This is the full version of Lawrence’s testimonial presented before President Mattarella of Italy last Saturday in Trent during the Centenary Celebration of Chiara Lubich.
One of the joys in following the way of Chiara Lubich is to be able to meet inspiring Sisters and Brothers like Stano with the same passion for changing the world. For myself, the greatest gift I received through Chiara was her vision for a united world. Her vision was not one of naiveté or idealism but one deeply rooted in human reality. Through her perspective, I understood that human suffering was first and foremost interconnected, and the greatest joys and successes are the result of deep human connections.
As a youth, I had the ambition to be a priest, but soon I understood that it was not my vocation, but still, I very much wanted my life to contribute towards the idea of a united world. So 16 years ago, my partners and I founded Consulus, which in Latin means: with others. In the course of this work, Chiara’s vision helped me realized that material poverty is a consequence of a greater and more severe form of poverty. It is the poverty of humanity. Because if you are rich with humanity, you will naturally do something for someone in need, you will forgive, you will want to reach out and seek out others to help make our planet a better place.
So my partners and I understood that our contribution for a united world was to go into different aspects of the economy from business to urban transformation with a new system of management thinking and tools that will enable purpose and unity so that people will care and in doing so, they will want to reach out to the least or excluded to build a united world.
Today, we are a global innovation firm in 16 countries, comprising of specialists from different disciplines, languages, religious beliefs, including those without, all crazy enough to believe that we can further the cause of a united world through consulting. In choosing to follow Chiara’s dream, we have attracted a global following who believes in doing the same.
We believe that to enable the realization of Chiara’s vision of a global economy of communion, giving money to the poor alone is not enough. It requires that we are in positions of influence to rewrite the rules and practices of the economy in all its forms to enable sustainable inclusion and growth. Our world is rich with solutions and resources, but we face an existential and growing crisis of division and discord. So being hopeful and decent cannot bring about a united world, we need a strategy like what Chiara had.
So this is where we as a firm, have focused our efforts. Management consulting as an industry influences public policy, business decisions for good or for evil in a massive way. The aim of Consulus is to be a sizeable systemic force for common action for good through consulting.
It is why we are involved in large-scale projects in urban planning where we seek to influence a place for the least and excluded. At the same time, we make sure that our business model can still allow us to serve the smallest enterprises in their transformation needs to raise their dignity and sustain local economies. We have a global leadership program to influence leaders to shape a united world. And we are involved in digital transformation strategies that will have a place for elderly staff. Through a great variety of partnerships and initiatives that now span four continents, we hope to bring about a new humanity that will naturally care for the least and shape a sustainable planet. We are grateful for the life and vision of Chiara, who gave us this adventure.
So 16 years ago, my partners and I founded Consulus, which in Latin means: with others. In the course of this work, Chiara’s vision helped me realized that material poverty is a consequence of a greater and more severe form of poverty. It is the poverty of humanity.
Because if you are rich with humanity, you will naturally do something for someone in need, you will forgive, you will want to reach out and seek out others to help make our planet a better place.
