It was Steve Jobs who, in a speech to graduating university students, recommended that we be “foolish” (as well as “hungry”) in building our future, as innovators and as entrepreneurs. Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, also spoke of follia visionaria (visionary folly) to describe the attitude that his challenged, controversial government would need in facing the dramatic Italian crisis – a dreadful tangle of politics and economics. Folly. The other, non-conformist side of the truth. The ability to see things differently, to surprise, to be eccentric and radically original. All skills that are perfectly suited to the entrepreneur, whose key to action is “innovation”. Culture of enterprise as an intelligent, audacious cultivation of a good sort of folly? Food for thought. As is the radical criticism of an ideology that has been leaving its mark on the world since the 1980s, that of extreme individualism. Giovanni Gozzini, in his book La mutazione individualista – Gli italiani e la television 1954-2011 (The individualist mutation – Italians and television 1954-2011), tells of the downslide of a nation in which (the already fragile) social responsibility and spirit of community have been cut into by a focus on the individual and on small groups that is without any social ethics and is moved by certain communicative processes. Aldo Bonomi, in his insightful Sunday segment in Il Sole24Ore, “Microcosmi”, recalls Tom Wolfe’s critical definition of the “Me Decade” and suggests that, in order for the Italian economy to recover, we need to reassess the capacity for small and medium enterprise to work together, to organize into districts and value chains, to create original synergies between human capital, individual enterprise, and the social capital of networks both old and new. Sounds good. A path to follow while reflecting on that wise, foolish (if that’s not an oxymoron) entrepreneur. And examples? There is that of Brunello Cucinelli, owner of one of the most innovative and prestigious textile and clothing firms, who spoke to Il Sole24Ore (5 May 2013, Sunday edition) about his passion for Marco Aurelio, an emperor and a philosopher, and for St. Benedict, who once told an abbot, “Be rigorous and kind. Be a loving father, but also a demanding teacher.” And what’s the rule for being a good entrepreneur? According to Cucinelli, “Respect for others and the moralisation of public life. But also the need to unite rationalism with an increasingly massive dose of passion and inventiveness.” In other words, stay foolish.

There was once Taylor (Frederick) and Taylorism, that scientific organisation of labour which, whether we like it or not, made large inroads in industry and manufacturing in particular. Today we have the Web and globalisation, collaboration which extends horizontally, that socialisation of business organisation which has also changed its culture. But a lot still needs to be studied better, understood, assimilated and circulated.

This is what Marco Minghetti writes in his L’intelligenza collaborativa. Verso la social organization, [“Collaborative Intelligence. Towards Social Organisation”] it serves in fact for understanding and use, and circulation.

The basic idea is that the “new forms of organisation” achieve coordination without centralisation, while power lies in skills and not in roles and so-called shared knowledge triumphs over authoritarianism. This is “social organisation”, introduced and widespread in some companies and industries, but not yet in others.

Minghetti’s book is a sort of “strategic guide” to this subject. It serves for tackling the change in companies arising from the use of social media and processes of collaboration emerging from the lower level. According to the author all this constitutes in firms first of all a cultural, organisational and strategic challenge ahead of a technological one, which involves everyone, from directors to deliverymen. However L’intelligenza collaborativa is not just a handbook, it is also a collection of testimonies from managers from different sectors who tell of the various phases of the organisational transformation of the firms where they have worked. Thus there are contributions from managers of Cisco, Gucci, Pirelli, Nokia, Mip, Telecom Italia, HERA, Ottica Avanzi, Vodafone, Unicredit, Banca Ifis, Microsoft, Heineken, IBM Italia and Bosch. The three parts into which the book is structured – the phases necessary for transformation, the change of human resources and the key principles around which everything revolves – are therefore all worth reading.

L’intelligenza collaborativa. Verso la social organization

Marco Minghetti

Egea, 2013

Entrepreneurs are the same the world over, although identical companies obviously cannot be found. However the spirit of enterprise, glorified by numerous theorists and a reality in thousands of firms, effectively has common features which cross over borders and continents. Nevertheless there is not a great deal of proof of this.

