EDITOR’S NOTE:

Last November, Louis Grenier left a particularly thoughtful comment under one of my posts. 

So I clicked on his profile. 

And read his bio line: “I fight marketing bullshit with radical differentiation.” 

There was a link to his website: EveryoneHatesMarketers.com. 

I clicked it. 

On the homepage there was a picture of Louis behind a red filter. He’s sitting down with his lips pursed and his arm stretched out towards the camera. He’s holding a “BULLSHIT” button. His shirt depicts a crude bull defecating behind a red X. 

“Bonjour bonjour!” read the caption. “I’m Louis Grenier, the moody French guy behind Everyone Hates Marketers.” EHM is Louis’ excellent podcast, which recently reached 1M+ downloads.

I went back to his LinkedIn profile and clicked the “Message” button: 

“Hey, Louis—” I said. 

“I knew you’d like my comment—” he said. 

Lol. 

I’ve been a fan ever since, impressed and inspired not only by his refreshing approach to marketing, but also his tenacity, focus, and compassion for everyone in his community. 

And now I’m honored to have him on for a Micro-Interview. 

In just 325 words, Louis shares: 

• How to use jealousy and envy to your advantage…

• The (avoidable) source of his biggest career failure…

• The French book that set his career on a new path…

And much more… 

Enjoy!

Thank you, Louis.

Let’s get started. 

1) “What’s your work routine?”

I'm someone who needs routine, so my week starts on Friday where I sit down and plan my week using pen and paper. I deliberately take 2-3 hours to write a detailed list so I don't get anxious about what to do next.

Then I tend to do most of my work in the morning.

2) “What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”

Everything goes back to confidence and mindset. 

When you don't believe in yourself 100%, you take less risks, you second-guess yourself, you ship average things for average people... Which in turn leads to worse results and, therefore, less confidence. 

I wish I'd known to surround myself with people who could support me when I felt like shit.

3) “What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

To stop acting how I thought others expected me to act (if that makes sense). 

I failed at running my first marketing agency 7 years ago. I was playing a role. I was playing the three-piece-suit-marketing-consultant-who-hangs-out-at-his-local-chamber-of-commerce role. And that, my friend, ain't me, at all!

4) “What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”

Talking to people I was jealous of. 

I've learned to channel my jealousy into positive thoughts. If I envy someone, it means that they're doing something I wish I was doing. That's basically why I started my podcast Everyone Hates Marketers; to learn from them. 

5) “What book has helped you the most over your career?”

A French book called Le Petit Traité de Manipulation à L'Usage Des Honnêtes Gens by Robert-Vincent Joule, which is basically the French version of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. 

I read it when I was 19 or 20 and it's what made me realize marketing was my "thing."

6) “And your parting piece of advice?”

Please, take some fucking risks. Ship that thing you're scared of shipping. 

Do it.