Often we define an organization or an innovative company only because it operates in new sectors, or considered as such by the media. But it is a mistake because even in many ‘traditional’ sectors there are companies and organizations that make process, product or offer innovations. And behind all these innovations, there are women and men who love their work.
People who have made the African proverb to them “Whoever wants something seriously finds a way, others an excuse” and who know that true innovation is shared innovation capable of generating well-being for the community.
This interview is part of the Innovators column published on www.robertorace.com.
A space in which we try to tell the stories of the Innovators, to discover their ways of thinking, preferences and visions of the world. Trying to better understand what the present and the future hold for us.
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“Who for many years and posed as my mentor, pushed me to always distinguish arrogance from self-esteem: the first leads us to feel superior to others, the second pushes us not to feel inferior to none.
A warning to yourself, to be kept in mind in every area. But above all an infallible key to decipher who we are really facing. ”
This is Elizabeth Salini’s philosophy of life.
Born in Rome, 47, married with three children. She is an African mother and a ‘Trastevere’ father. Elizabeth Salini and daughter of the cooperation between Italy and Ethiopia in the sixties / seventies, so much so that a small dam that arose from that experience bears her name. She has a degree in Business Administration, followed by two Masters in Risk Management. She spent three years in a Big Four before joining the family business for which she initially took care of management control. She developed Internal Audit in 2002 and remained responsible for it until 2014. The acquisition of Todini first and then of Impregilo saw her involved in the complex process of integration between Salini and these two important companies, whose objective was to give life to a subject of recognized international standing. Since 2009 Elizabeth has focused on the aspects of sustainability and social responsibility, increasingly widespread and integrated in the decision-making and strategy formulation processes. The challenge she launched on herself almost ten years ago is now a concrete reality.D. Who is an innovator to you
Why
An innovator is someone who produces change that has a positive impact on the lives of others. For this reason, we can say that most of the men and women who made history were innovators. D. What is the innovation that will change the world in the coming years
What the world will need in the coming years is not an innovation, but the awareness of knowing how to use what is already there with judgment.
D. What is the role of a leader in an organization
A leader must know how to assert himself through his authority.
There is no leader who is not recognized as such by his subordinates. The key to being a good leader is when emotions guide your decisions.Q. A person who has left his mark on your life
I had the great privilege of knowing Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
A woman so small and apparently fragile but with a disarming power. D. Your greatest fear / your greatest hope
Like all parents, I wonder what future our children will have.
We work frantically every day, we try to be an example of life, we invest in their education, we expect them to improve the conditions of life in which they found themselves at birth. But we are setting a good example
It worries me not to see skinned knees anymore. You anguish me with the dryness that surrounds them. Social media worry me: a true cancer of the zeta generation. Born to unite, they have become the instrument of greatest division. I hope for a better future for our children. D. Your current and future work project.
In the course of over 110 years of activity, Salini has contributed to writing some of the most important pages in the history of infrastructures, through projects that have played a key role in the growth of the reference countries. Building shared value for all stakeholders has been and still is the great challenge. It is necessary to create a real corporate purpose and understand that the main driver is no longer what you do (what), but the reason why you do it (why).Q. The thing that excites you the most is the one that angers you the most
I am excited by Alex Zanardi, Bebe Vio, Manuel Bortuzzo (and many others), who, thanks to the love for life and for what they were born for, have found the strength and courage to go beyond one’s physical limits. True strength is not measured by who you defeated, but by what
you protected. They have protected their dreams.
Arrogance angers me: a dangerously widespread phenomenon that is frequently underestimated.
