Paolo, you often emphasize that responsibility is about the "ability to respond." Could you elaborate on what you mean by that?
Absolutely. When I say that responsibility means the ability to respond, I’m shifting the focus from this traditional, often heavy, sense of blame or burden to something much more empowering. Responsibility isn’t about taking on guilt or shouldering the weight of everything that happens—it’s about recognizing that you have the power and agency to choose how you respond to any given situation. It’s about action, not reaction.
Let me break it down.
When most people think of responsibility, they think of it as something tied to accountability or being “at fault.” We grow up hearing that being responsible means you have to take ownership of mistakes, bear the consequences, and “fix” things. But that perspective limits the full potential of responsibility. It makes it feel like a burden, something you carry rather than something you use.
What I’m talking about is flipping that on its head. Responsibility is not just about taking ownership of outcomes—it’s about recognizing that you have the power to shape those outcomes through your response. It’s about saying, “No matter what happens—whether it’s a failure, a setback, or something beyond my control—I get to decide how I will respond to this situation.”
Think about it: in life, in business, in relationships, there will always be things that don’t go as planned. There will always be challenges, external forces, and moments where things go wrong. Responsibility isn’t about taking blame for all of it—it’s about stepping up and saying, “How can I respond in a way that reflects my values, my goals, and my ability to create something positive out of this?”
It’s empowering because it shifts the narrative from being at the mercy of circumstances to being in control of your reaction. In essence, responsibility becomes a tool for growth and transformation, not just a way to “fix” things or clean up messes. You can’t always control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond—and that’s where real power lies.
Take the example of Noostech’s collapse. I could’ve looked at that failure through the lens of blame and guilt, weighed down by responsibility in the traditional sense. But that wouldn’t have helped me or anyone else. Instead, I embraced responsibility as my ability to respond in a way that pushed me forward, that allowed me to learn, reflect, and build something new from the ashes. I wasn’t responsible for the market forces or the economic downturn that contributed to the failure, but I was absolutely responsible for how I responded to it.
When you start viewing responsibility as the ability to respond, everything shifts. Suddenly, challenges are not obstacles—they’re opportunities to exercise your power. Setbacks become chances to show your resilience. And failures? They become stepping stones for growth, not because you’re pretending everything is fine, but because you’re choosing how to respond to them in a way that propels you forward.
So, for me, responsibility is about ownership, yes—but not in the sense of blame. It’s about owning your response to whatever life throws at you. It’s about recognizing that you always have a choice in how you act, how you think, and how you move forward. When you see responsibility through this lens, it’s not a burden—it’s a source of freedom. You realize that your ability to respond is where your true strength lies.