Hi there,

Hoping you are doing and being well?

I might not be as efficient as others, but I wanted to let you know that none of my posts, EVER, are made by the use of AI. AI, like all ‘tools,’ is agnostic until humans get hold of it, however, I just feel the embodying of mistakes, grammatical errors etc is part of being human, so you’ll continue to see all of that with my posts - hope that’s okay! :)

My thanks to Anna DeNardin for her amazing graphic and artistic prowess supporting this podcast.

Onto today’s rich exploration with a friend and peer from within the chemicals industry.

Let me introduce you to my guest today, Christophe Le Ret:

Christophe is originating from Aquitaine, the native region of French philosophers Montaigne and Montesquieu who influenced his strong belief in democracy and humanism.

Very early on involved in community, charity or political activities such as the French anti-racism movement “SOS Racisme” or the political movement enabling the adoption of the French working time reduction laws (known as “Aubry’s laws”), which quickly created about 400 000 additional jobs without significant financial impact on the industry, he is currently mentoring young adults to help them better understand the industry world and the roles and positions suiting their competences and personalities.

Christophe graduated in chemistry at the University of Sciences of Bordeaux (France) and has spent more than 25 years occupying various marketing & sales managerial positions in the chemical industry and at materials technology and recycling specialist Umicore, a company recognized as a pioneer in circular economy, sustainable development and manufacturing of advanced materials.

Christophe is convinced that a more caring society – putting the respect of human beings and the environment at the core of its values – is possible and will benefit to the whole mankind while saving the planet from a major ecological disaster.

That is the reason why he had cofounded Khemia, a think and act tank acting for a more caring society, hoping it will contribute to soon make the world a better place for all.

This is also why he recently joined steward-owned company Moxworld that works with businesses at the cutting edge of ecological and social innovation, helping them build regenerative solutions that put people and planet first, and scale their impact without compromising their values.

You can reach Christophe via his LinkedIn or via https://moxworld.org.

I was super keen to get Christophe onto the platform as not only is he a senior chemical-industry peer, he is also incredibly balanced in his modelling of masculine and feminine energies and thus he felt like a great person to have this exploration with.

Asking for help

During my 25+ years working within the chemicals industry, I can count, honestly, on one hand the number of times I have heard a senior leader ask for help, or have received my request for help in a meaningful way.

I have my own perceptions as to why that is, but what are you thinking, feeling, and what are your thoughts?

Here is what Christophe had to say:

In my experience the underdeveloped ability to be vulnerable, to not have all the perfectly formed answers in hand is a major blocker to asking for help.

And why would, especially us men, develop that vulnerability when we have been conditioned to ‘man up,’ ‘be strong,’ and control for generations?! As someone shared in a post recently, “Patriarchy also hurts men and boys.”

Appreciating the business and personal value of operating from a place of healthy masculinity is well-evidenced, and was brought to life powerfully by Garry Ridge, ex CE of WD40 on episode #5.

Embracing diversity of thought and a polymathic mind

Christophe shared powerfully how he feels that our education system narrows or thinking too much and that we need to leverage a multi-domain approach to our personal and work lives. I found this section, personally, very profound.

What are you thinking, feeling, and what are your thoughts on watching the below clip? How may intentionally learning from a different worldview or perspective help you and your organisation? Hit reply and let me know.

Hear more below:

There are two amazing women in my life who model this polymathic mind incredibly. One is Trina Casey, future guest and friend, and Sahana Chattopadhyay who will be my guest next week on this platform.

Sahana, Trina, and I co-hosted a platform called Hegemony Revealed and then Beyond Hegemony, which is a brilliant embodiment of exactly the multi domain exploration that is available to us all when we balance our healthy masculine and feminine energies.

Igniting positive change, within and outside of industry

I was reminded of the work of Erica Chenoweth as Christophe and I spoke, the fact that “she has shown it takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.”

Using the same theory, if we could invite or influence 3% of senior and executive leaders within currently degenerative systems to re-imagine, we ‘could’ tip the system in another direction.

This also, I feel, speaks powerfully to the importance of a diverse, uncomfortable, yet safe community as was discussed with Stepheni Mendez back in episode #3.

What are you thinking, feeling, and what are your thoughts at this juncture?

Is your right to comfort causing accidental harm, and killing creativity?

This gets even deeper when we understand that “right to comfort” is one of many intersecting supremacy culture patterns that have been evidenced to maintain oppressive and divisive systems in place as per the work of Tema Okun.

Back in the business world, staying in comfort is often prioritised over real growth, but this inadvertently shuts down listening, co-creation, and new ideas, especially those ‘from the edges’ that could bring huge value.

Indeed Christophe shares during our conversation and in the below clip:

“It’s comfortable to stay in this activity of the day and in doing things without reflection if we are doing bad things, because if you really reflect on them, you will find plenty of them, “do I need to do that really?”, “Is it is in line with my values?” and then you are In a not very comfortable position”

Where are those safe and brave spaced for YOU to be honest within industry, to check in on your values alignment, to ask the question that you too rarely feel safe to ask etc?

I hope that you enjoyed these clips and I invite you to listen/watch the full conversation above, or on the following platforms:

* Apple podcasts

* Spotify

* YouTube

In your corner

Finally, a short note to advise that I am here if you are looking for a 1-1 Thinking Partner that can be in your corner by voice note, virtually, and in-person, I have found 5 x 60 minutes calls + unlimited voice note communication to work the best.

If you are ready to embrace the journey towards healthier masculinity, drop me a line at garry.turner@radica