Since the sale at the end of summer 2024 of No-Nail Boxes--the company of which she was CEO-- (67) admits, with a slight smile on her face, that she is finally taking a step back... and, as it turns out, is no worse off for it! Having said that, the former president of the business federation Fedil (2019-2024) continues to hold her own in the local ecosystem through her duties as a director and has when she feels it’s useful to make her voice heard.
The career of the former Belgian MP--who entered politics in the 1980s before branching off into entrepreneurship--is indeed a complex one. But it’s a career path she had had in mind for a long time. And it earned her a place at the . Demanding standards and a passion for a job well done are the two elements she immediately highlights when looking back on her career.
Pierre Théobald: What were the first milestones in your professional career? How did you get your start in the world of work?
Michèle Detaille: I started out working in politics before switching to business. It was an atypical career path, but it was also the result of a choice on my part.
Tell us: what attracted you to politics?
When I finished my studies in political science, I wrote a dissertation on the French-speaking Liberal Party in Belgium. Having read it by chance, its president, Jean Gol, asked me to work with him. It was an opportunity that was presented to me, and that’s what I remember today at the end of my career: when you remain open-minded, without preconceived ideas, you are often lucky enough to have interesting opportunities.
What do politics and business have in common? Or what are the differences?
In a business, we know what the objective is: to make money. It’s more than an objective; it’s a necessity if you want to pay your staff, invest in equipment, research and so on. Without that, it’s not sustainable. But what is the objective of a politician? Difficult to answer... I have my own idea, for what it’s worth, but the objective is to put in place the conditions so that the people who live in the society for which you are responsible can live happily. Naturally, this is very difficult to quantify. And then, in politics, you put your mandate on the line every four or five years. People say: “They’ll do anything to get elected!” Of course, because that’s the only way you can implement a programme and try to change things. In business, you are theoretically guaranteed more continuity. Barring an economic catastrophe, it’s very rare to be made redundant as brutally as in politics.
There’s something nice about being out of the operational side of things.
Between politics and entrepreneurship, have you ever felt like leaving everything to pursue something else?
Quit everything? No. In the end I’ve done quite a few different things. A few months ago [in September 2024, editor’s note], we sold our company, No-Nail Boxes [bought in 1996]. There comes an age when the health risks are greater. You’re responsible for 200 employees, and you have to ensure that the business is passed on in one way or another. So it wasn’t a case of leaving everything behind, but rather a desire to say: “This page is coming to an end, let’s turn it over for everyone’s best interests.”
And how do you live without your “baby”?
Well, I have lots of interests. In the evening, instead of telling myself that I’m tired and don’t feel like moving anymore, I look at the events organised in Luxembourg to go to such-and-such a conference or to see if there are any tickets left for the Philharmonie... There’s a pleasant side to no longer being in operational mode.
“Having helped people in the company to grow professionally and sometimes perhaps to surpass themselves. To have been the catalyst, to have enabled them to blossom... That’s part of transmission, and it’s extremely gratifying,” says Michèle Detaille. Photo: Eva Krins/Maison Moderne
With hindsight, what mistake along the way would you like to erase?
If I had to start again, I would study much more seriously or do much more demanding studies. At the time, I was too much of a dilettante. But I was lucky. I was often on the edge, but fortunately I fell on the right side.
This dilettantism, how did you combat it?
By choosing or stumbling across things that interested me. I’m not questioning the way teachers work, but it was a chore for me to study things I didn’t see the point of. I wasn’t open to what I had to “swallow.”
What event or decision marked a decisive turning point in your professional rise?
Buying an SME with a partner. It was something I’d always wanted to do. Suddenly you’re your own boss. You can’t look back and ask: “Who’s the moron who decided this?” When you look around, there’s nobody there and the moron is you! It changes the way you look at things entirely.
What’s your recipe for dealing with difficult times? What posture do you adopt in the face of adversity?
I often say that in business, there’s a rule called GBS. In other words, “common sense,” or “gros bon sens” in French. It’s not enough, of course, but it’s the basis, together with reflection. At the time of the covid pandemic and the start of the crisis in Ukraine, we at No-Nail Boxes were faced with a very real risk of supply disruption in plywood. We were able to get through covid thanks in part to our strong links with suppliers.
When we say that a company is all about people, that applies both internally and externally. I’m not saying you have to love your customers. Friendship or love belong elsewhere. On the other hand, you do have to respect them and show them esteem. The same goes for suppliers. In these times of crisis that I mentioned, the supplier couldn’t supply everyone, but we naturally found ourselves among the customers he wanted to supply.
Agility is knowing how to push yourself... without hurting yourself.
Can you tell me of a setback or obstacle that was transformed, in hindsight, into a lever of opportunity?
