Embracing ‘The Dreams Come True’ Business

• A dream come true is a complete moment in the life of a client. Important experiences that tempt the clients to commit substantial resources. The essence of the desires of the consumer. The opportunity to help clients become what they want to be.
• We shape our stories, and then they shape us.
• GET INTO THE DREAMS COME TRUE BUSINESS…. THE INCREDIBLE STORIES BUSINESS

The Call to Adventure

We are still mired in Old Economy, Old Product Thinking. But we must – all of us – take pages from the likes of Louis Vuitton – and come to grips, ‘strategically’ with the fact that Winners will be …. Masters of The Dreams Come True Business.

QUEST I imagine

Totally ‘Insane’ Schools… Workspaces…. Enterprises… War- Fighting approaches. Permutations and combinations providing something so, so far beyond services (‘Impossible – Turned – Possible Legends’)

DREAMS COME TRUE

I love the Dreams Come True idea. That idea is a big stretch for many entrepreneurs, compared with our normal ‘business’ way of looking at products and services. And yet perhaps we can stretch our minds even further. Much further?

The stakes are high….. billions upon billions of euros.

So ….. next vocabulary s-t-r-e-t-ch: Dreams Come True

Now, that word/idea far exceeds our comfortzone. The power of ‘Dreams Come True’ is tremendous. The ultimate goal of customers. The Dreams Come True story fascinates me some 25 years now.

Dreams Come True products.

Dreams Come True value.

Dreams Come True guidance.

Dreams Come True coaching.

Gucci in Florence aligns well with the “Dreams Come True” business concept through its heritage-driven luxury that crafts aspirational narratives, immersive experiences, and emotional fulfillment for customers. Founded in Florence in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, the brand transforms high-quality leather goods and fashion into symbols of status and personal expression, rooted in the city’s artisanal “genius loci” of art and craftsmanship. Experiences like the Gucci Garden museum, Gucci Palazzo boutique with exclusive pieces, and the Gucci ArtLab preserve this legacy while inviting visitors to co-create their dreams via interactive exhibits and bespoke luxury. This storytelling approach—evident in creative director visions like Alessandro Michele’s eclectic playground of emotions—mirrors the idea of fulfilling customer dreams through legendary, joyful narratives.

Key Dreams Come True Elements

• Palazzo Gucci in Piazza della Signoria: Museum, boutique, and bookstore blending history with contemporary fantasy.
• Sustainability via Gucci-Up upcycling and regenerative projects, extending luxury’s positive impact.
• Cultural patronage of sites like Uffizi, reinforcing communal happiness.

Consider very careful the following statement ‘A dream come true is a complete moment in the life of a client. Important experiences that tempt the client to commit substantial resources. The essence of the desires of the consumer. The opportunity to help clients become what they want to be’.

What marvelous story! ‘Complete moment’. ‘Tempt’. ‘Commit’ ‘Essence’, ‘Desires’. And summing it all up: ‘the opportunity to help clients become what they want to be’.

If you are not sure you fully understand all of those words related to your business. You think you ‘sort of’ ‘get’ them. I suspect that if you did understand them fully… you would …..gasp.

Yest the right word: gasp!

Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella stands out in Florence as a prime example of the Dreams Come True concept, crafting bespoke scents and elixirs since 1612 that fulfill personal dreams of sensory elegance and well-being. This historic perfumery blends Renaissance alchemy with modern personalization, allowing customers to create signature fragrances amid potpourri gardens and frescoed halls, turning visits into transformative narratives of self-discovery akin to heroic journeys. Rooted in Dominican monastic traditions, it prioritizes joy through rare ingredients like Acqua dell’Eterna Giovinezza elixir, echoing dream-realization over commerce.

Il Papiro in Florence perfectly illustrates the “Dreams Come True” business by transforming artisanal paper-making into immersive, personalized experiences that let customers craft unique stories and heirlooms. Founded in 1976, Il Papiro revives Renaissance Tuscan techniques like hand-marbling (“peacock” patterns) and bookbinding to create one-of-a-kind journals, stationery, and albums, explicitly aiming “to give paper lovers the chance to make their dreams come true.” Workshops invite guests to co-create marbled sheets and bound books, fostering joy, creativity, and heroic narratives—much like my emphasis on passion-driven legacies over profit.

