Efficiency: Two managers are better than one!
19 May 2009
Read by 1770 persons
Should you manage alone or as a duo? Good pairs are two sides of the same coin. Different but complementary, they enhance management efficiency at the head of their company and boost its performance.
"Ice and fire," "the wolf and the lamb"... Clichéd expressions quickly come to mind when describing management teams. Those we interviewed fall into the category of opposing but complementary profiles. They all confirm that to manage a company harmoniously, you must know how to wear quickly-made suits. "People who watch you need simple images to find their way," says Thibaut Munier, CEO of 1000Mercis, an interactive marketing agency. "One plays the role of manager, the other that of communicator." The same sentiment is echoed at HitechPros, the IT marketplace. "Being a business leader requires very different qualities," affirms Claude Curs. "And since it's not possible to have them all, it's better to be two to confront ideas." A matter of comfort and parity. It's always simpler to clearly divide the work. Even more so when partners have many differences in common. Like those old couples who end up resembling each other through tacit agreement. At the risk of having to reinvent themselves to find their balance. Testimonials.
"We don't judge each other's work"
A sister working for the UN in Congo, a brother who is an explorer, a total of eight siblings, all originally from Nancy. In the Weil family, atypical careers are common. Those of Marc-Elie, 50, and Gad, 46, crossed at the turn of the century. After very different paths, they joined forces to lead a group of event agencies. The eldest, an employee for twenty years, from Samsung to PPR, worked in advertising, communications, and marketing. "He kept his relaxed suit-and-tie style," laughs the younger brother. He would be more likely to wear cowboy boots, a leather jacket, and ride a motorcycle. "That's his luxury freelance side, almost a performer," retorts Marc-Elie. Gad, with his partner Nathalie Morlot, is the historical creator in 1987 of the core, the WM events agency, specializing in large-scale public operations. A structure joined by two other B2B entities. The three merged under the La Fonderie label at the beginning of this year. "Nathalie and I had a romantic management of the agency," recalls Gad. "We called on Marc-Elie to bring his rigor." Trust was immediate. "A kind of natural loyalty, no doubt engendered by the fact of belonging to the same family." However, their approaches to the profession are very different. "A large part of our activities is based on B2B operations," insists the eldest. "And, in this case, we no longer deal with partners as my brother does in his public business, but with clients. The division of tasks between us must be clear for our collaborators. Gad always works in a cultural environment, and I in that of businesses. That is why, if my younger brother's recruitment choices often turn to the exotic, I still let him do it."
"Despite our differences, there is no power struggle"
"We are, in principle, on an equal footing. We have the same power, the same responsibilities and, since our IPO, the same number of shares." Yseulys Costes speaks. She likes to set the tone, to set the scene. "That's her way of initiating contact," specifies Thibaut Munier, her partner in 1000Mercis, the interactive marketing company they started together in 2000. With a serious face, a subtle and measured smile, this former ESC-Lyon graduate likes to take time for reflection. The opposite of the one who has shared his office for seven years. "Yseulys needs to go fast, while I am more reserved." They form a perfectly complementary front during commercial negotiations. One as a sprinter, with a conquering bust and proud bearing, the other as a stubborn marathon runner, ready to deliver the winning argument. Just about retirement age between them, they met on their return from the United States in 1996, MBAs in hand. The University of Paris-Dauphine and the internet bubble brought them together. Very quickly, Yseulys played her role as a beautiful plant of young shoots. The media were then looking for flesh-and-blood muses, and the founder of 1000Mercis carved out a small glory in the jungle of the web. Her partner, meanwhile, remained in the shadows, convinced that to manage a company as a duo, each must stay in their lane and respect their differences. "No matter the path, what interests me is the vision," affirms Yseulys. The same vision she shares with Thibaut.
"We admire in the other what we don't have"
They have at least this difference in common: having always been attracted to opposites. "My ex-wife is Venezuelan," says Claude Curs, 54, with graying hair and few words. "Mine is red-haired and Breton," laughs Rachid Kbiri Alaoui, his partner, twenty years his junior. They met in 1995. "Our first phone interview lasted almost three hours," recalls Rachid. "We were like two lovers chatting incessantly, except we were talking about company values!" At the time, Claude had hired him as sales director for his IT company.
A year later, they became 50/50 partners. Since then, they have created HitechPros, an IT services exchange that has recorded an average annual growth of 44% since 2002. A hieratic figure, Claude Curs is a complete fifty-something. "He has wisdom and self-control, he's a morning person and drives a Toyota Prius, in short, he's an intellectual who likes husky sledding. The complete opposite of me," laughs Rachid, the father of two children, a football and large 4x4 enthusiast. It must be said that an unexpected complicity has developed between the self-taught Moroccan and the graduate of the Reims School of Commerce. One serious, the other relaxed, like all partners, they play the complementarity card externally. And, in the company, each naturally finds their place. Rachid bursts into the offices, chats with the salespeople and assistants, while Claude does the accounts alone in his new glass office with its minimalist style. Rachid's office, on the other hand, has a sitting area, with a leather sofa, a traditional rug, and a display case of Moroccan objects. "We have a very different way of living and managing the company. But we're not so different in the end," estimates Rachid Kbiri. So much the better. Because to manage a company well, you need a good dose of complicity.
