Learning with Olivier Jeannel de Thiersant / CEO at Rogervoice
Filter out the noise, and focus on what matters most.
Hi there 😊,
Episode #47. You may like to call them, entrepreneurs with a mission. I am so happy to have you spend the new few minutes with Olivier, founder @Rogervoice. “Roger, do you copy?”. I had a dream that a Unicorn could be deaf someday soon.
Born and raised in California, deaf since age2, Olivier Jeannel experienced very varied career tracks. A 2x graduate from the University of California at Berkeley + the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, his early interest in international relations led him to work at the US State Department in Washington DC.
Seeking to combine international affairs and tech, Olivier eventually transitioned to financial strategy and content development. After 8 years at Orange, a telecom giant based in Paris, he started Rogervoice, a company that helps the deaf and people having hearing difficulties … making phone calls. The first truly worldwide captioned-phone system, operating on all continents, uses voice recognition technology in over a hundred languages.
Source: Olivier Jeannel. SEBASTIEN SORIANO/Le Figaro
Who are the people who inspire you the most?
I’d say the author Roald Dahl for his wit and humor. Victor Santiago Pineda, a friend, and notable disability rights scholar, for his wisdom, humor, and clearsightedness on many topics.
What are your favorite books and why?
As an avid book reader, this is a difficult question! Since I’m a bit nostalgic at the moment, I’d pick two books :
Men to Match My Mountains by Irving Stone for the epic sagas of the conquest of the American West. It brings a level of perspective to life and the craziness of human endeavors.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy for the undiluted prose, gritty action, and surreal narrative. It's a hair-raising trip through the 19th-century American Southwest.
Both books deal with resilience, adventures, and humanity, themes that resonate with me.
What are your favorite podcast episodes, and why?
I don’t listen to podcasts, but I do follow blogs. The ones I look forward to the most these days are written by Laetitia Vitaud and Nicolas Colin.
Laetitia Vitaud writes on the future of work, skill development, and women. Her perspective is refreshing and insightful, and her work is widely read through her contributions to Welcome to the Jungle’s blog.
Nicolas Colin shares insights on the economy by blending historical and current events and gives a fresh take on business models and what makes companies thrive. I get new insights on markets and strategy every time I read one of his articles.
Fun fact: Laetitia and Nicolas are married and have two children. They have a shared blog (in French) Nouveau Départ on society, current events, and work.
How do you remember what you learn?
I’m a very visual learner. I love abstract concepts and intellectual debates. But, when it comes to applying theory to practice, nothing beats concrete examples.
What would you tell the 18 years old version of yourself?
You’re doing fine! Keep it up :-)
What is the most important thing you learned over the last 12 months?
Taking time out for friends and family. It’s not new, but it becomes more and more important to me. The current pandemic offered an opportunity to question things, filter out the noise, and focus on what matters most.
What is the biggest challenge you had to overcome this year, and how did you do that?
I’ve had to reorganize my company as it was growing from twenty to forty employees. It’s a delicate exercise to develop and change structures at work, as people, roles, and egos always need to be considered in the balance.
The three most important aspects are clarity of roles, ensuring recognition where it’s due, and getting the right people on the job. Getting it right is much easier said than done! Hiring an HR manager helped a great deal in that respect. I never thought I’d have praise for hiring HR roles, but yes, it’s totally underrated and has been very valuable to our growth process.
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