Amy Booth

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Strategic PatternFlanking Around Entrenched Giants

Identity & CultureLoyalty Bought with Friday Paychecks

Relationship LeverageBoard Seats as Reconnaissance Posts

Cornerstone MoveSell the Company to Itself — Internal Reverse Takeovers

Competitive AdvantageClassified Stock as Control Multiplier

Cornerstone MoveFind the Key Man and Close Before Combat

Operating PrincipleCash Business Preference from Bus Roots

Strategic PatternConcentrated Diversity Over Grab-Bag Portfolios

Signature MoveWin Small, Consolidate, Then Leap Geometrically

Signature MoveWallpaper-Roll Planning Then Relentless Pressure

Cornerstone MoveBuy Cheap Shells, Strip and Reload the Portfolio

Operating PrinciplePool-of-Light Negotiation Theater

Relationship LeveragePolitical Access Without Political Office

Signature MoveDebt as Temporary Tool, Never Permanent Foundation

Capital StrategyDividends as Upward Cash Escalator

Signature MoveChief of Staff Handles Architecture, Boss Handles Vision

Decision FrameworkAcquire Capacity, Never Build in Inflation

Signature MovePocket the Stake, Play with Winnings Only

Primary Evidence

"“I suspect he [Desmarais] must have also looked at himself once he arrived at Power Corporation,” said Amy Booth. “Because in the early days, he had been more busy doing than thinking, buying what was available.”"

Source:Rising to Power - Paul Desmarais & Power Corporation

"“It [the purchase] moved him from being a small operator, largely in the French Canadian milieu, to the big leagues,” said journalist Amy Booth. “It was a major turning point, and the Royal Bank was clearly involved. One day Desmarais was doing his own thing and the next day the Royal Bank was effectively his partner. Booth was referring to the large block of Desmarais-owned (through Gelco) Trans-Canada Corporation Fund shares which the Royal Bank held as security for loans and returned so he could have bargaining chips when working out the Power deal. Until the Power acquisition, the Royal Bank had bankrolled most of Desmarais’s deals since 1955, but not out of any conscious attempt to become kingmakers. “I don’t think they’ve ever thought that far,” said Booth. “Maybe the bank would like to think so now, that it set him up in Power, but I don’t think that was the case. Bankers aren’t that smart.”"

Source:Rising to Power - Paul Desmarais & Power Corporation

Appears In Volumes

Rising to Power - Paul Desmarais & Power Corporation