Monday night I had the opportunity to applaud, moved, my president and friend, Eloi Planes, distinguished at the La Vanguardia Awards as best businessman of the year. A more than deserved recognition, for what he does, but above all, for how he does it.
Much has been written about his business career, and rightly so, as it is very commendable. Today, however, I don't want to talk about the fashionable businessman. I want to talk about the person.
I confess that I had reserved this space to write again, once more, about the patronage law and the need for it to culminate. But that night I understood that there is something we need even more than any law: people like Eloi.
Men and women who are sensitive to the country, who look to the future, who want to leave a legacy and who feel co-responsible for what happens around them. A law can stimulate patronage, but it is the person who makes the decision to be a patron or not. To give without expecting anything in return.
And that, precisely, is Eloi. And that's why I decided to change the content of this article and share a little about what this entrepreneurial man with humanist ancestry is like.
A law can stimulate patronage, but it is the person who makes the decision to be a patron or not
Eloi is, first of all, a good son. His father, Joan Planes, was a prominent figure in our country, and there are inheritances that can weigh like a millstone. This could have been one. For him, however, far from weighing him down, it has spurred him on. He has known how to multiply the received legacy and assume, naturally, the role of family engine.
One day he told me that the main and most important inheritance one receives from their parents are their siblings. Wise words. Especially if you are part of a family business.
And perhaps this phrase explains much more about Eloi than it seems.
Because Eloi is also a good father. Close, concerned and dedicated. A father whom his children not only admire, but also live and feel close to. They explained it themselves, with a courage and tenderness that left no room for doubt, during the presentation a few months ago of his latest book of poems —which, by the way, he writes while traveling by plane—. Each of them explained what their father means in their life. And, probably, there is no better recognition than this.
He is, moreover, an inveterate romantic. One of those who have no shame in taking advantage of any speech, in front of a packed Palau de la Música, to declare his unconditional and eternal love to the woman he re-marries every time he can.
And he is a man of friends. Lifelong friends and those life has brought him. With them he laughs and cries, celebrates and suffers, with an open heart. There is not much artifice in Eloi: he is straightforward, transparent, sincere, sensible, and not at all arrogant. Ego, simply, does not seem to be part of his baggage.
Ego, simply, does not seem to be part of his baggage
And then there is a quality that, in my opinion, explains a good part of his magnetism: he knows how to laugh at himself.
And how.
He does it with a frankness and naturalness that disarms any solemnity and breaks any barrier. With him, even the most serious things can end with a laugh. And that makes everything easier.
One day he told me he was lucky not to raise antibodies. He was right. I have been able to confirm it in many of the places we have been together: Eloi enters a room and, after a short while, it seems like he has always been there.
As a boss, this way of being does not disappear. On the contrary, it becomes a way of exercising leadership.
He is approachable, respectful, and intelligent. But, above all, he knows how to inspire confidence. He knows how to listen, he knows how to let others do their work, and he knows how to be there when needed. He doesn't need to command to lead. And that, in a world where authority is often confused with leadership, is an important difference.
Some time ago I was invited to one of the most prestigious business schools in Barcelona to explain the governance model of the Foundation he presides over and which I have the honor of directing, the Fundació Catalunya Cultura. We were presented as a success story.
And we turned out to be, according to the manuals, almost the antithesis of good governance. The counterexample. What, in theory, should never be done: being friends. Apparently, according to some manuals, we have too much fun.
Perhaps so.
But precisely here I believe lies an important part of the secret to the success of the work we do.
In trust. In the sincerity with which we share a vision and a mission. In the intelligence with which he leads without needing to command. In the generosity with which he gives you space to act. And in that support, always present and without reservations, that he knows how to offer when you need it most.
Because, before being two positions, we are two people. Two people who respect each other, who share values and a purpose, who have a common path and who, above all, care about their people and their country.
Perhaps this is also one of the great lessons that working with him has taught me: that leading is not about occupying a position, but about enabling others to occupy theirs.
Leading is not about occupying a position, but about enabling others to occupy theirs
The patronage law will arrive, and we will continue to firmly demand it. But the country we want is not built only by laws. It is built by people who decide to look beyond themselves. People who give, who get involved, who assume responsibilities and who understand that their success also entails a responsibility towards others.
People like Eloi.
And perhaps that's why, that night, as I applauded him emotionally, I thought that Eloi had a lot of a hero in him, a person who, without even intending to or knowing how, ended up becoming a role model.