«Although companies are generally not the ideal place to be a startupper, I personally believe that it is possible to become an entrepreneur within an organization despite the difficulties I’ve described, without starting your own business». Roberto Battaglia, head of HR Corporate & Investment Banking at Intesa Sanpaolo, is the author of “Startupper in azienda”. In this very enlightening essay – released in early 2021 – Battaglia argues that in order not to dissipate hidden potential, we must allow people to give unsolicited advice and take the liberty of “coming out of their shells”.

On the first leg of our journey to learn more about the areas and tools that Maire Tecnimont Group and other companies are relying upon to design their future as third-millennium businesses, we started out in the same way as with previous issues. That is, by analyzing the editorial work of authoritative experts who are convinced that the culture and principles of entrepreneurial management can transform companies into organizations capable of promoting long-term growth. And in doing so, take advantage of all the opportunities of the 21st century. Together with Roberto Battaglia’s thoughts (that we will delve into in a separate interview on the following pages), scattered here and there you will find some extracts from “The startup way” by Eric Ries and from “Find your why” by Simon Sinek.

Eric Ries is an entrepreneur and creator of the Lean Startup methodology, popular in the business sector and adopted by people and companies from around the world. With his previous book “The Lean Startup” from 2011 (translated into Italian with the title “Partire leggeri”) Ries has sold more than a million copies and has been translated into more than thirty languages. Having gained experience at companies like GE and Toyota, in “The startup way” Ries applies the secrets of Silicon Valley to established companies in every industry, explaining that today every one of us should be in “startup mode”.

In “Find your why” Simon Sinek – a marketing consultant and author of several books on the topics of communication and leadership – asserts that to inspire others it is not enough to explain what we do. We have to make it clear why we do it: «The economic culture – tells Sinek – is changing: people are not buying what you do, but why you do it. Finding the reason for our actions is the key to personal fulfillment at any level, from the boardrooms of large corporations to the hearts of young people who are looking for work». For Sinek, feeling fulfilled is a right, not a privilege. «We all have the right to get up in the morning feeling motivated to go to work, and to return home at night feeling a sense of accomplishment for what we have done». The secret to achieving this kind of satisfaction lies in the ability to understand exactly why we do what we do

An English writer and essayist, Simon Sinek has done extensive work on the way young people approach the world of work. His target audience is indeed the Millennials – people born approximately between 1984 and 2000 – and the summary of his theory became famous in an interview a few years ago, in which Sinek explained that young people tend to believe everything is owed to them: «They are not happy, they are always missing something. Too many of them grew up under the influence of failed parenting strategies, because they were always told they were special and could have anything from life. When they get a job and arrive in the real world, in an instant they find out that they are not special at all, that mom can’t get you a promotion, that if you come in last, they don’t give you a medal and that it is not enough just to want something to be able to get it».

Being raised in a world of instant gratification, according to Sinek, does not help: «Want to buy something? Just go on Amazon and with one click it arrives the next day. Want to watch a movie? With a login you no longer even need to consult the film listings and time tables. Want to watch a TV series? No need to wait for a new episode every week, just watch them all back-to-back. However, this system of instant gratification does not work at your job, nor does it help you create stable relationships in your life. There is no app for it, just a slow, obscure, unpleasant, messy process. In other words, to leave a mark you need patience, as you cannot get to the top without taking care of the mountain. Learning to be patient is the key to accepting yourself more, and the fact that some falls (or even failures) will be part of the journey. With the help of a work environment that knows how to appreciate it, – concludes Sinek – patience is a soft skill that is worth centering your attitude around».