Management of Common Sense, the new book by Xavier Marcet

Yesterday was a very special day. Many of us who admire and closely follow Xavier Marcet gathered at Casa SEAT for the presentation of his latest book, Management of Common Sense: Anyone Can Be Sophisticated, published by Plataforma Editorial.

The event featured Xavier Marcet along with Laura Carnicero, director of people at Seat and Cupra; his friend and editor Jordi Nadal; Màrius Carol, journalist and writer; Joan Plaza, basketball coach; Raül Blanco, president of Renfe; and Jordi Valls, politician and former mayor of Manresa.

As Jordi Nadal highlighted in his speech, in such a hostile world as today’s, being part of Xavier’s world makes you feel truly good. The overflowing auditorium —with more than 300 attendees— was filled with a fantastic atmosphere. Xavier has the gift of bringing together the people he appreciates in an intelligent way and sharing his experience generously.

Here are some of Xavier Marcet’s key messages in his new book:

• The importance of passion. Without passion, nothing ever happens. A good leader must also be able to transmit this passion to their team.
• You cannot be a good executive and a personal mess at the same time. We must be able to manage our own lives as if we were our own CEO.
• A good executive must dedicate time to thinking. And the best way to think is to dedicate time to writing. You cannot lead a company without thinking or writing. Also, action is necessary. There must be a balance between thinking and acting. Xavier Marcet shared that over time, he has learned to observe and thinks while he is in the trenches.
• Agendas should be filled with meaning, not meetings. He reminded us of a quote by Peter Drucker: “The health of a company is inversely proportional to the number of meetings.”
• Mediocrity is the lack of authenticity. Seeking common sense, being clear, and sharing without extravagance is key.
• Leadership should seem simple, making difficult things appear easy. The distinction between simplicity and ease is crucial.
• Often, in companies, things happen by osmosis. Many factors are unstructured, and many projects succeed through a natural process.
• Legacy and purpose are fundamental. Grow and help others grow.
• The book is a tribute to humanistic management, highlighting the importance of people.

As Joan Plaza pointed out yesterday, this book becomes one of those timeless, bedside volumes that you like to keep close to reread now and then.

Xavier closed the presentation with a heartfelt thank you to his family, the colleagues invited to the session, the Lead To Change team, and Mireia Mir, director of INDPULS, dedicating the book to Paco Solé Parellada.