#7 Isadore Sharp (Founder of Four Seasons) Part 2

Welcome to the Uncommon Excellence Podcast. The podcast where we learn from the best to become the best. I'm on a mission to uncover the timeless lessons from history's greatest entrepreneurs, founders and thinkers so you can skip years of trial and error and fast track your success. The world's most extraordinary achievers didn't follow the crowd. They thought differently. They made bold decisions and built legacies that continue to shape our world today. But what exactly set them apart? What can we learn from their journeys? And most importantly, how can we apply those lessons to our own lives and careers? In every episode, I'll break down the strategies, mindsets, and habits of icons like Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, and Walt Disney, translating their wisdom into practical, actionable steps you can implement immediately. If you're someone who refuses to settle for mediocrity and is ready to learn from the greatest minds of all time, then this is the podcast for you. Let's dive into today's episode and take the first step toward your journey of uncommon excellence. Imagine building a luxury hotel empire, only to face a crossroads when your entire business model could collapse. That's exactly where Isadore Sharp found himself in the 1970s. But what came next wasn't just a survival strategy. It. It was a revolution in the hospitality industry. Today, we're diving into the heart of Four Season story. The partnerships that tested its values, the personal tragedies that shaped its soul, and the bold new business model that turned it into a global icon. So we get into chapter seven, which is the ITT Sheraton partnership, and this was the testing of values for the four seasons. So in the early 1970s, four seasons was still a relatively small player in the hospitality industry, but its reputation for exceptional service and attention to detail was growing. And that's when ITT Sheraton came knocking. Sheraton was a giant with hundreds of hotels worldwide, and they saw a ton of potential in Four Seasons. The partnership between them, you know, seemed like a golden opportunity. You know, Sheraton would provide the financial backing and Four Seasons would bring its luxury expertise. But of course, there was a catch. You know, Sheraton's corporate mass market approach clashed with Sharpe's vision. A personalized, intimate luxury. The tension was palpable. Should Sharpe this.

This was the main question.

Should Sharpe compromise his values for the sake of growth? This moment mirrors the struggles of leaders like Steve Jobs, who famously said, innovation is saying no to a thousand things. Jobs refused to dilute Apple's vision, even when it meant walking away from lucrative deals. And for Sharp, the decision was equally as clear. During a meeting with Sheraton or Sheraton executives, he realized they were more focused on profit margins than guest experiences. That's when he knew Four Seasons couldn't thrive under these conditions. And he walked away from the partnership. And it was a risky move, but it was the right one. And Sharp later reflected and he said we had to stay true to who we are and who we were, even if it meant going, going at it alone. This decision became a defining moment for Four Seasons, proving that sometimes the hardest choices are the ones that set you free. The hardest choices are the ones that set you apart. You know, it's really hard to not.

Follow the trend or follow what everyone's doing.

It's really, you know, it's really hard to become the trend. And after parting ways with Sheraton, Sharp faced a new challenge. And we touched on this in the last podcast episode a little bit. But how to grow without compromising his vision. That's when he turned his attention to London.

The in on the in on the.

Park was the London hotel that we were talking about in Last Episode and Four Seasons. That was the first seasons. The Four Seasons first international venture. And that was a gamble for them. The British market was skeptical of this Canadian guy and Sharp's commitment to quality won them over. You know, they were really skeptical of Sharp, but he won them over because of his quality to commitment. And that's why the hotel became a favorite among celebrities, royalty. And it really cemented Four Seasons reputation as a global luxury brand.

Brand.

It was a reminder that, you know, staying true to your values isn't just about saying no. It's about finding new ways to say yes.

