The British, as well as the Americans have an ability to shorten concept in ways that we, ever-so-deep Italians, can only but envy. With such a mindset, Richard Branson answered to a question on how he could become so successful with a few simple words. “Sir Branson, what’s the secret to your success exposed in 3 concepts?” The Virgin group founder answered: “People, People, People”. As stated by another great Englishman, Bill Fay, who entitled his latest album “Life is People”, folks are the essence of our own life. They are what determines the movement of the world and its future. Everything spins around people: opportunities are all about people, history is about people, work is about people, nations are about people, learning is about people – Successes, as well as failures are about people. The market is about people, and even that euribor, libor and other tedious –bor that are connected with one of the largest crisis in the century, are all about people.
The greatest risk of our century is that our actions are becoming de-personalized because of the anonymity of the internet, the mathematics behind finance, the limited responsibility of delegated administrators, the intricate corporate ladders, the laws created to suit personal advancements of Italian politicians, the securitization of loans and all the devices of the modern world trying to move responsibility from “who” to “what”, so that nobody can be really held accountable as the concept of person becomes distant from actions and their consequences.
The only remedy is to go back to the mirror and stare at ourselves. Our destiny depends on who sets it into motion, not on what makes it happen.