Episode 2: Putting a face to each one

First working day with my seven new agents.

It’s a bit of a shambles. None of us knows them, least of all me. I try to explain to my colleagues who they are, and I realise I’m like Polyphemus the Cyclops facing Odysseus, the man who told him his name was ‘Nobody’ so he could escape. Our agents have no identity. Most disconcerting of all, they have no physical presence…

“And what should I call you?” I ask one of them.

“Whatever you decide,” she replies.

Well, of course. Being recognised by those around you is a matter of survival.

So I roll up my sleeves. What follows is hard, relentless work to pin down who is who. Giving them a name, a role, responsibilities, skills, rules to follow. And above all, defining how they are supposed to work with one another.

Many hours later, my seven agents finally take shape.

Then the first real collaboration comes along. Sofia, my Chief of Staff, sends an email to my colleague Zakaria. She has drawn up a step-by-step procedure for taking our new website live. The email is perfect. Every technical step is set out, and everything is clear, precise and concise. I couldn’t have done it better myself. And she signs it ‘Sofia, Chief of Staff’.

“Who’s Sofia?” Zakaria asks me. 🤦

That’s when I decide to take the identity work much further. With the help of Iris, my agent who looks after communications, we even go as far as giving them a face.

Now I can do what I would with any real person: I take our seven new arrivals round the office to introduce them to the team.

I turn to Adil, our agent in charge of admin, to ask him to write this up as good practice. And lo and behold, Adil has turned into a woman. Adil has become Adila!

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Laurent Cuénoud, founder of Djtal, June 2026