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Rémi Marcoux Receives Honorary Doctorate
Photos and Speech
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Rémi Marcoux signs the registry
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RémiMarcoux among dignitaries
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Jean-Marie Toulouse, Director of HEC Montréal, introduces Rémi Marcoux
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Rémi Marcoux giving his speech
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The Wilfrid-Pelletier Hall at Place des Arts filled to capacity: close to 3000 people attended the event
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Rémi Marcoux’s Acceptance Speech
on the Occasion of Receiving an
Honorary Doctorate
from HEC Montréal
Sunday, June 8, 2003
at Place des Arts in Montréal
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Mr. Chancellor of the University of Montreal
Mr. Chairman of the Board of Directors of HEC Montréal,
Mr. Toulouse,
Members of the faculty and distinguished guests,
Worthy graduates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I’d like to begin by telling you how truly touched I am to receive an honorary doctorate from HEC Montréal. This is a great day in my life, both professional and personal. That’s why I wanted to share it with the members of my family: Carmelle, my life companion and constant advisor; my daughters Nathalie and Isabelle, and their husbands, Patrice and François; my son Pierre and his wife Caroline; as well as my many brothers. I would also like to greet my colleagues, business partners, and friends who have been able to join us here today.
I wanted to share the honour I am receiving today with you, Carmelle, Nathalie, Isabelle and Pierre, because in my view a person’s immediate family is the basis for every personal and professional commitment. You have provided the balance I needed in my life to achieve my career objectives and, above all, to achieve my dreams. A very special thank you goes to Carmelle: her unconditional support enabled me to rise to every challenge and to fully use my talents without having to worry about anything other than success.
I am also grateful to HEC Montréal for thinking of me for this great honour. The possibility of it never crossed my mind, and right now, standing here before you, the full impact is becoming clear. I hasten to add that I don’t see this recognition as a sign that my career is coming to an end, but rather as an encouragement to continue trying to outdo myself for at least another ten years! |
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The honour I’m receiving today is even more touching because it comes from an institution of which I am very fond, both on a personal level and as a business leader.
I am fond of HEC Montréal because I owe it a lot. As a graduate of this institution in the late 1960s, I can vouch for the quality and relevance of the education I received here, an education that has been extremely useful in my career as a manager. My daughter Nathalie, my daughter-in-law Caroline and my son-in-law Patrice are also HEC alumni and, like myself, are very proud of that fact.
Along with this personal and family attachment, there is also an attachment through Transcontinental, which I founded in 1976 and which I have had the pleasure of managing ever since. As a business, we have benefited directly from the excellent work of HEC Montréal by hiring many of its graduates, and we aren’t the only ones. This institution has played a key role in the economic development of Quebec by providing businesses with the kind of managers that have enabled them to do so well both here at home and all over the world, no matter what their size or operating sector.
This is a perfect example of how the business world and the world of education can complement and support each other, something they need to do more than ever if we want to continue to prosper and build wealth as a society. |
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My dear graduates, it was exactly 35 years ago that I found myself where you are today, as part of the graduating class. And like you, I was probably a bit nervous, even a bit intimidated by all the pomp and circumstance, but very proud to have passed all my courses, and anxious to succeed. What were my plans back then? Simply to make an important contribution to the development of a large business and, of course, to support my family.
Founding Transcontinental wasn’t really part of my original career plan. In fact, I actually began my career working with the competition. In 1968, after having finished my practicum with a major accounting firm, I accepted a job as controller for Quebecor. Mr. Péladeau, a great builder, was convinced that francophones had the talent to build big businesses. That was a source of motivation for me, because I shared that conviction.
With a lot of effort and a lot of work, I climbed the corporate ladder fairly quickly until I became Mr. Péladeau’s right-hand man. I learned that nothing – not even talent – can take the place of consistent effort and hard work. But in the meantime, a dream was growing ever stronger in the back of my mind: the dream of founding my own company. |
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What led me to found Transcontinental in 1976? I like to think it was heredity.
As a native of the Beauce, I certainly had the entrepreneurial instinct. With time and distance, I came to understand that the Beauce is much more than a geographical area. It’s a state of mind, a fierce desire to show that we can accomplish our plans and succeed in business. Add to that the total lack of complexes and the picture is complete. From a very young age, we soak up the atmosphere. It shapes us without our realizing it. Through me, you are actually honouring that whole extended entrepreneurial family.
My background taught me three truths: one, the earth won’t produce anything without constant attention; two, any achievement worthy of the name requires patience; three, in all our undertakings, we must remain humble: our only ambition should be to leave the heritage that has been entrusted to us in better shape than when we received it.
Many Beaucerons have distinguished themselves in the business world since the beginning of the 20th century, and this phenomenon is continues to increase even today. I won’t list them all for fear of leaving someone out, but I want to stress that the presence of these role models from the past and the present has been important to me.
The first role model I came into contact with was my father, Ulric Marcoux, who died at the age of 39. He had sold the family farm in 1945 to open a general store in Saint-Elzéar. This store was very successful. My father dedicated himself to it, and got the whole family involved. The values he taught me when I was young have always been an inspiration and are now engrained in Transcontinental’s corporate culture, especially openness, simplicity and respect for others; solidarity with partners and the community; customer satisfaction; the importance of communication; and above all, the desire to see a job well done. When a customer called the house to find out what time the store would open, we were to say, "What time did you want to come by?"
