À vaincre sans périls, on triomphe sans gloire
And again, we’ve added some fresh blood to the team. In September, Joachim Noerens joined Talent Peaks. He is part of the Design team, that guides customers in creating a future proof business and defining powerful customer journeys.
What’s so cool about design thinking?
The term design thinking was relatively new to me, but it turned out I already worked with the concept a lot. Design thinking is all about understanding the core of the problem/opportunity, putting your customer in the center of shaping your business. Purpose is key. So working with our Design team, you will probably hear the question ‘why’ a lot! I believe it’s a key exercise for all businesses who want to grow sustainably. The design thinking concept is relevant in all your business processes but can also be applied in your personal life. Think before you act .. and think again!
Why work for Talent Peaks?
I finished my studies with an Erasmus internship of 6 months in Paris. This was a most interesting and fun time. The sales and marketing team at Finance Active were my first guides in my professional career, I am still very grateful to them. At the end of my internship I had the opportunity to stay for another half year and I didn’t hesitate for a second. After one year in Paris, I moved back to Ghent where I’m still living today. It’s the most beautiful city of Belgium as my Flemish colleague Diederik will certainly agree! After working for Belfius, a big bank in Belgium, I decided to move to a young and dynamic company in Ghent, Teamleader.
For almost a year and a half I guided SMEs with Teamleader CRM and invoicing software. That’s where I met Afriwise, an agency which helps business who want to conquer the African market. They asked me to join them. At the time Afriwise was brand new, and actually, they still are. I became the first employee of Afriwise, setting out the roadmap and go-to-market strategy. Doing this I learned what I really like, namely guiding companies to make a succes of their digital ambitions.
After having set up the process things were running smoothly. This was a good time to move on. I had an inspiring talk with my good old friend Karel, who works for Talent Peaks for quite some time now and I did a lot of reading and looking at the website. After that I knew I wanted to be the next Design consultant at Talent Peaks.
What will you bring?
I am a very curious person, not understanding certain things really annoys me. As a Design consultant it’s very important to ask a lot of questions and understanding the core of the problem and that’s in my nature. In my previous roles, I always dug very deep to find the fit between the client’s need and the solutions we offered.
During my time at Afriwise I learned a lot about defining and setting up new processes. I believe this will benefit me a lot in my job now as well. And knowing that you delivered a solution that brings added value really gives me a lot of satisfaction!
What’s typically Joachim?
Odds are high that during the weekends you will find me in the outdoors. Nothing better than falling asleep on the sofa after having analyzed your strava segments. I work out at least 10 hours a week. I enjoy a good bike ride with my friends or a game of football, squash or paddel. Next to this, I occasionally go for a beer in the city center of Ghent or go see some new groups at a festival. My favourite festival is ‘Best Kept Secret’. But don’t spread the word 😉
And your motto is?
I have a French one: À vaincre sans périls, on triomphe sans gloire. I think that if you reach success easily without encountering any obstacles, you just might be playing in the wrong league. Or trouble is yet to arrive. Reach for the top, set your goals high and don’t be put off by lurking problems. They can only make you stronger!
