Laurent Ledoux

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Dutch
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Who is Laurent Ledoux?

Laurent travelled around the planet to learn and now speaks seven languages. He now restructures companies and organisations to increase their positive impact on society. This 'barefoot manager' has worked for large companies, banks, public institutions and NGOs. Laurent Ledoux's ambition is to contribute to the transformation of organisations, whether market or non-market, private or public, which in turn contribute to the positive transformation of our societies. 

He developed a unique management philosophy by reading great philosophers of the past and meeting those of the present. He recently founded Phusis to guide the transformation of large companies and their implementation of collaborative governance. The Phusis team is already working all over Europe.

His strongest belief: profit maximisation should not be, and by definition is not, the main purpose of a company. Profit is obviously necessary, but the main goal should be and contribute to the needs of society, creating a working environment in which employees can grow and develop, and not only for the benefit of the company, but also for themselves. Just thanks to the creation of such working environments, Laurent is referred to by some employees as 'the barefoot manager'. Laurent Ledoux sometimes walks barefoot at work. "A way of being better in touch with the earth, a legacy of my stay in Africa."

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    Liberating the company: how do you prepare as leader

    These days, there is a lot of talk about ‘industry 2.0’: more cooperation, less hierarchy. In a word: liberation. But too little is said about the personal change that company managers must undergo in terms of their conscience, so that they can properly run their organisation. This lecture (which can be divided into various modules) proposes an approach for successfully realising this personal transformation.

    The intelligence of nature: can it trigger a revolution in management?

    “The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between how nature works and the way people think.” (Gregory Bateson, philosopher and ethologist.) Based on that observation, this keynote aims to examine nature and talk about lessons we can learn from it in order to manage our companies and institutions effectively.

    Who’s in charge, for goodness sake?

    Considering the social responsibility of companies.
    It appears that globalisation is increasing the power of companies while reducing the control measures available to governments. This reallocation of power also appears to be redefining responsibilities. Is making profits the only mission of companies, or do they also have to assume other tasks in respect of their employees, the environment, the countries in which they are active or, in general, the people over whom they have influence? And what is the nature of these responsibilities: moral, legal or political? How can they be realised and by whom? And in the midst of all this: where does my personal responsibility start and end? How can and should I exercise it?

    What kind of management is needed for the society of tomorrow?

    Our societies and companies are experiencing major change.
    It is probably not yet possible to imagine the impact of all these shocks. Would it not be naive to think that we can deal with them without at least partially questioning the thought and management processes that caused them in the first place? Is it not time to start questioning our models; start asking clear and relevant questions in order to devise alternative answers or approaches in order to deal calmly with the unknown; to create a future that we all support instead of submitting to one that we are afraid of? And who is better placed to help us in this regard than philosophers whose research could shed new light on our management practices?

    Leadership without easy answers

    Thinking about the leadership of the future. This speaker uses practical cases inspired by Ronald Heifetz (Harvard) to help participants adopt a leadership style that encourages their teams to take the initiative rather than being simple followers.

    Ethical imagination

    How ethical questions teach us more about ourselves and to what extent they are important to the managers of today. This lecture uses practical cases inspired by Joseph Badaracco (Harvard) to help participants become more aware about the ethical dilemmas that their organisations could face, and which will later help them, both at personal and organisational level.

    Philosophy: a manager's best friend

    Capitalism as we know it is currently undergoing a major crisis. Therefore it is the philosophers who are increasingly being called upon to help and to rethink the foundations of our economic system and our management practices. This keynote identifies what managers can learn from the ideas of philosophers, but also what philosophy has to gain by thinking about management. More so than ever before, our society needs a constructive dialogue between philosophers and managers.

    Change management: how do you start ‘liberating’ your organisation?

    More and more organisations are starting to believe in the ‘liberation’ of organisations proposed by Getz, Laloux, Semler and Bakke. Laurent Ledoux successfully implemented these principles at a large bank and is now doing the same at a public administration department with over 1000 civil servants. This lecture uses practical examples to teach you about the fundamental principles involved when ‘liberating’ an organisation. It is also an opportunity to consider the best way to kick-start the dynamics of change in your own organisation; dynamics that will encourage your personnel to take the initiative.