VALIMET, Inc., manufacturer of spherical Aluminum Alloy powders, has sponsored the Ironstone Concours d’Elegance 2026.
Cars, Wines, and a Business Management epiphany.
California’s Central Valley is famous for its car culture (American Graffiti was filmed in Modesto); Lodi is one of California’s major wine regions, alongside Sonoma and Napa.
The Ironstone Vineyards bring together these two facets of Northern California in a splendid Concours d’Elegance, held in the hills of Murphys, CA.
Three members of our Executive Team attended: Chris Adam, Bill Johnson – MBA, SHRM-SCP and myself. Plus a mystery guest. And here comes the epiphany. As we walked through a side field, a rare, underrated example of the Lotus Elite presented itself. A 1978 model. White, like the one featured in “007 The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977).
An iconic wedge-shaped design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the King of Kings.
Epiphany of what?
An encouragement to dare, as our company is executing a major growth plan. I invite you to browse the web if you’re unfamiliar with the cars referenced below. There are striking examples of design decadence between the ’70s and the restyling of the ’80s. From the Ferrari 308 GTB, we got the Ferrari 328 GTB. Much of the original aggressiveness was gone. The Lamborghini Countach acquired plastic skirts and bumpers. Goofy. The Lotus Elite also moved from its original wedge-shaped design to a heavier, more skirted look. Today, the originals are way more valuable than their restyled successors.
What happened?
The early ’80s were, in many ways, a timid, risk-averse repetition of the ’70s, with additional plastic and resin creating rounder, bulkier shapes. I’d say that the designers’ voices were muffled. Not every decade brings progress. There are slowdowns, pauses in growth. The Automotive market had recovered from the Oil Crisis, and yet it seemed no time to dare. It took a rebel to challenge the uninspiring course of the decade: Diego Ottina, one of Pininfarina’s finest designers at the time, came up with a provocative, sensual design for the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa. Sergio Pininfarina and his collaborators selected his design, and my uncle Eugenio, then General Manager at Ferrari, enthusiastically embraced it.
What does all this have to do with Business Management?
How to manage your business in times of market growth is an interesting topic. An imperative is to assess whether you are being too cautious, favoring a low-risk approach to the point that your brand starts losing its appeal – and your solutions with it. Who are the rebel voices in your Organization that you should be listening to?
And are you ready to give them some freedom to fail, and let them push your company to ride the waves of Market Growth instead of remaining safely in the harbor?
Needless to say, as VALIMET is deploying an aggressive growth plan, we decided to honor the Giorgetto Giugiaros and Diego Ottinas…
Luigi Alzati
VP Sales and Marketing