In 2010, Steve Jobs announced the first iPad, but it was only in 2011 that the camera was added to the iPad.  

This camera triggered my entrepreneurial journey. 

Before that, communication on construction projects would happen via phone, email, and face-to-face meetings.

The iPad created a significant opportunity to disrupt the construction sector. Through an app, a foreman could quickly drop a pin on a drawing, take a picture showing the issue, and send a pdf report that needed no explanation. 

In 2012, I founded co-founded Aproplan. We built an app to help contractors, sub-contractors, and architects communicate better in the field.

We got early traction, quickly reaching €1m in ARR, raising funds from angel investors and reputable VC firms. We grew the business from a handful of people to 80 before merging with a Danish player to form LetsBuild, a 150 people-strong company in 5 different countries. 

I could stop the story here and say that everything was fantastic.

But that would only be one side of the story…

Like every entrepreneurial journey, it was a bumpy ride.

It was very stressful and frustrating at times. 

Early on, we had to do a management buy-out to solve a significant founders’ issue that almost killed the company.

We raised money from a reputable VC firm to grow the business.

This brought significant stress to grow faster, especially when you discover that international expansion is super challenging and so dependent on hiring the right people.

We merged with a company in the Nordics and almost doubled in size over night. And while the merger made a lot of sense on paper, merging two very different cultures made me realise it was all about people. 

Along the way, we raised and burned way too much money, hoping that money would solve all our growth problems.

Then COVID hit, and I burned out.

I had spent 8 years building a company. I was traveling 4 days a week, working weekends, and ignoring my family.

In 2021, I met Reggy and Pascal, founders of Q7Leader and discovered the People Model Canvas to me. I saw how powerful it was and all the challenges it would have helped me solve during my journey at Aproplan and LetsBuild.  

Today, I’m the CEO of Q7Leader and help B2B SaaS executives grow their business from 1m€ to 10m€ in a cash-efficient way so they don’t get diluted and keep control of their company. 

I write daily posts on LinkedIn where I share my learnings and the playbooks we use to grow Q7Leader in a cash-efficient way.

Thomas Goubau

This will be my new business OS for 2026.

It’s my biggest breakthrough of last year, and it will definitely change how we do business for the next few years.

I’m very curious…

Have you heard about using Claude Code for business (AKA not for coding software)?

I’m thinking about sharing my learnings here on LinkedIn.
But I’ll only do it if there is interest 👀

Would you like to learn more about this?

P.S. I'm totally obsessed 😬

Growing a B2B SaaS in a cash-efficient way by setting the operational foundations and make sure you have the right people in the right seat • CEO at Q7Leader • Operating Partner at welovefounders •

A 450-person company cut review time by 61%.

Now managers ask me to do MORE reviews, not less.

Two years ago, their annual cycle felt like torture.

HR chased forms.
Managers copied old comments.
Employees left reviews angry, not engaged.

They called us for a new tool.
They received a new ritual.

We killed long forms.
And we introduced:

• One shared General Expectation Profile for every role
• One simple D.O.T. structure for every 1‑1
• One 7‑minute prep ritual for every manager

Before a 1‑1, a manager now spends only 7 minutes of preparation per team member.

No more page-long notes, no more vague feedback.

During the 1‑1, both manager and employee see the same picture:

• Clear role expectations
• Concrete definitions, not gut feelings

Result after one cycle:

• 61% less time for reviews across the company
• Perceived fairness score up by 27 points
• Quote from one manager: “I love annual reviews.”

Performance management stopped being “evaluation”.
Performance management became “enabling performance”.

When managers ask for MORE reviews, I guess we created a system that works.

You told yourself you'd deal with pay transparency "in 2026" ... Well, it's 2026!

The EU Pay Transparency Directive is no longer a future problem. Deadlines are approaching, and most companies still don't have a plan.

550+ HR leaders have already joined our live sessions to get clarity on what's actually required.