William Coop
Published March 20, 2007
Posted online May 22, 2009
lentreprise.com
"Ice and fire," "the wolf and the lamb"... Clichéd expressions quickly come to mind when describing management teams. Those we interviewed fall into the category of opposing but complementary profiles. They all confirm that to manage a company harmoniously, you must know how to wear quickly-made suits. "People who watch you need simple images to find their way," says Thibaut Munier, CEO of 1000Mercis, an interactive marketing agency. "One plays the role of manager, the other that of communicator." The same sentiment is echoed at HitechPros, the IT marketplace. "Being a business leader requires very different qualities," affirms Claude Curs. "And since it's not possible to have them all, it's better to be two to confront ideas." A matter of comfort and parity. It's always simpler to clearly divide the work. Even more so when partners have many differences in common. Like those old couples who end up resembling each other through tacit agreement. At the risk of having to reinvent themselves to find their balance. Testimonials.
"We don't judge each other's work"
A sister working for the UN in Congo, a brother who is an explorer, a total of eight siblings, all originally from Nancy. In the Weil family, atypical careers are common. Those of Marc-Elie, 50, and Gad, 46, crossed at the turn of the century. After very different paths, they joined forces to lead a group of event agencies. The eldest, an employee for twenty years, from Samsung to PPR, worked in advertising, communications, and marketing. "He kept his relaxed suit-and-tie style," laughs the younger brother. He would be more likely to wear cowboy boots, a leather jacket, and ride a motorcycle. "That's his luxury freelance side, almost a performer," retorts Marc-Elie. Gad, with his partner Nathalie Morlot, is the historical creator in 1987 of the core, the WM events agency, specializing in large-scale public operations. A structure joined by two other B2B entities. The three merged under the La Fonderie label at the beginning of this year. "Nathalie and I had a romantic management of the agency," recalls Gad. "We called on Marc-Elie to bring his rigor." Trust was immediate. "A kind of natural loyalty, no doubt engendered by the fact of belonging to the same family." However, their approaches to the profession are very different. "A large part of our activities is based on B2B operations," insists the eldest. "And, in this case, we no longer deal with partners as my brother does in his public business, but with clients. The division of tasks between us must be clear for our collaborators. Gad always works in a cultural environment, and I in that of businesses. That is why, if my younger brother's recruitment choices often turn to the exotic, I still let him do it."
"Despite our differences, there is no power struggle"
"We are, in principle, on an equal footing. We have the same power, the same responsibilities and, since our IPO, the same number of shares." Yseulys Costes speaks. She likes to set the tone, to set the scene. "That's her way of initiating contact," specifies Thibaut Munier, her partner in 1000Mercis, the interactive marketing company they started together in 2000. With a serious face, a subtle and measured smile, this former ESC-Lyon graduate likes to take time for reflection. The opposite of the one who has shared his office for seven years. "Yseulys needs to go fast, while I am more reserved." They form a perfectly complementary front during commercial negotiations. One as a sprinter, with a conquering bust and proud bearing, the other as a stubborn marathon runner, ready to deliver the winning argument. Just about retirement age between them, they met on their return from the United States in 1996, MBAs in hand. The University of Paris-Dauphine and the internet bubble brought them together. Very quickly, Yseulys played her role as a beautiful plant of young shoots. The media were then looking for flesh-and-blood muses, and the founder of 1000Mercis carved out a small glory in the jungle of the web. Her partner, meanwhile, remained in the shadows, convinced that to manage a company as a duo, each must stay in their lane and respect their differences. "No matter the path, what interests me is the vision," affirms Yseulys. The same vision she shares with Thibaut.
"We admire in the other what we don't have"
They have at least this difference in common: having always been attracted to opposites. "My ex-wife is Venezuelan," says Claude Curs, 54, with graying hair and few words. "Mine is red-haired and Breton," laughs Rachid Kbiri Alaoui, his partner, twenty years his junior. They met in 1995. "Our first phone interview lasted almost three hours," recalls Rachid. "We were like two lovers chatting incessantly, except we were talking about company values!" At the time, Claude had hired him as sales director for his IT company.
A year later, they became 50/50 partners. Since then, they have created HitechPros, an IT services exchange that has recorded an average annual growth of 44% since 2002. A hieratic figure, Claude Curs is a complete fifty-something. "He has wisdom and self-control, he's a morning person and drives a Toyota Prius, in short, he's an intellectual who likes husky sledding. The complete opposite of me," laughs Rachid, the father of two children, a football and large 4x4 enthusiast. It must be said that an unexpected complicity has developed between the self-taught Moroccan and the graduate of the Reims School of Commerce. One serious, the other relaxed, like all partners, they play the complementarity card externally. And, in the company, each naturally finds their place. Rachid bursts into the offices, chats with the salespeople and assistants, while Claude does the accounts alone in his new glass office with its minimalist style. Rachid's office, on the other hand, has a sitting area, with a leather sofa, a traditional rug, and a display case of Moroccan objects. "We have a very different way of living and managing the company. But we're not so different in the end," estimates Rachid Kbiri. So much the better. Because to manage a company well, you need a good dose of complicity.
William Coop
Published March 20, 2007
Posted online May 22, 2009
lentreprise.com
