The innovator’s Mindset - Leading Through an Era of Exponential Change - Stats Canada 2025

"The Innovative Mindset" is not just a conference on digital transformation, it is a real invitation to rethink the way we learn, collaborate and lead. By sharing his experience of transformation at La Presse, Jean-Marc De Jonghe demonstrates that the success of a digital transition is based on adaptability, collaboration and, above all, on people. The impactful images of his presentation reinforce this message: to be relevant tomorrow, we must dare to reinvent ourselves today.

The conference is resolutely optimistic. Jean-Marc reminds us that change, although inevitable - often difficult, rarely self-imposed - opens the way to new opportunities. By adopting an "innovative mindset" - that is, accepting uncertainty, continuously learning and placing the human at the center of the transformation - organizations can not only survive but also thrive in a constantly changing world.

Topics covered:

Speed of change, learning, collaboration, openness to change, world of tomorrow, etc.

The speed of change around us is now dizzying. Technology, markets, customers, competitors, employees, etc.; nothing escapes it! To survive, we are all doomed to adapt, innovate and transform ourselves continuously.

At this conference, Jean-Marc humbly shares with us his experience as a leader and privileged witness of the titanic transformation of La Presse and the creation of its innovative products: the digital edition for tablets La Presse+, the Mobile app and its "Mobile first" creation tools in order to share with us learning that will inspire us to find innovative solutions to our problems of tomorrow and will help us personally create the professional career of our full potential.

Review of this great experience and sharing of 5 learnings that allowed us to activate innovation.

Acknowledgements:
Presentation made on July 17, 2025 in Ottawa
Special thanks to Marco Morin and Nancy-Ann Walker for the invitation and the opportunity

