The entrepreneur as a commander

By Lisa De Rossi,
Head of Press Office, IFP Europe

A virus arrives on Earth with the force of a giant asteroid, and suddenly everything changes, from health to the economy. A decree orders factories to close. Some shut down completely, “strategic production” keeps running, others switch to remote working, and still others, because they can, choose a “cautious” reopening.

These are deep shocks that leave business owners disoriented: financial worries, the need to keep the company “on its feet” and stay afloat until reopening. Then the restart. But how? And when? How do we change inside? And what about relationships within the company?

We talked about it with Claudio De Monte Nuto, Mental Coach, Project Manager and Founding Partner of the Starting4 Consortium.

Business owners used to taking action to improve performance now have to stand still. Standing still doesn’t mean doing nothing…

“Exactly,” explains Claudio De Monte, “and to clarify this idea, I’ll use a metaphor. We have a mind that controls the body, our voluntary and involuntary actions, and a mind that uses thought, often abstract and irrational, to imagine and create new ideas. What happens in this system? The more active the body is, the more the mind is busy controlling it through a whole series of automatic processes, and naturally it has fewer resources left for creativity. Here’s an example: if we go running at a slow pace, the body isn’t under strain, and we find that our mind can keep thinking. But if we start running fast, our body is taken up by maximum effort, the mind starts focusing on managing that movement and, essentially, we can no longer think. Now let’s draw the parallel with a company. When a business is running at full production and the whole system is focused on output and performance, it’s like our body at maximum effort. All our energy is concentrated there.

At times like these, when companies slow down or even stop, we can use this time for something that would otherwise be impossible: we can start thinking more broadly, because we no longer need to control the body (production), at least not as before. This is when new ideas and new projects take shape. We listen to what’s happening outside and become aware of the changes. And it’s the whole company, everyone in it as well as the business owner, that could receive and offer new input, for example to improve the new workspace. If business owners don’t lead these moments, they miss an extraordinary opportunity to tap into something inherent in human life: the creative act. We need to make the most of this ‘mind free from the ordinary’ and come away with new ideas and new perspectives.”

What attitude should business owners have toward themselves and their employees?

“A business owner is a beacon. I associate the image of the entrepreneur with a commander, a person of the highest principles who leads by example and can motivate those around them to reach their goals. Business owners have a key role in this emergency: they need to be present to support people and keep leading by setting the direction. This matters, because people lose their way when they can no longer see a destination. Business owners need to keep people active and engaged, for their own wellbeing and that of the people they work with. Now is the time to maintain relationships and the team spirit that makes people ‘fall in love’ with their company, a topic that’s sometimes overlooked. A kind of big family: now is the time to take care of your employees, to ‘pamper’ them.”

Galileo Galilei said: “Behind every problem there’s an opportunity.” Do you agree?

“I find it a rather stale statement by now. It’s far more useful to see a concept of normality behind it. Our personal and business lives are made up of small and big daily problems we need to solve: production, distribution, the market changes we experience every day. Every time we solve a problem, small or big, we open ourselves to a new opportunity. It happens every day, even if we often don’t notice.

When difficulties grow beyond a certain threshold, and especially when they’re tied to external factors, they become what we call a ‘crisis’. In reality, nothing changes: there’s a problem we need to solve and, once we’ve solved it, it opens us up to a new opportunity. That’s life, ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. It’s important to be aware of this and adopt the right, solution-oriented mindset, which allows us to overcome every difficulty brilliantly. Entrepreneurs have this attitude in their DNA, so for them, facing and solving problems is normal. Right now the shock is strong. It tests us and can shake us, but this is exactly the moment to remember that this is what we entrepreneurs are capable of: finding solutions to problems. Staying true to this strong identity, to our intention and determination, is what we need now more than ever.”