"Catalonia can lead talent and knowledge management"

The Talent Knowledge Congress, organized by the Impulsa Talentum Foundation, will be the meeting point for those companies that want to adapt to new times, paying special attention to participation, collaboration and, very especially, to people's talent. The second edition of the International Forum on Talent and Knowledge Management will be held on November 15 and 16 at the Torre Glòries in Barcelona and will feature speakers such as John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA, and Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former Director-General of UNESCO.

Its founder, Bru Recolons, a Catalan businessman and entrepreneur, explains that, from this congress, they are managing a pioneering community and that they are helping to change companies. To make them more human, so that they don't obsess only with making money, so that they connect with people and with the real world. Before the Talent Knowledge Congress, Recolons has created several brands and among them he highlights "the right to fail."

--- You are repeating the congress for the second time and holding it in Barcelona, ​​in the Torre Glòries. Is it the ideal place?

--- Taking into account the purpose of the congress, yes: to be the international forum for talent and knowledge, providing solutions to the challenges of those who make strategic decisions. So, it must be done in an ecosystem that is ahead, that of transformative people, where there is research, innovation, good universities. We could say that 22@ represents it very well. Last year we brought together about 250 people and this year between 500 and 800 people could attend.

--- Previously, the summits have taken place, which are the younger sibling of this congress and you organize them outside of Barcelona. What do they consist of?

--- We provide solutions to the challenges that certain places have. Catalonia can lead talent and knowledge management. In each territory, we place the weight on different aspects. For example, in Sabadell we did it on reindustrialization 5.0, in the case of Girona, on experiences. All the people who look forward are spread throughout the country, however, there are those who look forward and those who work day to day.

--- There is a lot of talk about talent, but tell us where it really is.

--- Not everyone has the same talent, but we all have it and should identify it when we are very young, at ages under eight years old. School and family should focus on this. Talent is found in the things you do enjoying, naturally and excellently. It is something you do not consider work, but a pleasure.

--- I understand.

--- We are also not making good use of talent; we are hiring people based on their resume and very little on their soft skills, which are actually the determining factors. When we are working, what is put into practice are these skills (empathy, teamwork…). These are factors that executives have within their companies and they don't even know it. Finally, we live in a part of the world where talent is judged negatively; for example, we have the stigma of failure very much upon us. When we have a person who is very valuable, many executives prefer to cover them up because they are afraid; we must do the opposite. We are not just here to make money; people who believe this have a very miserable life.

"We should identify talent when we are very young, at ages under eight years old"

--- Yes, but there are more people making decisions and we have that holistic vision. We identify the problem that all companies generally have: governance, the real assumption of real purposes, that are not propaganda. If you don't have a true purpose, your company won't stand on its own and you won't attract talent. People want to work for something more than just money. In addition, we will also analyze new financing tools that can help overcome complex situations and the valuation of all intangibles, which we should also be able to include in the balance sheets.

--- This year's themes revolve around the human factor, in the midst of a technological transition. Why have you chosen this topic?

--- At the heart of solutions are people; technologies are only useful. There is the paradox that in a world with more technology, people are increasingly important, because without them, companies disappear. The most relevant companies, such as multinationals, are having many problems attracting talent because they must learn to manage people and not numbers.

--- Companies fear dehumanization.

--- Technology has always served to do good or to do evil. We are facing that decision. We are not discussing whether a tool should go ahead or not; all existing technologies can be valid, as long as they are at the service of the improvement of all living beings ---not just human beings---. Now we have to put people back at the center, politically and philosophically.

--- The other keyword associated with the congress is "knowledge." Is it possible to foster talent in a country without good knowledge transfer?

--- Knowledge transfer is a pending subject, except in some sectors such as chemistry. A lot of research remains in drawers; this is a crime, because it represents hours and efforts of people who die and this transfer is not completed. Then there is knowledge management, which requires implementing strategies in companies to prevent hidden knowledge within organizations and to leverage it.

"We are managing a community that is transformative, that is helping to change companies"

--- I would highlight John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA; Michael Blackman, director of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former director-general of UNESCO; Carlos Navarro, general director of BASF Spain, and Jordi Gallés, president of Europastry, among many others.

--- What is the challenge of this edition?

--- Last year was a declaration of intent, this second year is a presentation to foreign countries. That's why we invited all the consuls of the city of Barcelona, so that next year we can grow with people from all over Europe. Now we are creating a Chair that will include people from diverse universities, laying the groundwork for all of this to grow from Barcelona but bringing together people from all over the world. With this project, we want to provide all the tools to companies and even to the public sector, which is also a company even if they don't want to admit it, because they manage our money.

--- It seems they don't follow the same rules, that they live in a parallel world.

--- Their real objective is the upcoming elections, when in the real world, one plays in the short, long, and medium term. Now no one in Catalonia is thinking long-term, apart from national construction. Where are we going? What do we want to become as a country? We must think about this and we must have vision. I believe that globally we do have very good things, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but people need to believe in them.