Arnaud Lagesse: The Six Lessons of Leadership
11 October 2011



Mr. A. Lagesse addressing the 60-strong audience

On a regular basis, CTI's Leadership Centre invites this country's leaders to address its students and staff and share with them both their insights and lessons learnt over the years. On 4 October, it was the turn of Arnaud Lagesse, CEO of GML Together, a Group recently ranked as No. 1 of Mauritius' Top 100 Companies.

A major economic player in the Indian Ocean and the 2010 leader of the "Top 100" Mauritian companies, GML Together is a group that requires no introduction with its 300 subsidiaries and associated companies, some of which include IBL, Phoenix Beverages, MSM, Naïade, Robert Le Maire Group, AfrAsia Bank, FUEL, AXYS Group, and many more. The Group employs about 10 000 staff and in 2010, had turnover of MUR 18 billion (about 456 million Euros) with operational profits of MUR 1,1 billion NPAT.

"Arnaud Lagesse himself," indicated Professor Eric Charoux as he introduced CTI's guest to the 60-strong audience, "has a Master's degree in Management from Aix Marseille University which he obtained in 1991. More importantly, and this is the very reason we asked him to come and talk to us today, he is one of the very few Mauritian CEOs to have followed prestigious Executive Development Programmes at two of the world's best business schools: INSEAD in France and Harvard in the United States. As we face change on an unprecedented scale, the insights and lessons gathered at these places and during his career to date will, I am sure, be of great interest to all of us here on this island."

During a presentation lasting over an hour, the CEO of GML Together shared with us what could be termed the six lessons of leadership - lessons he peppered with actual examples of how such lessons have been implemented practically over the years at GML.

Here's a summary:

Lesson 1: See yourself as an entrepreneur focused on the big picture

"There are many styles of leadership," indicated Arnaud Lagesse, "but I would rather define myself as an entrepreneur rather than the typical MBA-type of person." As such we should attempt to undertake and by undertake, Mr Lagesse means the ability to challenge, take risk, innovate, and make it happen despite the many obstacles that will come our way - in short to act as an entrepreneur.

He offers the following tips to an entrepreneur getting started:

  • Small. Start small, keep it simple and run with one idea at a time
  • Homework. Do your homework or market research, like finding the best location for a business, identifying gaps in the market place, knowing your starting, running and break-even costs, and finding out about your competition
  • Best people. Find and employ the best people available, never hesitating to hire smarter people than yourself for these are the very people who can make you even more successful entrepreneurs
  • Set objectives. Always ensure that you survive. Look for sanity (profitability) and not vanity (biggest turnover). Next, set specific goals in terms of what is it that you set out to accomplish
  • Tough at the beginning. Just remember: early days in a company can be pretty tough!

Lesson 2: Grow your business

Once launched, a business has to be nurtured and grown. Here as well, Arnaud Lagesse has much to offer in terms of practical advice.

  • On measuring performance. Always ask yourself how do I compare with others? Use both qualitative and quantitative measures. Don't put up with mediocrity: If people aren't performing, the sooner you get rid of them, the better. One should not be tolerant of incompetence through ignorance, indecisiveness, or weakness
  • Opportunities. Be on the lookout for the right opportunities. By thinking laterally, you can see how, from the first idea, you can grow additional business and think about synergies
  • Networking. Develop your contacts - no one can be successful in a vacuum. You need to establish an extensive network (bankers, lawyers, politicians, customers, journalists, etc)
  • Original. Do not try and perform a 'me too' task. Find the 'hole' and fill it. There are thousands of examples of 'holes' being filled at an early stage that are now proven worldwide successes
  • Intuition. Trust your intuition and make the most of your lucky breaks. In business, decisions based on gut feelings are often superior to those based on analytical reasoning
  • Working hard. Luck is being in the right place at the right time, but the harder you work, the luckier you get!
  • Ambition. Reach for the sky - the ambition to succeed should be closely linked to the pursuit of excellence. Don't be afraid - at some point in time - to take on the big boys
  • Selling. Learn to sell or persuade people to see and accept your point of view. CEOs are more and more the salespersons of their company

Lesson 3: Become a leader

To grow one's business, one has above all to behave like a leader. Arnaud Lagesse has many tips to offer here - it is clear that this is a topic about which he feels strongly.

  • Opportunities. Always use the opportunity to behave like a leader
  • Listening. Learn to listen, make sure you understand and trust your team. Keep in touch with the 'ground' staff
  • Acknowledge. Always recognize the work achieved and be courteous
  • Example. Lead by example, staying humble and having a sense of humour

Lesson 4: Overcoming challenges

  • On change. Change is constant and everywhere, argues Arnaud Lagesse. Deal with it or your business will die. Any leader has to face and overcome challenges. We need to embrace change as a way of life
  • Making mistakes. Don't be afraid to fail, it's one of the ways you learn to do things right. You miss 100% of the shots you never take. The key is to recognize a failure and move on
  • On reinventing oneself. Be prepared for anything: As change is constant, never forget to reassess yourself, your organization, market, sourcing, priorities, products and benchmarks
  • On time management. Use your time wisely - time is limited and time is money. Try to keep your meetings short and to the point and don't get 'under water' with paper work or emails. Do the things you do best and leave the rest for others
  • On handling a crisis. Always be positive and never panic. Stay cool under pressure. Determine what your priorities are, keep focus on them and act quickly but with great care. Have confidence in your people and make sure they are in line with your needs to weather the storm

Lesson 5: Enjoy your work

One should enjoy one's work, advises Arnaud Lagesse. If we don't, we will not find the time and energy needed to make it a success. We need to work hard and play hard - to always pursue our favourite sport/hobby with the same passion and energy that we put in running our business.

Lesson 6: Do not drop out of university!

According to Arnaud Lagesse, one should always strive to seek continuous learning opportunities in life as education is at the heart of self-actualization. As such, he places much value on a university education and the exposure it can provide. "My own experiences at these prestigious institutions have been outstanding," he mentioned. "Simply meeting so many high-level experts and practitioners opens one's eyes and brains as one shares their competencies, theories, approaches and know-how. One is able to reflect upon one's past experiences, renew one's inspiration and enthusiasm, and plan actions for one's self- improvement."

(More on GML Together can be read on the website www.gmltogether.com or on its Facebook link GML Together)

 

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