“Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration,” said Thomas Alva Edison, the prince of American inventors, the man who gave the world the electric light bulb, the phonograph and a thousand other patented inventions (1091, to be precise). He meant that commitment and effort – the things that make you perspire – are what you need to transform a pure idea, brilliant as it is, into a concrete success: without work, no idea by itself is enough.
The profound wisdom contained in this famous motto is immediately called to mind when considering Datalogic’s forty years of innovation.
But not even the combination of creativity and perseverance are enough to explain the alchemy of innovation. For that we must add another attribute to the recipe, namely courage, as innovation brings risk. And also an ethical approach and open-mindedness, for we must always be ready to challenge clichés, established methods, hierarchies, any form of status quo. This, from the point of view of a company leader, sometimes means challenging ourselves. Thus we have innovation born from scientific research and technology, from investment in human capital and knowledge, but also innovation in a broader sense: vision, challenge, the ability to dare – innovation in the sense of being open to new things.
“You were not made to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge,” says Dante’s Ulysses to his sailors... The story of Datalogic’s success is one of far-sightedness in playing, right from the start, a wide-ranging game on the global markets – not only outlet markets for making sales, but also markets in which the company could make acquisitions, thereby learning, discovering and adopting new talents and identifying new frontiers. Always taking risks, always exploring.
Datalogic’s constant motto is never to close itself off, but rather to set its sights far and wide, and to try to learn from the past, from every acquisition made.
Of course, all this must not grow into a mythical tale of will, or determination, being the one nascent factor that is necessary, and indeed sufficient, to transform a promising idea into a successful business.
And it is here that Edison’s words help us: inspiration is not enough, as he said, without effort and sacrifice. Anything that facilitates work facilitates innovation. Anyone who is successful and continues to move forward, invent, innovate, and grow deserves particular attention and respect in equal measure.
The everyday insights of people, applied to technology and products but also to working methods, are crucial for the growth of a business. And the people at Datalogic are extraordinary. These are people who should be taken as examples, recognised, and – why not? – celebrated.
Those who work with Datalogic deserve to have their stories told in an artistic language, timeless and universal, such as photography. That is what takes place in these pages, where the people of Datalogic are immortalised in the course of their daily lives, taking their part in this innovative world built on commitment, culture and a working environment where the individual takes centre stage, permitting people to express themselves to their fullest potential.
di Sergio Luciano
Journalist
