The search for meaning in business — Solange Arnaud

A polytechnician very interested in biology and its applications in the field of health, Solange Arnaud first started out in computer science. She quickly co-founded a company as CTO in 1999 before returning to the healthcare world a few years later where she had numerous experiences, including at Abbot and AbbVie. In 2016, she founded Medoucine, which now welcomes 2,500 professionals and 500,000 users.

Chloë Touati, founder of the talent management consulting firm Authentic Talent, receives her to discuss together the people challenges of tomorrow, the search for meaning, the future of work and her advice for HR and managers.

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Plan of the episode

00' — Introduction
03'30 — Quest for meaning & AI
04'37 — Work well on company values
07'01 — Taking off the mask in business
09'24 — the “disadvantage” of having a business that makes sense
13'49 — Training & Collaboration
17'43 — Applying transparency in a chaotic environment
20'02 — The authenticity of the director.
25'34 — The best business lever
28'12 — Advice for managers
31'48 — His experience in applying the Lean method

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Part 1: Quest for Meaning and Impact on Businesses

Solange Arnaud shares her thoughts on the search for meaning in the professional world, stressing the growing attraction for companies that offer meaning and a clear mission.

She notes that many people are attracted to Medoucine because of its mission and its impact on society. This creates an environment where employees feel engaged and motivated. Solange also highlights the challenges associated with this search for meaning, such as the difficulty of finding the right role for each employee and managing high expectations. She highlights the importance of transparency and respect in creating a corporate culture that is conducive to collaboration and personal growth.

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Part 2: Management Practices and Strategies

She suggests various strategies to strengthen corporate culture and promote employee development. This means promoting open communication, encouraging the autonomy of employees and investing in their professional development. The focus is on creating a work environment where collaboration, innovation, and employee well-being are priorities. It also includes practical advice on how to develop these aspects within organizations, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, knowing yourself and others, and managing teams effectively.

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Part 3: The changing world of work

Solange shares her thoughts on the future evolution of work, including the impact of technology and how it could reshape the nature of work and the skills required.

She talks about the importance of collaboration, transparency, and respect in teamwork and in creating a healthy corporate culture.

The positive potential of artificial intelligence in the professional world would have an impact in simplifying and automating repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on more creative and strategic aspects of their work. This includes developing new skills and participating in innovative projects. The focus is on optimizing human resources through AI, while valuing the human aspect and creativity in work.

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Solange Arnaud's advice

• Work as a team to define the purpose, values, and mission of the company. Among these values, transparency is fundamental. Make sure everyone can say what they do and does what they say. Respect is also essential, allowing everyone to express themselves freely on the subjects concerned. To facilitate collaboration, offer adapted training courses. With training and a collaborative corporate culture, you can create an environment that fosters collective success.
• It is important to rethink how we take care of customers and to put them at the heart of our concerns. This offers a new perspective to give meaning to work and to act fairly on a daily basis. Managers must be motivated both by the development of their employees and by that of their customers. Focusing on customer satisfaction and providing them with an exceptional experience can have a positive impact on the business as a whole. By putting customers at the center of the debate and continually seeking to best serve them, leaders can achieve tangible results and inspire their team to do the same.

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The quotes from the episode

• “If you find it expensive to train or to make sure that people are good at their jobs, try to put them in a bad way and you will see that nothing is happening anymore.”
• “Making the implicit explicit is also important. It is know-how, know-how that is as important as the technical gesture.”
• “Transforming your collective without transforming yourself is super complicated. In fact, you could say impossible. Because now, you fall back into the injunction “Do what I don't do for me”.

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Key points to remember

It is crucial to develop a positive corporate culture, to promote the autonomy of employees and to invest in their professional development if we want to engage them in the company's mission. Tools such as artificial intelligence are transforming the approach to work by making it easier to automate repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on more creative and strategic tasks, making it easier for them to fulfill their search for meaning and work that motivates them.

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Conclusion

Solange Arnaud, CEO of Medoucine, highlights the evolution of the professional environment focused on the search for meaning and social impact. She highlights the importance of companies with a clear mission, such as Medoucine, that attract and engage employees through their positive impact on society.

However, it also identifies challenges, especially in assigning appropriate roles to employees and managing high expectations, where transparency and respect play a crucial role.

In terms of management, Solange insists on the need for a strong corporate culture based on open communication, autonomy and professional development, while creating a work environment that promotes collaboration, innovation and employee well-being. She recommends cultivating authenticity, knowing yourself and others, and effective team management.

This episode therefore proposes to reflect on the place of meaning in business and how a joint action of internal culture and technological innovations can make it possible to instill more commitment and motivation into the daily life of employees.

To follow Solange Arnaud, find her on Linkedin.

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Watch the episode with Solange Arnaud on YouTube

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