I attended the Annual Toronto Board of Trade dinner on January 31. The Richard Ivey School of Business was announced as Principal Sponsor of the Toronto Board of Trade. I had the privilege of seeing an excellent presentation by Guy Laliberte.
Guy Laliberte is the founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil. He is also a philanthropist. For example, in 2007 he announced the launch of the One Drop Foundation to fight poverty in the world by giving everyone access to water.
In his presentation Laliberte focused on the setbacks and subsequent successes of the Cirque du Soleil; and the various leadership lessons embedded in these experiences. He shared incredible stories full of life lessons.
For example, Laliberte recalled his time as an 18-year old in Europe. He called this the School of Life. He arrived in Europe with $50 in his pocket. He lived in the streets earning money from singing songs and playing tunes on his accordion. One night a doctor picked him up; and offered him dinner and a bed. And the next five evenings they played games of chess. Laliberte asked the doctor - Why are you doing this for me? Why are you so generous? The doctor said that one day when I was your age someone did the same thing for me. And I asked the same question you asked me today. And my answer is a simple one - one day you will have the opportunity to give it back. This was a profound lesson for Laliberte. He explained that this episode taught him one of the most fundamental things in life - feed the circle of life and life will feed you back.
Laliberte also spoke passionately about his 2009 trip into space. He explained that planet Earth has been here for millions of years; and that the planet got rid of many species for many different reasons. The difference, he said, is that for us, humans, we were given a brain and a heart. He ended his presentation with a plea: "To wish that one day this population of people will use this brain and heart to get together and make a better world. So I just encourage you to be sensitive to things in life."
The full presentation can be viewed here. The actual presentation starts at 08:30.