Paula Poirier became vice-president of Emergency Medical Services operations at Medavie Health Services in Ontario in 2012 and chief operating officer of Nova Scotia’s Emergency Medical Care (EMC) in 2009.
Currently, I run four companies, two in Ontario in Chatham-Kent and Elgin County. In Nova Scotia, we run the paramedic and air ambulance system, also now Telehealth, totalling 1,636 staff. In July, I’ll be transitioning Medavie EMS Ontario into a restructuring.
Some people don’t see it as running companies − don't differentiate between running businesses to running emergency health services (EHSs). My background is a culmination. Mind you, you wouldn’t want me to take care of you now, but I understand the world, the lingo.
I come from a family with seven children in a small Cape Breton mining town, the third nurse. I wanted to go into teaching. I like to work with people, help, so around Grade 11, thought I’d like nursing.
I started in general surgery and orthopedics. I liked the fast pace – something new all the time. When I graduated we had to wear nurses’ caps, so I went into emergency as I didn’t have to wear it there – perfect!
I managed a general surgery floor, then surgical and medical intensive care units (ICU). When the hospitals amalgamated, I moved three ICUs to the new hospital.
I did my masters in nursing from Dalhousie University while working full-time, my thesis was on change management and the move. A director went on maternity leave in cardiac emergency and thoracic; I ran that.
There was an advertisement for a trauma co-ordinator for Nova Scotia’s first program. I wanted to get in on the ground level. I was there a few years, started a co-ordinators group, then asked the all-physician Trauma Association of Canada to be part of them – including everyone across the spectrum.
They said, “Sure, come on board.” I was the association’s first non-physician president. I brought what I learned from business to the association, whereas when I started out, it was more clinical.
There was an advertisement for a trauma co-ordinator for Nova Scotia’s first program. I wanted to get in on the ground level. I was there a few years, started a co-ordinators group, then asked the all-physician Trauma Association of Canada to be part of them – including everyone across the spectrum.
They said, “Sure, come on board.” I was the association’s first non-physician president. I brought what I learned from business to the association, whereas when I started out, it was more clinical.
I was the director for Nova Scotia’s EHS programs for nine years, in the system before 1997 so saw the 52-plus ambulance operators – many in funeral homes – with little or no standardization in vehicles, equipment.
People worked behind the scenes to rebuild the system. Twenty years later, it’s a transformation. I’m certainly proud of the system’s evolution and transformation. I helped build it, but I help run it.
A lot of people wouldn’t know one company runs day-to-day operations. From being transactional in silos, today it’s co-ordinated and integrated in all aspects.
A lot of people wouldn’t know one company runs day-to-day operations. From being transactional in silos, today it’s co-ordinated and integrated in all aspects.
Most leaders I work with don’t have a health background, and vice versa, I learn from them in business.
I love the vision-making changes, being innovative, part of solutions and helping the system.
I like to keep busy, be informed, but I like people to know they have to do their job. Because of technology, I can do it anywhere; I’m always available.
I go to Ontario at least once a month, on the phone at least weekly with my two general managers. One thing I really like about working for Medavie is that it’s a not-for-profit. Profits go to the Medavie Foundation for grants.
I like to keep busy, be informed, but I like people to know they have to do their job. Because of technology, I can do it anywhere; I’m always available.
I go to Ontario at least once a month, on the phone at least weekly with my two general managers. One thing I really like about working for Medavie is that it’s a not-for-profit. Profits go to the Medavie Foundation for grants.
I’m proud of my career path: I came from a front-line clinician to being in a business and leadership position.
My parents always supported us for education, so I’ve always supported education and staff who wanted to go into leadership. Where I come in is building my team, having experts. I like to give people leverage so they can make decisions.
What do you want to do in five years time? I want to hear what they say first, then ask how I’m going to get them there. I ask if they want to be in my job; people push back a bit because they don’t want to say they want my job, but the next two or three years are going to come whether you like it or not.
The best advice is from my parents: treat people how you want to be treated, everybody’s part of the puzzle to make it work. There’s a solution for every problem.
My children don’t even try to articulate what I do. I try to explain that sometimes a career path – how things change – can take it a different way.
My children don’t even try to articulate what I do. I try to explain that sometimes a career path – how things change – can take it a different way.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/management/article-paula-poirier-on-why-treating-people-the-way-you-want-to-be-treated-is/
Aug. 20, 2018 The Ladder: Thor Richardson: Today I found this article by Gayle MacDonald in the Globe and Mail:
Thor Richardson, 29, is managing partner and director of international markets at Casamigos Spirits Co., a popular tequila brand founded by George Clooney and friends.
He holds a law degree from Cambridge University and a business degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario. He is a member of Winnipeg’s low-key Richardson family who built a $9-billion, 160-year-old Prairie powerhouse in grain, energy, oil and wealth management.
Last summer, Casamigos was sold to British beverage giant Diageo PLC for US$700-million (with another US$300-million coming if the company meets 10-year targets).
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/management/article-thor-richardson-on-building-a-popular-brand-while-knowing-absolutely/
Aug. 20, 2018 The Ladder: Thor Richardson: Today I found this article by Gayle MacDonald in the Globe and Mail:
Thor Richardson, 29, is managing partner and director of international markets at Casamigos Spirits Co., a popular tequila brand founded by George Clooney and friends.
