Pascal Latouche - Open Innovation

G2J is someone who doesn’t ask unnecessary questions and goes for the simplest, most concrete. He constantly analyzes what his losses may be and whether they are acceptable. From my understanding, several events seem to me to be structuring to explain that this prudent daredevil has come true and is still being realized every day.

His mother brought him to Côte d’Ivoire when he was 12 years old. Imagine (and I didn’t know it), there’s a whole Caribbean community in this country. Its particularity: it was a community of entrepreneurs who saw the big picture. This community conceived of existence only to undertake and constantly push back the boundaries of the impossible. G2J lived within this community and developed the taste, the desire to do, to see things in a big way. This was a very special moment in G2J’s journey from my point of view.

I can well imagine the paradox of the child and his questions. He was always told he wouldn’t make it. He had had to endure, as we can imagine, at least reproaches from his teachers, and at worst mockery from his classmates. The school world can be cruel to atypical children. Yet, with his curiosity and his capacity for work, he knew he could create. He met this community and there he discovered an environment that told him that anything was possible if he wanted to take the time. “ I saw their pineapple field. I had never seen anything as vast as the sea… ”. This sentence sums up perfectly the cue that I guessed to be G2J’s one.

The possible thus became what he could conceive of what he saw and he could now see as vast as the sea…. All that remains was to build! “Think outside of the box” we say today. It’s a nice marketing slogan, but let me tell you that people young and old, of all races, faiths, … had to think outside the box for our beloved humanity to move forward. G2J is one of those, I say it because I mean it.

G2J did a BTS 1Marketing Action Co. Contrary to his arduous journey through junior school, it was during this stage of his student life that G2J discovered an obvious taste for business. A BTS is not only learning, it is above all very operational, case-based learning.

This period of his life proved to be a decisive and structuring period for learning how to build a project. In his BTS Marketing Action Co, he was no longer working on the abstract, but on the concrete: searching for information, cross-checking it, analyzing it, drawing conclusions and finally building a case. Perhaps this was not obvious, as I can imagine that the teaching methods always remained somewhat conditioned. But, uh…. Never mind, G2J was more mature. He then had a base of knowledge and experience that allowed him to begin to be appreciated by teachers. G2J also helped his classmates a lot. He was older than them and I think he was probably taking a “leadership” role. He told me that, in addition to his own case studies, he was also involved in those of many of his classmates.

You can summarize the kid’s ideas, his sound and even his big ideas with a little structuring, and it’s probably the alchemy that made him, not very confident in himself, that nothing predestined him to do that, turn out to be a serial entrepreneur. His self-confidence, he drew it from doing it.

The main point is that G2J’s personality is the tidal wave that carries his action forward. G2J is not a complex man. He doesn’t care what other people think of him. It is what he builds with respect for others that is most important. He doesn’t envy others. The simplicity and spontaneity with which he told me about his journey is just extraordinary.

Once he knows something is possible, then nothing discourages him and he will act. His action is always marked by many of these values which we could say are from another time, but which we would all gain from preserving within us: honesty, listening, diversity, respect, etc. Everything that many parents and the education system teach children and that life experiences often destroy. In the case of G2J, I believe he has indeed preserved all these values. Why? It is not the system that forged G2J, it is its own experiences with the system!

He has forged himself into a formidable business man, one you enjoy listening to because they always have something to share with you. The following anecdotes will give you an idea.

The title of this third section is not mine. It’s G2J’s own to define himself I admit I was very amused to hear him define himself this way. As I listened to him, I finally understood why such a nickname.

First of all, let’s talk about the G2J network. It renders many services by having a permanent approach of “connecting people”. Of course, when you help a lot of people, there are returns when the time comes, even though there can be a lot of wastage. Far from being a calculated approach, it is rather someone who naturally has his heart on his sleeve and who sincerely does things without expecting anything from it. Doing things for people means forging and constantly growing a network of at least those who know how not to forget it when the day comes. G2J always starts by giving the “ mother’s example ”.

A little anecdote amused me a lot about his absolute weapon to manage his network. G2J confessed to me at the time that they were walking around with kilos of directories to make sure they could always contact the right person at the right time. For example, he told me about his trip to the USA (Florida) to start a business. He also brought his directories with him. As a child, he told me his mother locked away the phone to avoid large phone bills. Today with WhatsApp, it’s easier….

G2J’s awareness of his environment seems obvious to me as I listen to him talk to me about the business he does. Always actively listening and if there is something he doesn’t understand, then he questions and beyond that he digs by himself by mobilizing his contacts wisely.

I can also tell you about the way he conducts his business. In business, three basic beliefs carry G2J. The first is to always respect his signature whatever the price: “ I was not raised with the soul of a victim, but that of a fighter ”. The second is to be an entrepreneur who builds and never a predator who destroys: “ You have to be willing to seize opportunities but never by ruining others ”. The third: to put oneself at the mercy of the project to be carried out: “ Yes, I am afraid sometimes, but I know how to control this fear to make it a strength. The joy of building is stronger ”.

He wonders about the resources at his disposal, but nothing more. He mainly looks at the business, thinks big and then optimizes. As an example, G2J shared with me the fact that one day he bought a server capable of holding a load much greater than its immediate needs. He just paid for the best and then gradually optimized his purchase. Of course, it’s reassuring enough for a client to realize that his supplier (G2J) had the capacity to do so in the short, medium and long terms.

G2J’s had some setbacks. At one time, he had no penny to his name. I was surprised to learn that, despite his more than questionable finances, he was once able to afford the “luxury” of an office a few steps from Place Vendôme. How? G2J explained his project to the owner without hiding the difficulties. Well, the landlord, a chartered accountant, thought that G2J’s business would be very profitable and would allow him to honor the rents. G2J himself had doubts. I think the transparency and sincerity of his remarks did the job. When you are in front of someone who is honest and you are honest yourself, in general, the interaction is likely to generate value for each stakeholder.