This is what makes it interesting to read Achievement Motivation, Strategic Orientations, and Business Performance in Entrepreneurial Firms: How Different are Japanese and Americans Founders?, a study carried out by four authors scattered among three research institutes: Rohit Deshpandé, Amir Grinstein from Ben-Gurion University, Sang-Hoon Kim from Seoul National University and Elie Ofek from Harvard.

The aim of the research was to understand whether there are differences in strategic decisions and in orientations, as well as in the results, between American and Japanese firms, with special focus on the motivation of the so-called “founders” of the same firms. Nothing theoretical however, seeing that the analysis was performed with a survey among 397 Japanese and 189 American “founders”.

The results in some respects were surprising. Although located in culturally different countries, the Japanese and US entrepreneurs have in fact similar styles which lead to subsequent decisions.

The authors give examples. In Japan and the USA success always comes via customer care and costs limitation; while the focus on levels of technology is inversely proportional to the profitability levels.

Above all however, what emerges from the over 500 interviews is that enterprising spirit which leads people of different cultures and lifestyles to the same decision and behaviour modes. An instinct, a feeling, drive, initiative which are virtually identical connotations of entrepreneurs in any part of the world. A kind of pervasive magic which surprises and is repeated each day.

Achievement Motivation, Strategic Orientations, and Business Performance in Entrepreneurial Firms: How Different are Japanese and Americans Founders?

Rohit Deshpandé, Amir Grinstein, Sang-Hoon Kim and Elie Ofek

International Marketing Review, Volume 30/3, 2013.

The “manufacturers’ pact” represents a key move on the panorama of industrial relations in Italy: not only a political signal from entrepreneurs and trade unions, but also a specific commitment to formulating corporate agreements aimed at boosting competitiveness, improving productivity and fostering growth, quality and innovation. There is also another aspect to the pact,  which involves applying pressure and lobbying the government, parliament and political parties for economic policies that will favour the forces responsible for the creation of wealth: the companies.

The idea of a “manufacturers’ pact” is not a new one: it appeared in political debate in Italy in the crisis years of the ‘70s, above all in terms of analysis and proposals – albeit diverse – presented by the PCI led by Enrico Berlinguer and the PRI led by Ugo La Malfa. It represented a stand against the trend, which was widespread even back then, for cronyism in policy-making (something which characterised above all areas close to the DC). Now the pact is back, but in a new guise, championed by Confindustria and CGIL, CISL and UIL (which, despite their limits and contradictions, represent the world of manufacturing). And there was physical evidence of this too, during the May Day celebrations in Bologna and Treviso: on stage at the events alongside the trade union leaders were representatives of Confindustria, Confartigianato, CNA and Lega delle cooperative, company men in other words.

So what are the pact’s signatories asking for? Measures to kick-start the economy, focusing on industry and manufacturing first and foremost and making good use of fiscal leverage to foster innovation, research, an international approach, exports and competitiveness. Less fiscal pressure and simpler taxation for those in business and manufacturing: not general, generic tax cuts, but strategic industrial policies based on intelligent, selective taxation. The measures meet with the approval of the OECD: “The priority for Italy”, asserts OECD Secretary General Angel Gurruia, “is to reduce taxes on companies and labour”. With the manufacturers in mind.

Speed, globalisation, acceleration: all forces that are contributing to shaping modern business. The hectic pace of life risks putting paid to more than just a few companies (as is effectively the case) and is challenging management methods, planning, the very identity of companies and the production culture they were founded and developed on. Neologisms reflect these developments: augmented business, for example, refers to companies that use the web as their hunting ground, markets that used to have physical boundaries and are now basically limitless.

Alongside production and manufacturing activities, the aspects of business concerned with communications, information networks and the responsibilities involved in these arenas are now becoming increasingly important.

Exploring these companies, and understanding their methods, means not only looking at the present economy but also potential future developments. This is what Gian Paolo Bonani (from the Department of Social Communications and Research at the Sapienza University in Rome) does in his book “Augmented Business. Chaos and Responsibility in Business Communications in the Social Era”, which was written with university students in mind but is also a valuable aid for others, including companies, wishing to gain insight into the current scenario.

According to Bonani the economic activities of companies and organisations in general, are growing, accelerating, and intensifying, making productive and social objectives more structured and complex, with greater responsibilities at stake. What’s more, the author believes that companies using the web to expand their range of action and commercial and cultural influence, are operating in an economic arena where the consumer population has changed radically over the last 20 years.

