Riccardo Mazzolo — Barcelona
I didn't research this.
I lived it. Three times.
At nineteen, the academic path I was supposed to follow collapsed, and I rebuilt sideways — into software, into rooms I wasn't supposed to be in. At twenty-eight, after eight years of overload inside healthcare software, I broke harder: three years to recover, two failed startups inside them. At thirty-five, the corporate team I led was closed. The break that followed was the most serious of my life.
Each time, the same method brought me back: move, find one person who vouches for you, build one small proof, compound. Reboot — not restart. I never erased what I'd built. I changed what broke me, and kept what built me.
"I'm not handing you a theory I read. I'm handing you the map I had to draw for myself — three times."
17 years as an operator · global N-4 inside a FTSE 100 · designer of a decision methodology adopted in peer-reviewed research (European Management Journal, 2025)
Built on the science of adult development.
The Map and Matrix aren't productivity hacks. They map onto established psychology of how high performers restructure identity under load — and the method behind them has been through peer review.
Frank Martela
Having, loving, doing, being. A peer-reviewed model of human well-being (2024). The four domains of the Map are built on it.
Deci & Ryan
Self-Determination Theory. Autonomy, competence and relatedness — the basic needs a transition puts under strain. Among the most validated frameworks in psychology.
Robert Kegan
Constructive-developmental theory. Growth as the move from being run by your structure to authoring it. The Map externalises that structure so you can work with it.
Albert Bandura
Self-efficacy. Belief in your capability predicts effort and persistence. It's what the Matrix's "double down" is built to protect.
And a safeguard built in: the tension pass uses decentering — observing a pattern as a passing event, not a verdict on yourself (Segal). You read what costs you without fusing to it.
The divergence–convergence method at the core of the Aplomb Map was adopted as the research instrument of a peer-reviewed study on the speed and quality of team decisions — European Management Journal (Bortoluzzi & Balzano, 2025).
Don't take my word for it.
"I had the chance to work with Riccardo in his framework. I personally facilitated workshops using the methodology he created — and I appreciated it. I also used his framework for a scientific study on the quality and speed of decision-making in teams, accepted for publication in the European Management Journal."
"Riccardo's outstanding skills in workshop facilitation and design thinking consistently made a significant impact. His ability to create engaging, collaborative and focused environments ensured that teams could navigate complex challenges with confidence and clarity."
"Riccardo helped us assess Talentware's cultural growth needs and then tailored a strategic workshop for us. Our team appreciated how quickly we were able to diverge and converge on complex topics, leveraging our collective wisdom in an energetic and engaging way."
See it clearly. For free.
Begin your Aplomb Map with the first four blocks — read for both strength and tension. If it shows you something true, you'll know what to do next.
Freemium. About 30 minutes. In partnership with Let's Lightbulb.