BE STUPID!

A very faithful portrait of St.Francis of Assisi after Giotto's fresco
in the upper Basilica of Assisi. Ceramic Reproduction from Deruta,
Italy, 1923 

'Be stupid' is the 2010 campaign's title of a famous Italian company based in Trieste, Italy and called DIESEL (2,000 employees and 5,000 stores all over the world). Campaign advertisements can be found all over New York and the United States where Diesel stores are located.

I ran into this philosophy claim because of the fact that I realized how business can be cruel, merciless. If you do not follow the rules of profit and money revenues you are considered as stupid vs smart.
According to the Diesel campaign, stupid people are those who do not follow conformisms;  free-thinking, progress and innovation are some of their keywords.

Click this image to see the Video by Diesel 

Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) was a free thinker, idealist and innovator of his time. He was proclaimed Saint in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX. Francesco's father was an affluent merchant of fine fabrics who made his fortune in France. He coined "Francesco" for the first time dedicating his son's name to France (Francia in Italian, Franciam in Latin). Saint Francis with his prayer 'The Canticle of the Creatures' is considered as one of the founders of the Italian literature. Thanks to St. Francis the Italian language went a step forward compared to Latin, the language that gave birth to current Italian. St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated in Italy every year on October 4th, Feast Day of St.Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Italy.

One of St. Francis' gifts was humbleness, which has become part of St. Francis spirituality. When we are in peace with ourselves we do not blame, we can create and our creations come from our accepting what happens in our lives, accepting people we meet without judging them. A deep tenderness may arise from crossed paths with other people. Creativity as a way of expressing the fruits of our friendship to others. Through mutal respect and straightforwardness we will not run the rish of being betrayed by the person who works with us. Benefits to his/her heart and our heart are very high. Touchy will not be part of a humble person's vocabulary. A defeat will be translated into a learning lesson to go forward on the beautiful path of both our personal and professional life.

The Canticle of the Creatures from the back of the Aedicule of St.Francis of Assisi located in Deruta, ceramics
plaques, beginning 1920s. 

I strongly believe that the 'Be Stupid' campaign is not meant to attract customers simply
because of a marketing claim, Diesel created it as a true philosophy.
this is one thing why Italy makes the difference with some of his producers: creativity.

Poverty is the second important tenet of St. Francis spirituality, which could be expressed in business organizations through a common share of profits, which in Italy goes under the name of "cooperative".

Last but not least is the call to fraternity, which can be applicable to business by making other people stand out for their personal gifts, giving up on competition.

this is fun!

Writing about business companies and employees empowerment under these terms is considered as stupid. There is too much heart in it. Additionally no one would believe on the power of getting together with love as a way to create business. Therefore this attitude would be considered as stupid twice (we judge as stupid something we refuse because in this case it is against business common rules, a field where there hasn't been innovation since the Industrial Revolution time. The Industrial Revolution has inspired the rest of the countries in Europe and in Italy in particular has fostered hatred between owners and employees. These latter supported by the unions). Therefore still nowadays it is very difficult to see people gathering together to found a cooperative in Italy. In people's mind terms of comparison are: competition, markets, costs, investments, risk, failure. Whereas there are no boundaries or problems that cannot be solved if energy, belief and hope is involved. Together only we can make it, as we need something truly powerful such as trusting each other to be successful.

Wait for your perfect match.
He/she will find you sooner or later!
Watch out and be ready for
the miracle. 

After all when we get married, do we ask ourselves if we shall make it? If we do, we should not get married. In an authentic relationship our "yes" is unconditional. When this happens marriage will bring lots of fruits immediately. Of course we must make sure that: 1. we have met our soul mate 2. accept our soul mate as is 3. love our soul mate without conditions! We will feel so strong and powerful that nothing will stop us from being happy. We will have so much energy that we will be able of doing anything. If we transfer these simple rules to business, "alea iacta est" (latin for "there you have it").

The perfect organization
based on
St. Benedict's rules is the latest
trend in marketing. 

For the above reasons St. Francis is the perfect example to establish the correct relationship among partners in an innovative company. Rules will be based on our Italian famous saint's genuine and original spirituality. From this point of view, St. Francis becomes the example of an outstanding personality and a revolutionary icon for all times.

On another level and thinking of how to get the best profits out of a business we may refer to St. Benedict of Norcia (480-547), patron Saint of Europe. We refer to St. Benedict as regards to a company's logistic and organization. Indeed St.Benedict was the first great entrepreneur in Europe by creating the first multi-national corporation of scriptoria (tr. copyists factories) during dark times and deep recession for the world at that time. Without St.Benedict's help we would have lost all our European heritage of ancient classical books.                                                                          
We will notice that St. Francis and St. Benedict are both inspired by simplicity. Like Americans say "short is sweet", simple is beautiful. Regarding simplicity I would like to dedicate tSt. Francis of Assisi simply prayer to my American friends, followers are readers wishing them "PAX ET BONUM" (St. Francis' motto "peace and well") and "ORA ET LABORA" (St. Benedict's motto "work and pray"), I have decided that these saints will be my sources of inspiration for my innovative way of doing business in times of wars, darkness and recession. I can see lots of light on the horizon, if fortune keeps staying next to me. Fortune: a little bit of pagan world adds some disenchantment and beauty to the subject of being good. We do not want to be tooooo good. Remembering that what is beautiful is also good!

St. Francis was a very brave heir giving up on his father's fortune to follow his heart. His choice of poverty has made him eternal. Despite St. Francis followed our God's local model, St. Francis is beloved everywhere in the world by people belonging to other religions, too. 

A Simple Prayer 

~ 

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, let me sow pardon.

Where there is doubt, let me sow faith.

Where there is despair, let me sow hope.

Where there is sadness, let me sow joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

– St. Francis of Assisi

 A classical holy picture of St. Francis.
A prayer is  unsually  printed on the back. 

And for my Italian readers the prayer's Italian translation:

Preghiera Semplice 

O Signore, fa di me uno strumento della tua Pace:

Dove è odio, fa ch'io porti l'Amore.

Dove è offesa, ch'io porti il Perdono.

Dove è discordia, ch'io porti l'Unione.

Dove è dubbio, ch'io porti la Fede.

Dove è errore, ch'io porti la Verità.

Dove è disperazione, ch'io porti la Speranza.

Dove è tristezza, ch'io porti la Gioia.

Dove sono le tenebre, ch'io porti la Luce.

O Maestro, fa' ch'io non cerchi tanto:

Essere consolato, quanto consolare.

Essere compreso, quanto comprendere.

Essere amato, quanto amare.

Poiché sì è:

Dando, che si riceve;

Perdonando che si è perdonati;

Morendo, che si risuscita a Vita Eterna.

San Francesco d'Assisi 

(mi dispiace deludere i lettori stranieri ma la Preghiera Semplice sembra che sia stata erroneamente attribuita a San Francesco, fu piuttosto una preghiera di autore francese ignoto che la scrisse dietro un santino di San Francesco e venne pubblicata in Francia nel 1912. E' comunque ispirata a San Francesco e quindi possiamo chiamarla Preghiera di San Francesco. In passato si sono presi questa licenza. Seguiamo ciò che hanno deciso per noi i fruitori della preghiera). 

-----------------------------------------

- Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

FRIENDS OF CAMA 

Join the Facebook Page to Receive Blog Updates 

NEW!
Now on Twitter