2024: A Year of Growth, Innovation, and Purpose

As the year draws to a close, I reflect on a journey marked by growth, collaboration, and transformative learning. In 2024, my work brought me the privilege of partnering with inspiring organizations across industries. Each project offered valuable lessons, deepening my understanding of leadership, innovation, and the power of aligned teams.

Using Job-To-Be-Done and Design Thinking to Drive Customer-Centric Strategies

Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) and Design Thinking to develop customer-centric strategies

A consistent theme across many of my projects this year was the application of Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) and Design Thinking to develop customer-centric strategies. At Cision France, these frameworks were instrumental in the JTBD Growth Accelerator project, uncovering strategic insights that enhanced engagement with C-Level executives. Similarly, Alliancy’s value proposition review leveraged JTBD to identify improvement areas and connect their offerings more closely to customer needs.

For Stellar Telecommunications and Inergens, JTBD became a lens through which we evaluated sales opportunities and informed product roadmaps. This reinforced a key lesson: focusing on what customers aim to achieve aligns your strategy with their success, creating enduring value. My keynote for CloudBees highlighted how R&D and IT teams in corporations could use JTBD to align technical and development efforts on real customer needs, emphasizing the synergy between JTBD and Design Thinking to drive impactful innovation.

The Power of OKRs to Align and Inspire Teams

This year also underscored the transformative potential of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in aligning teams around stretch goals. Working with Wallix’s EXCOM and CRO teams, we used OKRs to create a cohesive vision that energized their growth aspirations. Similarly, my individual coaching sessions with leaders from Wallix, Hirondo, Clic & Moi, Stellar, Inergens, and Systnaps revealed that clarity in objectives fosters confidence and collaboration, even in the face of complexity.

direction signs on a car journey for OKRs, emphasizing how they guide teams toward stretch goals, in contrast to KPIs, which are lagging indicators akin to a car’s dashboard metrics.

At CloudBees, my keynote audience resonated with the message that OKRs are more than a management tool—they’re a mindset shift. 🎥 Take a look at the video. To illustrate this, I used the metaphor of direction signs on a car journey for OKRs, emphasizing how they guide teams toward stretch goals, in contrast to KPIs, which are lagging indicators akin to a car’s dashboard metrics. This approach helped the audience understand how to align technical devOps KPIs with business OKRs, fostering synergy between technical teams and overarching business objectives.

Marketing Beyond Silos: ABM for B2B Success

In the fast-evolving world of B2B, isolated marketing campaigns no longer suffice. This year, I worked with Wallix and Lectra to emphasize the importance of integrated, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies. At Wallix, the TARGET project demonstrated how aligning sales and marketing efforts amplifies impact, while Lectra’s focus on B2B personalization in their international webinar showcased how ABM ensures relevance and resonance with key accounts.

4 types of ABM : 1:1, 1:Few, 1:Many programmatic and Bolt-on

A critical takeaway from these engagements is that collaboration across functions is not optional; it’s imperative for sustainable growth in competitive markets.

The Disruptive Impact of AI and Generative AI

I was amazed by the speed and magnitude of change brought by Generative AI this year

AI and Generative AI dominated many of my conversations and engagements this year. From Sodiaal’s seminar, where we explored how AI revolutionizes productivity, marketing, product R&D and innovation, to my intervention with HEC/BPI’s ETI program, the message was clear: embracing AI is about enabling people to think and work differently.

For Lectra and Wallix’s highly international marketing teams, we navigated the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI tools into campaigns. These sessions reinforced a key insight: AI’s potential lies in augmenting human creativity and decision-making, not replacing it. The tools are only as transformative as the diverse and globally-minded teams that wield them.

Despite having witnessed throughout my career many disruptive changes in technology—from the rise of the internet to the advent of mobile and social media—I was amazed by the speed and magnitude of change brought by Generative AI this year. Every week, I discovered new possibilities and tools, leveraging them in my practice with enthusiasm. Generative AI has felt like steroids for my brain, enabling me to achieve things at a speed and scale I could not have imagined before.

Pro Bono: Giving Back Through Community and Collaboration

Collaborating with PwC and BVA, we crafted a forward-looking report that combined a design fiction exercise, a marketers’ survey, and deep analysis.

In 2024, I dedicated a significant part of my time to pro bono initiatives that fueled my passion for collective growth:

Numeum Marketing, Communication & Sales Community: As the largest professional association for digital technology in France, Numeum connects professionals across industries and represents 85% of IT professionals in the country. This year, the community I co-lead surpassed 1,000 members, fostering growth through webinars, workshops, and discussions on critical topics like Sales & Marketing alignment, the use and impact of Gen AI, advanced ABM implementation, and major trends. These activities helped participants sharpen strategies and align their teams across industries.
ADETEM’s CMO Profile 2024 Edition: As France’s first and largest professional association dedicated to marketing, ADETEM has been at the forefront of advancing marketing practices since 1954. Collaborating with PwC and BVA, we crafted a forward-looking report that combined a design fiction exercise, a marketers’ survey, and deep analysis. The report explored the tension CMOs face between envisioning a more ESG-driven future and the anticipated reality of a fast-paced, tech-centric landscape dominated by Virtual Reality and hyper-personalization at scale.
Meudon Valley, LFA Studio, and Schoolab: Working with startups in these ecosystems, I provided mentorship and strategic guidance to early-stage founders. From refining value propositions to aligning leadership goals, these engagements reaffirmed my belief in the transformative power of coaching for budding innovators.

Catalysts for Change: Highlights from Wallix and Beyond

Catalysts for Change : transformation happens when teams are not only aligned but also empowered to act boldly

Wallix’s journey this year exemplified the power of structured change management. The ABM strategy not only aligned sales and marketing teams but also optimized their account targeting efforts through advanced segmentation and personalized engagement frameworks. This led to measurable improvements in key account conversions.

Equally impactful was the off-site seminar focused on OKRs and growth acceleration, where we addressed Wallix’s roadmap to a mature Revenue Operations (RevOps) model. The seminar brought together team members from many countries, emphasizing the diversity of perspectives and shared goals. I facilitated sessions that used OKRs to establish stretch goals, emphasizing their role in aligning business objectives with operational execution. Leveraging the metaphor of direction signs on a car journey (OKRs) versus dashboard metrics (KPIs), we bridged the gap between strategic goals and measurable outcomes. Participants left the seminar with a clear roadmap toward a cohesive RevOps strategy, actionable OKRs, and a renewed sense of purpose to drive transformation. Across all my engagements, a recurring theme emerged: transformation happens when teams are not only aligned but also empowered to act boldly.

Looking Ahead

As I close the chapter on 2024, a recurring theme emerges: progress thrives at the intersection of clarity, collaboration, and courage. Whether enabling a team to harness AI’s potential, guiding a startup’s leadership journey, or helping a multinational refine its strategy, the common thread has been the willingness to embrace change and align on shared goals.

Coaching, whether for individuals or for teams and groups, has proven to be a fantastic lever to drive change within organizations like no other, creating awareness and fostering responsibility among coachees to step outside their comfort zones and make things happen.

Progress thrives at the intersection of clarity, collaboration, and courage

For 2025, I am inspired to build on this year’s learnings. The road ahead beckons with opportunities to deepen my impact, both professionally and through pro bono initiatives that fuel my passion for sustainable transformation.

To my clients, partners, and peers: thank you for your trust and collaboration. Here’s to another year of shared growth and bold possibilities.

I’d love to hear your thoughts
What resonated with you from this year’s reflections? Have you experienced similar transformations in your journey? Share your experiences or perspectives in the comments—let’s continue the conversation and inspire each other for the year ahead!