On the night of September 19, approximately 60 executives from all over Brazil anxiously awaited the end of the first segment of themes in the 360° Leadership course, led by businessman Abilio Diniz, chairman of the Board of Directors of Península Participações and BRF, and member of the Board of Directors of Carrefour Global and Carrefour Brazil.

The 80-year-old businessman, who created Grupo Pão de Açúcar along with his father, shared memories of different stages of the company’s development and how it overcome major crises in its path to become the largest distribution company in Latin America. During such ascending trajectory, he pointed out that it is possible to determine a pattern of resilience through problem diagnosis, intense planning and clear-cut action.

One of these delicate moments, according to the executive, was during the 1990s, when the group went through a severe crisis. “We managed to stabilize the situation and placed the company back on the track towards growth.” But that required restructuring the company’s cash flow through hard-boiled cost cutting and reorganization measures.

After leaving the company in 2013, Abilio says that he still meets up at least once a year with his teams to share and remember the mistakes he made along his career, which he likes to call “crisis prophylaxis”. “It’s important to remember our mistakes in order not to repeat them. If you’re going to make mistakes, at least make new ones,” he said.

Abilio also stressed the importance of acknowledging our mistakes in any process of expansion, like the one back in 2008. “That was when we really looked into the company, in order to determine where we wanted to go, and ultimately kick-started a process of expanding our cash flow by acquiring Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio,” he said. “Just a while before that, we had already pursued two different business models for our group that eventually fell through. I realized that I contributed to such failure by not taking over the right role for me, as a controller. I acknowledged my responsibility before the market when I introduced the new CEO,” he said. According to Abilio, the lesson learned from this episode is that we must never hesitate to own up to our roles. “We must always be involved in every strategic decision of our lives.”

After 50 years ahead of Pão de Açúcar, Abilio left the company and did what he refers to as a turnaround: he went to work for BRF, the largest animal protein exporter in the world, and Carrefour, an old competitor which he always admired. But the executive’s biggest turnaround was actually in his personal life.  “I married again in 2004 and now I have a new family and two young children, aged 11 and 7, besides my four older children. Just to give you an idea, my eldest daughter is 57.”

The executive also quickly went through some of the lessons he learned in different topics: getting through hard times; taking calculated risks to grow; copying the best there is around the world; not making any decisions before using all of the time you have and clearly identifying all variables involved; and keeping in mind that today’s world is extremely fast and dynamic. “In life, wisdom is knowing how to balance your actions and roles,” he concluded.

About the 360° Leadership course

The 360° Leadership course’s participants were very pleased with the lecture and discussions promoted throughout the classes. After taking over project management for Grupo Votorantim one month ago, Vanessa Bellini wanted to break free from the traditional approach and seek out content that could really turn the tide across the entire chain. According to the executive, she already applies many of the lessons learned in the 360° Leadership course to her daily routine. “One of these lessons is knowing how to listen and understand different arguments, while also considering all variables before making any decision,” she said.

Demetrius Ribeiro, systems manager at Telefônica/Vivo, also chose the course because of its unique approach, beyond the traditional training format. “The course gives me tools that are much better for those who want to improve as leaders. Interacting with Abilio and other outstanding professionals allows us to freely discuss and explore our current problems, sharing our experiences with others,” he said.

New classes for the 360° Leadership course will begin on the first half of 2018. Go to fgv.br/pec-sp for more information on the 360° Leadership course and other courses offered by FGV.