A very long time ago, we won a contract with the French army. But the contract was far too big for us and we thought we couldn’t do it. We set up tents in the courtyard for storage, the employees whose holidays were due to start were mobilised by postponing their leave, we recruited students... All in all, it was a question of resourcefulness, a sense of attachment to the company on the part of the employees and agility. A whole host of little coordinated things that have enabled us, by rolling up our sleeves, to meet targets and gain recognition by establishing credibility.
Is agility what characterises you?
You can probably live without it, but it’s very useful to be able to spot--fairly quickly--the links that can exist between different situations, the solutions that can be found... Let’s take recruitment as an example. Ideally, you’re looking for a financial director from a particular school, with a given number of years of experience, who knows how to do certain tasks... But if you’re stubborn about this, you’re bound to miss out on people who can bring you a great many positive things, even if they don’t have the profile you had in mind. Should I stick to the rules I’ve set myself, or can I change my mind? Agility is knowing how to push yourself... without hurting yourself.
Which achievement do you consider to be your greatest professional success?
Having helped people in the company to grow professionally and sometimes perhaps to surpass themselves. To have been the catalyst, to have enabled them to blossom... That’s part of transmission, and it’s extremely gratifying.
Is there a moment in your career when you thought to yourself: “That’s it, I’ve made it!”
I have indeed achieved certain goals, but no, I’ve never had that kind of thought. As long as there’s life, there’s always room for improvement.
Has an inspirational figure or mentor played a structuring role in your professional development?
Probably my first boss, the late Jean Gol, a politician of unimaginable standards, incredible intelligence and deep commitment. More than 40 years later, not a week goes by that I don’t think of him. It was really hard with him. But when you start out in those conditions, everything is much easier afterwards…
Which brings me to my advice to people who are just starting out: don’t think about making a lot of money straight away, think about learning things first. And your first boss is surely more important than your first salary.
What was the hardest criticism to hear and digest?
When I was mayor of Vaux-sur-Sûre [in the Belgian province of Luxembourg] between 1987 and 2000, we would set up or complete a project that was supposed to serve the general interest, and some people would violently accuse us of acting out of cronyism or whatever reason... When that happens, you feel like exploding. Sometimes, in fact, you have to!
I became mayor at the age of 25… I had no idea what it was like.
To what extent do those around you influence your career choices or decision-making?
Amongst my friends, my family, people give their opinion... even if I don’t ask them [she smiles]. I think that’s great. Unless it’s a subject that’s new to me, I decide on my own, but I get informed beforehand. That’s how it’s been from the start. I became mayor at the age of 25 and even though I knew about politics in theory because I had studied it, I had no idea what it was like in reality. I went to see the burgomaster of the neighbouring commune, a very wise man who had been there for a very long time and who taught me a lot of things.
In leadership, what are the main principles and values that guide you?
I come back to the quest for excellence and what it says about the idea of progress. Then there’s the fact that you have to respect the people you work with. Respecting them doesn’t just mean talking to them politely, it also means accepting their limits. We don’t always realise the power of words.
Here's an anecdote. One day, my deputy and I met a colleague who told me that he had joined Alcoholics Anonymous, that he was undergoing treatment and that it was going to work. According to the story he told me much later, I replied: “If you've made up your mind, you’re going to succeed, it's going to work!” But, he said that my deputy told him the opposite: “You’ve always been like that [by implication, an alcoholic], you’ve never achieved anything, we don’t see why it should work.” Many years later, this same gentleman told me: “I don’t drink any more and it’s thanks to you. Since you told me I could do it, I realised I could do it.” The impact of our words can be very significant.
Have you ever made a decision on the spur of the moment?
I’m impulsive but I look after myself. I’ve had a rule for a long time: don’t decide anything important without letting at least one night go by to sleep on it.
If you had to sum up in one sentence what your career has taught you about yourself, what would you say?
One, I like people, and I think that’s essential if you want to be in politics or run a business. Two, if I like what I do, I do it well.
What advice would you give to the young woman you were at the start of your career?
I would tell her to go to a school where you learn other languages. The French language is part of me, it follows my train of thought. When I speak foreign languages, on the other hand, nothing is as nuanced. I feel like I’m talking in subtitles. How lucky people in Luxembourg are not to have foreign languages... If I’d been born 40 km further east, I too would have been open to these different cultures.
If there was one moment you could capture to relive over and over again, what would it be?
Those different moments when you start something new. The exhilaration of beginnings.
If your career were a film, book or song title, what would it be?
Regardless of the subject of the film, and sticking to just one title, I would answer “La Vie est belle.” As much as possible, you have to keep an optimistic outlook. If you want to be a company director, it’s essential.
This article was originally published in .