is a pleasure.

Why is your company a member of IMCN?
In our activity it is very important to learn from others, to have other views, to be available for the difference and to share information. We believe that IMCN can proportionate all this items to us. Of course we must never forget the commercial and marketing component, it can be a very good selling argument for our work specially if we gain international visibility through the quality of our work.