Et si les entreprises libérées pouvaient changer le monde ? | Alexandre Gérard | TEDxRennes

The Journey to a Liberated Company

The Initial Questions and Concerns

• The speaker questions the absurdity of needing managerial permission for small expenses, highlighting a disconnect between personal responsibility and corporate culture.

• Raises concerns about why responsible individuals in personal life often underperform at work, suggesting a lack of engagement or motivation within companies.

• Critiques the irony that less productive employees often dictate how more productive ones should work.

The Beginning of an Adventure

• Introduces the company's inception in 1995 with a unique service: on-site hydraulic connector repair, which was seen as an exciting venture.

• Shares humorous anecdotes about creating calendars ahead of rugby teams, emphasizing team spirit and collaboration with clients.

Growth and Challenges

• Describes rapid growth to over 300 employees, dominating the market with significant interventions but also facing new competition from Inov On.

• Reflects on pride in company achievements before being hit hard by the 2009 economic crisis, resulting in a substantial loss of business.

Crisis Management and Reflection

• Discusses attempts to reinvent the company during eight months post-crisis but ultimately leading to difficult layoffs that left emotional scars.

• Expresses an obsession with preventing future crises after experiencing deep personal disappointment; seeks answers through external inspiration.

Discovering New Philosophies

• Attends a transformative conference introducing "la empresa liberada" (the liberated company), meeting influential figures like Jean-François Zobrist and Isaac Getz who reshape his understanding of leadership.

• Realizes two fundamental errors made over 15 years: focusing too much on problematic employees while stifling collective intelligence by holding onto power.

Implementing Change

• Decides to prioritize action over communication; focuses on redefining vision and values collaboratively with team members using post-it notes.

• Identifies practical issues ("stones in shoes") that need fixing within operations to rejuvenate morale and productivity.

Transitioning Power Dynamics

• Emphasizes dismantling traditional hierarchies by removing titles, formal attire, and closed-door meetings; promotes transparency by sharing all strategic information.

Preparing for Liberation

• Spends 2011 preparing personally for this transformation alongside coaches who help explore beliefs around control versus empowerment.

A Symbolic Leap into Change

• Marks January 7, 2012, as pivotal when they celebrate becoming a liberated company; shifts from a large ship metaphor to agile speedboats representing flexibility and responsiveness.

Empowering Employees

• Employees are given autonomy to choose their working groups and leaders without candidates; initiates significant organizational transformation leading up to the speaker's departure.

Transforming Company Culture Through Trust and Freedom

The Journey Begins: A Dream to Travel

• The speaker shares a personal dream of traveling around the world for a year, motivated by a desire to detox from an addiction to work.

• Just before departing, the company announces changes to variable compensation, causing anxiety.

Successful Implementation of New Systems

• After nine months of teamwork, a new system for sharing created value is launched in March 2013.

• This initiative results in a 15% increase in revenue and quadruples profit margins, marking 2013 as the company's best year.

• Upon returning from his trip, the speaker feels pride seeing employees happier and more engaged.

Foundations of a Liberated Company

• The company operates on trust, which manifests in four key ways:

• Information is not used as power.

• Choices are voluntary for employees regarding decisions like selecting new vehicles or mobile operators.

• Transition from control to self-management among staff.

• Cultivating a culture that embraces mistakes rather than punishes them.

Decision-Making Processes

• Captains (leaders) meet every six to eight weeks to discuss major company decisions collaboratively with teams.

• Salary increases and investments are also decided collectively, altering traditional leadership roles significantly.

Leadership Transformation

• Leaders must maintain the company's vision while fostering an environment conducive to growth—acting like gardeners nurturing plants.

• They serve as guardians of this fragile culture of freedom within the organization.

Reflections on Five Years of Change

• The speaker shares four significant insights gained over five years:

• "You can go faster alone but further together" emphasizes collaboration's importance.

• Personal change is essential for organizational transformation; leaders should reflect on their own behaviors first.

• Richard Teerlink's quote highlights that people resist imposed change rather than change itself.

• Recognizing how workplace changes impact family dynamics reveals broader societal implications.

A Vision for Social Change through Business

• The speaker contemplates whether liberated companies could initiate significant social change by prioritizing trust and freedom.

• He recounts an Amerindian legend about a hummingbird trying to extinguish a forest fire by dropping water droplets—a metaphor for individual contributions toward collective progress.

Call to Action

• Concluding with enthusiasm, he encourages others who feel inspired by these ideas about trust and freedom in business to stand up and join him in this transformative journey.