Transcript

1. OTTAWA JULY 2025 🧠 THE INNOVATOR’S MINDSET LEADING THROUGH AN ERA OF EXPONENTIAL CHANGE JEAN-MARC DE JONGHE LA PRESSE Statistics Canada Statistiques Canada
2. @madmac 2 • Medias — 1995 • La Presse — 2003 • VP Digital Product & Strategy — 2010 • Led La Presse’s digital transformation, creation of La Presse+ and our award wining Mobile App Jean-Marc De Jonghe VP Digital Product & Strategy • La Presse has transformed from a printed daily newspaper into a 100% digital, free, independent, and non-profit media outlet of reference, with strong influence in Quebec and beyond. Its mission: to provide high-quality information that is accessible to all. • La Presse reach each month 4 million readers with Impactful content that fuel the important debates of our society. La Presse Montreal, QC, Canada Inspired
3. 3 My mission today
4. @madmac 4 Technologies People 💃🕺 A successful transformation 20% 80%
5. 5 Agenda •High-level look at our transformation • 5 key learnings to inspire you • Question and exchanges 75mins 45mins
6. @madmac 6 HIGH-LEVEL LOOK AT OUR RECENT STORY
7. @madmac 7
8. 8 2013 From disrupted to innovators
9. 9 2019 From disrupted to innovators
10. 10 Our greatest asset = our people Today
11. 11 La Presse — 1955-2003 La Presse — Today A radical transformation Masters of one recipe Collaboration, empathy and openness to change
12. 12 The speed of change is accelerating Impact of changes Analog PC Computer 1884 1990 Internet 2000 2010 2020 Social AI https://www.digitaltransformationbook.com/the-speed-of-change-4-waves-of-digital-acceleration/ Mobile <- +100 yrs -> Cloud & big data
13. New mindset New opportunities Growth & relevance CHANGE IS POSITIVE!
14. 14 4,6 ★★★★★ 86k reviews No 6 - News — iPhone Canada 4,6 ★★★★★ 65k reviews No 1 - News — iPad Canada 4,8 ★★★★★ 30k reviews +1M Install. Google Play Store 4,3 ★★★★★ 10k reviews +100k Install. Google Play Store 45 to 55 minutes/day on average! AMAZING RESULTS
15. 15 Reader’s and advertiser’s revenue REVENUE GROWTH +50% Digital Ad $ Stoped the press
16. 16 Daily Audience 2002 2012 2022 2024 0 200 000 400 000 600 000 800 000 1 000 000 1 200 000 559 450 350 30 349 325 244 240 230 255 Newsprint* La Presse+ App mobile Web** *Newsprint base on weekly average — 2000 *Web ComScore READER’S GROWTH
17. 17 Traditional organization Digital & innovative organization There is a durable and reproducible recipe There is no sustainable recipe except adaptability and agility New World Old World Everyone’s transformation
18. @madmac 18 FROM DISRUPTION TO DISRUPTION Us (Still running) The market Disruptions
19. 5 KEY LEARNINGS TO INSPIRE YOUR JOURNEY 19
20. We all sucks at trying to predicts the future Escape from old ideas and paradigms is really hard Reframe learning – How to be future proof? Leadership in change and transformations 3 2 1 4 🧠 20 Tomorrow's winning teams 5
21. 21 Speed and impacts of change « We tend to overestimate what we can do in the near future and grossly underestimate what can be done in the distant future. This is because the human imagination extrapolates in a straight line, while real world events develop exponentially. (like compound interest) » – Arthur C. Clarke
22. 22 From good newsprint producers 1955
23. 23 2003 An investment to become the best of all
24. 24 2006 To best newsprint producers of the world
25. 25 2006 To best newsprint producers of the world « … human imagination extrapolates in a straight line »
26. 26 2010 To disrupted printers « … real world events develop exponentially »
27. What actually happen 27 Results / performance Time Atomic Habits, James Clear What you think should happen A mirage Speed and impacts of change
28. 28 Résultats / performance Temps Atomic Habits, James Clear Speed and impacts of change
29. 29 The speed of change is accelerating Impact of changes Analog PC Computer 1884 1990 Internet 2000 2010 2020 Social AI https://www.digitaltransformationbook.com/the-speed-of-change-4-waves-of-digital-acceleration/ Mobile <- +100 yrs -> Cloud & big data
30. 30 1930: we imagine the smartphone… https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/retro-future-predictions/
31. 31 1950: we imagine a View master … Waze https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/retro-future-predictions/ Viewmaster
32. 32 1960: we imagine the newspaper of the future… https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/retro-future-predictions/
33. 33 Imagine the TV of the future?
34. 34 The television of the future will be both the TV... ... and the studio so that everyone can create his own show! Imagine the TV of the future?
36. @madmac Utilisateurs d'ordinateurs dans le monde (milliards) 36 0,5 G 1,5 G 4,5 G 5 G iPhone From exciting to universal
37. @madmac 37 Adoption rate
38. Impact of covid in our work space
39. @madmac 39 Chart of the century: Days from 1m to 100m users
40. 40 It's going to get crazier!
41. IMPERMANENCE The state or the fact of lasting only for a limited period of time
42. IMPERMANENCE The state or the fact of lasting only for a limited period of time There is a sustainable recipe and reproducible STANDARDIZATION There is no sustainable recipe otherwise that adaptability and agility ADAPTATION & EXPERIMENT
43. What actually happen 43 Results / performance Time Atomic Habits, James Clear What you think should happen A mirage Speed and impacts of change We must prepare our organizations, our teams and ourselves for here
