Seeing the invisible to succeed in the transition

“Seeing the invisible to succeed in the transition” – “6 Min. to Understand” with Pierre Léonard. Midoricast: Podcast #236

In this episode, “Seeing the invisible to succeed in the transition”, Pierre Léonard tackles a persistent idea: the belief that many organisations must wait for “the right moment” to begin their sustainability efforts… even though their best opportunities are already there, right in front of them.

This is what he calls the invisible obvious: those details everyone sees, but no one truly looks at anymore. Those that teams consider “normal”, “inevitable”, or “the way we’ve always done it”. And yet, these are often the ones that contain the strongest levers for transition.

Pierre shares a striking anecdote – a simple, almost ordinary case showing how an automatic gesture can cost a company enormously… until the day someone asks the right question. That moment alone can trigger movement, awareness, a first domino that sets everything else in motion.

In this podcast, he explains how to turn these invisible obvious elements into value: observing without judging, questioning routines, testing the competitor hypothesis, and then prioritising intelligently.

An accessible, pragmatic and remarkably effective method.

And as always: six minutes to understand, reflect… and act.

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For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or experiencing hearing difficulties, we provide a full transcript at the end of the article.
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• The Linktree of Pierre Léonard
• The Circular Economy Fresco
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In addition to the voicemail service, each episode is sequenced and comes with a full transcript, enabling access for Deaf and hard-of-hearing listeners. And with a Google Translate plugin in Chrome, each episode becomes available in any language! We also offer a video format with subtitles.

Why this series?

We support companies applying real and measurable ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) approaches. Pierre trains and guides them through this transition. Our approaches are different but complementary: we encourage, he accompanies.

This choice also raises an important question: where to draw the line?

Some companies mentioned in this series are not aligned with our current criteria, and we would refuse any collaboration with them until they initiate concrete change. But this is precisely where Pierre intervenes: his role is to spark that transformation.

This podcast does not seek to judge, but to inspire. The goal? To encourage rather than discourage, to accompany rather than exclude.

Let’s commit together to a circular, sustainable and inclusive economy. Listening, reflection, action… in 6 minutes.

Listen to the podcast “Seeing the invisible to succeed in the transition” on our YouTube channel (don’t forget to subscribe – thank you!):

French: The full transcript of this podcast is available as video subtitles in five languages: French, Dutch, German, English and Spanish.
Dutch: De volledige transcriptie van deze podcast is beschikbaar als ondertiteling van de video in vijf talen: Frans, Nederlands, Duits, Engels en Spaans.
German: Die vollständige Transkription dieses Podcasts ist als Untertitel des Videos in fünf Sprachen verfügbar: Französisch, Niederländisch, Deutsch, Englisch und Spanisch.
English: The full transcript of this podcast is available as video subtitles in five languages: French, Dutch, German, English and Spanish.
Spanish: La transcripción completa de este pódcast está disponible como subtítulos del vídeo en cinco idiomas: francés, neerlandais, allemand, anglais y español

Sequencing of the podcast “Seeing the invisible to succeed in the transition”:

• [00:00:02] Introduction to the series
• [00:00:14] The misleading question of the “starting point” in circular economy
• [00:00:44] Why the best ROI is often invisible
• [00:01:17] The roastery story and the question that changes everything
• [00:02:38] Step 1: observe without judgement
• [00:02:55] Step 2: question accepted frictions
• [00:03:15] Step 3: the competitor test
• [00:03:30] Step 4: prioritise using the impact–effort matrix
• [00:03:49] Why optimising these obvious points creates lasting momentum
• [00:04:24] The first dominoes towards deeper change
• [00:04:43] Three tips to start tomorrow
• [00:05:01] Asking your teams: where are the hidden gems?
• [00:05:12] Identifying what’s done out of habit rather than efficiency
• [00:05:34] Conclusion and announcement of “the Quest for the Dragon”
• [00:05:52] Rethinking competition as a potential partner
• [00:06:22] Example of industrial clusters in Wallonia
• [00:06:41] Humorous ending and voicemail invitation
• [00:06:50] Mentions, partners and sponsors

Full transcript

[00:00:00] Jingle Intro: You are listening to “The Podcast Factory Org”.

[00:00:02] Michel: Welcome to another episode of “Midoricast”, your podcast on positive initiatives in favor of the environment and transition. “Midori” means green in Japanese, “cast” for Broadcast, and I give the floor to my friend Pierre Léonard for his column!

[00:00:14] Pierre Léonard: Thank you Michel, hello everyone! Welcome to “6 minutes to understand”, the podcast that strips sustainable development naked before the interested eyes of decision-makers. So today, I’d like to tell you about a little phrase I hear often, and even far too often. What’s that little phrase? “Pierre, we have to do the circular economy, but we don’t know where to start”. If I hear that one again, I’ll scream.

[00:00:44] Pierre Léonard: After eight years of facilitation, I have some bad news for you. You’re not looking at the right starting point; rather, you’re looking for the perfect starting point instead of seeing what’s literally in front of you. The truth is that the best returns on investment from your sustainable initiatives are invisible. Not because they’re hidden in some six-figure consultant’s report, but because they’re so obvious that your brain automatically filters them out and you end up not seeing them.

