Pourquoi tant de consultants IT stagnent dans leur carrière ?

Summary (business/management-focused)

The episode discusses why some IT consultants/freelancers stagnate. The focus is less on technical skills and more on incentives, career structure, contractual mechanics, income stability, and how to build an execution system—especially when going freelance and creating offers/content.

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1) Market reality & the “infinite growth” mentality

• The guest argues that consulting/ESN markets are opaque and require adaptation: companies won’t absorb unlimited constraints—only what the market pays for.
• Responsibility is required: blaming the company/market leads to stagnation. Individuals must adjust expectations and actions (missions, renegotiations, career planning).

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2) Incentives & compensation: what motivates (and what backfires)

Key claim: variable salary can be counterproductive/“immoral”

• The guest criticizes variable remuneration for developers because it ties pay to factors unrelated to the developer’s actual output (e.g., sickness/absences).
• He argues motivation should come from a fair and transparent link between:
  • correct delivery
  • customer satisfaction / contract success
  • fair compensation adjustments

Example discussed (perceived unfairness):

• A long-tenured employee received frequent raises and bonuses (possibly favoritism), while another stayed at the same salary for years—creating resentment.

“Carrot, not punishment” for extra work

For internal involvement (tech talks, after-work activities, pre-sales, knowledge sharing), he recommends incentives such as:

• time allocation (give time during work hours), and/or
• small bonuses

He strongly rejects tying engagement to the variable part of salary, because it penalizes people for constraints outside their control.

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3) Organizational tactics: belonging & internal community (ESN case)

He’s not inherently anti-ESN, but highlights structural issues:

• Belonging doesn’t form naturally when consultants only appear at client sites and rarely at the service center.

Suggested “solution patterns”:

• Service centers with on-site missions that enable consultant interaction
• Structured pre-sales participation/workshops to build ties
• During inter-contract periods: optional projects (not forced busywork) to maintain skills and connection

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4) A framework for career growth in ESN → freelance

Career “playbook” implied by the conversation

• Keep an interview-to-mission fit
  • He dislikes vague “you have a choice” narratives without a real framework.
  • If “choice” becomes unlimited refusal or mismatched missions, it harms both sales processes and career progression.
• Renegotiation should be transparent
  • The company should explain context (market hardship) instead of silently refusing raises.
• A raise requires preparation + arguments
  • He recommends presenting reasons such as:
    • client feedback
    • additional responsibilities
    • relevant trainings/certifications
    • improved delivery that helps customer outcomes

Example: the “raise request with stress” incident

• He describes a case where an employee used financial stress to pressure a decision-maker for a raise.
• He frames this as a symptom of a broader system: when people feel the company is not accountable or transparent, negotiations become adversarial.

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5) Freelance transition operations: income risk + prospecting system

Concrete operational lesson: diversify income sources

• A major freelance-launch mistake: depending on a single income source, which caused an income gap when a contract ended (end-of-year client budget freeze).
• Resulting lessons:
  • start prospecting earlier
  • don’t rely on one recruiter/salesperson relationship

“Bad salesperson” risk management

• He experienced a freelance-sales handoff where the sold mission differed from reality.
• Mitigation tactic:
  • validate mission scope with the salesperson early
  • manage trust carefully at the start
  • prefer transparency

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6) Build your own growth engine: content + product (EAK) instead of “SaaS first”

Turning point: avoid doing “too many things at once”

After a year trying multiple paths (coaching + building a SaaS + services), he concludes you need:

• prospecting
• a clear offer
• an organized system for content and sales

Don’t scatter effort across 50 initiatives.

Execution system for content (LinkedIn + YouTube)

• Posting cadence approach:
  • LinkedIn started at high frequency, then reduced to 3x/week, and finally stabilized.
• He shares a practical rhythm:
  • Rule: Monday–Friday, at least 1 post/day (plus extras if in the mood)
• He warns about scheduling too far in advance when content requires real-time opinions (but technical content can be scheduled longer).

Product strategy: EAK (Angular Kit) as a structured learning platform

He built EAK to scale knowledge beyond 1:1 coaching.

Product/learning structure

• Content modules + projects:
  • direct exercises per lesson
  • each module ends with a complete project
  • video corrections and code
• Community layer:
  • Discord server + “Captain EAKs” moderators
• Go-to-market execution:
  • created a waiting list (initially 170 people)
  • used beta testers to validate the first module
  • adapted the curriculum based on the audience’s actual level

Curriculum adaptation based on observed audience

• He expected juniors, but found many users with 5+ years experience.
• Adaptation via tracks/levels using module sequencing:
  • Module 1: beginners
  • Module 2: intermediate
  • Modules 3–4: more advanced
• He also added community-driven selection (users vote on what to build next), improving engagement.

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7) Time management KPI: the “4/5th” operating model

To prevent burnout and accelerate execution:

• He switched to 4/5th time to free one day dedicated to:
  • prospecting
  • content creation
  • EAK improvements/coaching tasks

Planning routine

• Each Monday: define 3 tasks (quick, medium, long)
• This becomes a focus/throughput mechanism for the week.

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8) Social execution: avoid engagement pods & low-quality engagement tactics

• He dislikes LinkedIn “pods”/coordinated engagement because it creates fake signals (likes/comments mismatch).
• He prefers authentic feedback and considers robotic/lazy comments harmful.
• He warns that engagement/visibility tactics become dishonest when someone “sells” visibility numbers without context.

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Metrics / KPIs & targets mentioned (explicit/inferred)

• EAK waiting list: ~170 people
• EAK audience composition: “half” observed with >5 years experience (qualitative)
• YouTube subscribers mentioned: ~540 (around recording time)
• No explicit CAC/LTV/churn or hard revenue targets were provided.

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Key presenters / sources

• Samir (host) — former recruiter and business engineer in IT services; creator of El Camino
• Gaëtan — freelance/senior IT consultant focused on Angular; creator of EAK (Angular Kit)
• C8G — sponsor mentioned (“VIP concierge service for IT consultants”)