POSLOVNI ĐIR Berislav Borovina

Guest Berislav BorovinaHosted by Ojdana KoharevićMay 3, 2026

Berislav Borovina

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

For Berislav Borovina, the owner of Spegra, success isn't something to be pursued directly. Instead, he describes it as a byproduct of diligent work, constant learning, and treating colleagues with respect. "The formula for success is not to think about success," he says. His firm, Spegra, has thrived for 35 years in Croatia's demanding construction sector, navigating periods of war, deep recession, and natural disasters. Borovina has steered Spegra from its beginnings in the late 80s through an industry that has seen both its golden age and near-total collapse. His perspective offers a rare, long-term view on resilience: how to survive when major players fall, how to diversify within a specialized field, and what it takes to rebuild a nation's infrastructure—literally—after a crisis. This conversation reveals the mindset required to build a lasting enterprise in an industry that mirrors the health of the entire economy.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

Berislav Borovina, at 69, states he is "still learning every day" and that the formula for success is "not to think about success." A lasting enterprise isn't built by pursuing an abstract goal; it's the cumulative result of daily effort, continuous self-improvement, and a commitment to one's craft, regardless of age.

Borovina recalls Split in the 80s and 90s, when five or six major construction firms each employed thousands, a landscape that has since been completely altered. Cycles of economic upheaval often dismantle established industry structures, replacing them with a new generation of firms that emerge from the ashes of former giants.

"When construction coughs, the state has pneumonia," Borovina notes, explaining how the sector is the first to feel economic shifts. Construction serves as a critical barometer for a nation's financial health, entering and exiting crises ahead of the broader economy.

The 2008-2010 recession "destroyed Croatian construction like a fire destroys a forest," with major firms like Konstruktor, Vijadukt, and Hidroelektra collapsing and up to 100,000 people losing their jobs. Severe economic downturns can act as extinction-level events for entire industries, wiping out even the largest players and fundamentally reshaping the labor market.

Spegra survived the crisis by being a highly specialized firm with an "enormous scope of work," allowing them to pivot from one type of project (like road construction) to another (like cultural heritage or hydro-technical objects). Diversification within a specialized niche provides crucial resilience, enabling a company to shift focus and absorb shocks when specific market segments falter.

After the Zagreb earthquake, Borovina's son, without his knowledge, immediately mobilized 20 workers on a Sunday, making Spegra among the first on the scene to secure unstable structures. Crisis response often requires immediate, decentralized action, demonstrating that a company's true capability and commitment are revealed not by official mandates, but by the spontaneous initiative of its people.

Spegra's work on the Franciscan monastery became an "exemplary model" for post-earthquake reconstruction, setting procedural precedents and consuming 20-30% of early recovery funds. Being an early mover in complex, public recovery efforts not only establishes a firm's reputation but also helps define the operational standards and processes for others who follow.

Borovina describes the restoration of the Zagreb Cathedral towers as the "crown" of Spegra's existence, a project he remembers always being under scaffolding. Some projects transcend commercial value to become defining achievements for a company, imbuing its work with a deep sense of pride and historical significance.

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