Now this next chapter is probably the saddest chapters that I've read in a book, especially this book up to this point, probably the most emotional chapter I've read. This is about Isadore Sharp's son, Chris Sharp. And I'm just going to read it to you because the words that are read on this page, page and a half to two pages, are really sad and devastating, but something that you can't put into words. He does, he puts it into words the best. And so I'm just gonna read this for you. And this is Isadore Sharp talking. I was sitting in my office one day in November 1976 when Rosalie, that's his wife, called to tell me that our 16 year old son Chris had found a growth in his groin. The size of it, the size of an egg. Our doctor ordered a biopsy, but. But she wasn't too worried about it because Chris was a 6 foot 2 athlete who looked the picture of health. Handsome, wholesome, with a disdain for drugs, cigarettes and even coffee. He was a street smart, take charge person, the only one of our four sons who looked forward to spending his life in our hotel business. But as it turned out, his blonde good looks through lack of pigment in his skin made him a candidate for skin cancer and his growth was diagnosed as melanoma. We consulted the best doctors and took him for treatment to Boston and New York. We did everything we could, but finally accepted the tragic reality that Chris only had a few months to live. Our doctors insisted that he be hospitalized, but we decided to take him home. While I continued going to the office, Rosalie looked after Chris. No nursing routines, hospital tubes, no impersonal institutional atmosphere for him. The following four paragraphs are taken from Rosalie's memoir, An Improbable Life. Chris slept in our bed and I took turns sleeping with him while the others slept in Chris's room. Once, as I was fussing with the sheepskin he lay on because of the she. Because of the bed, of the bed sores, he asked, am I going to die? And I answered, we hope you will recover, but it's possible you may not. No one knows for sure. Once I said, there can't be a God. And he answered, don't say that there is a God. Those were the black days and black nights. I remember going up the stairs so heavily, with nothing but dread in each step. The night before Chris died, the rest of us ate a chicken dinner in his bedroom. We were chatting normally, hoping to make him feel included. He didn't speak. He just lay there quietly, very still, looking at the ceiling. I marveled at the stillness that he had maintained during the three months he was bedridden, graceful and easy in his body. Never a twitch of anxiety like John's Denver serenity of a clear Blue Mountain lake. The last night, he was wearing sunglasses, which he had asked for before dinner. He was removing himself, the way people do when they are ready to leave the world. The next morning, Friday, March 10, 1978, Chris said, dad, don't go to work today. Izzy stood by his bed and I lay across the bed. And each of us held one of his big, beautiful hands. That was the day he died. Losing Chris changed my life forever. We must each find our own way to deal with the pain of losing a child. And I continue to include Chris as part of our family. Years have passed, but I still say we have four sons and every Day I say the mourners Kaddish for Chris. Over time, you build a protective shield to fend off the emotion that a child's absence arouses at family events, celebrations and weddings. But there are unexpected times when the shield is down and tears flow. You never get over it. That was the story of Isadore Sharp's son, Chris Sharp, passing away. That's very emotional. I'm the same age as his son when he passed away. And I look at that story and I think, that could be me. That could be anyone my age. You know, if I was a father and I lost my 16 or 17 year old son, that that would be hard, man. That was a deep story, something that I recorded this podcast episode and I recorded a part before this and I started reading that again and that was so powerful that just reading it in front of, you know, just reading it again makes you so emotional. There's something about that that really captivates, you know, it really showcases human relationships and the story behind, you know, what a father and son relationship can do. You look at Michael Jordan, he lost his father. His father pulled over on the side of the road to take a nap or sleep overnight, and a guy came, killed him and last impacted Michael Jordan and had a huge impact on him. Definitely not easy talking about this stuff, but it created a drive and motivation in Michael Jordan and it created a sort of a new perspective for Isador Sharpe on Looking on the World with Isadore. You know, the main thing that we see here is that his lens shifts after Chris dies. You see the shift go from how can we create the best customer, experience all this stuff and it fades out, or it gets a broader approach where it's like, you know, these people are human, all our guests are human. How can we take and consider their humanity into this kind of way of looking at it, right? And kind of how can we be compassionate, kind all this. And that's really what stayed with him once Chris died. And Sharp often said, when you're faced with something as devastating as a child's illness, it puts everything into perspective and you realize what truly matters. And this, the reason why this is in his book Four Seasons, the story of a business Philosophy was it changed his philosophy on business. You know, these are values that would later shape the Four Seasons culture through compassion and empathy. Focusing on the humanity of your guests. And not just, you know, these are robots buying products for you from you, you know, and we talked about Michael Jordan and how the loss of his father shaped his drive and determination. And for Sharpe, his son's illness forced him to confront the fragility of life and the importance of your purpose. And the kind of redemption part of the story is. Around the same time, another young man was also making headlines in Canada. And this guy was named Terry Fox. Terry had lost his leg to cancer. And he was running across the country to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. And he was running across the country to raise this, raise funds for cancer research, cancer, basically curing cancer. And what I love about this is he had a marathon and it was called his marathon of hope or the marathon of hope. And it captured the nation's heart. And he also captured Isadore Sharps as well. And Sharp was so moved by Terry's courage that he decided to support his cause. And Four Seasons became one of the first corporate sponsors of the Terry Fox run. And Sharp even met him in person. And that meeting left a lasting impression on Sharp. He would later go on to say that Terry reminded me that true strength isn't about power or wealth. It's about. It's about purpose and perseverance. These personal experiences deepened Sharp's commitment to create a company that not only cared for just its guests, but the its employees and the community. He introduced policies that prioritized employee well being, like competitive wages and opportunities for growth. He also encouraged his team to give back, fostering a culture of generosity and compassion. It was a turning point that showed how leadership is as much about the heart as it is about the mind. And now we go into chapter nine, which is a new business model. And this is kind of a bold pivot for Four Seasons. And so this is in the late 1970s, and four seasons was at a crossroad, and the costs of owning and operating luxury hotels were becoming unstainable, unsustainable. And Sharp knew that he had to.