Here's what we cover in 45 minutes:

→ What the directive actually requires (beyond the headlines)
→ A simple 5-step method to reach compliance
→ Where to start this quarter without getting overwhelmed

This Friday, you could finally have a clear roadmap instead of a vague sense of dread.

👉 Save your spot here: https://lnkd.in/er2CFqnz

P.S. We keep sessions small so you can ask questions - don't wait to book your spot 😉

Most founders have it backwards.

Last month, a former founder told me about a CEO in his portfolio who was perpetually overwhelmed. The diagnosis was simple: he was a 20/80 leader when he needed to be 80/20.

This CEO was dedicating only 20% of his time to high-leverage strategic decisions that only he could make, while burning 80% on tactical work others could handle.

Successful founders flip this ratio.

There's a classic example about a world-class surgeon who's also an excellent typist. Should she spend afternoons typing medical records? Obviously not. Her unique value is performing life-saving surgeries.

The same applies to startup founders.

The best founders focus on their "Zone of Genius" - where three things intersect:

1. Work that only you can do.
2. Work with the most organizational impact.
3. Work that genuinely energizes you.

That third element is critical. You might excel at financial modeling, but if it drains you, it's not your Zone of Genius.

Maybe yours is product vision, team building, or storytelling.

That's where your 80% should go.

20 years of International HR, 17 years of Faculty at Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management, 8 years of Entrepreneurship in HRtech. 

Reggy-Charles Degen

Most teams start the year with goals.

I start it with 7 pacts between managers and employees.

And I call it the GEP: General Expectations Pact.

A GEP is simple:

Two people. One role. A mutual promise.

• What the employee commits to deliver for the organization
• What the manager commits to put in place so s.he can perform and grow

No magic.
No slogans.
Just clear foundations.

I use 7 GEPs, from junior roles to top leadership:

1️⃣ Support
Concrete, specific, repetitive tasks. Very short term. Close supervision.
Manager: clear scope, tight follow-up, tools, training, frequent feedback.

2️⃣ Administrator
Work in a clear frame, choose from known options, small improvements.
Manager: documented goals, structured follow-up, support for new tasks.

3️⃣ Coordinator
Coordinate activities, align stakeholders, complex analysis, more autonomy.
Manager: clear results, co-built deliverables, success criteria, visibility.

4️⃣ Implementation Management
Middle manager. Processes, projects, tactical decisions, 12–18 months.
Manager: overall objectives, plans and KPIs, coaching, priority support.

5️⃣ Operational Development
Senior leader. Translate strategy into plans, lead key processes and teams.
Manager: strategic clarity, broad autonomy, real performance reviews.

6️⃣ Policy Development
Executive. Co-create vision, set policies and standards, shape the system.
Manager: clarify big stakes, maximum autonomy, strategic reviews.

7️⃣ Strategy Development
Top level. Define vision and mission, lead big changes, shape the future.
Manager: clear governance, open access to key issues, full trust.

-
How close are your current roles to a clear pact like this?

P.S. I've added each pact as a full text message in the comments below ⬇️ You can copy/paste one and send it to your colleague to kick off the year on great foundations 😉

Founder of Q7Leader | Author of the People Model Canvas | Human Resources Professor at Solvay Business School

For the first time since WWII, France had more deaths than births in 2024. This is not just another statistic. It’s your HR strategy alarm.

We are watching a demographic pyramid flip in real time.

Young talent is now a rare resource.

I'm sorry, but the war for talent is over...  Talent has won.

You see it every day:

• Young candidates have so many opportunities
• Junior profiles requesting flexibility, purpose, impact
• New hires asking for meaning and “harmocracy”, not only salary

Older generations, mine included, grew up with a different rulebook.

We tried to:

• Create value
• Be recognized as “good workers”
• Keep our job and maybe grow, if we stood out from a big crowd

Today, the crowd is smaller than ever.
So younger workers hold the power we never had.

