Q&A: Louis Carstens, Partner at Partners in Performance in South Africa
Louis Carstens is a Johannesburg-based partner at Partners in Performance, a global management consulting. We asked him eight questions about his background and career.
What was your first job?
One of my first jobs I got paid for was as a student working at a Free State gold mine as an onsetter – I was in charge of the cage that conveyed mineworkers underground, between levels, and between underground and the surface. Doing double shifts and working over December holidays did wonders for my cash flow.
My first proper full-time job from a career perspective was in training – involvement in executive assessments and a range of management training courses. Even though I did not spend any significant amount of time in training, it did give me a good understanding of human behaviour in the workplace, which helped me after that.
How much was your first pay cheque, and how did you spend it?
It was probably R10,000 or R15,000 a month or thereabouts. I bought myself a Kawasaki Z750E motorbike. Motorbikes have been a passion of mine since my schooldays.
What is the one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out?
Make career choices based on your strengths and what comes naturally to you, as opposed to following the more formal career management approach. Chasing the next promotion is only good if there is a natural fit with your strengths. Chasing the next promotion for a bigger pay cheque is not smart.
What is your current role at Partners in Performance?
I joined Partners in Performance in September 2021 in its Johannesburg office. I’m a partner and leader of the Financial Services practice across Africa.
If you could fix only one thing in South Africa, what would it be?
Job creation — and doing it sustainably.
What’s the worst and best investment mistake you’ve made?
Investing in diamonds on the advice of a friend was the worst mistake. I lost every cent of my investment. I was naive and did not do my homework on the investment case.
Financially speaking, my best investment decision was when I started to own my investment portfolio, as opposed to just outsourcing that to a financial adviser. Every fund I have been in for the long term has given me good returns. If one has a long-term view of investments, one does not need luck – one needs patience.
What’s the best book you’ve read recently and why did you like it?
The best business book was ‘The Cult of We: WeWork’ by Adam Neumann, and the ‘Great Startup Delusion’ by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell. I believe in grounded, common-sense business fundamentals, and as I was reading the book I thought about how many of the fundamentals were perhaps overlooked in the face of charismatic leadership and wealth on paper, as opposed to cash in the bank.
Vision matters, but you cannot build a sustainable business on the foundations of vision and charismatic leadership.
Another book that made an impression on me was ‘The Art of Resilience’ by Ross Edgley – the first person in history to swim all the way around Great Britain. This book offered practical lessons on mental and physical toughness.
Finally, what’s the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know?
I summited Mount Everest on May 2010 and by doing that became only the 296th mountaineer to climb the Seven Summits – the highest mountain on each continent. As of today, only about 500 mountaineers have achieved that.
