“Sa più el Papa e un contadin che el Papa solo.”
A local Italian proverb, translated: “The Pope and a peasant know more than the Pope alone.”
Wisdom can come from collaboration (the Pope and the peasant). It also can come from independent thinking. The advantage of collaboration is that mistaken judgments can be moderated or avoided. The disadvantage is the sheer volume of time that can be wasted. Now you’re not just wasting one person’s time, but several. I’ve been in on many meetings where the dumbest person in the room could not shut his or her trap. Have you? You’ll never get your life back! I’ve also been in a few where the smartest person in the company had the floor. Smoooooth! Refreshing! So, the Pope and the peasant can lead to solutions or to duct taping one’s head to contain the explosion. I always carry a roll of tape in case….
Right now I’m on a volunteer committee. I have much to share but I’m careful not to share too much. I never want to be thought of as “that guy who can’t shut up.” What surprises me about volunteer committees is how different they are from required business meetings.
First, so much more gets done. Facts are told and decisions get made. You’re not getting paid so it it is personal time you’re giving up.
Second, in spite of that, some members take attendance for granted. “I won’t be here for next meeting because (insert some lame excuse here, like ‘I have to go to the nursery for banana leaves.’).” (I guess we will be making better decisions without you! Don’t come back too soon.)
It is important to know your product and its value. I had heartburn understanding how one company I worked for had no problem using inferior products and treating customers in ways they never would want to be treated. They were more interested in customers seeing their shiny washed trucks (optics) rather than delivering the best service (hours-long service windows vs tighter appointments). I easily recognize when a business is pushing me to do things for THEIR convenience, not for my benefit. Like they want me to sign up for paperless delivery which benefits them (saves $2.50 in printing and mailing costs), but they never give me anything in return (like a monthly 10 cent discount for doing so). Until I receive a benefit its too bad you’ll have to spend $2.50!
Speaking of “inside benefits” vs “customer benefits” … I’ve been trying to plan a few getaways this summer. The crappy websites are driving me insane. As the consumer I’m looking for things the consumer would appreciate (duh!) but none of that seems readily discoverable on those sites. How much are tickets or entrance fees? Find that after clicking seven links and two sub-links (if I’m lucky). Map that includes parking areas for a downtown event? Nope. Map that shows anything other than the attraction (like nearby hotels) … nope. Find a hotel map that shows nearby attractions? Nope. Menus with pricing? Nope (fortunate to find half a menu in pictures taken by a customer 3 years ago). Actual operating hours? Sometimes. Usually I write down two restaurants because invariably one closes now at 4pm on random Tuesdays. I often wonder who creates these websites and why no one seems to have the consumer in mind when they do it.
Next, why does any business only advertise on Facebook? Nearly 30% of American adults do not have a Facebook account. So, this business owner has decided he or she is willing to throw away 30% of potential customers? When I see that is THEIR ad platform, I pass. In the past I attempted to navigate them, but I found that few keep even these updated. Great! Send your customers to an out of date Facebook site. Your potential customers really don’t care about pictures of the owners and employees. THEY should collaborate on including essential consumer information!
Same with calls to get a product repaired or updated (which I’ve mentioned before). I sit on hold for half my life waiting to talk to a real person … only to hear endless ads for the product I’m sorry I bought. That’s a waste of ad space! They should rent that space to some insurance or doughnut chain (I’m usually ready for a doughnut and coffee by the time I’m done and maybe I would be interested in life insurance.)
Wait! What was I talking about? That two heads are better than one (sometimes). I’ve never spoken to a Pope, but I’ve met many peasants. The one thing I’ve learned from peasants is “Don’t do things like I did!” They mostly are crowd followers. Success rarely comes from doing what every other schmuck is doing. It comes from observing what the herd is doing and choosing a different path. I write often about that (others do, too … which worries me a bit). For instance when most people are selling stock, I’m looking for stock to buy. My results are not a good as certain members of Congress, but I’ve done OK overall.
I like the Italian proverb, but like any proverb one can be led astray if followed without question.
In 1978 the owner of an Italian barrel making company faced a hard choice. The economy turned sour. He chose to not lay off his employees.
Garbellotto S.p.A., was one of Italy’s celebrated barrel-makers. Founded in 1775 and still run by the same family. And yet, none of it mattered in 1978.
Pietro Garbellotto, the seventh-generation patriarch, faced a decision that most business owners today would consider straightforward. Close the factory and lay off the workers.
“But he refused. What prevented him, he later said, was thinking about the families of his workers. Many of the coopers had applied their trade for generations. They were fathers and sons and grandsons, working side by side, passing the secrets of wood selection and fire-bending through apprenticeships and lived experience.”
With no orders to fill, the coopers maintained the factory buildings, repaired equipment, tended the wood yards, and continued seasoning oak in the open air.
Pietro was being strategic. Two hundred years of institutional memory had taught him something simple: The cycle always returns to quality and the workers you have are the engine that runs that quality.
Two years later the Gallo family, winemakers from California, went to Europe looking for a cooperage capable of building giant aging vats for their winery. They needed 712 of them, each over 12 feet tall. It was the largest single order in the history of the cooperage industry, and the Gallo family needed a company with the experience, the seasoned wood, and the skilled manpower to execute it.
Pietro’s philosophy was that quality people are to be valued. Lose the people, and you lose the company. Yet today’s corporations think otherwise.
Copyright 2026 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
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Re: Paragraph 8 – We are in the 30%. And are annoyed with the same businesses (and other organizations, such as churches!) for all of the reasons you mention here. Annoyed enough that we don’t join or spend our money with any of ’em.
Sherry
@owly
Good. They haven’t done their research. Which means they don’t care. What they like is that it costs them nothing except new customers .
Unfortunately, as I mentioned, most don’t even bother to keep their pages up to date. As a potential customer I have no interest in what sale the business had four years ago.
Churches do the same. They only care about the 69 (not the 99).