If you still manage talent like before, you will lose.

Because you can:

• Complain they are “too demanding”
• Blame “Gen Y, Gen Z” for low loyalty
• Push the old promise: pay, title, stability

Or you can accept a simple fact:

The market has changed.

How will you adapt your HR strategy to reflect this new demographic reality?

Women, if you’re paid less than men, you’ll soon be able to request 10 years of compensation from your employer. HR, if this freaks you out, here’s what you need to know:

The EU Pay Transparency Directive changes the game for everyone.

Not only for big companies.
Not only for “later”.

You will need to explain how you pay, why you pay, and prove there is no unfair gap.

That means three big things for HR and leaders in the EU:

• You must know your numbers
• You must explain your decisions
• You must document your full pay story

The good news: when you do this well, you achieve more than “compliance”.

You build trust.
You improve retention.
You boost engagement.

Example: at Easyfairs, we used the People Model Canvas as a base for their rewards approach.

In three years, they reduced their gender pay gap from 10% to 3% !

Not with magic.
But with a fair and standardized approach.

In our next webinar, our CEO Thomas will share:

1️⃣ What the EU Pay Transparency Directive means in practice
2️⃣ A simple five-step framework to move to true compliance
3️⃣ Concrete actions to embed equal pay into your culture

In 45 minutes, we will talk about:

→ How to map your current pay reality
→ How to document decisions on pay and promotions
→ How to prepare managers for new salary questions

If you work in HR or you lead people in the EU, you cannot ignore this.

Book your spot now: https://lnkd.in/esnk-UFD

P.S. if you want to go beyond “tick the box” and use this directive as a driver of fairness and performance, this session is for you.

Nobody teaches you how to be a parent.

Turns out, nobody teaches you how to be a manager either.

First child.
First team.

In both cases, you learn on the job.
By trial and error.
In front of an audience.

Yet we give managers one of the hardest topics at work:

• Who gets a raise
• Who does not
• How big the gap is
• Why the decision makes sense

With almost no training at all.

Data shows 82% of managers get promoted for technical skill.

Not for listening.
Not for empathy.
Not for pay talks.

Then we push them into compensation reviews and say:
“Explain the pay decision. Keep engagement high. Stay on budget.”

When they struggle, we blame them.

In my experience, most managers are not bad at these talks.
They are alone in these talks.

HR and L&D can fix a big part of this.

Three concrete moves I see working:

1️⃣ Give a simple shared language
→ Explain how pay works in plain words
→ Use clear examples and ranges
→ Train managers to repeat the same story

2️⃣ Train the conversation, not only the process
→ Role-play real pay talks
→ Practice saying “no” with respect
→ Prepare answers to hard questions

3️⃣ Stand next to managers, not above them
→ Validate that these talks are hard
→ Give them scripts and cheat sheets
→ Join key conversations when stakes are high

Top performing companies do not have better managers.
They have better support around managers.

How are you equipping your managers for the next compensation cycle?

I don’t pretend I’m different. Like many others I need to find a way to change!

J’aide les entrepreneurs et dirigeants en phase de croissance à produire 50 vidéos en moins d’1 jour de travail 🗣️ | Vous n’aurez plus jamais peur de la caméra 😌 | +100 podcasts créés 🎙️ | La garantie d’un rendu pro ↯

Connecté à tout sauf à ton prochain !


C’est tellement vrai.

En ce moment, je suis tellement heureux que je connecte avec tout le monde, y compris dans la rue, les transports publics, les magasins.

Sur mon Iphone, les icônes sont monochromes
(je dois réfléchir avant d’en ouvrir une)

Le téléphone est devenu un outil pratique ; 
mais plus une béquille émotionnelle.

Et j’en suis tellement soulagé.

Je vous propose une expérience.

Quand vous avez fini la lecture de ce post, allez parler à un inconnu ou à un proche.

