He will be the host of the awards ceremony. Company trophies du Loiret, which takes place Thursday 15 December at the Zénith d’Orléans. During a thirty-minute intervention, Philip Bloch will shed light on economic news and entrepreneurship.
In 1994, the professional founded the Columbus Café & Co. A coffee chain which today has more than 200 points of sale in France and in Europe, the Middle East and North America.
For fourteen years he hosted television and radio programs dedicated to entrepreneurs, on BFM Business. Philippe Bloch is too lecturer and author of eight books. Interview with a keen observer of the business world.
The Business Trophies ceremony is organized by The Central Republic and its partners: Ademe, BPM Group, Loiret Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Crédit Agricole Center Loire, Dev’up, Orcom, Orléans Métropole. It will take place on Thursday 15 December, from 6.15 pm, at the Zénith d’Orléans, and is open to all. To register, nothing could be simpler. Simply click on this link.
During the first birth you wrote a book, “It will be better after… unless we are too stupid!”, which invites us to learn the lessons of Covid-19 in our personal and professional lives… Why?
All maps were redrawn on an unprecedented historical scale.
Digital, the planet, the relationship with our elders, the limits of globalization… I had the feeling that we were experiencing the most significant event of our lives, namely the invention of a century. This excited and worried me at the same time.
What would happen when we get out of this period? I was convinced that the world quickly forgets how it feels even when the emotional intensity is as strong as what we experienced.
Two and a half years later, what can I say?
Some things have not been forgotten, such as industrial sovereignty, which is dealt with by political powers and businesses. we have come to know about it the importance of the transfer.
“We have also rediscovered ourselves as mortals, which leads to many questions: where do we want to live? What kind of company do we want to work for? In the service of what values? Questions left so far to young people, which now concern all generations. These changes in the way we live our lives seem lasting to me.”
How do they translate into the world of work?
Employees now behave like customers and want work to be produced for them, according to their criteria: teleworking possibilities, values, ecological commitment, diversity and presence of women in management… Otherwise they will find another. It’s a revolution.
How can managers respond to this?
They have to offer them a shared project : What do we do together? What are you for? Even if it is more difficult for certain professions, which are undervalued.
In any case, you must call more human than technical skills. Understanding, emotional intelligence, listening, kindness are essential. Hire employees and keep them, especially at a time when people no longer feel a bond of loyalty to the company.
War in Ukraine, runaway inflation, energy crisis… How do you see the economic situation today?
I’m used to being instinctive. But right now I did a problem reading the current environment. We have no visibility.
“The next few months are likely to be abominable. In the companies where I work, I meet people who are on defense and not at all on offense. They are beset by simultaneous problems of unprecedented magnitude, which paralyze them more and more.”
If you were still an entrepreneur, what decisions would you make?
I would secure what is essential to the economy of my business, renegotiate anything I can renegotiate, prioritize my cash flow, I would eliminate everything that is not essentialbecause it seriously disturbs.
We must become “killers” in management. In one box, you can reduce a lot of expenses, insurance for example. When you consult an operating account, you realize that you are buying wrong, that you could do better.
Should the state continue to financially support companies, as it did with “whatever it takes” during the Covid crisis?
This is a political question that I find difficult to answer. It would be unreasonable to continue this trend. And I’m not sure it would help much. It would be a bottomless pit and it would be negative for companies’ ability to withstand adversity.
However, the state should not help them in a systemic way because, ultimately, we would put France even more in debt.
“The difficulties of the moment will lead to a screening of companies that could have already died before the pandemic if we hadn’t helped them: too fragile, obsolete, lagging behind on digital… The economy is a permanent regeneration of companies that reinvent themselves.”
However, there is good news. I like to quote this old African proverb that says so the falling tree makes more noise than the growing forest. Many small boxes are growing and some trees are falling.
During the Trophies, many entrepreneurs from the Loiret gather… In this world undergoing profound transformation, what advice would you give them?
An entrepreneur must be optimistic: he is an importer of hassle and an exporter of enthusiasm. Right now that capacity for optimism is suffering, but it doesn’t take much to cheer them up.
LThe energy of the projects is the key to surviving in the face of adversity. You have to handle and think differently.
Whatever happens, they do the best job in the world. They have this chance participate in the creation of a new centurywith two incredible revolutions: digital and ecological.
They will invent new professions that we do not suspect. As legislation evolves, avenues open up to exploit many opportunities. Yes it is difficult. Yup, there is fog, but there is no wall ahead. You have to be hyper-opportunistic, tell yourself that nothing is over, that everything starts differently.
Discover the eighteen names selected for the Loiret Business Trophies 2022
Interview by Anne-Laure Le Jan
