🔠Where do I want to take you with ZOMIA?
The REAL reason I got into this mess!
You have to show your best side to be accepted.
Portrait of yours truly in 2013, during one of my 1st coaching sessions at the Glénans sailing school.
In reality, it's a challenge...
It's a challenge to set up your first business, to work alone when you thrive on contact with others, to stay motivated despite the difficulties, to persevere when there are so many tempting options out there.
... but I don't regret taking the plunge, because I know it's going to work!
And it's not for all the good reasons I passionately detail in this letter, hehe.... 😋
Even if...
Yes, navigating is a succession of metaphors from corporate life to illustrate concretely - and solve! - dozens of situations you experience every day in the office or remotely.
Yes, the boat is a catalyst for progress, because this close proximity in a hostile environment generates a multitude of mini-crises... and these are all opportunities to identify mistakes and improve in order to avoid real crises!
Yes, this enclosed environment facilitates group concentration, and it's rare to create an attention span of this quality in our electronically dopaminated daily lives.
Yes, going to sea develops skills of anticipation, versatility and efficiency - linked to the dangers and limited resources on board - which are indispensable to all businesses.
Yes, there's also the incomparable pleasure of progressing in harmony WITH the elements, with no constraints, no noise, no smell, no refuelling... no limits other than those we set ourselves.
Yes, I'm passionate about sailing, and it's nice to get up in the morning and do what you love.
But I didn't launch ZOMIA for any of these reasons...
ZOMIA is the fruit of my determination to solve the greatest challenge I've ever personally faced:
CREATING COLLECTIVES
THAT WORK
I refuse to resign myself to mediocre or dysfunctional groups in the face of the challenges we face today. My objective is clear: to share concrete solutions and proven strategies to radically transform the way we work together. By getting my hands dirty with you too!
ZOMIA is my answer to this challenge, because I firmly believe in our ability to build united, efficient and resilient collectives of individuals. Together, we can create a world where groups don't just survive, but thrive by developing extraordinary solutions.
When I was younger, I felt rejected by groups... Not enough of this, too much of that... I was interested in what nobody was interested in, and when I expressed myself, I bored everyone. That's how I perceived my childhood, that’s my vulnerability. So I tried to understand what was expected of me. I kept quiet and listened.
I was a good pupil, but that didn't help to endear me to my classmates (or adults). So it didn't last.
I tried to understand what others were saying, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, communication always being the crux of the problem.
I waited a long time for others, for their opinion, their acceptance, their arrival, their contribution... to build together. Even if I could take care of myself, I was still a social being. I needed them. I spent a lot of time waiting for others to react.
And as it didn't come, I decided to live my life on my own and offer.
But to offer without expecting anything in return. You don't give a gift in the hope of receiving a similar one in return. If you did, you'd give it to yourself and stay on your own.
To offer is to give what we know how to do for the benefit of the collective.
We all have different skills, desires, facilities, ambitions and value scales.
We become unhappy if we act while always expecting something similar in return. If we count each of our "investments" in the hope of a return, our life turns into a hell of imperfect accounting.
There's only bad luck in not being loved; there's misfortune in not loving.
From the one and only Albert Camus, from L'Eté
So I started doing what I liked, without waiting for the approval of others.
My path as a designer, far from labels.
My passion for sailing, surprising for a Burgundian.
My love of writing, long and personal, in this age of immediacy.
And people started to react, sometimes even asking for more.
Brainstorming, to design the simplest solutions to the most complex problems.
Sailing cruises, now a summer staple.
Reflective texts, spontaneous or carefully crafted to share (and just published!).
ZOMIA is the union of these three pillars.
ZOMIA is the fruit of my experience in:
problem-solving,
organizing unifying events, and
stepping back to identify lessons learned.
And these three pillars have just one aim: to create groups that work.
Groups that enable individuals to collaborate effectively, with all their differences.
Groups that grow together by learning from their experiences and building solutions for tomorrow's world.
Groups that endure despite difficulties.
Groups where everyone knows they'll find support.
In short, groups that accepted me.
When I was younger, people used to say to me: "If you follow me, I'll run away from you; if you run away from me, I'll follow you. It's when you stop chasing people that they come to you.
And their unexpected arrival is always a pleasant surprise...
I've been taking people out to sea, solving problems and writing to share for over 10 years now... I guarantee it won't stop!
Even the seaweed masks!