Jean-Philippe Borel

JPB MEDIA & COACHING

Founder

Infosys

Program Manager

Project Manager

Capgemini

Sopra Group

Logica

Analyst

Providing Building Blocks to Solopreneurs

I have always loved building SYSTEMS.

At 24 y/o, I built a small video game for fun.

In my late twenties / early thirties, I was a software developer in IT companies. I got the opportunity to be in a team that was building a BIG product for EDF (French Electricity Company) to manage electrical power plants. The cool part of that project was that I got to grow on many dimensions of software development: databases, server installations, object oriented programming and more.

From my early thirties, I moved into leadership roles but I would still create Excel products for myself to increase my productivity.

In 2021, I built my first web application using Bubble. I was expecting to release it as a SAAS to market but I decided not to. The product was good, myself and another user were using the system on a daily basis, but I didn’t believe it would work as a SAAS so I dropped the idea.

End 2022/ beginning 2023, I built my first website with Bubble.

On 13th of February 2023, I launched my Solopreneur business part time next to my full time corporate job and released my first online course.

On 11th of October 2024, I released Togenda, a new way to manage tasks with Notion.

I raise the level of my SYSTEMS constantly, it's an endless improvement loop.

My mental model is: "I am 0.1% stronger&wiser today than I was yesterday".

Senior Partner Manager at Hootsuite | Enterprise Alliances with MarTech SaaS | Head of Sales & Marketing at MyRisk | Board Director | Author of "Connect & Act - Systematic Social Selling"

The world is working in a hybrid mode - many continue to commute to their workplace while others work from home. How to find technology to enable and manage this new way of working?

The Australian ICT industry is unique: it is an ideal test market for new technologies and services. I moved to Sydney in 2016 to apply my 20 years of European ICT industry experience to the Aussie cloud and software business combining sales and marketing activities, mostly with partner companies.

Since I came to Sydney, I developed myself as a strategic networker bringing people together face to face and online using Social Selling techniques. I became an educator sharing this passion especially while serving the channel in Australia and Asia Pacific in the Software-as-a-Service industry.

I am passionate about the transformation of modern workplaces to embrace new ways of collaboration. Cloud based tools, mobility and Artificial Intelligence enable these trends. I consult and guide my audience as a trusted advisor along the change journey, to prepare for a connected tomorrow.

In addition to modern IT trends I care about heritage architecture, enjoy cultural activities and write about travel. As a published author of 22 books including two hotel guides, I combine these streams together.

Adapting my subject matter expertise and leadership experience to the next level, I serve as Board Director of my favourite hotel in Sydney.

Gunnar Habitz

Fun to be in the sales profession if you see these photos from yesterday‘s LiveHaus  event!
🥂
But not all have reasons to be happy as 42% of salesreps don‘t make quota and 91% in APAC report burnout (highest in the world).

Where to find out what to do with it?

Yesterday‘s SalesHaus event at The Commons in Sydney was the place where Australia‘s top #B2Bsales people came together.

Joe Hindmarsh MBA from Highspot set the scene with shocking facts line those reported above - but shows how #salesenablement platforms can improve the revenue impact (especially through partners).

Here are my key takeaways from some of the panelists, well moderated by 🚀 Saurabh Kaura: 

- Ricky Pearl: The best performing salesreps didn‘t change their approach radically from AI

- Steve Tolen: People still buy from people, we can‘t automate the relationship building process

- Adem Manderovic: Quota-hitting teams don‘t try harder, they engineer certainty in an GTM architecture approach (launching his book in 2026!)

My two cents: Authencity as sellers - also through #partnership - is key to win client trust. Using AI-powered tech tools is a short cut to be more efficient and creative - but not a replacement for the power of human connection.

What‘s your tip to remain connected in the sales profession?

Helping boutique marketing agencies scale through human connection, automation & AI-powered workflows | Agency Ecosystem Lead @ ActiveCampaign (APAC)

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The moment every agency founder laughed last week 😄 

At both ActiveCampaign agency events I ran over the last two weeks, the same moment kept happening:

I’d make an observation about how agencies grow… and the room would burst into knowing laughter.

Less about making fun but rather because it was true for everyone in the room.

Here are the three responses that got the strongest reactions:

1️⃣ “You have more work than ever and somehow less space to think.”

2️⃣ “Every agency has one process that only lives in someone’s head.”

3️⃣ “Your team doesn't burn out from client work, they’re burnt out from context switching.”

Every event break had variations of the same story, such as:
- “We added clients but our delivery rhythm didn’t change.”
- “We know what ‘good’ looks like but we’re just too underwater to do it consistently.”
- “We’re not disorganised, just operating in different worlds.”

What I loved most about the conversations was how shared the feedback was; nobody felt alone in the room.

