Hammered by the post-September 11 IT blues, Stockholm is on the rebound as a business destination for frequent fliers.

Swedish-based Ericsson was dealt a body blow. At its peak, the wireless giant employed 107,000 people. Now, it’s 50,000. The company, along with its suppliers and spin-offs, accounted for 10 percent of Sweden’s exports. No longer. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that those IT, communications and high-tech companies that did weather the storm “are back again,” Johan Ogren, president of the Swedish Trade Office (Canada), says, “and they’re stronger than ever before.”

Business is robust once again, bringing in planeloads of fliers from the United States, Sweden’s biggest trading partner. Last year, Sweden exported some SEK 94 billion ($12.2 billion) worth of Volvos, cell phones, Saabs, and biotech material to the United States. From 1999 through 2003, Business Arena Stockholm, a group charged with promoting foreign investment, says the United States invested SEK 87 billion ($11.3 billion) in the Swedish economy. These are not inconsequential numbers.

“The United States is the biggest investor in this region,” Törbjorn Bengtsson, project manager IT & Telecom for Business Arena Stockholm, says. “Microsoft has its Nordic headquarters here. Sun Microsystems has its Baltic States office here. In the Stockholm region alone, there are 945 U.S. companies.

To understand what’s happening in the Swedish economy right now, you have to understand that growth is less frenzied, and far more measured than during the go-go days of 1999 through early 2000. Then, many companies went “from having no business here to wanting to do big things,” Bengtsson says. “Some of them succeeded. Many of them did not.”

Nowadays, U.S. investment in Sweden keeps pace with the market—it doesn’t outstrip it. “[Investment] grows as business grows,” Bengtsson says. Many American firms are setting up sales and support offices in Stockholm, employing five or six people. From there, they support not just the Swedish market, but the rest of Scandinavia too—as well as the Baltics, a white-hot arena of commerce.

Consider: According to Business Arena Stockholm figures, gross domestic product in Scandinavia is growing at the rate of three to four percent per year; the Baltics—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and parts of Poland—at five percent. Contrast this with central and southern Europe, where GDP is grubbing along at two percent per year.

Doing Business, Swedish Style

Should you find yourself among those bound for Stockholm to do a bit of business, don’t take the place on face value. To the untutored eye, Swedes are a lot like Americans. They even drive Volvos, just like us. But for all the similarities, there are some subtle—but significant—differences.

“There are some fundamentals that you have to understand,” Ogren says. In Sweden, the business hierarchy is much flatter than in the United States. “You don’t have to be at the top of the pyramid—a CEO or marketing manager—to make decisions.”

In keeping with the horizontal nature of Swedish society, Swedes are not much into self-promotion—or horn-blowing. “We will do a lot of the work,”

Ogren says, “but we don’t understand the principle of taking credit for [it].”

Generalizing, he says in a joint Swedish/American product team, Swedes might do most of the work, while Americans might take most of the credit. It doesn’t bother the Swedes. “There’s very much a team-spirited climate here,” he says. “Socially, and in business.”

Don’t land at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, however, with the notion that Swedes are overly laid back. They’re analytical, and tremendously punctual—although they don’t take the latter to the lengths the Germans do. If you have a 9 a.m. appointment, be there on time, or call ahead to say you’ll be late. Showing up 15 minutes ahead of time is rarely considered rude.

What is rude in Swedish business is micro-managing. “People are given

responsibility for doing their task,” Bengtsson says. “How you do it and in what fashion” isn’t terribly important, “as long as you deliver results.”

The big problem is that Americans and Swedes almost automatically think they understand each other just because we both like Abba. But subsurface differences are very real. “If you want to implement American management style in a Swedish company,” Bengtsson smiles, “sometimes that could be a problem.”

Getting Around Town

What’s not generally a problem is public safety. Breathtaking in a slow,

subtle sort of way, Stockholm is built on a series of islands located between the Baltic Sea and Lake Mälaren. You can walk much of the city with ease, and relative ease of mind. Some of those walks, however, can be circuitous. So too taxi rides. That’s because bridges don’t always connect the islands at the most logical locations. Remember, as with most European cities, Stockholm wasn’t built for automobiles.

Taxis are immaculately clean, not terribly expensive, and virtually all Volvos (station wagons are favored). The drivers, like almost everybody else in Stockholm, speak enough English to get you where you’re going.

But to really get around fast in this city on water, take the Tunnelbana,

Stockholm’s efficient subway system. Fliers accustomed to the Orwellian sameness of systems such as the Washington Metro are going to do a double take here. Ninety of the city’s 100 subway stations are arrayed with public art. In fact, Tunnelbana bills itself as “The World’s Longest Art Gallery.”

Where to Stay, Where to Drink, What to Do

There’s no dearth of four- and five-star hotels in Stockholm. In all categories, the city sports 41,000 rooms.

Hand’s down, the city’s gran dame is the Grand Hôtel Stockholm (46 (0) 8 679 35 00. This is where the Nobel Laureates stay when they come to town to collect their prizes. It’s located on the water, with a fine view of Old Town and the Royal Palace. The lobby bar is a powerplayer’s playground.

Another five-star property, a bit better situated for business, is the Sheraton Stockholm & Towers (46 (0)8 412 34 00. It’s in the heart of the central business district, while managing to still offer some nice views of Lake Mälaren.

If you’re looking for a four-star hotel with excellent access to Old Town,

consider First Hotel Reisen (46 (0)8 22 32 60. The restaurant offers a nice waterfront view. Down in the cellar there’s a cold-water pool and a perfectly heated sauna.

Swedish cuisine is more than just smörgåsbord. This country’s chefs have been competing in, and winning, international culinary competitions for years. Old Town is replete with good eateries. For night life, locals gravitate to Stureplan Square, on the island of Söndermalm. In the last couple of years, a number of new bars have opened on the island of Kungsholmen.

Most business trips these days are there-and-back affairs. Understood. But also understand this, if you’re in Stockholm for more than a couple of days you owe it to yourself to visit The Vasa Museum ((0)8 519 548 00). If you’ve read National Geographic, you know that Vasa may have been the most ill-fated vessel since Titanic. The Swedish warship sank in 1628 in Stockholm’s waters, was buried in the mud, and was salvaged in 1961. Now, after an extraordinary restoration, she stands in a museum—majestic, otherworldly.

Otherworldly, Stockholm is not. Its people, and its business practices, are

a comfortable admixture of Old World and New Age. Realize that, and

you’ll be ahead of the game when you arrive at Arlanda Airport. Know that despite the linguistic familiarity, the high-tech ambiance, and all the Swedes, this isn’t Minneapolis.