The (hard) lessons of Louis Garneau | LesAffaires.com

(Picture: courtesy)

LEADERS AND WORDS. Louis Garneau almost lost his health, his business and his good relationship with his children in quick succession. The one whose SME took shelter from its creditors in March 2020 before setting out again on more solid foundations opened up about his setbacks in the book “I fell twice”. In a burst of candor rarely seen in business leaders, the 63-year-old offers the lessons he learned from his life as an Olympic athlete and entrepreneur at the head of Louis Garneau Sports, which sells bicycles as well as sports equipment and clothing. Here are some of his best tips collected by Les Affaires.

1. Not hiding your psychological distress

Louis Garneau suffered from overwork during the period that coincided with his business problems. At the end of the line, he received his diagnosis in 2017 from his doctor. “I started having dark thoughts. I was gripped by strange, painful, overwhelming, paralyzing sensations. I felt like I was drowning. […] I had only one idea in mind, even before that of healing: to find a way to conceal it. […] This is how I transformed this exhaustion into a disorder of the thyroid gland […]. I lied to my trusty assistant and all my managers. In the afternoon, I left my office for an hour or two to go and rest at home and I lamented the jolts of my accursed thyroid when I was asked questions about my health. It was a serious bicycle fall in July 2018 that forced him to face reality to heal.

2. Prepare your succession well

The former Olympian regretted promoting his son William too quickly to the general management of the company in 2017, which caused many conflicts between them. He acknowledges that this transition had been badly prepared and that it happened at the wrong time. "I had just thrown him into the company's lion's den, without even realizing it. Is it a good idea to hand over a struggling 27-year-old young man with little business experience? […] Hurrying the succession in a context of crisis turned out to be a mistake that had serious repercussions on my relationship with my children, in particular with my eldest. I hope that time will ease the suffering and end the silence that separates us. Preparing a succession is planned over several years, the time that experience unites with talent. I took the turn too quickly and caused the family peloton to fall. »

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3. Knowing how to surround yourself well

Louis Garneau admits his management team lacked experience and was too divided to deal with the crisis that hit his business in the second half of the last decade. “I didn't know how to grow leaders around me and I found myself too alone when illness and financial troubles hit. I felt helpless and made bad choices. I've relied too long on people who didn't have enough skills to turn a business around. If I had called on specialists a year earlier, I would not have had to protect the company from its creditors. […] Maybe, unconsciously, I didn't have the maturity to accept big names at my side. I wanted to put my hands everywhere… But what broke the company was the toxicity inside the management committee. »

4. Limit the use of consultants

Louis Garneau is sour when he talks about two consultants who took the lead from 2017, when his son arrived at the general management of the SME. “The consultants had really taken up too much space at Louis Garneau Sports and had cost precious dollars which, for me, had been badly invested. Above all, the icing on the cake, they had formed an almost family bond with my boy. The same goes for one of the firm's communication and marketing employees, who has become a close friend of my son. Everything merged: our family and our company, but also the consultants and their roles. »

“When I was sick, my little voice told me that their way of acting was aberrant, but they constantly told me that my vision of things was insane. So, I was completely confused. After thanking them, I also cut ties with the communications and marketing firm we had spent way too much money on. Good riddance ! »

5. Prioritize your product and innovation

Louis Garneau acknowledges that his SME fell asleep on laurels around 2010, when the money flowed freely. The digital shift is long overdue, as is the development of new products.

“In my opinion, the product is king. Everything else in a business is just a support to it: finance, communications, human resources. Great rigor around the product is also essential: in the vision, in the strategies and in their execution. Starting in 2015, Louis Garneau Sports showed shortcomings in all of these areas. We had developed a magical thought that everything would fall into place naturally. It was our mistake. You have to manage! »

“Louis Garneau Sports, I still believe today, had organizational problems that had nothing to do with its brand image. My company had too much warehouse inventory and too many staff; it mismanaged its product development, operating costs, finances and human relations. My company carried the flesh-eating bacteria and the marketing was going to apply makeup to hide the necrotic tissue. »

6. Raise your prices

“Don't, like us, make the mistake of freezing the prices of your products for years. Why on earth would you be willing to pay more for wages, raw materials, heating and all the rest without daring to adjust the price of what you make? It's an unwarranted fear that leads to bad choices and, ultimately, to repercussions on your financial health. »

"I fell twice", written by Valérie Lesage, is published by Éditions de l'Homme.

