Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
How Four Seasons founder Isadore Sharp built a billion-dollar luxury brand?
A chance opportunity can change the trajectory of your career. Gather an insightful outlook into our founder Isadore Sharp on ...
Transcript (15 segments)
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Isadore Sharp0:00
Whatever it is, get into the workforce. Do not try to make a schedule for your career.
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Ryan Roslansky0:08
Aspirations, welcome to the path. I'm Ryan Roslansky, the CEO of LinkedIn. Today my guest is the founder of the iconic Four Seasons Hotels, Izzy Sharp. Mr. Sharp is a man who stands out as a visionary in the world of hotels and luxury. But before he was known for his extravagant hospitality, he was a construction worker in Toronto. Until one day he made a decision to build his friend a motel, and that changed his life forever. But what really led the 92-year-old to build his legacy was one simple rule, a philosophy that landed him business deals and became the essence of the Four Seasons. Here's how Isadore Sharp paved his path.
I want to go way, way back to maybe early days as a kid growing up, and if you can remember at all, what you wanted to be when you grew up.
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Isadore Sharp1:06
Growing up in an immigrant household, we didn't think much about what we were going to be. I fortunately had a very healthy upbringing with three sisters. Our parents gave us complete freedom. They brought us up like they were brought up, having to be independent. So there wasn't any sort of an idea of a career aspiration. We go to school, graduate, get a job, get married. To me, school was a playground — girls and sports. I was not a good student. I didn't really focus on an education. You know, I got through, so I didn't get much out of school except a lot of fun.
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Narrator1:53
Izzy spent his teenage years at his dad's construction business, building houses and apartments. He kind of always knew that he'd end up following in his dad's footsteps. So he went off to college to study architecture and design, and when he graduated, his father made him take over the family business. So 21-year-old Izzy was hiring and overseeing workers, negotiating real estate deals, and shaping the skyline of a rapidly booming Toronto.
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Isadore Sharp2:20
I guess my dad thought, you know, because I had a bit of an education, that I must know more than I did. And he stepped back, and I was sort of running things. I took on a responsibility that I certainly was not prepared for, and I made the mistakes that luckily didn't cause a serious drop in my career. But I was out of my league. I should not have assumed I knew things that I didn't. I was always a good leader and a communicator with people, so being a good salesperson, I fit in the role nicely. I really enjoyed the construction, whether it was cold, hot, dusty. It was a challenge.
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Narrator3:09
One day a friend proposed building a motel off a highway in the city's outskirts. He was skeptical it could work, but it turned out to be a success. So he thought, why not build one for himself? Izzy designed a motel that focused on service, introducing 24-hour room service to the world of hospitality, as well as revolutionizing the bathroom experience by placing little shampoo bottles in the shower — a feature now considered the standard. It became a huge success. So he built a second hotel in Toronto. That one was an architectural milestone: a six-story building with a courtyard, a large swimming pool, a diving pool, two tennis courts, gardens, and a skating rink. It even had Canada's first discotheque. But building these hotels and motels didn't come easy. Izzy was new to hospitality, he had no credit record, and a lot of these buildings were being built in less than ideal locations, which turned investors off. So he leaned on his one true asset: his reputation.
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Ryan Roslansky4:07
What I'm learning more about you is that a lot of this, the success and your ability to navigate through these, seem like it had a lot to do with your ability to build pretty strong relationships with people — people who trusted you, people who would, you know, give you these loans and do a deal on a handshake. What's kind of your philosophy on relationships and dealing with people?
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Isadore Sharp4:31
One of the things I discovered about myself is that I do make a good first impression. So I find by being sincere and no pretense — you are who you are — I've been able to build up very strong relationships, both personal and in business. And those relationships really are what your reputation is, and a reputation is built over a lifetime.
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Narrator5:05
In 1970, Izzy built his third hotel, this one in London, and by the end of that same year it was regarded as one of the best in Europe. At this point he was still considering himself a builder, not a hotel owner. But seven successful hotels later, he decided to make the full switch, dedicating all of his time to the hotel business. But he asked himself: how are they going to keep distinguishing the Four Seasons from other hotels? That's where the Golden Rule comes in.
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Isadore Sharp5:34
The golden rule. That was when I decided that we would only operate medium-sized hotels of exceptional quality. If you're going to be the best, what's going to distinguish you from others? And I knew it couldn't be buildings. So we had to come up with something that was more intangible. And I thought that we're going to make the quality of our service our distinguishing feature. I decided I would use the Golden Rule as our mission statement. So if everybody understood, that's how they should expect to be treated, and that is how they should treat our customers. And that's what became the secret sauce.
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Narrator6:28
Izzy enforced the golden rule in his hotels around the globe. He made sure that everyone in leadership roles believed in the rule and lived it, even when that meant he had to fire the skeptics. The Four Seasons exploded over the decades. The Four Seasons reached many milestones: in 1986 it went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and in 2007 it made a $3.8 billion deal that would privatize the hotel chain. Today it has over 100 properties in almost 50 countries and has one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the entire hospitality industry.
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Ryan Roslansky7:02
What is your best career advice, especially for someone starting out brand new in their career? I'd love to hear what you might tell them.
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Isadore Sharp7:10
My approach is that if you can get a good education, because that's something you're going to have for life, get a job. Whatever it is, get into the workforce. Do not try to make a schedule for your career aspirations, like every five years from now I want to be X or that, etc., leading towards either making a lot of money or becoming a senior executive. I never ever expected that I would be in the hotel business. It was a chance event that opens an opportunity, lets you think of something that you never thought of before, and you take that chance. So I'd say whatever that job is, if you do your best, it will lead you to the next step. And trust me, it won't be anything that you might be able to think about when you first start. It's a winding trail going down a steep hill. Work is the biggest part of our life every day, so you want to find something that you really enjoy doing, or what you feel like you want to do. And that is what will give you the best guide, that will serve you best.
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Ryan Roslansky8:41
So here's my takeaway. Right from the start, Izzy was building a reputation of trustworthiness. It earned him respect in spades, and that ended up becoming the bedrock of his career and of the Four Seasons. So on your path, remember the Golden Rule: treat others how you want to be treated. Yes, that can be challenging in any job or life situation. You're going to face obstacles and even difficult people, but these are the moments that shape your reputation. Don't forget, as big as the world may seem, it's actually pretty small, and word travels fast. And at the end, no matter how good you are at your job, your reputation is what truly influences your career growth.