But do you always have to think before you speak? Yes, undoubtedly, as long as you don’t plunge into the register of calculations in front of the Other, because spontaneity is useful.

So, how can one speak spontaneously, without it being calculated or made “to measure”, insipid, not to say manipulative?

I believe that the alignment between the gut, the heart and the mind, is probably the beginning of the answer. The words we share, when they are the result of such an alignment, embody who we are. One is just oneself, with its paradoxes, its “defects” and “qualities”.

This alignment is first of all necessary towards oneself. It is what we owe to ourselves. Words are no longer words for words, but words based on the awareness of the existence of the Other. The Other can then accept or refuse the words.

1) To have the “right” words, supposes to be aligned with oneself. 2) The reciprocity of relations depends then only on the free will of each person. 3) Action can happen.

Let’s listen to you!

L’article Find the words! est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

I have updated my Linkedin, and with hindsight, once again I realize that 80% of the jobs I have held within companies, did not exist before I offered them. In short, I have always forged my own job using the company as a kind of resource provider (a “business angel” in a way).

It is probably this asset that leads me to propose and advance on so many activities with always one constant: “only the attentions, the acts (the proofs) make sense, and this is valid in business, as in love …”. Nice summary of an entrepreneur interviewed for my upcoming 2nd opus on innovation.

Build is not a Proof Of Concept, but a Proof Of Life!

A+ and Take Care … the period is not obvious. Let’s pay attention to each other!

L’article Proof Of … Life ! est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

Stupid metaphor? Yes! Entrepreneurs who adhere to “gravity” will be satisfied with models similar to those of the annuitants who are called to moult… and doomed to failure (because + small). Entrepreneurs, defying “gravity”, will bring sustainable value.

Get out of balance and defy gravity? Countdown: TIC, TAC? « . “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it” (William Arthur Ward). “Go, Go, Go, Go!” », as someone would say, I carry to the top of my heart. Fine…, with pleasure, I am ready! Cqfd!

L’article Entrepreneurial antigravity est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

I agree with all this … but not completely (otherwise there would not be this article …). I’ve met too many developers, too many start-ups, so many life projects, to be satisfied with these rational answers. Those answers are marketing answers, and I have some knowledge of them because I’ve been working in different marketing environments for 20 years. These answers only cover part of the question in my opinion.

While writing a new book that focuses on the profiles and interactions between entrepreneurs and employees of large groups, I remembered something an entrepreneur once told me.

This entrepreneur said to me: “I believe that what will make my start-up successful is me as a competent founder, my future team, my solution that I believe is relevant. This solution can respond to a market with respect to the competition. And moreover, it’s really the right time with regard to weak signals because there is a need for the target. What is also important is of course my belief in success, the development of my relationships, and knowing how to decide on opportunities of course! »

I said to him :« So you’ll make it. You’ll make a living out of your life project and that’s great! »

And there, I will always keep in my memory from now on this reflection that she gave me and her physical posture. She lowered her chin slightly with pride and said to me,« I know there is always something missing that will make us succeed or fail. I can see around me that this is not simple for entrepreneurs. Do you know what Pascal is? » I said “no” to her head … but anxious to give an answer, I continued by asking her: « What – in two words – are you fighting for? »

The answer of this entrepreneur was spontaneous:« I am fighting for my son! » So I said to her in less synthetic terms (I admit it – I’ll save you the blah-blah-blah…): « Don’t try to predict the future to better control it, you have to control the future to better prevent it… and that sometimes means going beyond spontaneous clichés (possible / not possible) ».

This approach is not mine, but comes from my readings and field observations. It is an answer that I have made and which is based on Saras Sarasvathy’s work. Some will tell me that it is reductive compared to Sarasvathy’s thought, or that it is not in conformity with the initial thought. It doesn’t matter to me, because those who write on the substance wish precisely that the reader goes beyond their writings … I have this chance to live in several worlds (Large group, Start-up, Academic).

My conviction: I believe that the 1% (remaining) – which makes the success of an entrepreneur – is found, beyond rational reasons (99%), in these two imperatives: on the one hand to know what / who we are fighting for, and on the other hand to never forget that it is better to control the future to better prevent it, and this, by going beyond spontaneous clichés.