44. The market Our beautiful products, services, processes, principles and our business model Impermanence
45. Anyone can optimize the « today" - you must plan and organize yourself to be relevant and competitive tomorrow. Future proof?
46. @madmac 46 • Top Down Approach: tasks are delegated • Eliminate risks and optimize every process • Our success is our well "Proven formula » • Always the same result Traditional • A digital product from traditional processes • A digital team managed by traditional leadership • Let’s innovate once • Thinking that answers to new problems will come from what we have already learned and done • Solution driven • "Let’s install a CRM" • "Let’s install an ERP" • Top management bring more Confusion Doing digital A cultural change Learning and Transformative • Constant innovation • Culture of experimentation • The important thing is to try & learn quickly • Data + insights driven • Data without insights is meaningless, and insights without action are pointless • Bottom up approach • Context and vision are shared • Company wide Collaboration • Employee input • Customer-centric • Motivated by a new problem • Top management bring more Clarity • Come into a situation that is ambiguous and bring more clarity • Everyone understand scope of their individual role • Vision driven Quite Easy Really Hard
47. We all sucks at trying to predicts the future Escape from old ideas and paradigms is really hard Reframe learning – How to be future proof? Leadership in change and transformations 3 2 1 4 🧠 47 Tomorrow's winning teams 5
48. 48 2009 2008-2009 -2M$/month
49. @madmac 49 I make a model and tries to convince my CEO to develop an application for Apple's rumoured tablet At the end of 2009 I came out of my comfort zone
50. @madmac 50 BUT WHAT DID I DO?!? Early 2010 = the biggest project of my career!
51. @madmac
52. @madmac 52 Monkey Trap
53. @madmac 53 Loss aversion & The Status Quo Bias « It is thought that for humans the pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining » Richard Thaler 1990 « The endowment e ff ect » : the sellers vs choosers Kahneman and Tversky 1979 « The Status Quo bias » and « Loss aversion » : mugs vs chocolate bars
54. 54 The difficulty « The difficulty lies not in the new ideas, but in escaping the old ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our minds. » — John Maynard Keynes 🍌
55. @madmac 55 Escaping from old paradigms Winning concepts and recipes that have carried us so far Winning concepts and recipes that we will need to succeed in tomorrow's world 🍌
56. @madmac 56 In a world where everything changes so quickly Adaptability + Ignited by the new problems Focused on customer value Mind Mindset
57. 57 I know how it works! I’m an expert!
58. 58 In a constantly changing world I am competent I am an expert
59. 59 I am competent I'm constantly learning and experimenting Meta understanding + Mission Customers & market Values Domain Vision Rules of engagement In a constantly changing world
60. 60 What is your banana?
61. We all sucks at trying to predicts the future Escape from old ideas and paradigms is really hard Reframe learning – How to be future proof? Leadership in change and transformations 3 2 1 4 🧠 61 Tomorrow's winning teams 5
62. @madmac 62 The career of your parents @madmac
63. @madmac 63 Your careers More changes Disruption @madmac
64. Career of the next generation
65. @madmac 65 World of work: important transition Tools Toolset Skills Skillset Mind Mindset
66. @madmac 66 Five years from now, almost half of the skills (44%) that are considered important in today’s workforce will have changed Disruption and speed of change World Economic Forum – Future of Jobs Report 2023
67. CV•Resume 📎 Disruption and speed of change
68. @madmac 68 Resilience, Flexibility and agility Motivation and Self-awareness Curiosity and learning Throughout life Empathy and Active listening Customer centric Leadership and Social influence Teaching and mentoring 0 % 12 % 24 % 36 % 48 % 28 % 36 % 39 % 40 % 45 % 47 % 48 % The skills of the future
69. Transform yourself, learn = future proof yourself! CV•Resume Before CV•Resume After
70. Transform yourself, learn = future proof yourself!
71. Recruitment/changes/leaders Who is best quali fi ed for the position? Who is most likely to help us move from where we are today to where we want to go tomorrow?
72. @madmac Unicorns No thank you ! When recruiting or building your dream team S K I L L S W I L L Soft Skills Hard Skills 72
73. @madmac With time Relevant With time Obsolete S K I L L S W I L L Soft Skills Hard Skills 73 When recruiting or building your dream team
74. Not a question of age! Attitude It’s about self-confidence and courage!
75. 75 Results / performance Time Atomic Habits, James Clear In a world of exponential change 🏊 🏄 🚣 🏊 Agile to learn new skills Skilled in creating new knowledge 🏊
76. @madmac Plateau Comfort Con fi dence Beginner’s
 Valley 76 Learning is escalating an S-curve Mastery Time DEVELOPING A COMPETENCE Beginner Master
77. @madmac 77 0 Con fi dence SET OF COMPETENCES A To disrupt yourself… go ahead, jump ! SET OF COMPETENCES B 0 Con fi dence Beginner’s
 valley Comfort
 zone
78. @madmac 78 The Status Quo bias Richard Thaler 1990 « The endowment e ff ect » : the sellers vs choosers Kahneman and Tversky 1979 « The Status Quo bias » and « Loss aversion » : mugs vs chocolate bars « People irrationally overvalue bene fi ts they currently possess relative to those they don’t. »
79. @madmac « The Status Quo bias » and « Loss aversion » A cup My cup
