THE KEYROOM | Daniele Schillaci (Ceo Brembo)

I chose the globe as a key object because when I was little there was this beautiful globe on my desk, and when I finished studying I would spin it and put my finger from one country to another, already dreaming as a boy of traveling and having an international experience. I remember when my mom brought me a snack, she would say: 'If you study well and realize your dreams like many others, you will likely have the opportunity to visit many of these countries on this globe.' Under that globe there was a little roll where we changed the date every day. For me, changing the date was always a reason to dream and feed my curiosity, because in the end I think the two things are closely linked: the desire to travel, the desire to get to know different jobs, to adapt in a different way, and curiosity. After 30 years, now it's the reverse path. The other day my mom said: 'Now looking at this globe, maybe you need to think the opposite: how many of these countries have you not yet visited?' I wish many, especially young people, to have this curiosity, this dream of traveling, because my experience tells me that traveling teaches a huge amount, and it also refines your ability to adapt in different cultures.

My experience tells me that staying focused on a very precise dream is fundamental to not being distracted by many other things. Naturally, when you are young you want to do many things, but it's important to know right away how you imagine yourself in the future. I have always imagined myself, for example, as an international manager, for my curiosity and desire to travel. For me that was the direction, that was the dream. I did many other activities, both sports and otherwise, but I never ever made compromises on keeping that direction very clear. And after the end, I managed, in terms of experience, to travel the world, meet many people and many cultures, and finally have the satisfaction of being an international-level manager. This is a dream I began having at the age of seven or eight. My consistency paid off. One piece of advice I allow myself to give: stay truly focused on the main thing you need to do. Of course, all related paths are fine, but don't let yourself be influenced by other things.

Transformations are of course part of the evolution of things. There is continuous progress in various sectors. The important thing is to have a clear strategic line ethically, and the method I have always used in my experience, and I must say I have always been pleased with it, follows this sequence: first, have a dream—imagine how you would like the world to be with your products or services; second, a path, a strategy, to achieve this dream; and then what I call a 'magic moment,' where everyone together celebrates the beginning of this journey. I must say that this method, which I have applied in my various experiences, has always given me great satisfaction and also allows us to stay very focused on implementing and executing a strategy in a changing world, because truly today if we think about digital and so many things changing in various sectors, I would say this method is sacred.

The key moment I chose is my expatriation with my wife to Asia. I chose it because it was the right moment in my career and also because it was the fulfillment of a personal journey I had lived until then. I had the opportunity to work for a large multinational at a high managerial level, and it allowed me to get to know this part of the world very well, which I only knew up to a point. But living there, I had the chance to meet many, many local people, and this enriched me both professionally and personally. If I may say, this part of the world is evolving strongly. I would truly recommend to a young person to consider doing a stint in Asia. You meet super interesting people and enrich yourself greatly to develop your potential. As a competency, I would summarize it as being open-minded, not taking it personally when there is a gap in understanding on a certain issue, and having that mental structure of saying: 'This is an opportunity to adapt and understand a different culture,' and this is almost a unique moment to progress. Many times I found myself in meetings where on a specific topic we had different viewpoints, not because we were opposed to the problem, but because culturally we saw the problem differently. You need to have that ability to adapt and be completely open to any cultural divergence, so that you can truly capture that different point of view, which in the end makes you grow.

The key quality a top manager must have is to anticipate the future. It's important to imagine what the world will be like in the next 10 or 15 years and how you see yourself in that world, both in terms of company position and also in trying to influence this new world with specific strategies. A habit I have always found useful during my career is using off-site meetings. I think it is fundamental during the year for a company to find three or four opportunities to spend two days with your team outside the company context, and to spend those two days imagining together how our company and ourselves will position ourselves in the next 10 or 15 years. With this tool you achieve two fundamental things: first, you strengthen bonds among team members, which never hurts—you get to know each other better; second, it's an opportunity to refine the strategy in light of the company's defined vision. These are paths I strongly recommend in companies, especially those undergoing transformations due to mega trends or external factors, because it's fundamental that the strategy and vision are solidified and created by the company's management team. This is crucial because you own it, you digest it, and then you can transmit it more easily to the various members of the company. As Leonardo said, 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.' I truly think that phrase is legendary. In my experience I see simplicity linked to having a clear vision. There is a very close connection between companies that have a clear, concise vision and simplicity. Simplicity is a very important way to make yourself understood by your team members in a direct and clear manner, and to accelerate that cascading process which is so important in companies at various levels. I don't know if you noticed, but sometimes on the internet you read mission statements from some companies that are very long. I see a problem there, and I think simplicity can be a very effective lever to transmit the company message to the outside and inside in a simple way. Simplicity is everything—a fundamental quality that I recommend, especially to young managers.