All the company’s men

THE BUSINESS WORLD IS PERCEIVING PROFOUND CHANGES IN ITS SOCIAL ROLE. PREVIOUSLY VIEWED AS DIVIDEND-GENERATING STRUCTURES, BUSINESSES HAVE NOW BECOME COMPLEX ENTITIES THAT ARE CALLED UPON TO MEET DEMANDS COMING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT THIS CHANGE?
The change is certainly there and it is a movement that began some time ago. Companies should not look after the interests of their shareholders alone, they should account also for the needs of every other party that is directly or indirectly involved in keeping the company alive and making progress: these are the stakeholders. I mean first and foremost the clients, employees, suppliers, the community where the company lives. Clearly, the relationships that need to be established with these subjects must be transparent, lasting and lead to regular communication, maybe even of a double-way type. On one hand, this entails commitment on the part of the company while on the other hand I believe that the company can draw important returns from the relation. For example, providing suppliers with co-ordinated information about the company’s economic, financial and organisational situation can lead to better mutual understanding, to an improved use of the services the suppliers can offer. Informing employees about the company’s economic situation, in terms of initiatives and investments, can make them more motivated because they feel more involved in the company set-up. I truly believe that this issue is fundamental to the structure’s life and future growth.

APART FROM INFORMATION SHARING AND TRANSPARENT RELATIONS, ARE THERE ANY OTHER MECHANISMS IN FORCE WITH YOUR POSITION’S TRADITIONAL COUNTERPARTS, SUCH AS THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS?
Having personal acquaintances is one of the elements which allow you not only to solve contingent problems which may arise but also to facilitate the exchange
of information, ideas, documents. Of course, if among my acquaintances – just to give you a simple example – there were a bank director and I needed to get information about that particular bank, I’d be able to get it quite rapidly.
The same kind of service would be provided to the other party if requested. Therefore, good and lasting personal relationships are very important to do business well.

LET’S TAKE THE COMPANY AS A WHOLE: HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR REPUTATION FOR THE OUTSIDE WORLD?
Very. Reputation is a priceless asset. Doors will always be open to a company that is generally viewed as one that does business seriously and professionally. Let’s not forget that there are good times but also less good times. In my experience, this company has been through both the former and the latter. In difficult times, the very fact that the company enjoyed a good reputation in the outside world allowed us to overcome some difficulties relatively easily. Reputation is an asset that needs to be fostered and enhanced. Reputation is reflected in the way every single company collaborator behaves. The company speaks through its people, not through its papers. Therefore, if our internal or external collaborators act consistently with the company’s policy, then we can be sure about the content of the communication that has been conveyed. On the contrary, if we were to have staff who did not convey this type of information to the outside world, this would clearly show that we were facing some kind of a problem.

TRANSFERRING THESE NOTIONS ON A PERSONAL BASIS, WHAT EXAMPLE COULD YOU GIVE US?
When I was younger and had just started working at various issues with our foreign partners, especially with our illycaffè associated firms, the initial contacts were extremely difficult.
Speaking on the phone in a language that was different from my own and which I didn’t even master that well generated important misunderstandings.
Sometimes even unpleasant comments were made due to mutual misunderstandings. Instead, when I finally met these people and established personal and lasting relations with them, everything changed.
Problems which had previously seemed very difficult to solve could be overcome with a simple chat on the phone: suddenly a glimmer of light came through. For this reason I suggest that every illycaffè collaborator get a chance to meet the partners who are far away. Foreigners, Italians, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that getting to meet people personally allows to understand each other better and to best solve any type of problem.