Bonani analyses, studies, explains and illustrates this complex, intricate topic. He also examines the errors and misconceptions that arise, creating what is essentially a guide to this increasingly dense jungle.

L’impresa aumentata. Caos e responsabilità della comunicazione d’impresa nell’età social

G. Paolo Bonani

Franco Angeli, 2013

Companies, above all family companies, are part of a community. Indeed one of the distinctive characteristics of the family firm and its culture appears to be attention to local, “personal”, lasting connections with the local area. Not in terms of the workforce, but the origins of the company and its management approach. These aspects come to shape production, which responds in a distinctive manner to external forces: recession, the markets, production costs, competition.

All of this is highlighted by Leandro D’Aurizio (Banca d’Italia) and Livio Romano (Istituto Universitario Europeo), in an insightful study just published by Banca d’Italia, “Le imprese familiari nella Grande Recessione”, that analyses the behaviour of multi-plant family firms in the period known as the “Great Recession”, from 2007 to 2009.

In particular the study, which drew on data from a survey of companies conducted by Banca d’Italia (Invind), looks at the adjustment of staffing levels in Italian family firms following the recession.

The results speak for themselves: “During the recession”, the two economists explain, “Multi-plant family firms focussed on maintaining staffing levels at their head office rather than outlying premises. In particular, within-firm changes in staffing levels actually led to a slight increase in the number of employees in the head office, compared to a decrease in non-family firms”.

The authors explain that this is probably due to the practical application of the concept of “social recognisability”, based on the psychological and emotional bond between the company owner and the community.

This factor, which is evident enough to be measured statistically, represents tangible evidence of the corporate culture that continues to be firmly embedded in Italy, above and beyond the recession and temporary problems.

Le imprese familiari nella Grande Recessione (Family firms and the Great Recession: out of sight, out of mind?) 

Leandro D’Aurizio and Livio Romano 

Discussion topic n. 905, April 2013

New paths are beaten out between “local” and “global”: “glocal”, a hybrid, known for some time, of global and local, used to describe business activities firmly rooted in the area of origin yet with a strong focus on international markets. Recently we have had a new phenomenon – relocalisation, i.e. the return of industrial activities to the areas of origin after the successful season of delocalisation. Industry is returning to Europe, and above all to the US. There in fact, in the past three years, the manufacturing industry has created approximately 500,000 new jobs. The economic policies of President Obama have sustained the revival or the strengthening of the car industry (and the entire automotive sector) and several other areas.

Going against the flow in other words. Factories can and must be revived in countries with a longstanding industrial tradition and high cost of labour. The manufacturing industry in fact makes a solid and durable contribution both to the GDP and to widespread economic and social equilibrium (an industrial structure which innervates large areas is like a network of roots which keep the land compact and solid, avoiding landslides, fissures and avalanches). New skills, knowledge and culture develop around the manufacturing industry which are the driving force for widespread wealth which can be constantly renewed (provided naturally investments are made in training and research, human capital and the spread of technology).

“Manufacturing is a source of knowledge”, maintains Luca Paolazzi, director of the Confindustria research centre, in a recent book, L’Europa e l’Italia nel secolo asiatico: integrazione e forza industriale a difesa di libertà e benessere, [“Europe and Italy in the century of Asia: industrial strength and integration in defence of freedom and well-being”] published by Luiss University Press. He explains that “most of basic and applied research is performed by manufacturing companies. Action itself, i.e. production, offers improvements and advances solutions in processes and products”. The factory as culture, and interweaving of social fabrics. The source of wealth (GDP) and also relations filled with solidarity and future (that good “social capital” which contributes to the new ISEW, the index of sustainable economic welfare).

In other words open and reopen factories, producing again in the USA, in Italy and the rest of Europe. Good local and supply chain relations, an intelligent supply chain. Sophisticated technologies for niche production, solid quality and high added value. In this arena Italy has many cards in hand to be played better than in the past. 

We need to look around and behind us to understand corporate culture in Italy today. Search in the past and present, talk to entrepreneurs. Investigate the decisions made, the roads taken, what has taken place and is taking place inside and outside factories and offices. A difficult yet fascinating task, not just academic but also tremendously practical and useful.

