The Network Insider: Dialogue with a Dragon - W. Brett Wilson

Our newsletter this month focuses on an industry that more often than not, gives investors a wild ride. W. Brett Wilson, one of the founding partners of Calgary's FirstEnergy Capital Corp takes us on that journey (while he journeys in Africa) and shares some insights with us.

Brett has been a leader in the energy investing and well known in Calgary circles as both an astute businessman and a philanthropist and has holdings well beyond energy in fields as diverse as entertainment, sports and agriculture.

Brett is perhaps best known for his role on the popular venture capital raising show, Dragons Den.

A successful entrepreneur by anyone's standards, Brett has another side, that of philanthropist. Brett talks to us a bit about how he changed his priorities after becoming wildly successful. This has included his jumping wholeheartedly into a number of charitable concerns, including kids with cancer and organ donation.

The drive that propelled him to the top in investment banking shows in his dedication to the causes he supports.

While some of our other guests, when asked about business mistakes have focused on financial and marketing mistakes, Brett takes us to the world of people. This is a particularly timely topic as people issues are on the forefront of many managers' minds as we weather the worst recession in several generations.

Recruiting and retaining good people looms large as a task in good times. In tough times managers have two tasks. One is to handle potential layoffs, furloughs and other bad news well. The second is to set the stage for an economic upturn, where a reputation for heartlessness could make hiring good people difficult.

Innovative companies, especially those just starting out, must be innovative with their people as well as their products. We talk a lot in our book about managing innovation across functions and that means managing the people who staff these areas effectively. While it's tempting to be product focused, people make up the core of the company and the heart of the company culture.

Driving the company culture across disciplines means also recognizing the personalities which tend to dominate each department; handling conflict appropriately and motivating individuals in the various ways that different personality types require. Like product innovation, people management takes creativity and compromise.
Good people management means recognizing what drives both potential customers and current employees. We'll see in our interview that Brett Wilson finds both of these important.


Q & A with W. Brett Wilson

Q. What are the key trends effecting your industry?


A. Oil and gas Industry. Investing in growth oriented start-ups (Dragons Den related)

Key trends impacting Oil and Gas is the down turn in the economy

There is a challenge in creating opportunities where none existed before.

The downturn has created an abundance of labour, materials and office space. The challenge is always cash flow - cash is king - and in this economy this is the biggest challenge.

Q. What is a biggest pitfall that impedes successful commercialization?


A. Misunderstanding your target market both as the product your delivering and the desirability in that market but that all ties to the bottom line of understanding your market.

Q. What is your biggest business mistake and what did you learn from it?

Not dealing with people issues when they are apparent and should be dealt with. Conflict avoider. People issues should be dealt with through open communication and immediate action.

Q. What do you consider your biggest personal or business achievement?


A. Reprioritizing my life after years as a workaholic to the success of FirstEnergy. The result was I was able to connect with my own children and open the door to other experiences and opportunities. My biggest most successful business is FirstEnergy - in the creation, building development of that business.

Q. What is an example of an innovative company that people have never heard of?


A. The Bolt Supply House... A company I invested in 10 yrs. Ago. They stayed thru lean times, are innovative and have done well. They are a dominant provider of fasteners in Western Canada. (www.boltsupply.com)




W. Brett Wilson


W. Brett Wilson is one of Canada's most successful businessmen and respected philanthropists. A high profile Calgarian who proudly wears the label "maverick", Brett is one of the founding partners of Calgary's FirstEnergy Capital Corp. He helped turn an intrepid start-up into the energy industry's leading investment bank, which has brokered thousands of financings and M&A deals worth over $150 billion. Brett's instincts for investing in the right people have also translated into major holdings in the energy, agriculture, real estate, sports, and entertainment industries, financed through his private investment bank, Prairie Merchant.

His personal charisma and small-town charm have gained him a national audience, a platform he uses to inspire his brand of "prairie ethics" - focused on personal integrity, a commitment to community, and work/life balance. Brett uses his own larger-than-life story to illustrate what he has learned about the real meaning of success.

A self-described "capitalist with a heart", Brett spends almost as much time giving money away as he does earning it. With an innovative approach to philanthropy, he has given - and engaged others to give - tens of millions to non-profit initiatives.

According to Alberta Venture Magazine, who named Brett Business Person of the Year in 2009, "he is single-handedly redefining the meaning of success in work-and wealth-obsessed Calgary." His commitment to excellence and innovation has not only revolutionized the business sector in which he operates, but the community in which he lives, inspiring others to see how they can leave an equally unique mark on the world.