I am very proud to have crossed so many talents based on life projects. My mission / vocation is that of the flower (illustration), but it also needs to be nourished because it seeks to continue to grow in the forest and this is not at all obvious.

L’article The remaining 1%… est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

This new book deals with the relation between startups and employees of large groups. Each of the 2 types of protagonists will interact with their own personality and beliefs. In addition, their respective “families” (Mentors,… for CEOs, and Colleagues,… for employees) are also involved in this “marriage”.

You have to be prepared for twists and turns, because in any relationship, making the Other a priority if you are not in return is deceptive.

It is with the words of the protagonists that I will untie the knots and show how to transform these One To One, or One to Many interactions, into tangible and intangible value.

Thanks to the startups and employees who, already contacted, have agreed to testify. We are all convinced that healthy relationships are not only a professional necessity, but also a personal one. It is always our behaviour towards the Other that is in question.

See you soon, and in the meantime, thematic articles on Linkedin and on my blog.

L’article Everything you always wanted to know about startup / large group relationships… est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

According to M, «the only unconditional love we can receive is from our parents! » For M, this love has no preconditions. A parent normally gives you unconditional love in the sense that he or she may not even expect anything in return. This parent is just your father or mother, two unique beings for each of us.

M’s reflections seemed obvious to me, full of the common sense that I have known him for more than 20 years now. So, I wanted to know more and understand the implications of this unconditional love that parents show. In particular, what questioned me was the relationship to the Mother. The latter is in my eyes a pivot, an anchor and above all in our social insights, the embodiment of affection, gentleness, parental understanding. And I would like to continue with a question: « Can one grow up without the love of a Mother? »

M pointed out to me that the person who grows up without the love of his Mother, for example, once he is an adult, develops certain behaviours which can, without awareness, penalise his relationship with others. According to M, this would be all the more impacting for the behaviour, since, for example, the Father would not have compensated for the affective inadequacies of the Mother.

Among these behaviours, she quoted me as « the art of dodging ». In adulthood, the person can dodge without apparent reason in the relationship to the Other (spouse for example), or even from one relationship to another. She also talked about another behaviour that she described as “the art of testing” related to dodging. In adulthood, the person always asks the Other for more with aplomb, but once that more is obtained, forgets how it was obtained, and then moves on. In short, the person is testing his or her power to get what he or she wants. Until the day when the Other’s test has gone too far and the Other, in order to protect himself or herself, has « cracked » and refused to answer further to the test and thus provides the proof unconsciously sought by the person, of « I was right, the Other doesn’t love me enough, I did well to test, the Other is not reliable, doesn’t fit me… »

Unconsciously, this unconditionality that he or she has lacked through the parental channel, it is in the Other that the person seeks it. Yet this unconditionality cannot exist with the Other, because the latter is neither his father nor his mother.

In essence, what I retain from this fascinating exchange is that it would be essential for each person to understand that in our relationship with another, we can only receive as much as we give and that we can only give as much as we receive. In short, if there is no reciprocity in the relationship that our parents can have with us, reciprocity is indispensable in the relationship with the Other once he or she is an adult. It is the very basis of mutual respect with the Other, without which no construction is possible … because « The only unconditional love we can receive (without being asked for anything in return) is that of our parents! »

L’article Unconditional Mother est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

In the case of the entrepreneur, loneliness is a consequence of a life choice. This can be explained by considering that the entrepreneur has an approach that breaks with established norms/markets. He therefore remains on the fringes of the environment, as if to better change the (and its) reality.

In order not to be alone, an entrepreneur will then seek the support of people (friend, spouse, mentor…). He will look for allies who will understand his project, and who will spend days, nights, weekends, just like him. These allies are precious assets for the progress of the project.

However, what has often surprised me is to realize that many entrepreneurs are unaware that beyond the progress of the project, such allies have first allowed them to remain anchored in the awareness of reality, in the face of difficulties and doubts.

The minimum to wish for everyone: to wake up in the morning knowing that there is someone who brings proof of availability and presence…

L’article Solitude… est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

In my opinion, forgetting goes much further. Forgetting is no longer and not having that thing or person in your mind. It is like taking an eraser and erasing memories, or drawing a line under something, a situation, a person that you no longer want to have in your mind.

