The Art of Excellent Products — Riccardo Illy
Paperback | HapperCollins Leadership | February 22, 2022
The Gist
Building a successful and resilient business with a sustainable and healthy culture is a marathon, not a sprint.
Read if you like
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
Learning about the history of illy coffee
Building a strong team, culture, and brand
Run a small business
Are in content marketing
Verdict: Read It, Pay The F*Ck Attention, But Borrow it
In The Art of Excellent Products, Riccardo Illy discusses illy’s approach to creating premium products, a successful company, and a resilient culture. His answer? Incanto. For Illy, Incanto consists of four pillars: consumer perception, supply chain, quality of materials, and social, environmental, and economic sustainability. The book is a celebration of family-owned businesses and their approach to business and life. Thus, The Art of Excellent Products is as much a love letter to Italy as it is an analysis of how to build an enduring and respected brand. Through numerous interviews and anecdotes, Illy demonstrates the importance of long-term thinking, not cutting corners, making sure employees are looked after, the need to pay attention to supply chains, patience, and more—especially in a post-pandemic world. While Illy acknowledges there can be downsides to having one’s entire family involved in a business, he doesn’t dive too deep into the negatives or how to navigate them. And, naturally, due to the values he holds, he often criticizes American companies for their short-term thinking, willingness to use lower quality materials to make better margins, and treatment of employees. Although these critiques may sting, unfortunately, Illy’s criticism is earned and he has a point. However, regardless of what side of the Atlantic you’re on, Illy’s insights offer a blueprint for any employee—not just leadership—to start building an Incanto framework at their company—big or small.