We all have dreams. Sometimes one of them is stronger than the others and sticks in your mind. In my final years at Quebecor, I was increasingly dreaming of founding a business modelled on my values, a business that would have a long life. I have no doubt that my regional and family heredity fuelled this great dream.
The opportunity would arise when the creditors of a printing plant in Saint-Laurent facing technical bankruptcy after the death of its owner began looking for a buyer. I made an offer along with two partners, Claude Dubois and André Kingsley, and it was accepted. This little 30-person workshop was the start of what would grow into the Transcontinental of today. |
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What lessons have I learned in 27 years as the head of Transcontinental? I’ll tell you the most important ones.
The first big lesson was the fundamental importance of teamwork. Beware of managers who claim that they alone are responsible for the success of their business. Success depends primarily on teamwork and the quality of the people you surround yourself with. That was the case right from the start at Transcontinental with my two partners. And today teamwork is at the heart of our Horizon 2005 project, which is focused on taking the values and practices that have always made Transcontinental such a success and adapting them to the economic environment of the 21st century.
Teamwork implies a certain kind of leadership. Doris Lussier liked to say that bosses "delegate all the authority, reject all the responsibility and take all the credit." I myself much prefer the metaphor of the mirror and the window: a business leader should look in the mirror when things are going badly and out the window when things are going well. Not the other way around!
Teamwork implies respect for others. In my view, regardless of anyone’s social standing, respect for the individual is an essential value. In the working world, the people who put their heart into making a business succeed deserve our respect, regardless of their position in the hierarchy.
Another lesson that I learned early on is that a company’s performance is a function of its managers’ ability and willingness to be where the action is. You hear a lot of talk about the vision that business leaders need to develop. But vision is conditional upon the ability to see and feel what is going on around you. There is nothing more dangerous than relying on a bunch of numbers when making a decision. Instead, you have to maintain direct contact with people at every level of the organisation, with customers and with suppliers. I encourage all Transcontinental managers to do this.
The sadly missed late president of Chrysler Canada, Yves Landry, had a saying that I have always liked. He talked about "management by walking around." For him, effective management meant going to meet his employees, his suppliers and his customers on their turf, at least once every quarter.
As well, being right there, being around, is inseparable from attention to detail. I have always believed that you can’t manage a business from "macro" data; you have to manage every detail of how it works. They say that Sam Steinberg could be discussing his company’s long-term strategy one minute and then turn around in the next to look after a detail as small as how strawberries were sold in his grocery stores.
The third big lesson I learned was to trust my intuition. This might seem a bit poetic in this age of high technology and "computerized" decision-making, but I maintain that what you first and foremost need is intuition: to identify a trend, to find a product and to choose a market niche to develop. And I would add: be curious, be creative, innovate in every possible way. No one succeeds by doing what everyone else has done. You have to dare. You might make some mistakes along the way, and believe me, I’ve made plenty – and some expensive ones, too. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes and not make the same one twice.
Another big lesson that I’ve learned from my 35 years of business experience: in this time of globalization, you have to have a solid base at home before going to compete with others on their turf. You won’t find salvation in foreign markets. In business you have to be successful in your own country before moving onto the international stage.
And finally, the most important lesson of all: The customer is everything! A company’s whole reason for existing is the customer, and that customer’s current and future needs. At Transcontinental, we have made that our primary guideline and we have built our business model around it. Its inseparable corollary is that in order to serve customers well, you need motivated, well-trained, happy employees.
Above all, have fun. Enjoy working as part of a team, enjoy overcoming obstacles, enjoy succeeding, enjoy sharing. I’ve never been able to imagine how anyone can be reluctant to go to work in the morning! |
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In closing, I would like to say a few words about the role of a company’s chief executive officer.
Warren Buffett, the U.S. investor whose integrity and honesty have become major competitive advantages, says the same thing to his managers every year:
"We can afford to lose money – even a lot of money. But we can’t afford to lose even a little bit of our reputation."
I totally agree. It takes years to build a reputation, but it only takes a day to destroy it. In business, everything is based on trust, and that trust stems from on thing and one thing only: reputation. Investment decisions, for one thing, are increasingly based on a company’s reputation for integrity and honesty. That is a major trend that brings together the quest for dividends and responsible corporate behaviour, whether in terms of the environment, corporate governance or human resources.
In this context, the business leader is the protector and the promoter of the company’s integrity, both internally and in the public or investment spheres. He provides a model for his closest collaborators and for all employees, especially when it comes to corporate values. As managers, we need to remember where we came from, and the communities in which our employees live and work every day.
We also need to remind ourselves, and remind those around us, that a corporation’s personality and conscience are just as important as its performance.
So business ethics is a whole lot of little things with one common denominator: consideration for how our actions affect others and for what our partners expect of us. The universities that are educating our future managers need to highlight the importance of ethics in business. Far from being taught as a constraint, it should be viewed as a competitive advantage for our businesses. |
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My dear graduates, you are entering the employment market at a time when businesses are facing some serious management challenges. The new generation of entrepreneurs needs you. You will fulfil the same role that the first generation of managers fulfilled for the entrepreneurs of Quebec inc., of whom I was one. In this way, you will carry on the tradition of mutual help and support between our schools and administration faculties, with HEC Montréal in the lead, and the businesses of Quebec.
I wish you the greatest success in your careers and personal lives.
Thank you for your attention.
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