In a constantly changing world, where pandemics, energy crises, wars and technological revolutions constantly redefine the industrial scenario, knowing managing uncertainty it is no longer an advantage, but a need. The challenge is dedicated to this XVI workshop di HerAcademy, the corporate university of Hera Group, entitled “Preparing for the Unpredictable: New Opportunities for Industrial Evolution”, which took place in Bologna.
Training for the Unpredictable: Hera's Message
“We have experienced events that have taught us how the unpredictable has become a structural part of our daily lives, making unpredictability and uncertainty a stable element in this context of permacrisis that is modifying markets and industrial supply chains,” he explained. Cristian Fabbri, executive chairman of the Hera Group and chairman of the HerAcademy coordination committee. "Faced with disruptions of this magnitude and speed, we must be ready to change our approach."
Fabbri emphasized how corporate universities play a key role in training people and organizations to manage complexity, strengthen widespread entrepreneurship, and learn to take informed risks.
The CEO Horace Iacono recalled how the Hera Group managed the unexpected during the 2023 flood in Romagna, with over 4 billion cubic meters of water and more than 100 tons of waste, equivalent to the annual volume of a city of 200 inhabitants. "Our infrastructure has held up thanks to the constant investments we make to make it more robust and intelligent: 47% of the investments planned for 2028, equal to €2,4 billion out of a total of over €5 billion, is earmarked for resilience. And resilience, which was initially absorptive, to withstand the impact, is becoming adaptive and finally transformative. Scenarios that were initially unpredictable can therefore help us grow. But unpredictability also affects the digital world: the interconnection between the physical and digital environments will increasingly increase, and this also requires investments in cybersecurity. Being resilient today means anticipating, knowing, and working together."
Strategies for uncertainty
The afternoon workshop featured international managers, economists, and academics. Professor Maria Laura Frigotto, with the background paper “The Unpredictable between Novelty and Resilience”, underlined that the transition from a world dominated by “calculable uncertainty” to a context in which “radical novelties” dominate requires collective sensemaking capacities and robust, “multi-resilient” structures.
Chiara Montanari, the first Italian to lead an expedition to Antarctica, shared her experience: “My ‘Antarctic mindset’ – the ability to make decisions without data, relying on trust, preparation and intuition – is now adopted in management training courses in several countries.”
Enrico Sassoon, editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review Italia, presented “Macrotrends 2025/2026 – Beyond the Great Disorder,” highlighting how the end of the multilateral order and the return of protectionism require “a profound transformation in business models and the need for companies to develop contextual leadership.”
Prof Raffaella Sadun, Charles E. Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, explained that companies capable of acting promptly in disruptive environments are those that combine “a culture of feedback, delegation, advanced use of data, and widespread digital reskilling.”
Dialogues on industry and corporate strategies
Among the moments of comparison, the first panel discussion Orazio Iacono and Alessandro Puliti (Saipem) discussed strategic supply chains and global risks. The second, with Cristian Fabbri and Marco Grazioli (The European House-Ambrosetti), emphasized the need to build "cohesive microgroups capable of sharing knowledge, addressing conflicts creatively and cooperatively, and focusing on the long term."
