Hacking through the jungles of corporate finance

It is possible that his first advantage was a talent for sport that was to lead him to represent Canada in the 1964 Olympic games as a bobsledder. This gave him confidence in the business world and encouraged him to publish Pagurian s first book. The Prime Ministers of Canada started out with a modest print run, but ended up on the school syllabus and went on to sell over 600,000 copies.

By keeping Pagurian s headcount to a minimum, watching his cash flow like a hawk and meticulously researching his market, Ondaatje developed a formula that eventually led to his enormous success. There would be no speculations on untried novelists. Cookery books sold, so he sold cookery books. The successful young families wanted art prints to decorate their stylish new homes, so he sold them art prints.