Meritocracy
My guiding star is meritocracy and I apply it in my life on all occasions that present themselves to me. I believe in merit as the ideal horizon of equality of starting points and in the magical power of a virtuous example. On this aspect, Italy has a backward mentality, conditioned by ideologies that have confused the equality of points of departure with the equality of points of arrival. It is like pretending that we are all the same, so as to equal the slacker to the workaholic, to convince oneself that a man of 100 kg can become a great jockey or a man six feet tall a basketball champion. No organisation can aim for excellence without living a meritocratic culture and that’s why I thought that “Meritocracy” deserves a section of my blog all to itself.
Meritocracy and functional illiteracy in the Italian public administration
The lack of meritocracy in the Italian public administration has resulted in a diminished appeal of the public sector for highly qualified professionals and a demotivated workforce. Whenever certain governments have attempted to cautiously introduce the concept of merit within the public sector, they have been blocked by strong resistance from trade unions and civil […]
Giuseppe Ursino
Meritocracy and emotional involvement in order to win, especially in war
The recognition of merit is a strategic lever to win in any context (sport, company, war, …) and the invasion of Ukraine in recent weeks by the Russian armed forces are the demonstration that, when the mentality of an apparatus is steeped in corruption, as soon as he has to prove his worth on the […]
Giuseppe Ursino
When the going gets tough, the need for meritocracy and leadership grows
Before the social and industrial revolutions of the nineteenth century, the merit came from military conquests and the discovery of new lands of other people. Warrior societies such as the Spartan one selected the best young people to guide their armies based on their abilities and not on their belongings. The strength of Rome was […]
Giuseppe Ursino
In a country that works well, thanks to merit you go up and down and thus build trust in the system
In a country that works well, the citizen believes that the system is right and that it follows the rules, even if he perfectly knows that he will not necessarily be the direct beneficiary of his commitment and sacrifices. The citizen trusts that, if he will not have the chance to realise his dreams, his […]
Giuseppe Ursino
The more merit-based an organisation is, the higher the chances of achieving levels of excellence
Merit is certainly discriminatory, that’s fine. By many people in Italy it is considered arbitrary, a scam. But the real rip-off is to treat brilliant and lazy people in the same way as we do in Italy. And I know of no alternatives: the more an organisation is meritocratic, the higher is the chances of reaching levels […]
Giuseppe Ursino
Giuseppe Ursino
CEO at JO Group, cluster of companies founded in 1998 with core businesses in digital transformation and EU project consulting
Talks about #eufunds, #innovation, #smartcities, #businessconsulting and #digitaltransformation
