A meeting with Alice Redon (EDHEC Master 1999), founder of Active Birds

Active Bird offers top executives the chance to “re-capacitate” their teams so they themselves can better meet their own personal and operational needs, gaining both autonomy and responsibility in their professional roles.

Can you tell us how your business came about? 

After 20 years spent supporting company projects and transformations, I became convinced that the increasing number of digital processes and applications had secured and facilitated the activities of businesses but at the same time diminished the capacity of their staff to act using all of their knowledge and responsibility.

I noticed that this phenomenon of “incapacitation” has a cost for businesses: management take excessive responsibility for solving the personal (motivation, well-being) and operational problems faced by staff. This results in a spike in corporate investments to generate “happiness in the workplace”. This question might seem provocative, but is that really their role?

I am resolutely optimistic and passionate about making pragmatic improvements in the way businesses operate, and so I decided to develop a service specifically dedicated to the “re-capacitation” of staff. Using simple methods and an appropriate managerial strategy, businesses gain momentum and can refocus on their fundamental mission: providing products and services of the highest quality to their customers, with all staff members making active contributions and assuming their responsibilities. This generally leads to fulfilment!

What is your initial assessment of this entrepreneurial adventure? 

It took me some time to finally decide to launch Active Bird, as I was held back by the belief that entrepreneurship wasn’t for me. And yet I had always loved that world of audacity and conquest. And so one day, boosted by the entrepreneurs I had met, I said to myself: why not me? I have the capacity.

One and a half years after launching my business, my commercial offer has evolved. I had a tendency to try to produce too quickly and gain new clients with a kind of “Swiss army knife” discourse. I realised just how important it is to have the courage to choose your ground and stick to it. From there your business pitch, communication and the way you work with your clients will flow. I also realise the extent to which that phase generated self-confidence in me on a competitive market.

You graduated from EDHEC Business School; how does that education help you now on your path as an entrepreneur? 

I discovered the field of organizational psycho-sociology 20 years ago at EDHEC, and I was immediately hooked. In 2012 I returned to study it in more depth and in 2019 graduated from the European Association for Transactional Analysis (EATA).

As an entrepreneur, I am also required to think about marketing strategy, engage in analytical accounting, and deal with legal and tax problems. The fundamentals I acquired earlier now allow me to move forward with autonomy and efficiency.

What are your expectations from the community of EDHEC graduates? 

I really appreciate what I learnt at EDHEC and continue to feel a sense of close attachment to the school. I am someone who simply loves the world of business and am eager to contribute to its progress. What I expect from graduates are opportunities to act, share testimonials, develop projects together and share my experience in group dynamics. I would like to be useful to them, whatever form our collaboration may take. So they should feel free to reach out to me!

What’s next for your business?

I operate on two very different markets: major companies I have been working with for a long time, and SMEs and intermediate companies, where I know just how important staff autonomy and responsibility are. This year I have met some fantastic people through my work, and we are now combining our value-added to construct offers of services tailored to organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees.

So I’m in a phase in which I am building up partnerships. Which makes sense, since that’s part of Active Bird’s DNA!

Alice REDON
Alice.redon@activebird.fr / 06.11.19.52.49.
www.activebird.fr