In the past three years, Italian SMEs have been affected by unforeseeable and uncontrollable events: the health emergency, the war crisis, growing inflation, and the energy crisis. To deal with the ongoing consequences of this adversity, interventions of a strategic nature are indispensable, along with a rethinking of some organizational behaviors. Each company must have the ability to maintain a double focus: one on the present – on the management of emergencies, price rises of raw materials, costly energy – and at the same time, one on projects for the future; a second challenge to address is that of searching for the best and most suitable size to compete in one’s sector. Italian SMEs must be able to reconcile rapidity and slowness of action, without being overwhelmed by the urge to act; they must also aim for a new and more efficient management of employees, who are increasingly focused on a better balance between work and private life. Finally, the most important challenge for entrepreneurs is not managerial but cultural: it is essential to keep your vocation to do business alive, dedicating more time to the existential sphere, and not only the business.