Ecoutez ce qu’il vous dit avec attention.

Soyez dans l'écoute active,  l’empathie, l’amour.

Soyez dans l’instant présent.

Ça fait du bien, hein ?

You can't eliminate bias. But you can outnumber it.

For 20 years in HR, I tried to make performance “objective”.

Scores. Rating scales. KPIs out of 5.

On paper, everything looked clean and fair.

In reality?
Every number came from one brain. One story. One bias.

Your background.
Your personality.
Your own definition of “high performance”.

You cannot remove this.

The wrong answer is to pretend it does not exist.
The right answer is to design for it.

I call it “collective subjectivity”.

Instead of chasing a fake objectivity, you create a system where several subjective views meet and confirm each other.

In practice, for key people decisions (promotion, bonus, talent review), I push for:

• 3-4 independent evaluators per person
• Each view based on the same framework and language
• A calibration where people compare data, not ego

When 3 or 4 managers, who work with someone in different ways, align on a view, you reach something very close to “objective”.

Not because bias has gone.
Because no single bias rules.

This is where the People Model Canvas helps a lot.

Common language.
Shared criteria.
Structured data about people.

Once managers use the same map, collective subjectivity becomes possible.
You get decisions you can explain, defend, and repeat.

Not perfect.
But far more fair than one manager’s “gut feel” or one lonely rating.

What do you think?
Is this close enough to "objectivity" for you?

For those who still ask themselves why we are so passionate about what we do with Q7leader and the People Model Canvas: read this. The future of HR is right here if you can provide high quality data on three dimensions: organisation, talent and reward.

Global Industry Analyst, I study all aspects of HR, business leadership, corporate L&D, recruiting, and HR technology. ✨

The Great Reinvention of HR Has Begun. Learn how #AI is reinventing HR teams and the entire HR profession. It's all positive but it's happening fast.
Detailed article: https://lnkd.in/gzCqpMm7 podcast: https://lnkd.in/gEYp9Krx

Un peu de douceur dans ce monde de brutes 😉

Quelle superbe reconnaissance !

Nous sommes extrêmement fiers que Q7Leader ait été nommé aux HR Excellence Awards dans la catégorie "Best Talent Assessment & Growth Company".

Cette nomination est le fruit d'une enquête 100% objective menée auprès de 1.718 décideurs RH belges sur la qualité de service, la réputation et la satisfaction client. C'est ce qui la rend aussi précieuse à nos yeux.

Félicitations aux autres nominés : FENIX Consulting, ITZU Talent Solutions, Quintessence, Select Beople et VALPEO. Belle compétition en perspective 😉

Merci à tous nos clients et partenaires qui nous font confiance. 🙏

Et maintenant... le vote du public entre en jeu pour départager les nominés 🗳️

Alors plutôt que de simplement vous demander de voter pour nous, on vous propose autre chose :

Venez découvrir pourquoi nous sommes nominés.

Nous organisons une session gratuite de 90 minutes où nous partageons la méthodologie du People Model Canvas, qui est au cœur de tout ce que nous faisons.

Prochaines sessions :
→ 🇫🇷 16 février (en français)
→ 🇬🇧 24 février (en anglais)

Inscrivez-vous ici : https://lnkd.in/dKVtq_vT

- - -

Wat een fantastische erkenning!

We zijn ontzettend trots dat Q7Leader genomineerd is voor de HR Excellence Awards in de categorie "Best Talent Assessment & Growth Company".

Deze nominatie is het resultaat van een 100% objectief onderzoek bij 1.718 Belgische HR-beslissingsnemers over kwaliteit van dienstverlening, reputatie en klanttevredenheid. Dat maakt deze nominatie zo waardevol voor ons.