And it fits to this slide: We're sitting in the same boat.

Let me ask something that everyone can answer without naming tools, processes or platforms:

What is the part of agency life that always makes you laugh because it is universally true - like the 37th revision of “final_v4” or the unpredictable Friday 4:55pm request?

Drop yours in the comments, keen to learn and share!

#partnerships #digitalmarketing #agencylife #agencyleaders #agencygrowth

Do you know the sentence: "The shoemaker wears the worst shoes?" Sounds familiar especially in marketing?

This week I did something I haven’t done properly in a long time: I rebuilt my own LinkedIn profile from the ground up - not for vanity or keywords.

I wanted to answer one question I often ask agencies:

“Does your profile express who you actually are or rather the version you created three years ago?”

Here’s what surprised me when I looked at my own: My identity had evolved, but my language hadn’t. The work I’m doing with agencies today is partially visible in the content but not reflected clearly enough.

That's what agencies told me about their clients but often don't do that for themselves. They grow but their own website and LinkedIn profile stay in the old lanes.

Here are my tips after that exercise, noted in this 367th episode of #socialsellingmonday all about using #LinkedIn to stand out and be relevant to the right people in an #AI sea of sameness within the feed.

1. Start with your identity, not job titles. Nobody cares how roles are called internally, it need to be understandable for the readers.

2. Write the content in the jargon of your clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) as they need to get it (e.g. "He talks about my challenges").

3. Craft your About and Experience sections accordingly. Not corporate KPIs achievements but rather what the outcome means for the reader.

4. Add learning from outside of your core role as a flavour of your character and capabilities instead of a second or third job (good learning for me).

In the view of my "Happy Habits" book: Positioning is a rhythm, not a one-off project. That rhythm becomes a regular habit.

Thanks to Matt Lakajev for the inspiration and urgency to tackle that task.

When was the last time that you changed your profile?

What is the key activity as event organiser, main speaker or MC? Hint: it's not about the content.

Running our two ActiveCampaign Evolving Agency Series events in Sydney and Melbourne recently I discovered my main task:

Connecting people (remember the good old Nokia slogan)?

This event format is designed for marketing agencies - in theory they all compete. In reality everyone can add something extra to the table.

Here are my tips in this 368th episode of #socialsellingmonday in a #socialselling or #networking approach for events.

1. Research about the participants beforehand - easy as organiser, possible also as an attendee with a bit of social listening.

2. Prepare conversation starters for 1:1 and group discussions to ensure you contribute and learn at the same time.

3. For organisers: prepare moments for introductions, enhance breaks to allow networking, give the participants a task to discuss.

4. Create a post afterwards sharing your learning with our audience. That way you can position your expertise and connect with relevant people.

Bonus tip: I created name tags with their names and companies large enough to read plus a QR code with their LinkedIn profile - so easy to connect!

What's your tip to connect during events like this?

One of the biggest conversations in last week's agency events wasn't about AI, campaigns or tools. Instead we talked about niching and productisation.

These two topics made every founder sit up a little straighter.

And I learnt that agencies are not afraid of choosing a niche, it's rather difficult for them to choose the wrong ones.

I heard comments like
- "We can do so much for everyone but where do we draw the line?"
- "If we niche too hard, what if we lose the clients we already have?"
- "Our work is custom-built so how do we productise something that changes every week?"

But then something shifted as founders began recognising what they already kind of knew deep inside: You niche so that the right clients recognise you instantly.

And productisation helps giving your team breathing space through rhythm and repeatability.

I remember one founder told me: "We solve the same five problems every month but we describe them like 42."

Then I learned by myself that niching lives in repeatable work. We just have to find enough businesses who suffer from repeatable problems.

Hyper-niching means focusing your energy where it actually creates momentum.

What is the repeatable problem your best clients always return to you for?

#marketing #marketingautomation #EvolvingAgencySeries

Public speaking gets easier when you treat it as a good habit, not a star performance. Here's how to get there.
🎤
Over the last two weeks I spoke at two ActiveCampaign Partner Events in two cities, first in my home town in Sydney, then in Melbourne 🇦🇺.

My global teammates delivered the same concept in London, Copenhagen, São Paulo, Boston and in San Diego just yesterday.

Each room was different, each conversation took its own direction. And because I had already spoken so many times before, it all felt natural in my events down under.

That is the quiet benefit of public speaking: the more you do it, the less you need to prepare for it - simply because you’ve built the muscle.

You know how to read the room, adjust your pace, and follow the energy. You neither freeze not overthink. You simply step in and start.

Speaking often removes the drama from speaking at all. And when you treat public speaking as a good habit worth building instead of the heroic star performance, it becomes something you can rely on.

