This week the participants from the November Startup School completed their final GYM session and graduation. All of the mentors were impressed with how everyone’s presentation and business model had improved so much in such a short period of time. But I noticed something in our participants that went far and beyond learned style and content. What I saw was a change in personal attitude and presence.
I realized that before one can effectively communicate and create value, the most important lesson to learn is “I can do it!” (Lo posso farcela!). This “can do” attitude is what the Silicon Valley experience is all about. That’s the other lesson behind the unbridled optimism of the Pony allegory (participants in my U.S. Business Culture module will be familiar with this).
Before you act on the Nike mantra of “Just do it!” you first have to own the attitude of “I can do it!” Note the pronoun “I.” You can’t tell yourself “You can do it!” That doesn’t work. “You” is a pronoun dissociated from the self. It has to be “I”. “I” comes from the solar plexus — the complex network of nerves centered in our gut, just above the belly button, where our most important decisions are made — the center of self-actualization.
In Italy, as well as other countries with crippled economies, there tends to be general passivity, resignation, and a feeling of powerlessness. What I saw in the presenters was a hopeful transformation from this state: self-confidence, empowerment and a sense of control. “I can do it!”
In my closing statement to the graduates, I told them to take this attitude, hold on to it, don’t let it go, and take it back with them to Italy. In all that horse shit, there is a pony in there.
“Italy, I have arrived. I see a mountain of work in front of me and in front of SetLife. It’s time to roll up our sleeves. Carpe diem!” — Adele Savarese, Founder, CEO and November Startup School participant
Charles Versaggi
Director, MtB Startup School