Some of the amazing folks I’m inspired by
Thank you for making me think deeper, act better (and for tolerating my love for selfies)
Susan
If Susan Scrupski had not co-founded Change Agents Worldwide and welcomed me there, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did at Sanofi. She’s inspired us all in this group and beyond with her grit, her expertise, her generosity. She showed us what courage means when she decided to shift her focus on fighting domestic violence.
Myron, John, Emma
I have learnt sooo much from them about organizations as living systems! Their Heart of the Art blog is a constant source of inspiration and they’ve been terrific to work with on the Sanofi Pasteur Quality project. Remember their names: Myron Rogers, John Atkinson, Emma Loftus. They’ve made a real difference
Dave
Dave Gray’s book The Connected Company has been immensely helpful as it did put together perfectly bits and pieces I had grasped through conferences, articles or my own experience. Liminal Thinking, a book he wrote later, also made a big impression on me. Plus, Dave draws beautifully
Bill
Bill Murray is a role model leader, one of the most amazing shop floor managers I’ve ever met. Also an artist, which does not surprise me. His creativity, dedication and passion for people are unique. I interviewed Bill on the super successful team management system he invented, The Pillars.
Courageous women (Simona, Agnes, Zsuzsanna)
Some of my fearless girlfriends! At Courage Camp 2017. Clever, strong and beautiful.
Simona Ralph is a free spirit, pollinating the world with her original ideas and grace
Agnes Hardy-Boyer is an avid runner, a generous mobilizer, reliable and authentic
Zsuzsanna Devecseri is a rock, a firework, a blessing! (also a boxer, tango dancer, patient activist)
Jon
“A dynamic two-way flow of power and authority, based on knowledge, trust, credibility and a focus on results, enabled by interconnected people and technology”. It was a revelation for me to hear about Wirearchy the first time. This idea seemed so perfect and so right! It made even more sense to me as I explored it further and got to know Jon Husband. Jon coined the term a while ago. I believe it is a seminal concept for the world we live in.
Richard
Richard Martin is a friend, a cyclist, a thinker, a family man but also the talented writer and editor I would love to work with someday! We met through the Change Agents Worldwide and I learnt from his tweets when Twitter was still his thing. Richard has contributed to many books which I have utterly enjoyed - including The Neo-Generalist coauthored with Kenneth Mikkelsen. Richard has been the first editor of my book, which will be published in spring 2022.
Jane & Anne
A digital transformation expert, Jane McConnell is well known for the important research she conducted over 10 years on the workplace in the digital age. Jane connected me to the Change Agents WW and invited me to contribute to her work & community - merci beaucoup Jane ! These days, Jane researches the gig mindset in organizations.
Anne Landreat humanizes work through her consultancy business and coaching skills. I am a huge fan of her work - plus, she’s really cool. You can follow Anne on Twitter and maybe one day she”ll have a website :-)
Lionel, Gustave, Violette
#Family #Love
Anne & Euan
Anne McCrossan lives by the sea in England, makes beautiful ceramics, wrote the amazing “Emergent Code - Chronicles for the digital human” and has named her company “Visceral Business”. What not to love about her? I think we met the first time around 2013 or so. Anne keeps blowing my mind with this kind of posts: “Introducing Interaction Value”.
Euan is a well-known pioneer of the social web, who’s been blogging since 2001… I got hooked when I heard Euan speak about Trojan Mice and always look forward to his blog posts
Fatiha & Fabienne
Clever, engaged, international-minded, generous girlfriends in Lyon. Their thoughts, our discussions - either online or around a good glass of wine - always pull me up.
Fatiha Hajjat is a talented communication coach and “empowerer” I worked with many times.
Fabienne Cassagne is an editorial communication consultant. This woman knows how to write! Her book about Brigitte Macron, spouse of the French President, is a must read.
Gloria & Kenneth
Gloria Lombardi is not only friendly and adorable, she’s a skilled, hard-working professional and a great curator - her newsletter about the Future of Work provides a wealth of information
Now, how to describe Kenneth Mikkelsen? “A social philosopher, Leadership Consiglieri, Executive Development Expert, Futurist; Co-Author of The Neo-Generalist”. Above all, a hugely interesting human being and a good friend. More about him here.
Helen
Helen Bevan of the NHS Horizons Group has been a massive inspiration since I read about how she mobilized change agents to improve health and care. “Strategize change from a social movement perspective”, she says. Among many other things, Helen has founded the School for Change Agents that I and other friends have learnt a lot from.
