Entrepreneurship: Optimism and Perseverance Pay Off!
12 June 2015
Read by 2956 persons
Philippe Bloch: "A person who doesn't smile shouldn't open a shop."
"Tell me how you express yourself, and I'll tell you who you are. Let me discover your expressions, adjectives, and favorite words, and I'll tell you what your state of mind is." The first sentence of Philippe Bloch's book, "Never say 'good luck' to me!" - host at BFM Business, columnist at Les Echos, and co-founder of Columbus Café - is thought-provoking, especially in a French context where burnout is dangerously increasing.
It is with this in mind that the Licorne firm – represented in Morocco – opened its series of conferences dedicated to managers with a very topical theme: "Optimism, innovation, and customer service: the best anti-crisis weapons!" Philippe Bloch has a clear vision of risk-taking, unlike, according to him, the policy established in France during Jacques Chirac's time, which was essentially based on the "precautionary principle."
For him, "when you believe in your project, there are no limits…" Instead advocating the American approach summarized by the famous expression "Yes, we can," the famous French broadcaster reiterated this throughout his speech, supported by anecdotes from his own experience. Because whatever the results, successes or failures, he believes it's necessary to "persevere and remain optimistic in the face of the worst situations…" He experienced his first defeat with his first project, Columbus Café, when he was very convinced of the ingenuity of the idea, faced with a market that wasn't necessarily receptive to a concept copied from the American model, Starbucks Coffee… In this model, there are no servers; coffee is served in a cup and in flavored forms; this wasn't necessarily a service identified by the French public at the time.
But what's important to know is that service is changing and customers are very attentive to the quality of service. "Under the pressure of daily life, consumers can no longer tolerate waiting or being frustrated, which is a boon with this concept. It's the moment of happiness that this coffee provides that represents the service, and that's why, believing very strongly in my project, even if it suffered an initial setback, a restructuring of the business and a strengthening of the points of sale thanks to a partner the size of Fnac, the project is a great success." The speaker in his parish preaches optimism and perseverance…
There are many examples, but it's clear that awareness must be raised among managers to avoid certain pitfalls. The lack of recognition is indeed very prominent among the causes of burnout experienced by the French today. Many expressions testify to this. The parallel with American culture and its benefits is easy to draw. The enthusiastic host and investor will thus have fun listing the expressions that the French use most often: "little one, good luck, the problem is that…, as long as nothing happens to me, that's all? Can't wait for retirement…"
His work is entirely dedicated to this, and he will argue for each expression regarding its very negative connotation on the person themselves and their entourage. Because a negative person is toxic! Emotional contagion is real and even scientifically proven. On Facebook, a study was conducted on negative expressions that have a knock-on effect on the entire community and push Internet users to adopt negative attitudes…
Americans have adopted a completely different attitude. "They understood that serving the customer well pays off," the host continues. And in response to some French people who think that Americans are superficial, Philippe Bloch replies that "it's better to be superficially kind than fundamentally unkind."
Without hesitation, the host will go so far as to seek the etymology of certain words used in the language of Molière to support his thesis. He recalls the origin of the word 'service,' which means 'slave' in Latin. As for the word "work," it refers to an instrument of torture… Therefore, in a negative context, service cannot provide satisfaction to the customer, let alone happiness.
"A person who doesn't know how to smile shouldn't open a shop." One of Philippe Bloch's favorite phrases is food for thought. Because the objective of such seminars is indeed to give managers a step back and try to change mindsets by reformatting the brains of those who are willing, of course.
Otherwise, crises cannot be overcome. On the contrary, companies risk sinking because it is only in these difficult times that innovation and positive energy help to right the ship. Those who have understood this will go far and will lead the company to success; the others will remain small and will lament their fate and that of their teams. It's also a choice!
Dounia Essabban.
Aujourdhui.ma
Published June 6, 2015.
Posted online June 12, 2015.
"Tell me how you express yourself, and I'll tell you who you are. Let me discover your expressions, adjectives, and favorite words, and I'll tell you what your state of mind is." The first sentence of Philippe Bloch's book, "Never say 'good luck' to me!" - host at BFM Business, columnist at Les Echos, and co-founder of Columbus Café - is thought-provoking, especially in a French context where burnout is dangerously increasing.
It is with this in mind that the Licorne firm – represented in Morocco – opened its series of conferences dedicated to managers with a very topical theme: "Optimism, innovation, and customer service: the best anti-crisis weapons!" Philippe Bloch has a clear vision of risk-taking, unlike, according to him, the policy established in France during Jacques Chirac's time, which was essentially based on the "precautionary principle."
For him, "when you believe in your project, there are no limits…" Instead advocating the American approach summarized by the famous expression "Yes, we can," the famous French broadcaster reiterated this throughout his speech, supported by anecdotes from his own experience. Because whatever the results, successes or failures, he believes it's necessary to "persevere and remain optimistic in the face of the worst situations…" He experienced his first defeat with his first project, Columbus Café, when he was very convinced of the ingenuity of the idea, faced with a market that wasn't necessarily receptive to a concept copied from the American model, Starbucks Coffee… In this model, there are no servers; coffee is served in a cup and in flavored forms; this wasn't necessarily a service identified by the French public at the time.
But what's important to know is that service is changing and customers are very attentive to the quality of service. "Under the pressure of daily life, consumers can no longer tolerate waiting or being frustrated, which is a boon with this concept. It's the moment of happiness that this coffee provides that represents the service, and that's why, believing very strongly in my project, even if it suffered an initial setback, a restructuring of the business and a strengthening of the points of sale thanks to a partner the size of Fnac, the project is a great success." The speaker in his parish preaches optimism and perseverance…
There are many examples, but it's clear that awareness must be raised among managers to avoid certain pitfalls. The lack of recognition is indeed very prominent among the causes of burnout experienced by the French today. Many expressions testify to this. The parallel with American culture and its benefits is easy to draw. The enthusiastic host and investor will thus have fun listing the expressions that the French use most often: "little one, good luck, the problem is that…, as long as nothing happens to me, that's all? Can't wait for retirement…"
His work is entirely dedicated to this, and he will argue for each expression regarding its very negative connotation on the person themselves and their entourage. Because a negative person is toxic! Emotional contagion is real and even scientifically proven. On Facebook, a study was conducted on negative expressions that have a knock-on effect on the entire community and push Internet users to adopt negative attitudes…
Americans have adopted a completely different attitude. "They understood that serving the customer well pays off," the host continues. And in response to some French people who think that Americans are superficial, Philippe Bloch replies that "it's better to be superficially kind than fundamentally unkind."
Without hesitation, the host will go so far as to seek the etymology of certain words used in the language of Molière to support his thesis. He recalls the origin of the word 'service,' which means 'slave' in Latin. As for the word "work," it refers to an instrument of torture… Therefore, in a negative context, service cannot provide satisfaction to the customer, let alone happiness.
"A person who doesn't know how to smile shouldn't open a shop." One of Philippe Bloch's favorite phrases is food for thought. Because the objective of such seminars is indeed to give managers a step back and try to change mindsets by reformatting the brains of those who are willing, of course.
Otherwise, crises cannot be overcome. On the contrary, companies risk sinking because it is only in these difficult times that innovation and positive energy help to right the ship. Those who have understood this will go far and will lead the company to success; the others will remain small and will lament their fate and that of their teams. It's also a choice!
Dounia Essabban.
Aujourdhui.ma
Published June 6, 2015.
Posted online June 12, 2015.
