Story of an interview in Autogrill: the chronicle of an unusual interview about what we do.
This is a period of time, where you can navigate on sight. I listen to the GR2 at 6:30 in the morning, to get an idea of what the surrounding situation is. I avoid the TV, in order not to be too traumatized, apart from an evening news. From a business point of view, at least for us, there is a lot to do. Indeed, there is a lot of it. We try to carefully set up a large round of tests which – given the size – we will have to divide into three rounds: May, July, September. And these are only the programmable tests, everything that – normally – comes up in itinere is missing. My agenda is packed, and not with conference calls. Fortunately, I can count on trusted and prepared collaborators, who help me manage the workload. “Few but good” would be ungenerous, I prefer “just and very good”, which seems to me more fitting. Despite everything, the car’s odometer marks 55,000 kilometers a year, an increase of 15% compared to previous years. I am traveling on the A14 directed by some customers to monitor some work in progress, where my presence in the field is required. While I am traveling, I am contacted by “La Repubblica”, who had previously called the office. They noticed that we operate in a particular area, they would like to tell it in the newspaper. They ask me for an availability for an interview … mhhh, so, the week started with a streaming test of a roof from the north of Spain, a test in the presence of the fire, a day of acoustics, now let’s see the next days: two full days , tomorrow morning at 3 am I have to connect with an Australian laboratory for a streaming test of sandwich panels, go to two customers, next week I practically have to go around Italy doing 2,400 km passing through Calabria, Molise and Romagna … I am not there many possibilities, then the proposal comes naturally to me:
“What do you say if I drop anchor, stop and talk about it?”
Thus begins an interview lasting about twenty minutes – in an unspecified Autogrill pitch – in which a, I must say, very good journalist – has grasped our specificities, explaining them to a much wider audience and not at all technical, compared to to what we usually communicate to. We are also lucky, or better prepared: our website has a lot of content from which to draw various information. The result: here it is, at the link at the bottom of the page.
Personally, I was surprised at how clear a picture of what we do and how specific our work has been made, as well as how specialized we are in doing it. Since it was published, in addition to having also been re-proposed three times by the newspaper, there has been a succession of calls in the office for further interviews. I don’t give rope to all of them.
I am convinced that – in the normality of things – excessive use is made of terms such as “leader”, “excellence”, “innovation” and so on and so forth.
But when an excellent pen goes to tell a non-specialized audience a reality that actually contains what is described, I believe a credible and concrete picture emerges. I like stories: but only true stories.
Thanks therefore to “La Repubblica” for giving us space, painting us so wisely.