A Typo Gave Me the Words

6 days ago

2 min read

I made a typo. And I published it.

Instead of “Écosystème” (ecosystem), I had typed “Échosystème” (echo system). A colleague pointed it out.

My first feeling was embarrassment. Then a question stayed with me: what if this mistake was saying something true?

What I Was Explaining, and What People Weren’t Getting

I knew what I was doing with my clients. But whenever I explained the link between emotional intelligence and artificial intelligence, I could see people struggling to grasp its impact.

I had the content. I was missing the image.

A Check, Then a Conversation

I could have fixed the typo and moved on. Instead, I checked. Then I talked it over with my coach, and we brainstormed together.

And the echo took on all the meaning I was already giving it, without ever having named it.

AI is like shouting into a mountain. It sends back the echo of whatever you give it. A scattered entrepreneur gets an AI that amplifies her chaos. An entrepreneur who knows herself gets an AI that amplifies her strength.

A published typo, a colleague and a coach: how an echo became ÉCHOsystème IA. Flexibility and emotional self‑awareness in real life. — The name was there before the meaning. **Crédit :** Visual: Rachel Boutin

E, C, H, O: From the Inside Out

On Wednesday morning, the acronym arrived. The decision took twenty minutes. It made sense.

E for Emotions: what gives me energy, and what drains it.

C for Conduct: what my emotions lead me to do every day.

H for Human: how it all plays out with my clients and the people around me.

O for Organization: AI tools built for me, not a one‑size‑fits‑all recipe.

We start with the human. Technology comes second.

What Flexibility Asked of Me

In emotional intelligence, flexibility is the ability to adjust your emotions, thoughts and behaviours when circumstances change.

For me, it started with emotional self‑awareness. I recognized the embarrassment. I understood what the mistake was offering me. Then I took action.

And by taking action, I felt that I finally had the words to explain what I do with my clients.

We Are All Beings of Emotion

Most of us have the same reflex when we make a mistake: fix it fast, before anyone else sees it. And yet, sometimes the typo knows more than we do.

As a certified EQ‑i 2.0 practitioner, I help entrepreneurs understand how they work before building their AI tools. Finding my own way to say it took exactly the same path.

What if your next mistake were a door?

If this post speaks to you, subscribe to my newsletter or tell me in the comments about a mistake that once opened a door for you. To go further, read “Three Summers in One Summer” [https://www.rachelboutin-consultante.com/en/post/three-summers-in-one-summer] and “What I Was Reading Into the Silence” [https://www.rachelboutin-consultante.com/en/post/what-i-was-reading-into-the-silence].