Fera and common sense

We were at the gates of November when we shared an afternoon to remember with Professor Antón Costas at the headquarters of the Círculo de Economía. His is a life trajectory forged between San Pedro de Matamá (Galicia), Barcelona, and Madrid. Costas is also president of the Economic and Social Council of Spain (CES) and often recalls that "a man's homeland is his childhood." We held a public conversation talking about the new social contract, focusing on capitalism and democracy, and where inequality plays a "dissolving" role. Some names of complicit economists emerged, such as Keynes, Hobbes, Schumpeter, Skidelsky, Wolf, Collier, or Autor, among others. Costas points out that "work is not only a source of income, but the greatest source of social relationships that brings intellectual and physical development to people." Pure Galician and Catalan logic. Blessed work! We concluded the colloquium in the purest Fabián Estapé and Ernest Lluch style: "We must open windows before closing doors."

This November has been a month of big birthdays and even better celebrations in the Catalan capital. Barça ---the club of our lives--- has celebrated its 125 years with a new clamorFrom the shield to the chest, a mascot and many Barça speeches to remember at the Liceu. There, where a few days earlier the Sifu group's SuperArte Gala had also been held, which managed to get us all withgoosebumpswith a gala full of talent and multiple abilities. "Music is our way of life and does not understand disabilities. Music is life," recall the protagonists of the gala. Let's not forget that only one in four people with disabilities of working age has a job. They sayCristian Rovira and Albert Campabadalfrom Sifu Group that "behind every story of disability there is a story of overcoming. SuperArte is integration, overcoming, solidarity, and technology." The celebration of theAijec Awardsand the great honoree of the night was the businessmanJosé Miguel Bermúdezand Bound4Blue's innovative sails. I especially liked the reflection of the president of Aijec,Ruben Sans, who claimed that "entrepreneurship is not just about creating a business; it's about seeing a need and deciding to do something. It's about seeing a need and being part of the solution, transforming obstacles into opportunities, understanding that true success is never individual, but collective. Young entrepreneurs are demonstrating that there is an alternative path, that we can be architects of our own destiny. It's not an easy path, but it's a path worth taking." It is expected that 376,000 people will be involved in entrepreneurship in Catalonia in the coming years, and the Minister of Business and Labor,Miquel Sàmper, insists repeatedly that "this must be the legislature of administrative simplification and public-private collaboration. The Administration is a ship that struggles to move forward, and we cannot allow talent to leave." Full speed ahead, and we hope the winds are favorable! The Forum of Entities for Administrative Reform (Fera)there isprecisely for that reason, because "there cannot be a good country without good administration." This has been the unanimous cry of 300 entities in the form of a societal agreement at the Llotja de Mar: radical reduction of bureaucracy and the regulatory web, professionalization of public management with professional and competency adequacy (without party affiliation), evaluation of public policies, public employment management, good governance, transparency and public integrity, efficient digitalization, and improvement of legal certainty to guarantee good public practice by public employees. Fera's music sounds good, especially if accompanied by the consultantXavier MarcetProsperity is creating wealth, social mobility, and an administration that helps and pushes. It's not easy to reform the administration, but things must be results-oriented. We're not going anywhere without trust between the public and private sectors. This is not a war of entrepreneurs against civil servants. We want an administration to be proud of, and we want things to happen." It is not, nor will it be, the first or last plan made in Catalonia, but the difference lies more in execution than in diagnosis. It's that simple: we must make things happen. The pace of people and businesses must be the same as that of the City Council, Parliament, or Congress. And withHumanocracy, written by Gary Hamel. "You cannot be a manager if you don't think and don't write. Nothing happens without passion, which is the sum of enthusiasm and perseverance," added Xavier Marcet during the presentation of his new bookCommon Sense Management(Plataforma Editorial) at Casa Seat in the heart of La Diagonal. It is understood asmanagementhumanist this magnificent mix between art and technique to give results but not at any cost. Yes, people must be at the center. The president of Renfe elaborates,Raül Blanco, that "we are eternal scholarship holders on leave" and that "themanagementof common sense leaves scars and implies taking on responsibilities." Concludes the Deputy Mayor of Barcelona,Jordi Valls, that politics is one of the most reviled professions in the country and that "life is not just romanticism; in tough times you must ask yourself what the purpose is and why we do things." Emptying the agenda, thinking and acting, or having a legacy are some of the small great lessons from themanagementof common sense that sometimes also needs a touch of madness.

Emptying the agenda, thinking and acting, or having a legacy are some of the great small lessons of Xavier Marcet's common sense management

The ode to entrepreneurial madness at Netmentora's Impact Night in Sala Beckett transcended the theater walls.Be Mad, While Ordinary play safe, dreamers shape what's next.Provocative. "The future belongs to those who dare to imagine it and we need more people with the madness to undertake," they exclaimMarc Morillas and Alejandro Ribó of Netmentora. Artificial intelligence greatly concerns Catalan entrepreneurs. Surely it's about getting ahead of the future with the human intelligence of the present. So much so that popular AI has held a place of honor at the Economists' Conference, the FemCAT Forum, and the Cornellà Creació Fòrum. The Nobel Prize in Economics defendsDavid Cardthat AI will favor less educated workers and that if we want a prosperous Catalonia we need a very good level of education. Training is the key to the EconomAI. Meanwhile, Waymo makes thousands of autonomous trips, AI wins Nobel prizes and the latest generation models already surpass human beings. Let's not forget that the championGarry Kasparovlost a chess match against the supercomputer DeepBlue in 1997. Perhaps we are not yet prepared for this technological wave, but at least we have been warned for years about this other beast that will affect everything and everyone. Google VP warns,Xavier Armitrain, that AI is changing the roadmaps of many companies, that AI can make us smarter but that decisions and responsibility belong to human beings. Clear and Catalan: "Education is the most important factor in determining the success of a country during a technological revolution." FemCatbetfor competitiveness, innovation, social cohesion, and the projection of Catalonia in the world. There cannot be a good country without a good administration, just as there cannot be a good country without good companies and great entrepreneurs. Perhaps we could also talk about entrepreneurs and businesses with soul, as was highlighted inComertia's retail conference. Some of the secret ingredients are: being culturally relevant asHurley, Brownie or Nude Project, fall in love with the craft asPilarin Bayés or Cristina Cabañas (Guitart Hotels), vindicate the lighthouse of the origins asJosep Ametller (Ametller) or Lluís De Buen (Fishhh!)or not to forget that sometimes you set your own limit, like an athleteÀlex Roca"Every time a person enters a store, they not only buy a product or a service, but they also seek and live a unique experience that captivates them," explains the president of Comertia,Ignasi Pietx. Trade has a differential emotion. Still talking about love... "You have to fall in love with the problem and not with the solution," defends the rector of the UOC and vice-dean of the College of Economists of Catalonia,Àngels Fitó. Only if you fall in love with the problem will you find new solutions with data, technology, processes, and culture. There is life and balance beyond technophobes and techno-optimists. We surely need more humanists than technologists. The strategies of entrepreneursJoan Font (Bon Preu), Inka Guixà (La Farga) and José Rodríguez Pousa (Sercotel)explained within the framework of the Economists' Conference imply knowing how to say yes but also no, linking technical knowledge well with business, and overcoming the struggle between talent and technology with values. The important thing is to make the company work, no matter what. According to the President of the Parliament of Catalonia,Josep Rull, "no person, company or institution will be left out of AI. Humanity has more power than ever to destroy itself but has more tools than ever to save itself." We hope that the artificial coin falls on the side of human salvation and that intelligence catches us confessed. See you very soon in La Diagonal.