Go BackCEOs Still Walk the Floor: Staying Human in a Data-Driven World
By Luca Bertocci and Gabor Bekefi
The paradox of modern leadership
Table of Contents
CEOs today operate with more information than at any time in history. Every sale, every click, and every customer interaction is measured and translated into dashboards that promise clarity and precision. The assumption is simple: more data should lead to better decisions.
Yet the leaders who create real impact often rely on something far more human. They walk the floor.
They leave the boardroom and go where people actually experience the business. They observe teams, customers, and partners. They notice tone, energy, and the invisible details that never appear in reports.
This is not nostalgia. It is a competitive advantage.
Because while data shows WHAT is happening, presence helps leaders understand WHY it is happening.
Leading with curiosity keeps decisions grounded in reality, helps leaders anticipate shifts early, and builds the kind of trust that analytics alone cannot generate.
The Esselunga Example: the power of presence
Few leaders embodied this more clearly than Bernardo Caprotti, the founder of Esselunga, one of Italy’s most admired supermarket chains.
Every Saturday, Caprotti visited his stores in person. He talked with customers, observed how people moved through the aisles, and noticed which products generated interest or confusion. In an industry driven by margins and efficiency, he understood that customer insight grows stronger when leaders stay close to real life.
This simple ritual had measurable impact.
Despite operating in only a limited number of regions, Esselunga generates some of the highest revenue per square meter in the world and has cultivated a community of deeply loyal shoppers who still say, I do not go grocery shopping, I go to Esselunga.
Caprotti’s routine was not sentimental. It was strategic. It allowed him to catch early signals, identify opportunities, and inspire teams by showing that customer understanding starts on the ground, not behind a spreadsheet.
Lessons from the field: insights from global brands
Across his leadership roles at Coca Cola, Carlsberg, and Asahi, Gabor experienced firsthand how powerful presence can be.
During one of his CEO assignments, he set a personal rule: one full day every week spent in the market with the sales team. In the morning, he joined a sales representative for store visits. In the afternoon, he took part in the regional sales meeting. This gave him an end to end view of how strategy translated into day to day execution and how shoppers interacted with the company’s offering.
Execution was often strong, but real life always revealed important nuances.
Some stores deviated from price standards. Some coolers were blocked by promotional materials. Customers shared candid views about the brands, the latest advertising, and their experiences with the company. And behind solid execution, subtle operational issues emerged, from missing materials to tools that did not fully support the team.
Data had shaped the strategy, but these field visits showed how it behaved in the market. After each day in the field, Gabor shared detailed notes with the sales leadership team. Once validated, they corrected issues quickly and communicated improvements to the broader organisation.
Over time, this simple weekly ritual created deeper benefits.
Direct interaction between frontline workers and the CEO built trust and mutual respect. It strengthened the culture, clarified what teams understood about the strategy, and highlighted what needed to be adjusted in communication, processes, or resource allocation, and in turn delivered superior performance over the years.
Gabor’s experience reinforces a simple truth: presence adds context to data and energy to organisations. It turns strategy into something lived and understood.
The Human-Centric CEO playbook
How can leaders in any industry combine analytical precision with human connection?
From our shared experience, it comes down to three habits.
Observe
Spend time where people actually experience your business. Visit stores, offices, or customer service hubs. Watch how your strategy comes to life. Be present without an agenda, and let the reality of what you see speak for itself.
Empathize
Look beyond performance. Try to understand motivation, frustration, pride, and confusion. Empathy sharpens judgment and helps leaders make decisions that work in practice, not just in theory.
Act
Turn what you see into meaningful action. Fix obstacles, simplify processes, and clarify messages. Even small changes show teams that leadership attention is real and it creates trust.
Leadership rituals make these habits sustainable.
Caprotti’s Saturday store visits, Gabor’s weekly market days, or simple one to one conversations with customers all serve the same purpose: keeping leadership grounded in the human reality of the business.
Why presence matters more than ever
Artificial intelligence, automation, and predictive analytics are essential tools. But they are retrospective. They show what has already happened.
Presence offers foresight. It helps leaders sense tone, energy, and momentum. It reveals early signals long before they become measurable.
Presence also builds credibility. Teams notice when leaders show up without entourage or agenda. Customers feel when executives genuinely care. These moments create trust. And trust accelerates performance.
The human touch as a strategic asset
Leadership with impact is not defined by dashboards, KPIs, or titles. It is defined by curiosity, empathy, and presence.
The best leaders blend data with real world observation. They combine algorithms with awareness and reports with direct conversations.
Make time for curiosity. Visit your teams. Talk to customers. Look at your business where it actually happens.
Because in the end, the most advanced dashboard is still the human eye. And the most effective leaders are those who never lose sight of the human touch.
Luca Bertocci is a co-founder and co-owner of Human Centric Group, where he partners with boards, founders, and C-level executives to transform brands into strategic business assets. He leads the agency’s analytical department, applying a data-driven approach to unlock sustainable, long-term value for global clients such as Carlsberg, PepsiCo, Danone, Mitsubishi Electric, and Carrefour, across more than 30 countries.
Before Human Centric Group, Luca was an equity partner at Garrison Group and held key roles at Pirelli Tyres and Desk Promos (special agency of the Italian Chamber of Commerce) during Expo Shanghai 2010.
Beyond consulting, Luca is a lecturer at Krakow School of Business (International MBA), and AGH Business School (EMBA and Tech MBA). He also serves as a mentor for Bocconi University and for several startups in Poland, combining entrepreneurial spirit with academic rigor.
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