Key Dreams Come True Features

• Bespoke customization via hot-stamping initials, wedding invitations, or corporate gifts on 100% cotton paper.​
• Hands-on classes (e.g., €70 for marbling/bookbinding) yielding take-home masterpieces and certificates, blending education with delight.
• Global franchising built on collaboration, preserving Florentine craftsmanship for emotional, generational connections.

Reviews rave about the “magical” workshops, friendly artisans offering coffee, and transformative souvenirs that extend Florence’s artistic spirit—dreams come true through storytelling and fulfillment.

ADVENTURES iN ….’THE DREAMS COME TRUE’ BUSINESS

The Dreams Come True Business: Touching the client’s dreams

The Dreams Come True Business: The art of telling stories and entertaining

The Dreams Come True Business: Promoting the dream, not the product

The Dreams Come True Business: Building the brand around the Main Dream.

The Dreams Come True Business: Building ‘buzz’, ‘hype’, a ‘cult’

Financial data demonstrate … clearly….. that ‘The Dreams Come True’ products provide (along with happiness to customers) returns to shareholders that are miles and miles beyond the returns from ‘common’ products.

This is not pie in the sky. It is a ‘business message’ deliverd by a practical entrepreneur who has created and enhanced some extraordinary companies. I think this story is well worth listening to – especially in the light of the fundamental arugment I attempt to develop in this journey. The Fundamental Argument about Totally New Sources of Value Added… in a Totally New Economy.

PROJECT: DREAMS COME TRUE

I hope to sign you up! I hope that you’ll play with (right term) the ideas in this journey and consider applying them to your current project.

(In finance.)

(In purchasing)

(In HR)

(In Engineering)

(In IS)

Here is your call to adventure: REWRITE THE STORY OF YOUR PROJECT. DO NOT REST UNTIL THAT PROJECT PASSES THE TESTS OF IMAGINATION UNTIL YOU HAVE TURNED YOUR COURSE INTO A GUCCI TRAINING COURSE, THAT BUSINESS PROCESS INTO A HOTEL SAVOY BUSINESS PROCESS

Think about a staff department in your company. Shouldn’t its ‘training course’ Radically Change the Life of Every Participant?

YES. (DAMN IT)

Shouldn’t the next ‘business process reengineering project’ be an … EXERCISE in making DREAMS COME TRUE?

YES. (DAMN IT)

Why bother with a project unless it is a Dreams Come True Project… unless, that is , it will Dramatically Alter the Perspective of both Designer-Provider and User-Client?

Key words: DRAMATICALLY. ALTER. PERSPECTIVE.

Hotel Savoy in Florence matches the “Dreams Come True” business concept by delivering immersive, story-rich luxury stays that blend Renaissance heritage with personalized joy, turning guest visits into heroic narratives of elegance and fulfillment. Opened in 1893 as a pioneering luxury hotel with electric lights and elevators, Savoy—now a Rocco Forte property—revived in 2018 with Emilio Pucci fabrics and designs that evoke Florentine artistry, inviting guests to live like Renaissance nobility amid Duomo views and Piazza della Repubblica energy. This echoes the ethos of passion over profit, as personalized suites, bespoke services, and cultural immersion craft emotional legacies rather than transactions.

Key Dreams Come True Features

• Grand View and Duomo Presidential Suites with private bars, marble mosaic baths, and panoramic Florence vistas for aspirational escapes.
• Rooftop Spa Suite partnering with Santa Maria Novella for alchemical wellness rituals overlooking Brunelleschi’s Dome.
• Irene Bistro by Chef Fulvio Pierangelini, redesigned with Pucci patterns for glamorous, terrace dining celebrating la dolce vita.

Much like Il Papiro’s workshops or Gucci’s gardens, Savoy prioritizes dreams come true through heritage storytelling.

