Richard Sibalier – Shaping the future
By Fatima Gorezi
Founder of Richard Conseil Consultants, Senior Consultant Executive Coach and Corporate Trainer. He advises and helps leaders to make distinctive, lasting, and substantial improvements in performance.
Richard believes that continued self-development is something very important and one of the pillars of growth. In this cover story for Global Man Magazine he shares with us some important details of his journey, his experience in coaching and why he believes that coaching can help people to get results in their projects, business and everyday life.
He speaks about how to build a real business and not just one to be self-employed. He also goes into detail about what’s needed at this time when technology is flowing and how some things in the modern workplace have changed and improved.
What can you tell us about your childhood and upbringing and how it has influenced you?
I came from business family: my father was a well-known businessman.
I grew up close to him, accompanying him in every step in his business life since I was child.
Being surrounded by this professional business life influenced me a lot to be an entrepreneur.
Who are your family today and what are your personal interests?
I have a beautiful wife with three adorable successful children. At the main time my personal interest is business clubs membership, voluntary work, community involvement, blogging and sports.
Being an entrepreneur, how much would you is due to nature, your genes, and how much is it instinct and nurture?
To be an entrepreneur is something to born with. It’s something in your DNA. But this alone is not enough. These genes must be refined with study, hard work and experiences.
What attracted you to become involved with coaching?
I believe in the power of sharing our experience. The key to make your life really unique Is to share what you know. I wanted to share my experience with the world, because when you discover something, it only has a value if it provides benefits to the society. The first thing that you should think about is: How can I share it with the world? And How can I make it available for everyone?
Why do you believe that continual personal development is so important for everyone?
I believe in change; change is one of the pillars of growth.
The continual personal development is a powerful tool to raise skills and competitiveness.
You are a very Corporate Trainer as well. What are the common challenges faced while training coordinators?
There is a big gap between what people learn in universities and in the real business life. The way of theoretical training must change.
Corporate trainers must be more than typical trainers. They have to be interactive course designers and must deliver real value.
After 20 years of experience, I express my corporate training philosophy in one sentence: “I don’t teach words, I teach a real business experience”.
What life and business lesson did you learn from these experiences?
Life is a journey of tenderness: the more you give, the more you take.
How do you see the role of women in business and as speakers on the big stages, now and in the future?
Nowadays we see a lot of successful feminine leadership across all business sectors. Women have started to take their real place in business life. It is inspirational to see keynote speakers on the big stages, help and influence more women into leadership.
Why and how did you find your passion for empowering people in business?
The idea to be useful, making an impact and changing the business life of someone to become better naturally attracted me.
My passion is to transfer my experience and to help entrepreneurs to fulfill their ambitions to achieve growth and to turn their passion into a successful business.
What words of wisdom would you give to our readers, either already successful or aspiring to succeed?
If you ask me to describe myself in one word, I will tell you that I am the risk itself. So take the risk and enjoy the journey of entrepreneurship.
As someone who’s built successful, large-scale teams, I’d be curious about your leadership and people-management philosophy?
“Human capital” is our most valued asset.
“My management philosophy is to provide an environment that leads to productive employees. Provide guidance, direction, leadership, and finally set an example to subordinates.”
Our group established a training center to train our employees. The programs cover all areas of:
- Strategic management
- Strategic Planning
- Brand Management
- Marketing strategy
- Sales strategy
- Customer Experience
What are some of the characteristics you look for in the people you hire?
Actually there are “10 Qualities to Look for in New Hires”
. Long Term Potential
. Enthusiasm
. Ambition
. Putting Skills to Action
. Team Player
. Responsiveness
. Communication Skills
But the most important thing is to be Passionate about our group and about what they do.
How do you ensure that you enjoy brand loyalty among your customers?
Loyalty Is not a given, it needs to be earned,
It needs to be earned and constantly nurtured. Loyalty is all about the customer.
The biggest misconception brands have when it comes to the loyalty question is the definition of where it starts and what it looks like.
Too many brands make the mistake that loyalty begins and ends with great offers and meeting the customer’s needs at point-of-sale.
Any brand can offer great discounts. Any brand can undercut competitors and make an offer a customer really can’t refuse.
That’s a good offer, but it doesn’t build loyalty.
Instead, the wider customer experience is key.
Customers don’t buy PRODUCTS !
They BUY Stories, Relations, Emotions.
We determine who we are and what our brands stand for.
Our group are loyal to our DNA.
Our brand identity tells our customers who we are, what we do and why we do it.
Best Brands are built on great STORIES. We have an authentic story, so they are passionate to be part of our story and to our brand. We built a strong strategy that makes our customer experience uniqueness in each visit to our shops.
What are the main reasons why people attend your workshops and seminars?
Actually I am not an academic professor; I am an executive with 20 years of concrete experience.
I don’t believe that one size fits all; every company is different. I have to design a customised & tailored training program for each company depending on the needs and the weakness points of a given company.
I help my audience to achieve sustained massive success with confidence & to take their business to the next professional level. They will benefit from my 20 years of international experience in strategic management & business development.
I design & conduct 100% innovative & dynamic tailored-made trainings, workshops, career paths, coaching programs that incite the desire to change. I am constantly looking to give something different to my audience, to add value in a way that others don’t. And I provide the best services by offering innovative solutions to answer their needs. I’m going to show them how they can make it happen.
Where is your company heading to in the next 5 years?
Since it’s birth to what is now known as the CHIC Group 1960, we made a promise that we will be the leading partner for luxury business across the Middle East.
After 50 years of doing business internationally CHIC group keeps building bridges and strong relationships between the Middle East & the West.
The wide experience and the unique history with the High reputation will led the CHIC group to become a REFERENCE for luxury business internationally in the next 5 years.
How have you incorporated technology to deliver a better experience for your customers?
Technology has had a major impact in the modern workplace, revolutionising the way businesses conduct their daily activities.
Whatever industry you are operating in, technology helps our customers access all the information they need to successfully interact with our group. It can also help staff perform their jobs more efficiently.
Technology allows businesses to speed up production processes, maximising productivity. Technology improves company’s flexibility to deal with queries quickly and efficiently. Interactive websites, online chat support services and 24/7 customer service via social media set us apart from our competitors and help us to increase our profits.
And finally email marketing can also be effective, allowing us to reach out directly to our customers with news, updates and special offers.