WISE | xtroverso

by Paolo Maria Pavan

In early 2021, I visited an old friend, a self-proclaimed digital nomad running a remote-first consultancy from his renovated farmhouse in Drenthe. We sipped coffee by a wood stove while he explained ...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Aug 5, 2025

Founder Burnout = Governance Breakdown

by Paolo Maria Pavan

In 2017, I met the owner of a small restaurant in Rotterdam, Mediterranean kitchen, fifty seats, full most nights. His name was Karim. The food was honest, the reviews glowing, the staff loyal. But th...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Aug 4, 2025

Scalable Leadership: Hard Truths for Small Business Owners

by Paolo Maria Pavan

Years ago, I sat across from a baker in Milan whose croissants were the talk of the street, but whose staff turnover was the talk of his accountant. “They leave as soon as they learn the ropes,” he co...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Aug 1, 2025

Minimalism as Environmental Governance

by Paolo Maria Pavan

For micro and small business owners in the Netherlands, the term "environmental governance" often feels distant, like a policy manual written in someone else’s language. But it’s not. It’s about how y...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 31, 2025

Informal Power Still Needs Oversight

by Paolo Maria Pavan

In my early thirties, I worked with a Manifactur owner in Sondrio (IT) who swore his cousin “just helps with deliveries.” No contract. No payroll. No title. Yet every major decision, from hiring staff...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 30, 2025

Team Size Doesn’t Equal Simplicity

by Paolo Maria Pavan

In 2018, I met a woman in Utrecht who ran a two-person catering business. She told me, “We’re just small, so we don’t need all that structure.” Two months later, her business shut down after a client ...

ES IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 29, 2025

Your “Good Intentions” Are Killing Your Business

by Paolo Maria Pavan

When I was 18, I watched a baker scream at a boy for stealing bread. The boy didn’t cry. He just looked at the man and said, “You have shelves. I have hunger.” The baker replied, “And I have rules.” I...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 28, 2025

Stop Babysitting Your Team

by Paolo Maria Pavan

The Coat That Was Never Returned When I was 24, I lent my best wool coat to a team member before his pitch. He forgot it on a train. He apologized, and I told him, “It’s not the coat. It’s what it mea...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 25, 2025

Role Separation in Micro-Companies

by Paolo Maria Pavan

In 2022, I watched a bakery in Utrecht lose its soul. Not its recipe. Not its clients. Its soul. The founder, warm, tireless, beloved, was the baker, the bookkeeper, the HR manager, the delivery drive...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 24, 2025

Sustainable Starts with Restraint

by Paolo Maria Pavan

My grandfather never threw away string. Every time he opened a package, he’d untie the knots carefully, roll the twine around two fingers, and hang it on a nail in the shed. “Because one day,” he’d sa...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 23, 2025

Why “We’re a Family” Can Be a Red Flag

by Paolo Maria Pavan

Years ago, I visited a small printing business run by two brothers. At first glance, it felt warm, colleagues called each other “auntie” or “uncle,” birthday cakes were mandatory, and staff often stay...

ES IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan WISE

Jul 22, 2025

The Ethics of Outsourcing for Dutch SMEs

by Paolo Maria Pavan

The van arrived at 03:47 in the morning. No logo, no sound. A man in a blue hoodie dumped two black containers behind our office. By the time the sun came up, they were gone, along with three years of...

ES ESG IT NL Paolo Maria Pavan

Jul 21, 2025