Louis Garneau almost lost his health, his business and his good relationship with his children in quick succession. The one whose SME took shelter from its creditors in March 2020 before setting out again on more solid foundations opened up about his setbacks in the book “I fell twice”. In a burst of candor rarely seen in business leaders, the 63-year-old offers the lessons he learned from his life as an Olympic athlete and entrepreneur at the head of Louis Garneau Sports, which sells bicycles as well as sports equipment and clothing. Here are some of his best tips collected by "Les Affaires".1. Not hiding his psychological distress Louis Garneau suffered from overwork during the period that coincided with the problems in his business. At the end of the line, he received his diagnosis in 2017 from his doctor. “I started having dark thoughts. I was gripped by strange, painful, overwhelming, paralyzing sensations. I felt like I was drowning. […] I had only one idea in mind, even before that of healing: to find a way to conceal it. […] This is how I transformed this exhaustion into a disorder of the thyroid gland […]. I lied to my trusty assistant and all my managers. In the afternoon, I left my office for an hour or two to go and rest at home and I lamented the jolts of my accursed thyroid when I was asked questions about my health. It was a serious bicycle fall in July 2018 that forced him to face reality to heal.2. Preparing his succession well The former Olympian regretted having promoted his son William too quickly to the general management of the company in 2017, which caused many conflicts between them. He acknowledges that this transition had been badly prepared and that it happened at the wrong time. "I had just thrown him into the company's lion's den, without even realizing it. Is it a good idea to hand over a struggling 27-year-old young man with little business experience? […] Hurrying the succession in a context of crisis turned out to be a mistake that had serious repercussions on my relationship with my children, in particular with my eldest. I hope that time will ease the suffering and end the silence that separates us. Preparing a succession is planned over several years, the time that experience unites with talent. I took the turn too quickly and caused the family peloton to fall. »3. Knowing how to surround yourself Louis Garneau admits that his management team did not have enough experience and was too divided to face the crisis that hit his company during the second half of the last decade. “I didn't know how to grow leaders around me and I found myself too alone when illness and financial troubles hit. I felt helpless and made bad choices. I've relied too long on people who didn't have enough skills to turn a business around. If I had called on specialists a year earlier, I would not have had to protect the company from its creditors. […] Maybe, unconsciously, I didn't have the maturity to accept big names at my side. I wanted to put my hands everywhere… But what broke the company was the toxicity inside the management committee. »4. Limiting the use of consultants Louis Garneau shows sourness when he talks about two consultants who rose to prominence from 2017, when his son arrived at the general management of the SME. “The consultants had really taken up too much space at Louis Garneau Sports and had cost precious dollars which, for me, had been badly invested. Above all, the icing on the cake, they had formed an almost family bond with my boy. The same goes for one of the firm's communication and marketing employees, who has become a close friend of my son. Everything merged: our family and our company, but also the consultants and their roles. "" When I was sick, my little voice told me that their way of acting was aberrant, but they constantly told me that my vision of things was insane. So, I was completely confused. After thanking them, I also cut ties with the communications and marketing firm we had spent way too much money on. Good riddance ! »5. Prioritize your product and innovationLouis Garneau acknowledges that his SME fell asleep on its laurels around 2010, when the money was flowing. The digital shift is long overdue, as is the development of new products. “In my opinion, the product is king. Everything else in a business is just a support to it: finance, communications, human resources. Great rigor around the product is also essential: in the vision, in the strategies and in their execution. Starting in 2015, Louis Garneau Sports showed shortcomings in all of these areas. We had developed a magical thought that everything would fall into place naturally. It was our mistake. You have to manage! “Louis Garneau Sports, I still believe today, had organizational problems that had nothing to do with its brand image. My business had too much warehouse inventory and too many staff; it mismanaged its product development, operating costs, finances and human relations. My company carried the flesh-eating bacteria and the marketing was going to apply makeup to hide the necrotic tissue. »6. Raise your prices“Don't make the mistake of freezing the prices of your products for years, like us. Why on earth would you be willing to pay more for wages, raw materials, heating and all the rest without daring to adjust the price of what you make? It's an unwarranted fear that leads to bad choices and, ultimately, to repercussions on your financial health. »