Principles of Living · Bookplate

Enrico Mattei

@enrico-mattei

“Enrico Mattei was an Italian businessman and politician who transformed Italy’s state energy company, ENI, into a major international oil and gas player. He is known for reshaping postwar European energy policy and challenging the dominance of the 'Seven Sisters' oil companies.”

Principles

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The manifesto · 15 principles

Aim to expand Italy’s role in the world by making it useful, reliable, and indispensable to others.
Use diplomacy, business, and politics together as tools of the same mission.
Defend independence of action, even when it provokes powerful opponents.
Look beyond short-term profit to long-term strategic leverage.
Treat industrial development as a form of public service and national reconstruction.
Build institutions and teams that can outlast individual ambition.
Be willing to take calculated risks when the strategic payoff is large.
Move quickly and decisively; speed and initiative matter in competitive industries.
Share value more equitably with host countries and local communities to build durable partnerships.
Seek direct, concrete agreements with producers and partners instead of relying on old colonial-style arrangements.
Use state enterprise as an instrument of modernization, not as passive administration.
Negotiate from strength, but do so pragmatically and with a clear eye on results.
Challenge monopolies and entrenched powers when they block progress or fairness.
Put national interest and energy independence at the center of action.
Turn adversity into opportunity; build power by creating something new rather than accepting dependence on others.