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This text is taken from 25 years of Lean Thinking the Italian way<\/em> by Michele Bonfiglioli<\/a>. The excerpt proposes the vision of Marta Bertolaso<\/strong> \u2014 philosopher of science and professor at Campus Bio-Medico of Rome \u2014 on entrepreneurship, meaning, complexity, and relationships as fundamental levers for interpreting change in contemporary organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the interview, Bertolaso addresses some of the most pressing issues for those who lead people and companies today: the profound meaning of doing business, the transformation of leadership in the post-pandemic era, the relationship between technology and human judgment, and the strategic value of authentic relationships. A vision emerges that does not simplify, but guides, and proposes a paradigm shift: from governance of complexity<\/em> a real governance in complexity<\/em>, where acting with prudence, presence, and vision becomes the key competence of the leader of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a time when the market calls for speed and simplification, Marta Bertolaso responds with three words that seem to go in the opposite direction: cooperation, generativity, integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A philosopher of science and a professor at the Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, she moves with ease between the complex systems of biology and those, no less intricate, of human organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is nothing more practical than a good philosophy,\u201d he states, with that serene clarity that comes from years of study and concrete experience in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because today, more than ever, thinking is acting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doing business, Bertolaso explains, is not just an economic issue. It's a question of purpose. It means knowing how to interpret territories, needs, and opportunities, and generating something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this, philosophical thought is not an abstract luxury, but a vital tool for those who manage companies, govern systems, or simply want to navigate a world in transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We live in an era where technology promises certain, rapid, measurable answers. But that's precisely where projects often fail: when we forget that data is not neutral, that decisions require judgment, and that humans are not algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The real risk, he warns, is not technology itself. It is that man abdicates his decision-making role. That he delegates to machines the understanding of himself and the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the major post-pandemic changes, according to Prof. Bertolaso, concerns the way we understand leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the pandemic, many leaders realized that authority can no longer be based solely on roles or functional expertise. The point is: what weight can you embody as a person? What kind of presence do you offer others?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It's not just about driving, but about inhabiting the context intelligently, distinguishing the essential from the noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it is precisely the noise \u2013 media, informational, operational \u2013 that is, according to Bertolaso, one of the great enemies of our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where there is too much noise, there is usually no center. The best decisions don't make a splash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the heart of his thinking is a subtle but profound shift: complexity is not governed, it is interpreted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We always talk about governance of complexity, but the step to take is toward governance in complexity. It's not about controlling everything. It's about acting with prudence, vision, and real presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A change of mindset is needed Relationships are the common thread running through all of Marta Bertolaso's thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Authentic relationships generate interdependence. They are not mere interactions between machines. They are spaces of freedom, responsibility, and shared meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, even in offices, people prefer to send a message to someone a few meters away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We talk to each other less and less. Even when physically close, we seem distant. This isolation is the true silent pandemic of our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two episodes, recounted with discretion and intensity, reveal much about her relationship with her students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first is the story of a boy who, after yet another Saturday night dictated by social media, decides to disconnect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to know what I like, not what I *should* like, she tells him. And already after a week, I feel like myself again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second concerns a brilliant engineering student who, during an exam, refuses the highest grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither she nor the system can judge me, he states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bertolaso calmly replies: From there, a dialogue deeper than the vote itself is born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are young people who know how to step back, reset the game. And they do it together with others, not alone. Relationships, solidarity, are not moral adornments: they are organizational principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his book Technological humanism<\/strong>, Marta Bertolaso proposes a seemingly oxymoronic bridge between technique and meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Humans have always built, designed, and interacted with tools. But what changes everything is how they do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The real problem isn't technology, he repeats. It's the person who forgets that machines don't think in our absence as they do in our presence. It's the renunciation of judgment, of responsibility, of freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world seeking shortcuts and certainties, philosophy can be the place to pause, observe, and choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not to retreat, but to act better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, we ask you: if you had to leave a message for those who lead people, for those who do business, for those who teach, what would it be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take relationships seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stop looking for the unique, optimal, definitive solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn to combine different approaches, in a local, concrete, contextual way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The leader of the future, he concludes, will not be the one who imposes, but the one who interprets. And if it requires silence to do so, then let's start there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Marta Bertolaso is a philosopher of science and a full professor at Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome. Her studies focus on complex systems, with applications ranging from biology to human organizations. She is the author of the book Technological humanism<\/em>, in which he proposes an integrated approach combining technique, meaning, and human responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Bertolaso, governance in complexity represents a paradigm shift from the traditional \u201cgovernance of complexity.\u201d It's not about controlling or simplifying complexity, but about acting within it with prudence, vision, and real presence. An approach that requires human judgment, not just algorithmic tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Philosophy helps us ask the right questions before seeking answers. In a context where technology promises quick and measurable solutions, philosophical thinking allows us to distinguish the essential from the noise, to evaluate decisions within their context, and to avoid delegating self-understanding and world understanding to machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bertolaso outlines a leadership model based on presence, judgment, and relational skills, rather than formal authority or functional competencies. The leader of the future is one who knows how to interpret contexts, combine different approaches, and create space for others. Not one who imposes, but one who sees first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Authentic relationships are not an added value, but an organizational principle. They generate interdependence, freedom, and shared meaning. Bertolaso warns against relational isolation, even physical, which characterizes many contemporary work environments, defining it as \u201cthe true silent pandemic of our time.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The full interview with Marta Bertolaso is available within the podcast FUTURE. Common Sense Conversations<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch the interview on YouTube.<\/a> To read the full chapter and delve into the other entries in the book, discover 25 years of Lean Thinking the Italian way<\/em> by Michele Bonfiglioli.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe enterprise as a quest for meaning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From Authority to Presence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Complexity is not a problem to be solved<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Unique solutions no longer work. The future belongs to those who know how to combine approaches, knowledge, and sensitivities. To those who can read contexts and recognize the value of authentic relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLoneliness behind the screen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Young people, anxiety, and the power of detachment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo challenge a system, you must first know it.\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nApplied humanism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For those who lead, for those who build<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Who knows how to distinguish. Who sees first.
Who builds communities and makes space for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrequently Asked Questions about Complexity, Leadership, and Relationships<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Who is Marta Bertolaso?<\/strong>
<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhat is meant by \u201cgovernance in complexity\u201d?<\/strong>
<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhy is philosophy useful for entrepreneurship?<\/strong>
<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhat leadership model emerges from Marta Bertolaso's thinking?<\/strong>
<\/h3>\n\n\n\nAccording to Bertolaso, the role of relationships in organizations is fundamental and is concretely expressed in the processes of social reproduction and personal development.<\/strong>
<\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe podcast interview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Listen to the interview on Spotify<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nDeepen the book<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n