THE DREAMS COME TRUE LOGIC

Here is some specific advice for those who seek to turn their project team into a ‘Dreams Come True’ team:

• Maximize your value added by fulfiling the dreams of your clients
• Only invest in what is valuable for your client
• Don’t let short-term results weaken the long-term value of your brand
• Balance rigorous control of the financial endeavor with the emotional management of your brand
• Build a financial structure that allows risk-taking: NO RISKS – NO DREAMS COME TRUE
• Establish long-term ‘price power’ in order to avoid the trap of the commodity product
• Choose a Creator: the cultural leader who gives the company an aesthetic point of view.
• Hire eclectically: hire collaborators with different cultures and past histories in order to balance rigor with emotion
• Lead emotionally: engender passionate dedication through vision and freedom
• Build for the long haul: creativity requires a lifetime commitment.

Salvatore Ferragamo is a premier Florentine luxury brand that perfectly embodies the “Dreams Come True” concept by turning shoemaking into a dream-fulfilling narrative of Hollywood glamour, artisanal innovation, and personal transformation. Founded in 1927 by Salvatore Ferragamo after honing his craft in Hollywood (shoes for stars like Gloria Swanson), he returned to Florence, blending U.S. efficiency with Tuscan artistry at Palazzo Spini Feroni—now HQ, flagship store, and museum since 1938. Despite 1933 bankruptcy, he pioneered inventions like the 1937 cork wedge heel (first fashion patent), suede ballerinas for Audrey Hepburn, and the iconic Vara pump, crafting “Shoemaker of Dreams” as his autobiography attests.

Dreams Come True Fit

Ferragamo realizes customer aspirations through bespoke fittings, museum exhibits of celebrity shoes (Marilyn Monroe, Eva Perón), and “Dreams Come True ” metrics prioritizing joy over ROI—mirroring passion legacies like Il Papiro or Hotel Savoy. Family-led post-1960

DREAMS COME TRUE METRICS:

Measurements I recommend are:

‘Love at first sight

‘Design for the five senses’

‘Development to expand the Main Dream’

‘Design so as to seduce the peripheral senses’

Do you fully understand all of that? Ofcourse not!. But think about it. Think about an aspect of your business… a clunky ‘procedure’ say, yearning to become a dream-come-true. Then apply the first measurement ‘Love at first sight’.

Makes sense to me. For a product or service or solution. For a business process. For a training course. As well as for a new product or a new marketing campaign.

Next, rigorously apply the other Dreams Come True metrics…

Design for the five senses!

Expanding on the Main Dream!

Secude through the Peripheral Senses!

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence aligns well with the “Dreams Come True” concept by serving as a transformative cultural portal that fulfills visitors’ dreams of connecting with Renaissance genius, personal inspiration, and timeless beauty. Originally built in 1560 by Cosimo I de’ Medici as administrative offices, the Uffizi evolved into a public museum through Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici’s 1737 Family Pact, ensuring the collection stayed in Florence “for the use of the Public and to attract the curiosity of Foreigners”—a selfless act prioritizing communal joy over private gain. Today, it immerses over 4 million annual guests in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Leonardo’s masterpieces, and VR experiences recreating Renaissance Florence, sparking heroic self-discovery akin to narrative journeys in businesses like Ferragamo or Il Papiro.

Key Dreams Come True Features

• Educational workshops like “Young Artists at the Uffizi” for children, fostering creativity and cultural bonds.
• Hypervisions and digital mediation projects evoking emotions, memories, and cross-cultural dialogues.
• New Uffizi expansions doubling space for broader access, embodying resilience post-floods, wars, and bombings.

Its public mission of enlightenment and awe mirrors the dream-realization ethos through art’s enduring power

ONCE MORE: DREAMS COME TRUE

Suppose you saw your favorite athlete win in the Giro d’ Italia. One of the popular measures in the business world of Quality or Customer Satisfaction is …. ‘exceeds expectation’.

OH HOW I DESPISE THAT

Ofcourse you don’t say, my, my, that accomplishment certainly exceeded my expectations’.

You scream!

You shout!

Adjectives of the most extraordinary nature rip the sky asunder!

This was an. … Extraordinary Moment. An … Extraordinary Event. (Dare I say it … win or lose … A Dream Come True .. to have attended.).

