Frank Jons: chromatic explosions!
He could have ended up as a partner in an auditing firm, but a job interview convinced him to follow his true calling: painting. Interview.
Jean-Jacques Titon (CEO of TITON Consulting): defining commitment in business
"It’s important to note that, especially in a purely associative environment, goodwill alone cannot substitute for competence" explains Jean-Jacques Titon, CEO of TITON Consulting. Interview. ​
What are the main keys to social and professional commitment?
Commitment, in any context, is based on the power of the link that connects individuals to an organisation. This link is based on three themes : The capacity to identify with the organisation: in other words, I feel not only a "member" of the structure but also partly responsible for its success. This is a phenomenon of appropriation in terms of both the image and the meaning of the entity's action. In second, the "opportunity cost": this concept is based on taking into account the added value of each participant (employees, volunteers, etc.) through the recognition that the organisation gives them for the use of their skills and expertise. To conclude, the obligations of and towards the organization. The existence of a clearly defined and freely accepted framework constitutes a space of protection, permission and therefore of creative power. Remember that the framework, when it is visibly defined and validly implemented, does not constrain, it reassures! ​
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"Engagement, in any context, is based on the power of the link between individuals and an organisation."
How can clubs and companies use these keys to improve their performance and motivate their teams?
Develop initiative, innovation and creativity: let's make sure that individuals, after having ensured that the meaning and vision of the organisation have been announced and understood, have the necessary means of expression to exercise, whatever their functions, their potential in what they are, in what they do and in what they propose. It is important to note that, especially in a purely associative environment, goodwill alone cannot replace competence. Similarly and more generally, if the enhancement of success proves to be one of the motors of involvement, the rational analysis of failures underlines the fundamental dimension of the margins of progress, this last item constituting, contrary to received ideas, a real factor in commitment. Define an open framework! This process integrates the notion of protection provided by this framework but also the freedom it induces through the permission to act within it. The principles of permission and protection are understood through a central element of the belonging process: well-being at work. Far beyond the endless "rights and duties" whose limit is too often defensive, it’s because I know what I want to do within the framework given to me, because I know that my security (in the global sense of the term) is assured that I dare to offer, for myself and for the entity in which I find myself, the best of my commitment.
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Can you give some concrete examples of particularly successful commitment?
The Decathlon Group* has had a completely original Innovation Department for several years: it’s the employees (salespeople, advisers, administrative staff, etc.) who propose, model and test most of the products before they are put on the market. Here we are in complete harmony with the first principle of question 2. The "start up spirit" applies the second item of this same question 2. The promotion of what is positively produced is widely recognised and celebrated! In this spirit, the right to make mistakes is perfectly accepted and acquired; we thus visualise the valorisation of the field of possibilities knowing that, by contextualising this approach, human development (and its operational translation in terms of commitment) is promoted. The Hilton Group* requires its staff, especially in the front office, to have a precise framework linked to the brand's requirements for excellence, while at the same time giving these employees exceptional conditions for carrying out their missions (working hours, benefits, reserved logistical services, facilities linked to family status, etc.). When we analyse the level of turnover in this group, we note that it is 10 points lower than in the hotel sector. Better still, the attachment of employees to the brand is the main reason for their commitment.