1- Know how to pivot

Knowing how to pivot is in the DNA of a start-up. INEAT, a company that supports businesses in their digital transformation process, prides itself on this title despite its 14 years of existence. How is this possible? Yves Delnatte explains: “It is imperative to continually rethink your business model. This is what keeps us a start-up. You have to constantly ask yourself questions, even after 20 or 30 years. Conversely, a company that does not ask itself what it is going to do in the face of inevitable changes will not reinvent itself, and will inevitably decline over time.”

Pivoting means adopting new business strategies while maintaining your vision. If this is the current watchword, when and how should you go about it? The crisis forces the response: it inevitably pushes you to position yourself. But improvisation is not necessarily the order of the day. It is Yves Delnatte's permanent openness to innovation that gives him a lucid understanding of the situation and allows him the necessary agility and responsiveness. "A crisis initially generates a phase of panic, which then stabilizes. We find ideas, we organize ourselves." His role as president of the French Tech community in Montreal and his presence in China, which he says is three months ahead of Quebec, also served as indicators.

With the perspective needed to analyze change, identify opportunities, and adapt to offer solutions aligned with emerging needs, the business leader was able to initiate a thoughtful shift. "The start-ups that came out of it best were those that were able to create new things, that were able to meet new needs, that were able to be efficient, and that were able to create other possibilities for their customers."

2- Create alliances

INEAT was just bought by the giant Astek on December 17, 2020, an acquisition desired by the smaller of the two. In doing so, the co-founder of INEAT is putting into practice a principle that the crisis, according to him, reinforces: the importance of uniting to be stronger. "Before, I often said that you had to grow before you got bigger. Now, I would add that you have to get closer to bigger players to succeed. Being alone in business when you are smaller is going to be more and more difficult in the future." In an uncertain world, knowing how to prepare by forming strong alliances with recognized and stable partners is becoming an integral part of the company's strategy. "At this point, we don't necessarily want to meet new suppliers, smaller ones, with less experience or networks. We want to do business with bigger ones, who are solid and already well established."

"We need to create alliances to be able to diversify by sharing new sectors so as to no longer depend solely on one activity," continues Mr. Delnatte. Joining forces with companies with complementary skills undoubtedly allows us to become stronger in our field of activity. The competitive advantage and synergy benefits are obvious. "We have 300 employees, so we are neither big nor small, but the fact is that we do not have the mass effect that some large groups could achieve, which will want to make economies of scale even more than before." Mergers make it possible to take advantage of the financial capacity of one and the networks of the other to be able to mutually deploy, expand and diversify its activities and client portfolio.

3- Get closer to your team

Getting closer to each other, both between companies and with his own employees, is essential for Yves Delnatte in order to build a solid business. “Building a team spirit with his employees is the most important thing,” assures the man who received the BonBoss.ca , Greatplacetowork and Happyatwork 2019 and 2020 certifications. Performance is a matter of collective success, especially remotely, says the boss who talks about the importance of “keeping in constant contact, communicating, even too much.” A manager at heart, he humbly assumes his role as conductor, as he describes himself, or team coach. He believes in the diversity of the talents he has recruited, and in particular in their ability to evolve both autonomously and in solidarity.

His leadership is based on empowerment and absolute trust in a united and committed team. "Everyone participates, it's solidarity. They trust us, and we trust them. Employees who have been loyal during the crisis will remember for a long time that employers were there with them to find solutions collectively." In the aftermath of the ordeal, he is convinced that this type of management will have the desired effect. "If we tell them afterwards that they will have to make choices to go further or faster, we will be able to trust them, because we will have gone through the crisis together. I think that there will be a recovery that will be different: those who have been able to support and be close to their employees will come out on top."

4- Give meaning to what we do

Developing solutions to meet new customer needs in a changing market poses challenges of adaptation and innovation, but also allows you to create value and give meaning to what the company does. Yves Delnatte notes that projects in health, know-how, well-being, clean-tech in general, are more meaningful at the moment than a geolocation application, for example.

A human, logical and calm leader, Yves Delnatte is perhaps also a tightrope walker who tries his hand at business wisdom: he advances on the path to success at the crossroads of relevance and authenticity. "For each new project, companies will now look for meaning. We are not going to develop a project for pleasure, profit or to attract new customers. I think that in the future, we will have to give meaning to what we do, to our customers and to our employees. Human and social values will be at the heart of business."