The past is the future

Abraham Wald was a brilliant mathematician in the mid-twentieth century, whose apparently simple yet absolutely genius intuition had a determining impact upon the Allied victory in the Second World War. Wald was charged with studying American aeroplanes returning from combat over the skies of war-torn Europe. He had to assess the holes from anti-aircraft fire on the various parts of the aircraft and decide which of these parts to protect with armour. It emerged that the parts most hit were the fuselage, the wings, and the fuelling system. But the question posed by Wald was: ‘Where are the bullet holes that should be found on the crankcase of the engine, if the damage is uniformly distributed?’ And the answer he gave himself was: ‘The holes are on those aircraft that have been shot down.’ As a result, the parts to protect were not those the most hit, but those where damage was absent. In many fields what often makes the difference comes from the ability to look beyond the evidence to see instead that which is not there. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna is also convinced of this when he opts for a curiously ‘aeronautic’ metaphor.

“Good managers have to see, to understand, and to learn. And in order to do so, they have to move like a helicopter. Get out in the field, be amongst the people, to interact with them. Because it is often from these comparisons, that are not necessarily planned, and that are in fact often casual, that you can identify the problem and find the solution. At the beginning there is always intuition, an idea. The second step is the moment for the practical realisation of the theory. Only at that point can you talk about really true innovation.”

Today's Ferrari employees use virtual reality, modern diagnostic tools and cutting-edge production methods alongside traditional craftsmanship, underlining that innovation at Maranello is always rooted in heritage, as CEO Benedetto Vigna remarks in his interview

How much does innovation influence the future of a company?
“A company, especially if it is an important brand, understands from the very beginning that it has to survive the external challenges and any unforeseen changes. And that it can endure over time if it knows how to renew itself, if it knows how to be in perennial transformation. And this is the necessary condition for realising unique products. Such as those of Ferrari.”   

These images depict various company departments of the past compared with those of today. Much has changed...
“From the point of view of buildings and of technology that is undoubtedly so. But I don’t believe that is the case from the point of view of the mentality and of the objectives.”

In what sense?
“When we think of Ferrari of the past, inevitably the word ‘tradition’ comes to mind. But in reality that was innovation, that which we today see in black and white in those days was already dressed in the colours of the future. You just need to remember that at the beginning some people called Enzo Ferrari “el mat” – the crazy one. That’s a label that has been attached to many entrepreneurs with a special vision: but nowadays we also know that innovation is not democratic. It is seen only by the few. And an example of how innovative Enzo was is provided by the words of Franco Cortese, a driver who achieved the first victory in the first Ferrari, the 125 S, in the 1947 Rome Grand Prix, which was raced around the city’s Roman Baths of Caracalla. Describing that 12-cylinder, Cortese remarked that it was capable of reaching high speeds amazingly quickly and that it was precisely this feature that made it seem like an electric engine. A comment made 78 years ago but one that I like to underline, now that we have presented our first electric Ferrari.”   

Ferrari has been at the forefront of car production technology from the outset, with a fusion of manual skill, artisanal expertise and mechanical ingenuity laying foundations for today's advanced processes that continue to respect the past

What is needed in order to be constantly innovative?
“You need to behave like a start-up. One of the principal elements is the teamwork, which calls for contact and continuous interaction between its components. As well as this it’s necessary to know how to identify the objective that you want to reach and to always keep it in focus. And lastly it requires a great ability to listen, the readiness to pick up the signals that arrive both internally and from outwith, aware that even people outside the team – partners, suppliers or collaborators – can make an important contribution.”

Can innovation also be frightening?
“Whoever is fearful of innovation is frightened of three precise elements: of difference, of the new, and of the future. The first letters, in that order, produce initials that are well known to all motorsports fans: DNF, ‘Did Not Finish’. The label attached to those who don’t cross the finishing line. Exactly. Even though we know that it can unfortunately happen in motor racing, in the industrial sphere it’s something that Ferrari, ever since its very foundation, has never been prepared to accept.”

The Ferrari year ended with the Capital Markets Day: what should we expect from the future?
“The Capital Markets Day was a great occasion for reflecting upon how much we have all realised together from 2022 to today, and for committing ourselves in the eyes of the world to what we aim to achieve by 2030. With courage and responsibility, with ambition and humility, we have underscored the importance of continuing to be coherent with our values, to being innovative, agile, and respectful of all the actors in the entire Ferrari community. Those whom everyone calls stakeholders. And if every day we keep them in mind and we work in a united and cohesive way, as in the three previous years, I have no doubt that we will successfully realise also this plan and we will continue to be unique.”