Why lead with courage in 2025? What and whom do we put our courage to work for?
These are two of the many questions asked of the leaders who came to share their experiences at the Courage & Resilience breakfast at Mines Paris – PSL (whom we warmly thank for their hospitality) on November 5, 2025.
🎤 Selected moments from these round tables:
“According to a Greek proverb, courage is the happy medium between cowardice and recklessness.” Cyrille Cardonne
“Courage is being active, facing reality, and taking calculated risks.” Jerome Chartier
“The human brain reacts based on what it has already experienced and cannot anticipate what it has never experienced, as during the Covid crisis. We must therefore prepare our brains for the unthinkable in order to anticipate risks.”
Sébastien Lagorce
“I have been in organizations where, in order to get promoted, it was better not to take risks. Today, I believe that a great leader is someone who is recognized for their ability to make choices and decisions. To have a vision and invest in their successor.”
Michael Haddad
“Courage also means putting the economy at the service of life!”
Michel Meunier
Finally, Cloé Hercé, the researcher who conducted our study on the biology of leadership (available online on our website), concluded with examples of leadership and courage in the animal world:
“In some species of birds, evolution has led females to brood their young at the top of cliffs to protect them from predators. However, there is nothing to eat there. As soon as they are born, the young must jump off the cliff to find food. Some do not survive!”