80. @madmac 80 0 Con fi dence SET OF COMPETENCES A To disrupt yourself… go ahead, jump ! SET OF COMPETENCES B 0 Con fi dence Beginner’s
 valley Comfort
 zone Highly inconfortable !
81. @madmac 81 0 Con fi dence SET OF COMPETENCES A To disrupt yourself… go ahead, jump ! SET OF COMPETENCES B 0 Con fi dence Beginner’s
 valley Comfort
 zone Evolving, changing, growing is always fi rst a feeling of setting back!
82. @madmac 82 LEGITIMATE! Change management
83. Changes = discomfort! Stability Certitude Simplicity Clarity Comfort Operations — building the known Volatility Uncertainty Complexity Ambiguity Discomfort Innovations — inventing the future
84. GREAT TRUTH
85. If there is no: •Resistance •Feeling of set back •Feeling of incompetence •Feeling of overflow There is no change! Change management
86. All we want in this life is always on the other side of the worst! Beginne’s valley Fear, retreat, discomfort, then ew experiences, new skills! Challenge yourself, reinvent yourself, transform yourself
87. @madmac 87 The great danger If we are afraid of failing and not being up to the task, if we are afraid of being judged, the logical reaction is to try to be perfect. (Or seek to be perfect) Paralysis Paralysis Paralysis Paralysis
88. 88 2010
89. @madmac 89 Careful not becoming the expert of yesterday! Tools Toolset Skills Skillset Mind Mindset 🍌
90. We all sucks at trying to predicts the future Escape from old ideas and paradigms is really hard Reframe learning – How to be future proof? Leadership in change and transformations 3 2 1 4 🧠 90 Tomorrow's winning teams 5
91. 91 Ma banana?
92. 92 La Presse+’s development timeline 2010 La Presse+ Launch Idea of La Presse on tablet 💡 🥊 🧨 I hit my wall I am the biggest risk of the project! 2013 5 2011 40 2012 145 145
93. I am a super leader right? I have to control everything! I need to know everything!
94. @madmac 94
95. @madmac 2012 – Wake-up call !
96. @madmac 96 I decide everything = I am the bottleneck! Large volume
 of decisions
 to take New added value, or delivered value Bottleneck
97. Stability Certitude Simplicity Clarity Comfort Operations — building the known Volatility Uncertainty Complexity Ambiguity Discomfort Innovations — inventing the future Not the same world = not the same leader
98. Operations — building the known Innovations — inventing the future Not the same world = not the same leader 🧠 💪💪 💪💪💪💪 💪💪💪💪💪💪 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪 🧠 🧠🧠 🧠🧠🧠🧠 🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠 New leadership Paradigm shift
99. @madmac 99 How I saw my role before 🐝 👑 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝
100. @madmac 100 🧠 👑 🧠 🧠 🧠 🧠 🧠 🧠 🧠 🧠 🧠 How I saw my role before
101. @madmac 101 This belief is a great danger
102. @madmac 102 A great leader in our world of change
103. @madmac 103 In a world of innovation Is it my role to be the best, to control everything and to know everything? Not at all! 🐝 👑 My personal banana
104. 104 In a constantly changing world I am competent I am an expert
105. 105 I am Competent I create safe learning environments for my colleagues and my teams Meta understanding + I bring (or I look for) context and clarity + In a constantly changing world
106. What actually happen 106 Results / performance Time Atomic Habits, James Clear What you think should happen A mirage Create spaces and bring context I have to prepare my organization, My teams and myself for here
107. @madmac 107 We will discover the route all together Step 2 Experiment! Validate and learn Vision Step 1 Common and shared understanding of what success look like
108. @madmac 108 My personal « paradigm shift » ? from Learn-it-all Joe to Know-it-all Joe
109. @madmac 109 My personal « paradigm shift » ? It’s about my knowledge It’s about being great at learning Context leader to Control leader Making the beginner’s valley a safe zone for everyone I’m an expert not a beginner Identify, protect and put into action their (best) ideas My ideas are so much better
110. @madmac 110 They are the pros They are closer to the problems They have great ideas They are in the best position to fi nd the solutions I am in the best position to be the curator Change of posture facing my teams @madmac
111. @madmac 111 I put into action, I activate innovation I decide what! I know how! I bring clarity I activate all the brains around me Context and Innovation leaders
112. The big difference? Products/services built with the right context and the contribution of your entire team Products/services built with your control and your solution
113. We all sucks at trying to predicts the future Escape from old ideas and paradigms is really hard Reframe learning – How to be future proof? Leadership in change and transformations 3 2 1 4 🧠 113 Tomorrow's winning teams 5
114. 114 It's going to get crazier!
115. @madmac 115 What will be the place of humans tomorrow?
116. Everything that can become digital will become digital. – Benny Landa, founder of Indigo, 1993 quote, he sold his company to HP in 2001 A future seems to be emerging
117. Everything that can be automated will be automated. – Shoshana Zubo ff , In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power (1988) A future seems to be emerging
118. @madmac 118 Tools Toolset Mind Mindset Skills Skillset AI & MACHINE LEARNING OLD SOLUTIONS FOR ALL PROBLEMS HUMANS NEW SOLUTIONS TO NEW PROBLEMS A future seems to be emerging
