A striking quote from the great Jacques, dating from 1971 but which, judging by your reactions, has lost none of its relevance. “Leaving Vilvorde” is an ironic reflection which, like many truths, is distinguished as much by its obviousness as by its relevance. A relevance in private life, but also in professional life.
“Leaving Vilvorde”, but what does that mean?
We all have projects and dreams. But actually making them happen… Often, it’s the first step that’s costly and the most difficult to take. In our lives, we have often been confronted with situations that require a decision, a choice. Changing jobs, for example, or radically changing our lifestyle, or launching our own business.
If this first step is so difficult to take, it’s because it makes us leave our comfort zone. Constantly, we are confronted with multiple obligations. Our “life choices” can have a considerable impact on our partner or our family. Yet, once the first step is taken, everything gradually becomes easier. A few years later, “having left Vilvorde” seems obvious. To the point that we often tell ourselves that we should have done it sooner.
Failure, the ideal springboard
Archetype is a family business. Marc Diamant founded the firm in 1993. His sons Davy and Steve joined him at the end of 2023. This continuity is not an anecdote: it’s what allows us to maintain client relationships over 20 years without breaking our methodology, without turnover that erases the memory of cases, without changing direction every three years to follow the latest HR trend. Stability, in a profession based on trust, matters.
As surprising as it may seem, failures are important stages in life’s journey. Provided they are considered as a springboard for taking the big leap. When you’ve lost your job, you’re forced to bounce back. The context is not ideal, however, because the first reaction is often to take the blow and not dare to take risks. Yet, the opportunity is perfect: at that moment, what do you have to lose?
Whether or not you take that first step is your business alone. Your projects and dreams belong to you. It is written nowhere that you are obliged to achieve them. On the other hand, once you have made your decision, “how do you increase your chances of success?”, that’s an essential question!
The starting point? Good preparation. Gather all the necessary information, in order to perfectly analyse the situation. Then, once your project is launched, show determination and focus on what’s essential: your objective. Are there other ingredients for success? Yes, attitude. Learn to make things happen yourself. To move forward, don’t wait for external factors to be favourable. These “external factors” will always exist, but you can influence them far more than you imagine. At Archetype, we attach great importance to making people aware that they can control external factors far more than they imagine. We will return to this point in a future article.
In all situations, there are unknowns. That’s what makes life interesting. It is however possible to master these unknowns through good preparation, in order to reduce the risks inherent in taking the first step. This approach, we call it “the art of change”: limiting uncertainty and calculating risks by preparing meticulously. After that, it’s just a matter of boldness. To take the big leap, you have to dare to launch yourself!
And the great Jacques?
Jacques Brel always achieved his dreams. At least three times, he “left Vilvorde”. On three occasions, he resolutely left his comfort zone. Coming from a bourgeois family and employed in the family cardboard factory, he decided to seize his chance and go to Paris, leaving his family and his three children to achieve his dream: to become a singer. Later, at the height of his fame, he put an end to his singing career to become a film actor. A passion in which he invested body and soul. In 1974, third change of course, literally and figuratively: he bought a sailing boat and embarked on a round-the-world trip. This journey took him to the Marquesas Islands, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where he spent his final days, far from the frenzied crowd.
What HR lesson does Jacques Brel give us?
The world of human resources is evolving at an accelerated pace. To stand out, you need to acquire new skills and abilities, but also attitudes and behaviours. As a specialist in training and recruitment of Sales & Marketing profiles, Archetype values the following qualities: flexibility, adaptability, self-questioning and boldness. These four virtues are now cardinal. Far from being a passing trend, they are the expression of a new mindset. In the future, for each of us, it will be necessary to dare to leave Vilvorde. More than ever.
Marc Diamant, Managing Director, Archetype
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