Relationships are more important than individuals

Placing humans at the center of our organizations is, in reality, something we have always done. Driven by a heroic imagination and the figure of the visionary leader who transforms an imperfect, passive, or even nonexistent world, we have always maintained a somewhat paternalistic relationship with everything around us—be it the natural world, human nature, or space. This is even a defining characteristic of organizations in Western markets. Ph. Descola demonstrated this nearly 40 years ago.

Par Stéphane Hugon • 14 Sep 24

The content of this article is accessible in french.

Stéphane Hugon, Ph.D., is a sociologist, Co-founder and President of Eranos, and a lecturer at ENSCI. He has advised Pernod Ricard on consumer transformations related to conviviality, LVMH on the intersection of luxury and the sacred, L’Oréal Research on innovation projects, and Groupama on policyholder engagement. His work is particularly focused on ensuring the acceptability of offerings and mitigating risks in investments where intercultural dynamics are a key factor for success.

❝Once the individual is seen as a separate entity, the individual and the community come into conflict with each other in an irreconcilable tension.❞

— Alain Anquetil, Philosophe

Relationships are more important than individuals

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