119. @madmac 119 AI & MACHINE LEARNING HUMANS Help with our learning Helps to better understand our customers Increase our productivity Creativity Collaboration Empathetic and authentic connections from humans to humans A future seems to be emerging
120. @madmac 120 Creation of value by Innovation, differentiation and relationships Creation of value by optimization and automation Deep learning, decision making, 24/7, efficiency, speed Creativity, co-creation, new solutions To new problems A future seems to be emerging
121. Shared Values What we agree is important? Purpose Why we exist? Rules of Engagement How we interact with one another and think about problems? A SENSE OF COMMUNITY SOURCE: https://www.cascade.app/blog/cross-functional-teams-culture Tomorrow's winning teams
122. Rules of engagement Is this decision the best for our current and future customers? Is this decision take into account the impact on achieving our business targets and objectives? Is this decision based on data and customer proof evidence? Have we carried out tests, experiments, POCs to validate our hypothesis? Does this decision make it possible to harmonize and simplify our systems (and the CX) and mitigate the number of possible variations? Does this decision allows us to be flexible, sustainable, resilient? Future Proof? Do we use best practices of tomorrow? Are we taking this decision In a fast and agile way or have we spent too much time on it? 🎛 🧲 👀 🎯 🧪 🔮 🏗 🏎 Take the decision or escalate if blocked
123. @madmac 123 What are we trying to build? To build the "good stuff", you must fi rst develop a common understanding And shared of this "good stuff". The "good stuff" → Why? → For who? → Problems to solve? → How will we know we are progressing? Alignment = Common and shared understanding
124. @madmac 124 Empathy for our customers and colleagues Empathy = Best innovation Empathy = Giving people a voice Empathy = Better code/design/solutions Empathy = Connection
125. SOURCE: https://www.cascade.app/blog/cross-functional-teams-culture Tomorrow's winning teams + Empathy
126. @madmac 126 Purpose Rules of engagement Shared values A SENSE OF COMMUNITY + EMPATHY Tomorrow's winning teams
127. CONCLUSION 127
128. New mindset New opportunities Growth & relevance CHANGE IS POSITIVE!
129. 129 The innovator’s Mindset Embrace change rather than fear it, always question our concepts and winning recipes that have brought us here so far. At first we are poorly positioned and biased precisely because we have been so successful in the past.
130. The market Our beautiful products, services, processes and even our business model Impermanence
131. The big challenge for all organizations
132. How can we prepare for the day after tomorrow?
133. Create the mental space Time Attention Budget Talent Value creation Today Tomorrow The day after tomorrow Current value Future value Long term value SOY Negative value Peter Hinssen – The Phoenix and the unicorn, Nexworks, 2020
134. Create the mental space Time Attention Budget Talent Value creation Today Tomorrow The day after tomorrow Current value Future value Long term value SOY Negative value Peter Hinssen – The Phoenix and the unicorn, Nexworks, 2020 I have to release teams, Resources, my mind And moments for here Facilitator + space creator
135. Your questions
136. @madmac 136 Jean-Marc De Jonghe jean.marc@lapresse.ca ca.linkedin.com/in/dejonghe speakerdeck.com/jdejongh Connect with me 🧠 mindsetinnovateur.com https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/jE7UZzEmsW Give me feedback And I’ll send you the deck
137. REFERENCES 137
138. @madmac 138 • Crossing the Chasm (1991, revised 1999 and 2014), Geoffrey A. Moore • Creativity Inc (2014, Random House Canada), Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace • Being Digital, Nicolas Negroponte (Knopf 1995) • TedTalk, Dan Pink sur la surprenante science de la motivation, Dan Pink https://www.ted.com/talks/ dan_pink_on_motivation?language=fr#t-1010302 • Why we plan – Part I – Failure to Rescue, Buridan’s Blog http://buridansblog12.rssing.com/chan-20258046/ all_p1.html • ICE Score all you need to know Itamar Gilad https://itamargilad.com/ice-scores/ • The Phoenix and the Unicorn, Peter Hinssen (2020 nexxworks) • Complicated vs Complex and why it’s matters - Roland Wolfig https://beya.io/2016/03/complicated-vs-complex- and-why-it-matters/ • Complexity and Strategy https://hackernoon.com/ complexity-and-strategy-325cd7f59a92#.5h6wyrxvk • Prototyping: Fake It till you make it (WWDC 2014, Apple Developper, Apple Inc.), Get a glimpse of Apple's prototyping process and the range of tools and techniques they use, some of which might surprise you. https://developer.apple.com/videos/ play/design/12/ • The Future of Jobs : Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum, Jan 2016) References
139. @madmac 139 • Crossing the Chasm (1991, revised 1999 and 2014), Geoffrey A. Moore • Creativity Inc (2014, Random House Canada), Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace • Being Digital, Nicolas Negroponte (Knopf 1995) • The Phoenix and the Unicorn, Peter Hinssen (2020 nexxworks) Books to inspire your journey
140. @madmac 140 Workshops available • Digital transformation and change management with a human face • Achieve true organizational agility • From vision to realization • Get into action • Develop your influence • Creation and management of a pipeline of ideas/initiatives/tactics aligned with the desired strategy and results • Mobilize and align your teams in change and innovation • Etc