Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Silvia Dávila says leaders need creativity, not rigid manuals
Silvia Dávila urged leaders not to rely on fixed manuals when making decisions in complex situations.
She shared the view at a human resources conference in Mexico, drawing on her experience as a former Danone Latin America president and Mexico CEO.
She said past-based procedures can fail when new problems arise, as they did during the COVID-19 crisis.
At the time, she led Danone operations in three Latin American countries, and 14,200 of its 15,000 workers in Mexico had to keep working at production plants.
Dávila called for clear goals with plans reviewed every quarter, rather than relying on five-year plans.
She said leaders need consistency, courage and judgment, including the ability to say no when necessary.
She argued that organizations should treat mistakes as part of learning and proposed a four-step approach to keep failures from causing lasting losses.
Silvia Dávila said leaders should rely on creativity and judgment rather than rigid manuals when facing complex or unprecedented challenges.
Speaking at the México Talent RH congress, she said procedures based on past events can fail when circumstances change quickly.
She recommended setting clear goals with plans of two or three years, reviewed every quarter, instead of relying on five-year plans.
Dávila said effective decision-making requires consistency, courage and judgment, and that organizations should treat mistakes as part of learning.
She cited her experience leading Danone operations in three Latin American countries during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Who
- Silvia Dávila, former president of Danone LATAM and CEO of Mexico.
- What
- She said leaders need creativity, attitude and judgment rather than rigid manuals to address new challenges.
- When
- She spoke at the eighth México Talent RH congress. The article was published on October 23, 2026.
- Where
- The México Talent RH: National Human Capital & Networking Congress, organized by Arioac. The location is not stated.
- Why
- She said standard procedures based on past events may not work in rapidly changing or unprecedented situations.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Dávila led Danone operations in three Latin American countries during the health crisis.
El Economista MX published its report on Dávila’s remarks at the México Talent RH congress.
- Speaker
- Silvia Dávila
- Former roles
- President of Danone LATAM and CEO of Mexico
- Planning recommendation
- Two- or three-year plans with quarterly adjustments
- Crisis experience
- Led Danone operations in three Latin American countries in March 2020
- Congress
- Eighth México Talent RH: National Human Capital & Networking Congress
What people are saying
No challenge is solved with a manual.
The manuals we have, the ones we are acting with, are manuals from the past, manuals based on history... there is only one manual called creativity and attitude.
We need consistency, we need courage and we need judgment to make decisions.
A five-year plan is a letter to Santa Claus... We need to be able to have plans of maybe two or three years, but with quarterly adjustments.