As I said at the outset, I am an …unabashed… Business Lover. I believe that our enterprises, public and private, can be…. Wildly Creative. I believe that they can provide Extraordinary Experiences … for our Employees…. our Suppliers…. our Customers.

I believe that ’emotion’ is ‘where it’s at’

I believe in ‘experiences’

I believe in ‘dreams’

I believe in the ’dreams come true’ business

I believe in stories. Extreme stories. Emotional stories. Stories that Engage You. That makes you … Take Off.

THE “FEEL” OF DREAMS COME TRUE: IF YOU BUILD IT …

If you get comfortable with words like ‘dreams come true’ then you’ll get comfortable with other ‘un-business’ words like COURAGE.

AI is the most effective profit-killer on earth. It stimulates a TRUE FREE MARKET and a REAL free market is the most dangerous of marketplaces for companies selling THE SAME OLD STUFF. To those with COURAGE, free markets are great – they kill off the deadwood competitors who don’t have the Courage to Change – making way for them to LEVERAGE their DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE into profitable growth.

Hats off to…

SCINTILLATING EXPERIENCES

THE DREAMS COME TRUE MARKETING

DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE

HOT STORIES

CAPITAL LETTERS

COURAGE

And to hell with ‘cublicle slavery’

Dreams. Happiness. Entirely new possiblities. Incredible Imaginings.

I DARE YOU TO GET INTO THE DREAMS COME TRUE BUSINESS… THE INCREDIBLE IMAGININGS BUSINESS.

Will you take me up? Join Dreamers Un-Anonymous? Those Courageous Souls willing to Pursue the (increasingly Possible) Impossible Dream(s)?

The Mille Miglia fits the “Dreams Come True” concept by embodying a legendary, passion-fueled quest that replaces traditional ROI with “Return on Happiness” (ROH)—delivering the best life possible through exhilarating challenges, purpose, and storytelling. This Brescia-Rome endurance race (1927-1957, revived as a commemorative event) transforms ordinary drivers into heroes on open Tuscan roads, blending physical power, intellectual strategy, and spiritual awe amid Florence’s Renaissance landscapes—core pillars of my framework (Passion, Purpose, Portfolio, Power). Participants chase not just victory but transcendent joy, echoing my rejection of retirement’s “artificial finish line” for lives of continuous adventure,

Key Dreams Come True Elements

• Narrative Heroism: Drivers co-author epic tales (e.g., Nuvolari’s fog-defying 1930 win), fostering self-discovery and communal celebration.
• Experiential ROH: Vintage cars on historic routes prioritize emotional highs over profit, balancing vocation (racing passion) with vacation (scenic splendor).
• Modern Legacy: Annual parades through Florence inspire ongoing purpose, proving “passion never retires” via timeless thrills.

Like Uffizi’s awe or Il Papiro’s workshops, Mille Miglia crafts fulfillment through shared legends, not transactions.

WAS IS

Mere experiences Wild Imaginings and Dreams Fulfilled

Things done well Things not thought possible

‘It’s damn good’ ‘You can do it’

Pleased Elated

Suprised Stunned

Selling to customers Tempting customers

I’m not sure I need it I GOTTA HAVE IT. NOW

Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in Florence stands out as a stellar example of the Dreams Come True concept, blending world-class cuisine with immersive storytelling that turns meals into joyful, dream-realizing adventures. Located in Gucci’s historic Palazzo della Mercanzia near Piazza della Signoria, this Michelin-starred restaurant—helmed by Italian culinary legend Massimo Bottura and Florence-native chef Mattia Casagrande—fuses Tuscan heritage with global innovation, much like Emilio Pucci’s prints or Ferragamo’s inventions. Guests co-create their narratives through theatrical tasting menus (e.g., “Psychedelic Broccoli” evoking childhood memories), prioritizing emotional highs and communal delight over mere dining—echoing my “Return on Dreams Come True” over ROI.

Key Dreams Come True Features

• Immersive dishes like tortellini in Parmigiano Reggiano “oozing” with nostalgia, paired with Gucci-designed tableware.
• Garden terrace for al fresco magic amid Florence’s genius loci, fostering heroic self-expression.
• Bottura’s philosophy of “Never Follow the Rules” inspires passion-driven lives,