The ability to improvise — to find solutions, navigate around obstacles, and create workable outcomes from available resources when things do not go as planned — is a highly valued competency in Italian culture. Italians call this arrangiarsi: figuring it out, making things work.
This is not the failure of planning — it is the completion of planning. Because Italian plans are designed as flexible frameworks in an uncertain world, the capacity to improvise well is what makes plans viable. Someone who can read a situation, see creative possibilities, leverage their relationships for help, and find a path to a good outcome despite unexpected obstacles is deeply respected.
When working with Italian colleagues, recognize and appreciate this capacity. When obstacles arise, Italian teams will typically move quickly to find creative solutions rather than stopping to assign blame for the deviation from plan.
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