Big Opportunity friends
From 2014 when we started an internal movement for change at Sanofi Pasteur, hundreds of folks from Manufacturing Operations, Quality, R&D and more, based in Canada, France, the USA, India and more, joined the network and changed the company for the better with enthusiasm and creativity
John
I always love to read from John Hagel, the founder of Deloitte’s Center for the Edge. His perspectives are profound, thought-provoking and always interesting.
I’m a fan!
Jackie
Rest in peace, beautiful Jackie.
Jackie Lynton passed away in March 2017. She was changing the world of health and care with grace. She will not be forgotten
Kerstin
With Kerstin Schinck’s passion for digital transformation, courageous leadership and a more humane workplace, we could only connect! I feel grateful for our thought-provoking conversations, for her curiosity and always relevant feedback
John
I feel privileged to have worked with John Kotter and his (dream) team since 2014
The change they have made possible in our large scale, complex, multi-cultural organization is just tremendous. Many years after his first research, the Kotter approach is more relevant that ever! And despite the celebrity, John is just an adorable person
Dan & Luis
I met Dan Pontefract as he’d written The Flat Army which had made a big impression on me. Dan has since written more books, all interesting! I refer to “The Purpose Effect” often.
Luis Suarez is… a shining star! The no-email man who experiments fearlessly and engages into meaningful and generous conversations on social media. Love him!
Mary
Mary Volz-Peacock introduced me to Action Learning, a powerful problem-solving approach, with patience and generosity. A few years back, Mary worked on a large-scale initiative aiming at making Agencies work in more transparent, participative and collaborative ways. How easy do you think it was?
Rachel
The patron saint of communities! Several years ago, Rachel Happe set up The Community Roundtable, to “empower community leaders with innovative, collaborative and research-based community strategies”. Rachel & her team provide a most needed support for an essential business practice. Keep up the great work, Rachel!
Peter
Peter Vander Auwera never ceases to amaze me. I met him around 2013 as I stumbled upon Corporate Rebels, a group he’d founded to connect people like myself. Incredibly useful. Then Peter evolved his practice towards performance and art. He is never where you expect him to be… but far ahead. I love his work.
Ayelet Dany Lois
Lucky me on this picture - I was with two of my favorite mentors, and my partner-in-crime Dany DeGrave! “crime” standing for “changing a big org culture from the inside” ;-)
Ayelet Baron is a total inspiration as for how she views leadership, work, and life
Lois Kelly changes the soul of work. Co-founder of Rebels at Work with Carmen Medina… I love her books too
Hans-Jürgen, Sabine, Alexander, Holger…
I want to honor here the amazing German network of social entreprise, work transformation and leadership change aficionados. Your passion, your curiosity, your engagement are just incredible. Great for German businesses and beyond! I feel that Latin countries have a lot to learn from you
Didier
From what he wrote on the Enablers Network blog, I already liked Didier Marlier a lot. Since we met face-to-face in July 2017, I like him even more! Generous, sharp, curious, polyglot, citizen of the world, sought-after adviser, he is spectacularly human
Stowe
Who doesn’t know Stowe Boyd? I have been following him for many years, always inspired by his impertinent spirit and compelling ideas. For example, hear him speak about the ecology of work (here). Plus, he’s really fun to be with
Russell
Before becoming a good friend, Russell Raath taught me a lot about leadership coaching. I admire how he makes change approachable and non-scary for leaders. A generous soul, Russell integrates his purpose into his work, that he commits to with relentless energy
Vijaya & Lavanya
Powerful women leaders from India! I have been blessed to work with both of them in the change movement we created at Sanofi Pasteur. Their energy, their passion and creativity does really move mountains. Vijaya Ponneganti, Lavanya Madhuri Sethu - Amazing persons
Peter Block
I may have highlighted almost every sentence in Peter’s book “Community. The structure of Belonging” (recommended by Myron Rogers). A fantastic read, that resonated deeply with what I’m trying to do
Deming
I read about Deming upon Anders Vinther’s recommendation, then attended one of Deming Institute’s seminars. I had a blast! This man was a brilliant thinker and humanist, whose wisdom we still need today very much. It’s not just about quality or systems… it’s about how humans work together
Rebecca Solnit
If you haven’t, read Rebecca’s “The Mother of All Questions”, then let’s chat when you’re done. Feminism is humanism, and is needed today more than ever
(Photograph: David Butow)
Frederic Laloux
Laloux’s book Reinventing Organizations made a big impact on myself as it did on thousands of readers around the world. Super interesting, thought-provoking.
(Photo credit: Freunde von Freunden - Robert Rieger)
This list is not over yet… Still working on it :-)
What About You?
Do you have ideas to discuss?
Do you think we should chat?