Whether it’s a panel panel, a fireside chat or a short presentation in front of a small group, you carry the same rhythm with you.

Please check my "4-2-1 Habit" episode (my weekly version of James Clear's famous 3-2-1 newsletter):
4️⃣  mini insights what public speaking can help you achieve
2️⃣  habit building actions to perform regularly
1️⃣  reflection question

👉 https://lnkd.in/g5tqvuc3

How do you build your #publicspeaking muscle?

Where is the place to meet startup founders, entrepreneurs, professionals, students and people in the #startup community for relaxed morning #networking?

Happy to invite you to the last session of Open Coffee Sydney at the Charles Darwin University near Central Station this Friday morning.

Why would you want to attend? It is the right place to look for a mentor, investor, client, co-founder, employer, vendor, inspiration, or a new friend.

Proud to volunteer at Open Coffee alongside Raghav Ravisankar, Kieran Longhurst, Peter Do and team for this monthly event.

Event Details:
📅 Date: Friday, 5 December 2025
⏰ Time: 8.30 AM - 10 AM
📍 Location: Charles Darwin University Sydney Campus, 815 George Street, Haymarket NSW 2000 (Level 8 Room 8.04/5)

I love the discussions with participants - met a range of marketing agencies over the last year as well.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to engage with Sydney’s vibrant startup community. 🌐

👉 Reserve your spot now: https://luma.com/pxxyuyi5
(RSVP is essential!)

See you there!

Three years ago, ChatGPT 3.5 was released and AI shifted from a niche tech topic only known by nerds to a true mass phenomenon.

Since then, AI has flooded our feeds, our tools, our workflows, and our minds.

Besides the obvious usage of gaining efficiency there are so many voices against the over usage of AI.

The 3-year anniversary was the right moment to review the book "Everyday Ethical AI" by Karen Smiley.

Most AI books are either written for engineers or tech geeks - or they are carried away by the hype.

Karen did something far more useful: she explains AI ethics in plain language and shows how everyday people can make responsible choices.

In my latest book review, I share why this book is especially valuable for parents & families, for founders & solopreneurs and also for non-technical professionals.

The review comes with an interview where Karen also shared her experience about writing the book with tips for fellow authors.

How confident do you feel about the ethical side of the tools you use every day?

#learnfrombookswithgunnar #bookreview #AI

AI is everywhere these days with the majority of social media content being either written or influenced by generative AI apps like ChatGPT, Claude, G

Open article: How to Navigate AI in an Ethical Way by Gunnar Habitz • 9 min read

From the moment my team mates presented at the Webflow conference earlier this year, I got drawn back into web design - especially as it integrates well with ActiveCampaign.

While preparing my own new website built in Webflow for my new book series (coming still before Christmas!), I enjoyed the discussions with Webflow agency partners over the last couple of weeks.

What unites those #partnership discussions: they can add a monthly recurring revenue by promoting ActiveCampaign in addition to their website projects (which look years ahead of traditional Wordpress sites).

So good to see that we're included in Webflow's ebook with a chapter about AI agents that generate hypotheses, launch variations, and optimise in real-time.

This isn't theoretical. One team we work with cut their campaign build time by 15 days. Another saw 88% faster time-to-value after consolidating their stack.

They all stopped asking "how do we use AI" and started asking "what should we stop doing manually?"

👉 Download the ebook here: https://lnkd.in/gcY_7UZv

PS: Thanks Gwen Sioson (Shaw-son), Tresa Bild and team for building that connection with Webflow!

I turned my last name into a habit, and that habit became 28 books. Most people talk about consistency. Very few build their identity around it.

Last week I had a Substack Live with Natasha Tynes which she turned into a thoughtful article reflecting on writing, publishing, networking, and Happy Habits.

Natasha captured my journey from travel writing to self-publishing, why books act as credibility engines, and how intentional networking becomes a lifelong practice.

As a published author and acclaimed ghostwriter for memoir books, we also discussed how to use LinkedIn and Substack not just to publish, but to build relationships and grow consistently.

Some highlights from our conversastion:
📚 How travel guides became a foundation for exploring other genres
📈 Why I view books as trust-builders and door-openers more than just products
✍️ The role of Substack in writing Happy Habits in public
🤝 A networking approach grounded in curiosity and generosity
🔁 My take on LinkedIn newsletters vs. email newsletters

Check out the full piece here, a great read if you’re building an audience, publishing your work, or curious about writing as a habit:

👉 https://lnkd.in/gJD9X_9q

Thanks again, Natasha — I love how you brought the ideas to life! 🙌

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The Battle

Jean-Philippe Borel

Gunnar Habitz

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The Battle

Jean-Philippe Borel

Gunnar Habitz

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Gunnar Habitz's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreGunnar Habitz's LinkedIn Performance