Making Companies Antifragile: Reflections from the WOBI Milano Stage

Returning to the WOBI Milan stage is always a special experience. This year, I had the pleasure of sharing my perspective on a topic that is very close to my heart: how to make organizations antifragile.

We live in an era where economic crises, wars, global epidemics, and technological revolutions occur faster than our ability to adapt. In this context, companies can no longer simply endure: they must learn to grow through difficulties, turning shocks into opportunities for evolution.

Being antifragile means trusting people, distributing power and responsibility, creating clarity, and fostering freedom within shared rules. It’s not about control; it’s about enabling. The future belongs to those who can integrate human and artificial intelligence to build organizations that improve every time the world changes.

Reflecting on my journey, I remember back in 2002, during my studies in England, realizing the limits of rigid hierarchical structures: they create distance, competition, and fragility. Since becoming CEO of Var Group in 2014, I experimented by removing rules and organizational charts, discovering that freedom without direction leads to confusion. I learned from mistakes, asked for help when needed, and built a clearer organization inspired by Holacracy, where responsibility, transparency, and care for people are central.

Lessons for the future? Let go of power, create clarity, trust people, and integrate human and artificial intelligence. Let’s invest in our future by learning from mistakes and looking beyond purely economic ROI.

The two days of the World Business Forum, themed “The Power of the Unpredictable”, were full of energy and inspiration: from Federica Pellegrini’s performance to Mary C. Murphy’s insights on growth culture. Being on stage and participating in the Q&A with Gary Hamel reminded me of how powerful unpredictability can be when we learn to embrace it as a resource.

Thank you to everyone who, with curiosity and passion, continues to drive a new way of doing business.