Understanding and decisions
The latest book by Gianmario Verona analyses the complexities of our times and provides a method to tackle them
Aware and attentive individuals, able to comprehend and thus choose the right path – all business people should know how to do this, especially today. Yet, though this is a goal that all could attain, in reality only a few succeed in doing so, even in such complex and difficult times such as ours, when the ability to first observe and then make a suitable decision represents a winning factor, for companies, too.
It is around this tangle of topics that Gianmario Verona – professor of economy and corporate management at the Bocconi University in Milan, of which he also used to be dean – wrote his Capaci di decidere. Prospettive e buone pratiche dai leader di oggi per i leader di domani (Decision-making skills. Prospects and good practices of today’s leaders aimed at tomorrow’s leaders), a recently published work that aptly succeeds in answering a question: are we still able to make decisions?
Observing real life is a key point. There are so many factors at play today that their intermingling leads to unpredictability – whether we apply it to the macro context of economic and geopolitical settings or to the micro context where enterprises, institutions and professionals have had to acquire skills and knowledge unimaginable only a few years ago, complexity is what distinguishes our era. Thus, the employment and production spheres are in need of completely new policies.
The author tries to meet this need by applying his own experience: on the one hand, his six-year-long career as dean of the Milanese university (from 2016 to 2022) and, on the other, the contributions he collected through 50 interviews with 50 executives sharing their thoughts on what may characterise the decision-making process of modern managers, if not of policy makers. The content is organised along three main areas: the development of digital tools, the need to take sustainability into consideration, and the essential role played by human capital.
The narrative background ranges from a retelling of the Twin Towers’ tragedy to the onset of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, leading to the realisation that the common thread is increased complexity, which therefore we must learn to tackle.
The narrative – dramatic at times – begins by describing the small pieces of information reaching the author at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, before leading readers through various stages: an analysis of “complexity and decisions” and how those three main areas inform our actions. The main message is clear: before attempting to solve a problem, it is important to first analyse it in depth and fully understand it. In other words, as Verona explains, complexity must be comprehended before we can resolve it. We need to know how to adequately interpret it, invest time in piecing together the context and dedicate resources in order to define the scope of action – without forgetting how important it is to work together, and also employing the latest Artificial Intelligence technologies. The book is further enhanced by QR codes, which provide access to the 50 executive chats the author had with 50 CEOs and managers of great national and international companies sharing their ideas on the future and on corporate governance.
Capaci di decidere. Prospettive e buone pratiche dai leader di oggi per i leader di domani (Decision-making skills. Prospects and good practices of today’s leaders aimed at tomorrow’s leaders)
Gianmario Verona
Egea
2023
The latest book by Gianmario Verona analyses the complexities of our times and provides a method to tackle them
Aware and attentive individuals, able to comprehend and thus choose the right path – all business people should know how to do this, especially today. Yet, though this is a goal that all could attain, in reality only a few succeed in doing so, even in such complex and difficult times such as ours, when the ability to first observe and then make a suitable decision represents a winning factor, for companies, too.
It is around this tangle of topics that Gianmario Verona – professor of economy and corporate management at the Bocconi University in Milan, of which he also used to be dean – wrote his Capaci di decidere. Prospettive e buone pratiche dai leader di oggi per i leader di domani (Decision-making skills. Prospects and good practices of today’s leaders aimed at tomorrow’s leaders), a recently published work that aptly succeeds in answering a question: are we still able to make decisions?
Observing real life is a key point. There are so many factors at play today that their intermingling leads to unpredictability – whether we apply it to the macro context of economic and geopolitical settings or to the micro context where enterprises, institutions and professionals have had to acquire skills and knowledge unimaginable only a few years ago, complexity is what distinguishes our era. Thus, the employment and production spheres are in need of completely new policies.
The author tries to meet this need by applying his own experience: on the one hand, his six-year-long career as dean of the Milanese university (from 2016 to 2022) and, on the other, the contributions he collected through 50 interviews with 50 executives sharing their thoughts on what may characterise the decision-making process of modern managers, if not of policy makers. The content is organised along three main areas: the development of digital tools, the need to take sustainability into consideration, and the essential role played by human capital.
The narrative background ranges from a retelling of the Twin Towers’ tragedy to the onset of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, leading to the realisation that the common thread is increased complexity, which therefore we must learn to tackle.
The narrative – dramatic at times – begins by describing the small pieces of information reaching the author at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, before leading readers through various stages: an analysis of “complexity and decisions” and how those three main areas inform our actions. The main message is clear: before attempting to solve a problem, it is important to first analyse it in depth and fully understand it. In other words, as Verona explains, complexity must be comprehended before we can resolve it. We need to know how to adequately interpret it, invest time in piecing together the context and dedicate resources in order to define the scope of action – without forgetting how important it is to work together, and also employing the latest Artificial Intelligence technologies. The book is further enhanced by QR codes, which provide access to the 50 executive chats the author had with 50 CEOs and managers of great national and international companies sharing their ideas on the future and on corporate governance.
Capaci di decidere. Prospettive e buone pratiche dai leader di oggi per i leader di domani (Decision-making skills. Prospects and good practices of today’s leaders aimed at tomorrow’s leaders)
Gianmario Verona
Egea
2023