Find a new way forward or he.

Would risk losing everything. And that's when he made a breakthrough idea. What if Four Seasons didn't own the hotels? This is revolutionary and remarkable. What if instead they focused on managing them? This shift would allow the company to maintain its high standards of service without the financial burden of ownership.

It was a radical idea at the.

Time, but Sharp believed in it. And this kind of bold pivot is.

A hallmark of great leaders.

Elon Musk, for example, transformed Tesla from a niche electric car company into a global leader in sustainable energy. Similarly, similarly, Warren Buffett shift from running a Tet style company to building Berkshire Hathaway into to an investment powerhouse shows the power of reinvention For Sharp, the pivot to a management contract model was equally as transformative. The first test of this new model.

Was the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. And instead of owning that property, Four.

Seasons signed a management contract with the building's owners and the result was a resounding success.

Guests love the experience and the owners.

Were happy with the returns. This model became the blueprint for Four Seasons future growth. And over the next few decades, this allowed them to expand globally, from London to Beverly Hills, even to Tokyo, all without owning a single property. It was a bold pivot that redefined the the hospitality industry and prove that.

Innovation isn't just about technology, it's about reimagining, reimagining how you do business.

And before we just sum up and go into the conclusion and kind of the lessons, when we were going over Chris Sharp and when he, you know, passed away, when I was reading that, that truly is emotional. And I know I've already said this, I just want to make it really clear that when you read this, expect that to get at you. I don't believe, like, I reread it and, you know, it is really emotional. And while you're reading it, it's very easy to, like, break down and cry because this is something that is really good and really affected him. And I can't even imagine losing one of my family members without it affecting my worldview or just how I look at everything. You know, really cherish the life that you've been given. Really cherish, you know, everything that's been set before you. You know, I think that's a practical philosophy that everyone should know and everyone should be looking at. You know, there's no reason for you not to cherish life. There's no reason to go chase success to the point where you ignore your family. There's no reason to do certain things to the point where all you think about is money. You know, we are trying to learn from the greatest, but we also want to learn not only the good things, but also the bad things that they, you know, they didn't do. Well, you know, so far, Isadore Sharpe is a great example of the good things. He hasn't done a lot of bad things that I can at least see in this book that are noticeable enough to point out. But one of the greatest things that really, you know, stood out to me was that chapter that I read to you, those couple of pages where it really showed the artistry and storytelling of that and actually a fun fact before we go into the conclusion, is that he helped. Terry Fox raised $850 million for cancer. That's amazing. That's amazing. $850 million. That's awesome. And so what can we learn from Isadore Sharpe? His. His journey? Well, first, stay true to your values. And staying true to your values isn't always easy, but it's always worth it. You can just look at Walt Disney, right? He wanted to build an amusement park. No one agreed with him. He stood true to his values. He made it excellent. He focused on the details, and it was worth it. It's worth, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars now. Second, leadership is about more than just strategy. It's about empathy, compassion, and purpose. This goes along with the Start with why book by Simon Sinek. Find your purpose, find your why you're doing it. Find the why, find. And through that, you'll find your how and what. So how will you do it? What will you do it with? And why are you doing it? And third, when faced with a crisis, don't be afraid to reinvent yourself. Sharp's story reminds us that the greatest challenges also, they often lead to the most profound transformations. And as we wrap up this podcast episode, I just want to leave you with a question. What's the one? What's the one value you would never compromise, no matter the opportunity? And how can you use that to guide your own journey? Because in the end, it's not just about building a successful business. It's about building a meaningful one. I really appreciate just you guys taking the time to listen to this podcast episode. This was a story that meant a lot to me, and I'm sure it meant a lot to you. It really struck a chord in my. Just. Just struck a chord with me, and I hope it did for you as well. I hope this is a blessing in disguise where you realize that life is a blessing and something you can't take for granted. You know, his son was going to go work. Chris Sharp was going to go work for his dad right after high school and died before he could do that. He was gonna go work with his dad, and he was super anxious and excited to, and he ended up passing away from cancer. Really take the opportunity to seize life, enjoy it with people you love, and do that to the fullest extent. I really hope this changes the way you think about life, and I'll talk to you again soon. Thank.