I have been working at Multiconsult for 20 years, in other words since the previous century and the routine level is still at 0. It was back in 1998, and Multiconsult had been operating for 4 years, when I was attending a course specialising in international trade. The speaker was a dynamic lady, who in 2 hours had us excited about 1000 things; she won me over and that was how I met Giovanna Ricuperati. She was looking for 1 person to add to her company, which at the time had its offices in Via Camozzi; I was asked 2 strategic questions during the interview, the first regarding German, she was looking for someone that spoke German, and then the “Italian” question: “do you usually arrive on time?” I replied as someone from Bergamo: “I usually arrive earlier”. Given the nature of the work, even after 5000 or more days, and even after 8 hours or more a day, it’s never repetitive. I am currently in charge of export management, so what I actually do is help companies to sell, providing them with a 360 degree view of the international market, which is essential today, especially for the smaller companies with less than 20 employees. Our job is to tackle a problem so as to resolve it. The first problem is always a problem of trust and courage, it’s not easy telling someone that has been doing something for 30 years, that they need to do things differently in the next 3 years. You get those that tell you: “I don’t need someone to tell me who I am”, but 9 out of 10 businessmen listen to you, if you tell them the right things. There are companies that tell you: I spent 7000 Euro and travelled 5000 kilometres to a trade fair, and came home with nothing. The world is changing faster than us, there are things to change every 3 days if you want to see results in the first 6 months. We have 6-month consulting cycles and clients of 10 year standing: this means that our projects have worked, and one project follows on from another. There are models to follow, choices that are almost mandatory, but the real strength is cutting the corporate suit to measure, you could be a size 10 or a 12, but the right size is not enough, for certain companies and certain occasions, you need a tailor-made outfit. You’ve been working for 9 months to develop this product, but now you need to finish it off and find a way to offer it to 19 clients that you don’t know, and yet they exist and are spread throughout the world. 2 weeks ago at a meeting with craftsmen, the speakers included 1 university lecturer, who displayed a painting by Caravaggio, David challenging the giant Goliath, I thought it was the perfect representation of our role, because we are small compared to the larger companies and in respect of our clients, who decide to challenge the larger overseas markets. Goliath in terms of power and size is 5 times superior, but David has 3 special weapons: courage, skill and the catapult. We are the catapult. And now if you asked me for 4 words to sum up these 20 years, I would say: responsibility, trust, work, punctuality.
20 sentences with 2 numbers
