Co-founder at REPLUG | 10+ Years in Driving Growth for Mobile Apps through Performance Marketing, Retention Strategies, and Innovative Solutions in App Marketing
"On vacation from what?" Today in Italy is Ferragosto, a holiday instituted by Emperor Octavian Augustus in 18 BCE with the purpose of rest and celebration after the harvest, in honor of the agricultural deities. Since then, every year, Italy stops for a day. Many Italian companies shut down for one to three weeks across the 15th of August, pausing operations completely and requiring employees to take their holidays. Every year, on August 15th, I rewatch this video of Sergio Marchionne, a successful yet controversial manager who saved Fiat and Chrysler, among other achievements in his long career, before passing away in 2018. In this video, Marchionne addresses a crowd of young students from Bocconi University, urging Italy to abandon its provincial mentality of comfort. He shares an anecdote from his early days as CEO of FIAT when the company was losing 5 million euros per day. He walked into FIAT’s offices in Italy during August and found them deserted because everyone was on holiday. "But on holiday from what?" an astonished Marchionne asked, highlighting the arrogance of an Italian company that, despite doing business worldwide and burning through money, decided when to work based on its own timetable. This video is from 2013, and although 11 years have passed, things are only just beginning to change. The majority of Italian companies still shut down operations for a festivity dating back to 18 BCE, originally meant to celebrate agriculture. Meanwhile, the rest of the world goes on and conducts business as usual. When I moved to Germany, I was initially shocked that I had to work during Ferragosto. But then I began to appreciate the freedom of taking my holidays whenever I wanted. Now that I run a business, I realize how limiting it is, from a business opportunity perspective, to halt operations for an entire month. As Marchionne pointed out, there’s a reason why everyone in the world loves to holiday in Italy, but few want to invest in Italy. And that reason is the Italian mentality, which, unfortunately, remains resistant to change. By the way, Sergio Marchionne was loved and welcomed as a hero in all the countries of the world—except one. Guess which one? Happy working Ferragosto, everyone ☀ P.S. The video is in Italian, but it's worth a watch with the automatic subtitles. It holds true lessons that transcend language barriers. #Ferragosto #Italy #BusinessCulture #SergioMarchionne #GlobalBusiness #Entrepreneurship #Business
In ferie da cosa? Sergio Marchionne
https://www.youtube.com/
Lior Barak 🎗️
4mo
Lore, if we're talking about progress, does that mean we should finally accept pineapple on pizza? (I ordered one for my kids this week and I'm still offended by the request) But seriously, getting what you're saying, Ferragosto is a cherished tradition, but adapting to the global pace is crucial. I love your perspective!
Federica Stiscia
4mo
Agree but I miss a nice grigliata
Venditore
4moFacciamo che basta con Marchionne , essere un discreto manager strapagato non è un valore , se gli operai vanno in ferie é perché hanno lavorato, se questo lavoro non ha prodotto la responsabilità é della proprietà e del senior management, gli stipendi italiani sono ridicoli perché una classe dirigente ingorda e incapace non sa fare altro che massimizzare gli utili per le proprie tasche senza creare ricchezza per il paese .