Raison d’être et entreprise à mission | Bris ROCHER | TEDxIssylesMoulineaux

So restart or reset, what is certain is that the company has been greatly affected and must somehow redouble its efforts to recreate the conditions of trust with its communities. The company is not meant to replace politics, but what is certain is that in the absence of efficient global governance on major societal issues, the company can contribute and actively participate in the development and implementation of solutions, especially since the company is naturally responsible, and the commitments demanded today allow it to reclaim the meaning of what entrepreneurship means.

The origin of the word 'entreprendre', ultimately, from the point of view of entrepreneurial activity, consists of taking something into one's hands, holding something to master it, shape it, develop it. And the meaning fixed by usage from the 15th century onwards, the word refers to common and joint risk-taking. To undertake is to take a risk between oneself, that is to say together. And the ability of the entrepreneur is shared and total because in case of failure, it is simply ruin.

In the 19th century, a legal innovation, the public limited company, allowed the emergence of shareholding, which in turn encouraged entrepreneurs to gather other key capital from banks, public and private investors to finance the development of their company. This ability to inject capital into companies enabled unprecedented development, but it also distended the role of the shareholder, who over time became an investor.

And since he became an investor, somewhere the legal structure, the public limited company, limited his liability. He is no longer responsible for his personal assets; his only responsibility is ultimately his financial contribution.

And since the investor is no longer responsible for his personal assets but for his financial contribution, something happened: responsibility naturally shifted to the company, moving from total quality to corporate governance, and ultimately to corporate social responsibility. Finally, the new status of 'société à mission' through the PACTE law, promulgated at the end of 2019/beginning of 2020, well reflects this transfer of responsibility and greatly meets the expectations of citizens.

That said, we cannot summarize a company by its simple legal status. A company goes beyond its legal status; it can develop other forms of capital obtained through collective creation, innovation, innovative production, culture of values, reinvention of organizations. Beyond financial capital, we must especially consider human capital. And somewhere, the raison d'être allows us to consider this human capital by reinjecting meaning into the company to set organizations in motion, and movement generates adherence.

Therefore, this new status through its raison d'être greatly responds to putting the company in motion in a world of total uncertainty, volatile, complex, where fog is omnipresent. And the role of the leader is to illuminate the path even in the absence of legal or regulatory constraints. So the raison d'être is absolutely essential to contribute precisely to putting the company in motion, organizations in motion.

There are fundamentals to respect to determine a raison d'être that can inspire the greatest number. The first: you must go into the roots of the company, the experience of the founder in a way, the roots, its DNA, its origins. It is essential if you want to make the company project authentic.

Concerning my grandfather: my grandfather actually had an experience at the age of 14. He always had rather serious health problems, so much so that his parents had to homeschool him. However, when he was 14, his father died, and he took refuge in the forest—not that he slept in the woods, but he spent his days in the forest, and that brought him a form of peace, consolation, even protection. And at the age of 14, he realized that nature had a positive impact on our well-being, and in return, he wanted to act in favor of nature. So actually, his entire entrepreneurial project stems from this experience he had at the age of 14 following his father's death.

So you must go into the roots of the company or the entrepreneur to make the project authentic. Second principle: when working on its raison d'être, ensure that the challenge, the fight in which the company engages, responds to current and future challenges. Nature, wanting to reconnect women and men to nature in an increasingly urbanized world surrounded by technology, makes full sense. Moreover, this growing urbanization is probably the source of many troubles to which we can respond through a healthy reconnection to nature, knowing that there is no small or large experience of nature.

Third element: we live in a world of transformation, we talk about transformation constantly. We must transform business models, adapt our companies, today and for the future. And yet, all these transformations must operate on a base of values that must not vary over time. That is essential if you want to be able to engage your organization, especially in the long term.

Finally, the fourth criterion, which might be a small anecdote but probably less important than the first three to define your raison d'être: it is an exercise once you have formalized your raison d'être, you must write it on the letterhead of your main competitor and see if they can appropriate it. There are two options: either start the exercise of drafting the raison d'être again, or buy your competitor.

These four criteria are essential to be able to deliver in the organization a raison d'être that will generate commitment, pride of belonging, and put the organization in motion.

The status of 'société à mission' has three levels to acquire. First, it is imposed on all companies: the expanded corporate purpose that takes into account environmental and societal issues, not just economic performance. Second, the raison d'être, and it is useful to question the raison d'être of your company because, believe it or not, the raison d'être of a company is a reason to be there for all the employees of the company. And finally, the status of société à mission, the last stage of the rocket, which is more constraining because concretely you must set up a mission committee that must write a report to measure the company's progress regarding the objectives it has set in relation to its own fight, its raison d'être. And all of this must be certified by an independent third party, but that is what gives the whole approach its legitimacy.

So to summarize, I would say that through the PACTE law and the status of société à mission, for the first time in its history, corporate culture has found a legal support. And if the raison d'être is honey, the status of société à mission is royal jelly.