Aldo Bonomi has attempted this with success in his latest work Il capitalismo in-finito [“In-finite Capitalism”] coming out now. This is a packed and exciting journey which bases on some questions. What has changed, for example, compared to the triumphant years of the upwardly mobile small and medium-sized Italian corporate model? And what since hundreds, thousands of entrepreneurs in northeast Italy invested money, even though they knew they were running a risk, and launched into new challenges, driven by the aspiration to make a name on the market and earn their place in the sun?

The answer is “everything” and the demonstration by Bonomi moves from a voluminous series of data and interviews throughout industrial Italy: from post-Fordism Turin to the Veneto foothills with Padua and Vicenza, from Modena to the Adriatic areas of Pesaro and Urbino, from Florence to Syracuse.It should be pointed out that Bonomi has put together not just a research paper but a series of tales and stories of life which aid in understanding better what has been done, what is the corporate cultural model which has accompanied the growth of the Italian economy to date and, now, its stagnation and the many doubts about the future which afflict entrepreneurs, politicians and the general public.

A book and a journey which are reminiscent, in a certain sense, of other similar ventures such as those by Guido Piovene (Viaggio in Italia – “Italian Journey”) and by Giorgio Bocca (Miracolo all’italiana – “Italian Miracle”) which however narrated a country which seems centuries away from that of today.

Il capitalismo in-finito

Aldo Bonomi

Einaudi, 2013.

The birth, progress and development of firms also stem from the historical, institutional and social conditions of entrepreneurs. Or rather the particular nature of firms, their culture, style and potential for growth are apparently closely linked to the historical age during which they are set up. For a better understanding however the information and interpretations have to be organised in a logical sense. Guides are needed, such as the one prepared by Geoffrey Jones (from the General Management Unit of Harvard Business School) who in just over 70 pages tells of the development of the relationship between entrepreneurship, firms and development from 1850 to date.

The study integrates knowledge on the role of entrepreneurship and firms in the analyses of why Asia, Latin America and Africa have been so slow in catching up with the West after the industrial revolution and the advent of modern economic growth and of how today, instead, some areas of the world are growing much more than Europe and North America.

In order to guide the reader through over one hundred years of corporate and economic history Jones divides the whole into large phases: the creation of wealth and poverty in the age of the “first global economy” and up to the First World War, the upset caused by the Second World War and the evolution of the post-war years, the phase of the “second global economy” to date. All this narrated rather than stated, so as to build a story and not just an academic essay.

The conclusion according to Jones is that the explanations which concentrate on shortcomings by institutions, on the low tendency towards development of human capital, on geography and culture are important, but not sufficient for understanding the growth of firms and their way of facing up to reality. Today the social and cultural rooting of new technologies launches important entrepreneurial and cultural challenges which the various areas of the world tackle differently and with different results. As Jones says at a certain point, local and western managerial practices have often been combined for the production of hybrid corporate forms.

Entrepreneurs, Firms and Global Wealth Since 1850

Geoffrey Jones 

Harvard Business School – General Management Unit, Working Paper No. 13-076, 2013.

This year, the Pirelli Foundation has again opened its doors to third-grade children of the Giovanni Battista Pirelli elementary school, with a very special lesson for them.

After a brief introduction to the history and properties of rubber, the children learnt about the main stages involved in manufacturing a tyre. From theory to practice: armed with plasticine (strictly black!) and wooden sticks, the children let their imagination run wild, designing and creating a tread of their own… geometric patterns, shapes taken from the world of nature and even a few hearts. This led to the creation of the latest treads: ‘Fantasy’, ‘DNA’, ‘Rubbery Sky’, ‘Go!’ and many others.

The morning continued with a visit to the R&D laboratories. Shown around by laboratory colleagues, the children discovered the secrets involved in creating a tyre tread: from laser cutting to the delicate work of gouging and then on to the semi-anechoic chamber, where, in absolute silence, they put the performance of Pirelli tyres to the test.

This course is an integral part of the training programme provided by the Pirelli Foundation with the aim of introducing children to the world of the factory and work, and bringing even the youngest ones closer to the values of our company.

If you wish to find out more about our training programme for schools, please write to info@fondazionepirelli.org or call +39 02644270613.