In this conversation with Paul Desmarais III, we talk a lot about Disruption. In this episode, he shared many unique insights. Here are a few that stood out for me.

What is Disruption?

Naturally, this podcast has explored the word Disruption and what it means. Paul describes it as adding more people into the majority. He even said it was like growth. This idea that Disruption is about breaking things needs to change. The idea that we are going to dismantle entire industries is not helpful. It should be about creating value and pausing patterns that no longer work for us. Exploring Disruption is fruitful.

Playing the long game.

As a coach, I often work with my clients to help them raise the level of their gaze. Help them play a long-term game. Paul Desmarais III is part of one of the most successful families in Canadian business. One of the things he points out in this episode is that one of the benefits of being part of a family-owned group is taking a long-term view. For those of us who can play the long game, it can genuinely change our destiny.

Families in Business

Paul reminds us that they are not a family business. They are family in business, and that is an important nuance. As Paul notes, being in a family business ties you to a specific company, industry or business. When you are a family in the connection is to values and a particular philosophy. A family’s goal is to transfer the entrepreneurial and philosophical approach to the next generation so that each generation can reinvent themselves. When family businesses can avoid the shirtsleeve-to-shirtsleeve pattern, they can truly build something great. The specifics of the business matter less than the entrepreneurial spirit.

Focus on what you can impact.

Particularly this year, I have been coaching my clients to draw three columns: Complete Control, Partial Control, and No Control. What you need to do is move as many things as possible into the complete control box as possible. Paul told a story about dining with David Rockefeller. David told him at the dinner to only worry about what you can impact. To worry about the things you can have no impact on is a waste of time and energy. Instead, the goal is to focus only on what you can impact. Over time, you succeed at what you are doing. Concentrate on the things you can have no impact on can be harmful to the here and now. Focus on what can I do not to impact my current reality?

The power of infrastructures of service

One of the conclusions I have come to is that it is tough to disrupt infrastructure businesses. For example, it is challenging to disrupt whoever owns all the fiberoptic cables of the internet. They own the infrastructure. As a strategy for Disruption, what if you take a page out of Pauls book. He describes how the entire world of financial services was going to change in the years ahead. He also notes that most companies are playing a zero-sum game. With a small amount of capital, you could create a delightful experience in today’s world and could change how consumers interact with financial services. So instead, what if you focused on an adjacent area and find profit pools there?

Creating a flywheel.

I have always thought about innovation as affecting the way we live. With Paul’s Flywheel notion, he suggests that by partnering with marketing defining companies, they can create prosperity in the communities in which they invest. For example, in Canada, they want to make many jobs and a lot of wealth. They are creating a flywheel so that those entrepreneurs can create wealth, philanthropy and employment. So in their goal to create five unicorns companies, they are making a flywheel of prosperity.

What is your superpower?

Paul described his superpower as networking. He tries to deploy his network for good. Recently Paul co-founded the Black Wealth Club to leverage his superpower. He asked himself, how do you build a network with a group of people with who you have had very little interaction? Then, how you leverage your network to help a new group of people access new things. In this approach, it is essential to note that he is defining wealth as more than money. Wealth is about intellectual capital, human capital and relationship capital.

Your most valuable asset is your people.

In thinking about his own companies, Paul is making sure that he attracts the best talent. He wants his teams to behave lives that are in balance. He commented that “your most valuable assets walk in and out of the door every day.” His jobs, as he sees it, is to build a platform that makes them their best. He believes that nurturing talent means investing in talent. Not investing in people puts you at a competitive disadvantage.

We approach every conversation with a bias.

The question of imposter syndrome or doubt has been popping up for me more and more. Here you have one of the wealthiest men in Canada admitting that he has Imposter Syndrome. Sometimes his internal talk, when he walks into the room, is that people are thinking, “here is someone who has never done anything.” “Here is a rich kid playing with a cute idea.” We all have imposter syndrome. Well, maybe not all of us but at least those of us who love our work. After you get into the room, you then need to overcome the hurdle of internal doubt. Are you good enough? Are you worthy? None of us is alone with these thoughts.

Seek to understand the drivers of your people.

By default, we judge people as generalizations and not as individuals. Each of us needs to work hard to dismantle these trends. These stigmas permeate society, and it is horrible that people are often judged by generalizations.

Fear of failure often cripples people.

Paul admitted that he has learned to check his fear of failure and try things that are out of his comfort zone in our conversation. For him, fear is nothing but a lack of preparation. He likes to say that all of his success in life has come through luck. He tries to be prepared and positioned for luck. He is working on not fearing looking stupid for having taken a risk. He is also trying to ignore what people are going to think if he makes a mistake.

Paying attention to the adjacent profit pools.

There are substantial adjacent profit pools that we often ignore. Instead of a focus on each other, focus on a world of abundance. A lot of conflicts are about mindsets of scarcity. We can rethink how we build things. How do you help bring opportunity? Change the world view. Go where others are not willing to go.

If you would like to learn more about Paul Desmarais III. Visit his website: https://www.sagardholdings.com/