[00:01:17] Pierre Léonard: To illustrate this, let me tell you the story of one roaster, a well-established brand with around 180 employees and a sincere commitment to sustainable operations. Three consultants had already proposed magnificent circular roadmaps, with certifications etc, etc, etc. Carbon footprint, lifecycle analysis, five-year strategy – it was all magnificent, and, as you can imagine, involved considerable investment. And then, while doing an express diagnostic with them, I asked the silly question, “Why does your van make 47 round trips a week to the same customer?” Radio silence, puzzled looks, and then “Well, that’s the way it’s always been done. The customer orders from day to day”. The result: 25% less transport, €75,000 and 50 tonnes of CO2 saved every year. Cost of optimization 0 € investment. Just a reorganization of their routes and an agreement with the customer to group deliveries. This little anecdote perfectly illustrates what I call the invisible evidence method. And it has given rise to a four-step process that I really encourage you to use systematically.

[00:02:38] Pierre Léonard: So what are these four steps? Let’s take a look at them. First step: observe, without judging. We look at what everyone else does by default, by habit, in the organization, without criticism, without a priori, just “Well, why do we do it like this?”

[00:02:55] Pierre Léonard: The second step is to question the frictions that are taken for granted. All those little inefficiencies that are considered normal because they’re part of the landscape. Unnecessary journeys, oversized packaging, lights that work 24 hours a day – it’s as simple as that.

[00:03:15] Pierre Léonard: Step three The competitor’s test. Ask yourself, and this is one of my favorite questions, “What if our smartest competitor did this tomorrow? What difference would it make? What impact would it have on us? It’s a game-changer and a wake-up call.

[00:03:30] Pierre Léonard: And finally, the fourth step is to prioritize. It’s the good old impact-effort matrix that most of you probably know and use. We keep only those actions that require little effort, but generate maximum measurable impact quickly. These are the famous quick wins.

[00:03:49] Pierre Léonard: And it works very, very, well. Why? Because we’re tackling the irritants and everyday frictions that your teams have been suffering for years, and which they don’t necessarily have the opportunity to express in their day-to-day work. When you optimize these invisible facts, not only do you generate immediate savings, but you also create a psychological trigger that is both powerful and favorable to sustainable transition. Your employees will say to themselves, “Well, yes, the circular economy isn’t as complicated as all that, and we can really improve things.

[00:04:24] Pierre Léonard: These small evidences will also become the first dominoes that can set in motion a whole in-depth change. Once the team has tasted the first success, it becomes a driving force in identifying, costing and implementing other, perhaps more ambitious, sustainable optimizations.

[00:04:43] Pierre Léonard: How can you apply this tomorrow? So here are three concrete tips. The first. Take a fresh look at your premises. Put yourself in the shoes of a trainee joining the company for the first time. If I arrived at this company tomorrow, ask yourself what would surprise you?

[00:05:01] Pierre Léonard: Secondly, ask your teams what annoys them on a daily basis. Not the strategic issues, but the little frustrations that grate on a day-to-day basis. That’s where your nuggets are hidden.

[00:05:12] Pierre Léonard: Third tip for each process, ask yourself this question: “What are we doing out of habit rather than efficiency? In short, stop looking for the big transformation plan. Start by lifting the rug from under which your first savings are hidden. In 90% of cases, your fastest ROI is waiting right under your nose.

[00:05:34] Pierre Léonard: Thank you for being with me during these “6 minutes to understand” the invisible obvious. And in the next episode, I’ll tell you about a practical exercise to flush out the invisible evidence where it’s hidden, and we’ll embark on a dragon’s quest together.

[00:05:52] Michel: And you know me, Pierre, don’t you? I’m not going to be able to resist making the remark that, if you always put yourself in the position of “We’re against the competitors”, it’s a mistake in my eyes. I believe that, in just such a case, contacting your competitors and seeing what synergies could be achieved together in terms of purchasing and resources, and resource savings, can also be an approach that benefits both parties, that doesn’t really change the game, but that will serve both. And seeing your competitors as other enthusiasts who can challenge you isn’t so bad, I think.

[00:06:22] Pierre Léonard: Absolument. And you’ve put your finger on something: industrial clusters in Wallonia, what they do is actually bring together companies from the same sector, including competitors, to mutualize – there’s that word again – research and development in particular, but also delegations abroad, etc., etc. So we have exactly the illustration of what you’ve just said.

[00:06:41] Michel: And for a touch of humor: “Competitors are taboo, we’ll get to the bottom of it”. Leave a message for Pierre Léonard on the answering machine. See you soon for more Midoricast adventures.

[00:06:50] Michel: This podcast project is an initiative created and proposed by the ASBL “The Podcast Factory Org”, with the sponsorship of “transforma bxl – Innovation Playground”, a coworking space in Evere. Since January 2025, and for five years, we have also been sponsored by “Plugin Company”, our preferred charging station and card operator. “The Podcast Factory Org” is proud to be a member of “KAYA” – Coalition des Écopreneur et Écopreneures, and to collaborate with the “Love Health Center”. You can find all the episodes of all our podcasts on the “What’s Your Story point be” website. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel @thepodcasfactoryorg, where we offer the podcast in video format with subtitles in several languages.

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