We know of many contexts where forgetting is involuntary. Who hasn’t forgotten milk on the stove? Who hasn’t forgotten a birthday? Who hasn’t forgotten to answer an e-mail? Who hasn’t forgotten this or that object when leaving home? These cases of forgetfulness are a daily occurrence for all of us, because everything seems to go at full speed, but can we want to forget voluntarily and how can we do it?

We may wish to forget situations or people that generate in our mind a state that does not suit us (stress, pain, waiting, …). As the same causes induce the same effects, there is in my opinion only one way to forget. It is to keep away from these situations and or these people who generate or embody these causes, and this in any circumstance, whatever the real, material or virtual context. For example, in a previous post I talked about the value of objects. Getting rid of objects that belonged to someone else contributes to forgetting. Another example may be to no longer be connected with that person. Yet another example may be to no longer agree to participate in this or that situation. Another example may be to ensure that you are no longer in the presence of such and such a person or, conversely, to ensure that these people are no longer in your presence. The images of these situations or persons will then fade away by themselves with time, and all the more quickly as you know how to build other situations and relationships. Oblivion will set in permanently.

What you want to forget (IF THAT IS YOUR CHOICE) requires that there be no compromise, no arrangement, no cheap negotiations with yourself. In other words, IF forgetting situations and or people is your choice, then you must do it yourself, and in any case do not ask situations or people to do it for you. In short, do it yourself, but don’t ask anyone to do it for you. This is the price to pay for not looking back and for moving forward towards your goals with peace of mind.

Einstein said, «madness is behaving the same way and expecting a different result ».

In conclusion, I would be remiss if I forgot to wish you all a good start to the 2019 school year!

L’article Forget about what’s bothering you and focus on your present for tomorrow est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

And then, one thing leading to another, we have asked ourselves the same question in completely different contexts. Is the loss of one’s virtue reparable? What about honour, friendship, money… All of these seemed reparable to us. Restoring one’s virtue is possible with time. Restoring one’s honour is possible with time. Restoring one’s financial health is just as possible, as is making peace with friends with whom one may have been at odds for a while!

The word “time” has come to be the common denominator in our exchange of ideas for everything that could be considered irreparable. The most irreparable loss therefore seemed to us to be perhaps time. In fiction we can undoubtedly go back in time. It even seems according to certain astrophysical theories that “black holes” are tunnels that could lead to other times and other spaces. But the reality is that nothing and no one has ever been able to “fix” time. Could this be THE most irreparable loss?

Hard to say…

On the one hand, it is the time that gives us the experience to make beautiful encounters. On the other hand, it is time that allows us to give meaning to these encounters to know what we expect from life. Finally, it is time that allows us to hope that tomorrow we will make a dream life come true. Time is therefore not a loss, but a source of our awareness of having existed, of existing and wanting to exist. In this sense, time itself offers us the means to repair it… a paradox!

A very beautiful end of summer to all, and enjoy the time!

L’article The paradox of time est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.

I had been dreading this task for months because it seemed extremely difficult. It is not the physical effort that I dreaded (you don’t have to be Arnold to do it). It was not the time effort that I was dreading either (I took time off for that). What is difficult is the mental effort it takes to grasp each of these « objects » and decide on their « future ». These « objects » are not mine and I respect them all in the name of the Other. They are full of memories.

The « objects » are of essential importance. The Other who is no longer present (for whatever reason – mortality, rupture, …), continues to exist also through these « objects ». The Other has chosen them. He expresses himself through his choices. These « objects » are in fact only a set of representations, visual anchors of the Other, that we can no longer see, touch, or talk to. They therefore touch us / speak to us in the present tense and could influence our state of mind.

The human mind needs these anchors (the « objects ») to be accepted or rejected, and the more sincere the relationship with the Other, the more these « objects » will be preserved. These « objects » will be all the more numerous to be preserved when the relationship with the Other has been reciprocally sincere. They will be all the less numerous, or even non-existent, to be preserved the more the relationship with the Other will have been an illusion. We will then get rid of them by getting rid of the « objects » that are cumbersome for the mind.

In order to remember the past, while living in the present (in order to build a future), it is probably necessary to show a certain « emotional pragmatism ». Moreover, if this applies to the objects of the material (the tangible), they are only echoes of the objects of the immaterial (the intangible)… This is the reason for the quotation marks…

L’article The value of the “objects” est apparu en premier sur Pascal Latouche.