Coffee with restauranteur Lorenzo Cuttica,

Lorenzo Cuttica

Age 60

Restaurant Owner

London-Rome Zoom

You might be thinking… I’ve had enough surprises these last two years thank you very much. And certainly, that’s true but what I think Lorenzo is getting at is the need to remain open to possibilities and allow ourselves the space to see where they might lead.

According to Tania Luna, co-author of Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected, surprises are a strong neuro alert that tells our brain something important is happening right now and we need to pay attention. It also tells us we're wrong about something or someone - that’s why we are surprised in the first place

Luna continues, “Our cognitive resources are basically hijacked and pulled into the moment. That’s one of the things that is so uncomfortable for some people, but also exciting for others because your attention is completely in the moment.”

Once you are alerted to the fact that something is not what you expected the question is what do you do with this new information? Do you disregard it as a one-off and not relevant or do you use it to shift and learn?

Luna says a surprise is an opportunity to say ‘I don’t know but I wonder…’ giving you the choice to stay in your comfort zone or explore new, unfamiliar territory.

Keeping this sense of wonder and possibility is critical I believe to navigating a long career - particularly in midlife where we might think our options are limited. But if embrace a certain element of unpredictability and allow ourselves to be vulnerable - we learn to be more resilient and open ourselves up to richer more fulfilling experiences.

Certainly, these traits helped Lorenzo go from a corporate career in marketing to owning and managing a restaurant in Rome?

And now my interview with Lorenzo…

Describe your career path in two or three sentences including any twist or turns ending with where you are now.  

I graduated in 1985 with a degree in Economics and Business Management. 

My first work experience was in advertising - initially at Saatchi and Saatchi and then at Armando Testa - Italy's biggest agency. It was very hard work but at the same time very interesting and very fulfilling. 

At the beginning of the 90s, I moved to British Airways and spent the next 23 years there. I was initially based in Rome, then I had the opportunity to work and live in London for a few years - and after that Paris. 

I left BA in 2013 and asked myself: ‘What am I going to do next?’ A question I think most of us will ask ourselves at some point.   

I started to work for a small online start-up - this was a completely new world for me and a big change from BA. It was good fun but unfortunately, the start-up did not get very far… 

In 2015, I met with a friend of a friend who was about to set up a new restaurant business. We spoke, and I decided to invest in this enterprise. Initially, I was only a shareholder but then I took an operational role in the company, so today I‘m now a joint owner and manager at Suburra 1930 Cucina e Liquori, located in the centre of Rome.

What decision/experience proved to be the most helpful to your career? This could include a failure that set you up for later success. 

There have been two important turning points.  

The first one was early on - that was my decision to leave advertising and go to British Airways. It felt like a radical move going from the agency side to the client-side.

The second event was in the middle of my career at BA and it was getting that dreaded tap on your shoulder and being told that the job I was doing at that moment was no longer mine. My options were to reapply for it or research a new opportunity either internally or externally.  

I decided to stay at BA and applied for a new position in Distribution and got it. I liked the challenge and the fact that it took me out of my comfort zone. I felt revitalised.

So despite the distress that I felt at the time, I realise now how important these transitions have been for me and my career. 

What advice would you give your 20-year-old self knowing what you do now? Or what advice would you tell her / him to ignore?   

This is a difficult question because there is no universal recipe for life.  

I think it's very important to recognise that nothing in our life experience should be wasted or thrown away. I believe that who we are today is a result of the good (or bad) decisions we’ve made in the past. And likewise, who we’ll be in the future, depends on the actions we take today. So what is important is the present - what we say and what we do now because it will have ripples in the future.

The advice that I would give to my 20 years old self is…

First, strive in your studies, and make sure you get the most out of your education. 

Second, give the best of yourself in whatever you do. Whether it is in your studies or your first job or even if it is taking a year off to learn something new.  

And third, ask yourself honestly, who you want to be in future. And just as important - who you don’t want to be. Some people are lucky to know early on that they want to be a doctor or an engineer. So there is an element of luck in knowing and being able to focus all their energies in that direction.

But we’re not all like that and that’s okay too.

When I was 20, I was letting the events direct me, rather than me directing the events.

So ask yourself honestly, where do you see yourself in five or ten years and what kind of life do you want? Then roll up your sleeves, and take full responsibility for your life.

Never blame anyone if things don't go in the right direction because the responsibility lies with you and exclusively with you.  

How do you define success? Has your idea of success changed over the years? 

When you're in your 20s, you think that success means moving up the ladder quickly and making lots of money.  

Thankfully, my conception of this has changed and I've added some quality and value dimensions to it.  

Today, I think that there are three criteria:  

The first one is to earn enough money to ensure yourself a good living standard - but don’t let money become a religion.  

The second, find work that is fun and fulfilling - something that you look forward to when you wake up in the morning.

And the third important element for me is that a job should be useful in some way - for the community or the environment or other people.  

Currently, in my restaurant business, I see people coming to my restaurant tired and hungry and I see them go away smiling after having good food and good drinks with friends or families. So for me, that is useful because I am helping create the opportunity for people to socialise and be happy and have a good time. 

And if I was to add a fourth it would be to create value. Creating value might mean, establishing rich and fulfilling relationships with the people that you work with, employees and business partners, based on honest dialogue and mutual respect. 

When you are feeling stuck or uninspired, what actions do you take or what questions do you ask yourself?  

I think being stuck and uninspired is part of life and what's important is how you react to it. I try to counter-trend this by going for a run or calling a friend going for a drink. Not to get drunk, but to exchange ideas and bring new oxygen to my thinking.  

Certainly never sit there think poor me.

And remember, no situation is forever, nothing is static, everything changes constantly.

The possibility to activate change depends on us and only on us. What's important is to do something about it and take action. Don't sit there complaining.

In the last 5 years what new belief, behaviour or habit has most improved your working life (or your approach to creating your post 50 work-life)? 

I have more freedom, I manage my activities and I manage my time, I'm more in control.

I don't have anyone who tells me what I need to do. Instead, I create my own action plan and decide what is best for me to do. I still give myself deadlines though. 

What advice would you give somebody thinking about leaving the corporate world and launching a restaurant?

My advice would be: only go into a project like this if you strongly believe in it and if you recognise yourself in it. 

Second, create a solid business case. Don't do things superficially. Even if the business case isn’t perfect, make sure it is well thought out and as thorough as possible.   

Finally, find the right partners. Don't do it on your own because you need different skills and different people bring different skill sets.  

I‘d also say, be curious - look at what competitors are doing. And if see a good idea copy it. And if you see something that’s not working - stay away from it. It might seem silly, but it's important.

Finally, continually try new avenues and paths.

And be humble enough to recognise if they work or not. If they work, stay the course. And if they don't, stop and explore other options.  

These are the tools that I'm using and the ones I would like to recommend to anyone thinking about getting into the restaurant business.  

I worry sometimes that when you get older your idea of what is possible shrinks? Obviously, it didn't for you, how do you think people can keep their ideas open?  

There are lots of people who say 'Oh I can’t do that’ or ‘I’m too old.’

What is important is to keep your mind open and don’t limit yourself. Everything is possible.  

Never allow yourself to say ‘ cannot do this’, or ‘it is too late for this’.

Be convinced that there is no difference between now and 20 years ago.

If you could put one quote or piece of advice on a big billboard for everyone over 50 to see what would it be? 

I'm going to make your life difficult because I have three. 

One is, ‘You can do it’.

Another one is ‘Just do it’.

And the third one is ‘Never give up’.  

We must remain solidly and strongly confident in the ability of our life to surprise ourselves.

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