Michel De Coster

Speaker
Dutch
French
English
Photo of Michel De Coster

Who is Michel De Coster?

People may know Michel as a bass player with the group ‘De Mens’. However, in his day-to-day life, he is a manager, coach and business advisor. He earned his spurs in the ICT sector and worked for Bosch Telecom, COLT, BT and Belgacom, where he became Executive Vice President in 2008. He then got involved in consultancy as an independent advisor of companies, and started a business specialising in triathlon supplies and bicycles together with his wife. He moved to French telecommunications operator SFR as Commercial Director at the end of 2013 and, since the summer of 2015, has been advising and coaching again at companies including Accenture, SAP and SAS. He wrote a book entitled ‘No Nonsense: brains, heart en guts, de troeven van de moderne manager’ (No Nonsense: brains, heart and guts; the tools of a modern manager) in 2012, which was followed by ‘People Peppers’ in 2018, about the importance of empathy.

This speaker knows what leadership is about. His many years of experience in the ICT industry have taught him a great deal about senior management. He is thus perfectly placed to offer tips about time management and how to maximise your results.

  • People Peppers: tips for better people skills

    Marketing & communication
    Management

    Each organisation is a network in which people continuously communicate with one another. The added value of this human interaction has increased in importance in our digital world. Good human contact actually makes a real difference. It is important for communication to take place effectively, not only during tough negotiations and difficult meetings, but also during day-to-day contact.

    Michel offers no-nonsense tips to people who want to learn how to improve their communication and better convey their message, at every level of the organisation. Without theatrics, but with tangible results. A keynote that serves as a practical guide, not only for managers and salespeople.

  • Influencing: the art of getting things done

    Management

    What distinguishes good managers from top managers? How can you convince customers that your proposal is better than that of your competitors? And why is it better to not pitch spontaneously during social events? This inspirational lecture by Michel De Coster will put an end to issues and frustrations that you often confront, both as manager and as employee.

    It will offer valuable insights into how to establish trust, convince other people, close deals, optimise your ability to empathise and a whole lot more. In short: a unique opportunity for everyone who deals with colleagues and (potential) customers on a daily basis.

  • Heart, brains and guts of a top manager

    Management

    What distinguishes good managers from top managers? Which characteristics are essential when leading a company? How can results be maximised in the most efficient manner?

    During this lecture, top manager Michel De Coster explains how he manages to maintain a balance between common sense, his heart and a healthy dose of courage. He offers managers tips and tricks on leadership and explains how they can learn from the mistakes of others. He also uses a variety of specific examples to explain how he has learned to better utilise his time over the years.

  • Working with people

    Management

    In this keynote, Michel De Coster further explains why human interaction is so important to strong leadership. ‘Working With People’ requires continuous effort (working) and interaction with employees (with), who are not always exemplary, but sometimes stubborn, tiring and selfish (people). So working with people is no walk in the park!

    During this keynote, De Coster talks about his ‘Commandments’ for dealing with all the company employees in an efficient, sustainable and result-oriented manner. It all starts with the way in which human interaction is organised; the ‘how and why’. The attitude and competencies that managers must possess also play an important role. There is a need for suitable monitoring of employees, their evaluation, and much more.

Michel De Coster is excellent! Although he doesn’t use slides, he is well structured and easily captures people’s attention for 1.5 hours. His hands-on experience allows him to provide clear examples. A solid argument for the need for balance between brains, heart & guts during every management decision.

Foodservice Network, the Netherlands

Photo of micro

The feedback was very positive. Particularly the fact that he was able to fascinate people for over an hour, without having to use a single slide.
Of course, it is useful when you can provide examples from a variety of disciplines - business, sport, art - which you have personally experienced. Most speakers rely on examples from the world of sport, but have sometimes never even ridden a bike.
In addition, the lecture also supplied a degree of humour.

Filip De Rijcke

Sales Director SAS Institute

Michel was able, without over complicating things, to visually and verbally encapsulate the essence of leadership for managers at all levels.

Karel Plasman

Managing director Acerta

Michel opened an event to celebrate the launch of the Flemish Business Club. He was charming, likeable and, in particular, spontaneous, which meant he was able to enthral the audience until the very end. He is a captain of industry who will be more than welcome at many other business clubs.

An De Jonghe

Chairman Vlaamse Business Club

Photo of micro

Michel is the person you have to meet and learning to know.
Combining so many different heterogeneous professional activities and hobbies with success is not due to hazard. During a very helpful session with our Management Team, Michel give us a lot of tips to optimize the way we spend time!
Work better instead of trying to work more.
3 slides are enough in a Face to Face.
Define and respect strict house rules.
Focus on target and objectives.
So many you should know but that due to pressure, lack of discipline is difficult to respect.
Michel speaks about EQ - your emotions and soft skills, IQ – your technical skills, but he also insist on your capacity to take risk and to make the difference within uncertainty.

Giovanni

CEO Syntigo - General Manager NMBS-Holding ICTRA

Michel De Coster managed to appeal to everyone.
This is rather surprising because the audience contained a variety of ‘profiles’, positions and backgrounds (blue/white-collar workers, field coordinators/managers).
In terms of his core message, he is right! It’s all about finding the right balance between ‘Head’, ‘Heart’ and ‘Guts’...
Most of us have these three elements, but they are not always in balance, or the right element is not always used at the right time.
Another thing that caught my eye was that, by organising his time efficiently, he was able to combine a top position with his passion for music and his family.
A remarkable personality.

Chris

Touring

Photo of Michel De Coster
Photo of Michel De Coster
Photo of Michel De Coster
Photo of Michel De Coster
Photo of Michel De Coster

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