He holds a law degree from Cambridge University and a business degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario. He is a member of Winnipeg’s low-key Richardson family who built a $9-billion, 160-year-old Prairie powerhouse in grain, energy, oil and wealth management.
Last summer, Casamigos was sold to British beverage giant Diageo PLC for US$700-million (with another US$300-million coming if the company meets 10-year targets).
I knew absolutely nothing about booze. But the guys in the States [Clooney and partners Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman] didn’t know a lot either. Rande came from bars and restaurants, Mike from real estate and you know what George does.
So in 2013 when the brand launched, we were all first-timers. But we all knew we had this great product and we believed in it. We learned as we went.
So in 2013 when the brand launched, we were all first-timers. But we all knew we had this great product and we believed in it. We learned as we went.
I had a job lined up on Bay Street so the decision to go to Casamigos was not something I took lightly. In the end, I made the decision by weighing the upside versus the downside.
I could be part of something big and in on the ground floor early in my career, or I could fall flat on my face and walk away with some valuable lessons to take back with me into law or some other business venture.
I could be part of something big and in on the ground floor early in my career, or I could fall flat on my face and walk away with some valuable lessons to take back with me into law or some other business venture.
Anybody who has an entrepreneurial bent can’t help be intrigued by the challenge and the excitement of the unknown. Before I made the decision I had a lot of conversations with people I value and trust.
First and foremost, my dad who was fully supportive. But probably the tipping point was when I talked to Richard Branson [founder of UK Virgin Group] who is a mentor and a friend. He told me, “You don’t get what you don’t reach for.”
First and foremost, my dad who was fully supportive. But probably the tipping point was when I talked to Richard Branson [founder of UK Virgin Group] who is a mentor and a friend. He told me, “You don’t get what you don’t reach for.”
They called me “employee zero” and none of our U.S. sales reps came from the liquor business either. My hiring philosophy is pretty simple: Find presentable, passionate people.
I would take someone who sold a Xerox machine over someone who sold liquor, or has been in the liquor business, if he or she is the right personality and fit. In our business what matters is how you interact and communicate with people.
I would take someone who sold a Xerox machine over someone who sold liquor, or has been in the liquor business, if he or she is the right personality and fit. In our business what matters is how you interact and communicate with people.
Sales is the backbone of our business, and it’s our biggest concern and priority. I love sales because it’s measurable. You’ve got a goal. You’ve got targets. And you’ve got to hit them.
I think it’s the purest form of business – being able to sell something and win a life-long customer.
I think it’s the purest form of business – being able to sell something and win a life-long customer.
I never imagined we’d be this successful, this quickly, and I don’t think George, Rande or Mike did either. We’ve all still got lots more to accomplish with Casamigos. We’re launching in over 20 countries in Europe and Asia right now.
It’s now a very real business, but George and Rande didn’t go into it to try to make money. It wasn’t like they said, “Hey, you know tequila’s hot, so let’s start a brand and hope something happens.”
That couldn’t be further from the truth. They loved tequila and spending time [at their homes] in Mexico, they went through 700 samples before they thought they finally nailed it. It was only when they drank so much with their friends that it turned into a company because they got a call from a distillery saying, with this production volume, they had to get a license.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. They loved tequila and spending time [at their homes] in Mexico, they went through 700 samples before they thought they finally nailed it. It was only when they drank so much with their friends that it turned into a company because they got a call from a distillery saying, with this production volume, they had to get a license.
I’ve always said working for the family firm would be a great honour. [But] I knew it was not something that I wanted to do right away. Having success in a completely different industry, with completely different connections, and on an international scale was what I set out to do before considering a role within the [family] firm.
There is a great amount of privilege that comes with being part of our family, but also a great amount of responsibility. You are not just representing yourself, but you’re representing the family and everyone who came before you, so you never want to do anything to tarnish that.
When I was growing up, there was no real access to, or encouragement of, entrepreneurial resources in the classroom or anywhere else you’d look as a young person. I started a newspaper and garbage route when I was 15 and that became a successful business with a few employees. But I was lucky.
I had my dad to run through ideas with at the kitchen table. He walked me through business 101 and basic financial literacy at a young age. I’ve seen the impact of access to entrepreneurship on a young person, and so since we sold [Casamigos] I’ve been working with the WE Organization to create a Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, a $25-million campus located next to the WE Global Learning Centre.
It will empower young entrepreneurs to develop, launch and scale their ideas by providing access to expertise, markets and capital. There’s nothing like it in Canada, especially for underprivileged youth.
I had my dad to run through ideas with at the kitchen table. He walked me through business 101 and basic financial literacy at a young age. I’ve seen the impact of access to entrepreneurship on a young person, and so since we sold [Casamigos] I’ve been working with the WE Organization to create a Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, a $25-million campus located next to the WE Global Learning Centre.
It will empower young entrepreneurs to develop, launch and scale their ideas by providing access to expertise, markets and capital. There’s nothing like it in Canada, especially for underprivileged youth.
Having certain connections is helpful, but it’s only ever the first step. People can open a door, but it’s up to you to walk through it and make things happen. Luck never hurts, but I firmly believe you usually make your own.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/management/article-thor-richardson-on-building-a-popular-brand-while-knowing-absolutely/
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