In this episode of Visconti Talks, Éric Devaulx coach and Partner Visconti welcomes Clément David, CEO of Theodo Cloud, expert in defining, building and improving IT infrastructures and CEO of Theodo Data and IT.

But who is Clement David?

Clément David is the CEO of Theodo Cloud and Theodo Data and AI. These two entities, which include around 150 people, belong to Theodo, an international company specialized in technology consulting.

What are Clement's engines? Where does this desire to be an entrepreneur come from?

As soon as he left school, Clément heard about impact. Right away, it makes him want to:

“I want to be in an environment where when I do something well it has a positive impact, and where when I fail it is my fault.”

Entrepreneurship responded to this desire. His second motivation is to succeed in involving other people in his entrepreneurial adventure, to have the satisfaction of convincing and bringing people together around a common project.

What was the trigger? The one who allowed Clément to “take action” to create?

Clément graduated from school in 2015, at a time when the startup nation did not yet exist.

He chose to join Theodo, a company whose desire is to launch new startups very quickly internally, in order to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem and develop expertise in all the key technologies for the design and development of digital products.

After four years at Theodo, a call was launched to create a new startup in the Cloud. Clément seizes the opportunity.

The jobs of Theodo Cloud Data and AI are very specialized areas of expertise for companies, what are the major challenges that managers face in their IT choices?

If we are talking about a rather SME world, one of the big choices that must be made is whether to become a company specialized in IT or not.

In digital professions, many companies think that in order to transform, they must become a technology company.

But that's not always helpful. The big challenge is to choose between surrounding yourself with the right partners without making IT your core business, or to specialize completely in tech. This strategic choice can be complicated.

In the decision-making of the manager on this IT part, we see that the strategic dimension in the choice of his partners and his solutions is important. How does Theodo help customers in this process?

From the situation with VMware, following its takeover by Broadcom, one could deduce that it is better to avoid multiplying technological partners in order not to become dependent on them.

It's not necessarily the right approach. Here are Clement's recommendations:

- Assume your partnerships: even if you are locked in with a partner, you must make the most of your value proposition;

- Choose a partner with a culture aligned with its own corporate culture;

- Stay informed, even when you have chosen a partnership, to continue to have a clear vision of technological alternatives.

For Clément, were there any key steps in his career and in learning to be a manager?

In the world of service, turnover is directly correlated to workforce growth.

Thus, Clément saw his leadership role evolve as his business grew.

With ten people, the manager has a clear vision of what is happening, and participates in all decision-making.

With thirty people he still sees the problems, he is able to solve some of them, but can no longer do everything.

With sixty people, he only sees the problems that the employees report to him.

At one hundred and fifty people, the manager no longer has visibility. It is then up to the teams to keep the ship afloat.

Clément has experienced it. He has two beliefs about this:

• Recruiting is essential: has he recruited people who he has taught to ask the right questions?
• Knowing how to ask for help is essential: is the channel for asking for help simple and known to everyone?

Since the creation of Theodo, what changes have occurred at Clément?

On the professional side, Clément understood the value of a solid management team. When founding a company, we often think that everything goes through the manager, because he is the one who has the vision and knows how to move forward.

Over eighty employees, we realize that this is not really the case and, above all, not at all desirable.

When making decisions and communicating internally, Clément puts his employees more in the spotlight, whereas at the beginning, it was he and his partner who communicated for the most part. Today, they are doingEmpowering to give a voice to others in the company.

On the personal side, Clément feels more introverted than before, as the social side of being a manager can quickly become energy-consuming.

The dream at ten for Clément and Theodo?

For Theodo Cloud, Clément's ultimate dream is to successfully manage critical infrastructure.

The meaning of their job is to build solid infrastructures that allow their client not to worry about it.

There is nothing more impacting than carrying out this mission on an absolute critical service.

What is Clement's leadership style?

For Clément, the role of the CEO can be summed up in two areas: he is there to provide strong direction and spread trust.

If things go wrong, employees must be able to trust the manager and turn to him for solutions.

What are some tips for being a great leader?

- Do not confuse an oil well with a nuclear reactor. One of the mistakes that Clement made was to have considered his market as if it were infinite. However, this is rarely the case.

He found himself after a good period without having the right foundations for a sustainable business: few long-term customers, no adapted offers, not the right assets...

Today, he is looking to build a more sustainable strategy over the long term. It's a good apprenticeship.

- Don't be inconsistent. Employees are ready to forgive a lot of things: mistakes, downturns...

But not the inconsistency. When the manager announces a managerial practice and applies another, for example. These kinds of mistakes quickly break trust.

What is the biggest lesson as a leader?

Employees take on the faults of their manager, by mimicry. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Clément's DNA is to go fast, to try things out, always as a team.

He noticed that the teams around him were also starting to act the same way.

This then became the DNA of the company, without him having put anything in place in terms of management.

The coach's advice

The role of the CEO varies according to the size of the company.

Arriving at a certain size, Clément's solution was to pass power to employees because they are the ones who are closest to the problem.

Management is also about preventing people from being afraid to ask for help. So there is a culture of feedback and a strong delegation.

Find out more about the leadership, the specificities of Coaching startup, and the role of leader in business growth.