In the wake of what has been described as a wave of suicides among France Telecom personnel, a video has been posted that shows CEO Didier Lombard addressing award-winning France Telecom researchers.

Lombard’s tone is hardly congratulatory. To me, he seems upset. The video is in French, but the tone and body language are readily understood. In addition to exhorting his troops to “adapt to reality” and to be ever more “agile”, Lombard slips in a barb that’s gotten considerable coverage: “Those who aren’t in Paris, who think fishing for mussels is great; well, that’s finished”. According to media reports, Lombard apparetly meant this as a joke.

I will say nothing about the substance, but have two comments on Lombard’s form.

First, the video is evidence that supports my theory about France Telecom management: having evolved from a state-owned monopoly to a publicly traded company subject to competition, the managerial culture has (over)reacted with particular zeal. To my ears, the phrasing sounds like how a civil servant imagines corporate life.

Second, I’m struck by how awkward Lombard looks and sounds. He is not a man at ease or a communicator. His sentences are disjointed, his brief remarks rambling. I hear a taskmaster, not a communicator.