Proficiat aan de andere genomineerden: FENIX Consulting, ITZU Talent Solutions, Quintessence, Select Beople en VALPEO. Mooie competitie in het vooruitzicht 😉

Dank aan al onze klanten en partners voor hun vertrouwen. 🙏

En nu... de stem van het publiek telt mee om de genomineerden te onderscheiden 🗳️

Dus in plaats van u simpelweg te vragen om op ons te stemmen, stellen we iets anders voor:

Kom ontdekken waarom we genomineerd zijn.

We organiseren een gratis sessie van 90 minuten waarin we de methodologie van het People Model Canvas delen, de basis van alles wat we doen.

Volgende sessies:
→ 🇫🇷 16 februari (in het Frans)
→ 🇬🇧 24 februari (in het Engels)

Schrijf je hier in: https://lnkd.in/dJPpjNbM

Chroniqueur économique | Hôte d’un cercle où les dirigeants parlent sans filtre

Nous avons fini par nous résigner à l'idée que la Russie avait gagné la partie. C’est pourtant l’exact inverse qui se produit.
C'est vrai que dans le brouhaha médiatique actuel, un narratif russe, largement repris aux États-Unis et en Europe, tente de s'imposer : Moscou serait irrésistible et l'Europe dépassée. 
Pourtant, une analyse froide des faits démontre le contraire. Lors du forum de Davos, le Premier ministre finlandais a livré une démonstration implacable qui mérite que l'on s'y attarde pour comprendre les véritables enjeux.

Pour bien saisir la situation, il faut distinguer la propagande de la réalité militaire et, surtout, de la logique économique.

1. L'annexion politique : L'objectif n°1 était de faire de l'Ukraine une partie de la Russie. Résultat ? L'Ukraine est en voie d'adhésion à l'Union Européenne.

2. L'élargissement de l'OTAN : L'objectif n°2 était de stopper l'OTAN. Résultat ? La Finlande et la Suède ont rejoint l'Alliance, doublant la frontière directe entre l'OTAN et la Russie.

3. La démilitarisation : L'objectif n°3 était d'affaiblir militairement l'Europe. Résultat ? Nous nous réarmons massivement, en ralant mais avec des dépenses de défense atteignant parfois pour certains pays 5% du PIB.

Au-delà de la géopolitique, le constat opérationnel est accablant. La projection de puissance russe (Syrie, Venezuela) s'effrite, et sur le terrain ukrainien, l'avancée des forces russes représente moins d'un point de pourcentage de territoire conquis ces deux dernières années.

Le prix de cette stagnation ? 34.000 morts pour le seul mois de décembre, selon les chiffres évoqués à Davos.

Mais le point le plus critique soulevé à Davos est économique. L'économie russe est en en ruine : Inflation à deux chiffres, réserves de change à sec, croissance nulle hors économie de guerre.

L'analyse du premier ministre finlandais conclut sur un paradoxe inquiétant : Vladimir Poutine ne continue pas la guerre parce qu'il gagne, mais parce qu'il ne peut pas se permettre d'arrêter. La guerre est devenue "too big to fail" pour le Kremlin. L'arrêt des combats signifierait devoir affronter la réalité d'une économie incapable de payer ses soldats ou de soutenir sa population.

Et donc, oui, ce discours tranche avec le pessimisme ambiant. Il rappelle que l'Europe, souvent critiquée pour sa lenteur, et j'en fais partie d'ailleurs, a réussi là où Poutine a échoué : l'unité et la réaction stratégique.

Nous entrons dans une phase critique où le soutien à l'Ukraine et la pression économique sont les seuls leviers pour forcer une négociation réelle, et non une capitulation déguisée.

Et vous, partagez-vous cette lecture "optimiste" du premier ministre Finlandais sur la capacité de résilience de l'Europe face à la machine de guerre russe ? Ou craignez-vous que l'usure (fatigue des opinions publiques) ne finisse par l'emporter ?

taplio

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Reggy-Charles Degen

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taplio

The Battle

Thomas Goubau

Reggy-Charles Degen

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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);}Thomas Goubau's LinkedIn Performance

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