By: Sarah Summer

Most business memoirs offer insights from the corner office. Count on Me provides something a bit rarer — a perspective on leadership from the operations floor, which, over time, shaped the boardroom. Written by Peter J. Bissonnette with collaborator Lucy Lynskey, the book traces a 35-year career at Shaw Communications, alongside the life experiences that influenced it: a childhood spent in various cities, a foundation in technical training, years in Canada’s military, and a gradual rise from technician to president of one of the country’s major communications companies.

The result is part corporate history, part reflection on leadership, and part record of how consistency and discipline might contribute to long-term success. Bissonnette may not be a household name outside Canada’s telecommunications and business circles, but his career spanned a period of significant change. He joined Shaw Communications in 1989 as Vice President of Operations, was appointed President in 2001, and retired from that position in 2015. He continued to serve on Shaw’s Board of Directors through its 2023 acquisition by Rogers Communications — a deal that marked the conclusion of an influential era for one of Canada’s most significant family-run companies.

Those dates provide the memoir with its framework, but the book’s deeper narrative begins much earlier than Shaw. Bissonnette’s early life, as outlined through official records and publisher notes, shows a clear pattern of adaptability and curiosity. Educated partly in England at a Catholic boarding school, he once considered entering the clergy before shifting focus to technical training. This decision led him to serve with both the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he worked on electronics and radar systems.

It was there that Bissonnette first encountered what would later become a hallmark of his management style: maintaining accuracy under pressure, fostering teamwork in challenging environments, and respecting systems that cannot afford to fail. The transition from the military to telecommunications appeared relatively seamless. He joined BC Tel in the 1970s and spent over a decade learning the industry from the ground up — moving from technical operations to management and eventually executive leadership.

By the time he joined Shaw, Bissonnette had gained both technical expertise and operational discipline, qualities that would help drive the company’s shift from a regional cable operator to a national communications brand. Count on Me uses this perspective to illustrate how reliable service, a strong company culture, and steady leadership may become strategic assets in industries prone to volatility.

The book comes at a time when leadership itself is increasingly under review. While many memoirs focus on bold vision or radical disruption, Bissonnette’s approach is grounded more in the practical aspects of execution. He discusses not so much the notion of reinvention, but rather the small, deliberate actions that build trust, and how the reliability of an organization often depends on the same quiet virtues that define a good engineer: patience, attention, and follow-through.

Released in 2025 by Ingenium Books, a Canadian hybrid publisher known for business and memoir titles, Count on Me spans 304 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book editions. Lynskey’s collaboration structures the narrative effectively without losing the authenticity of Bissonnette’s straightforward storytelling. It is not simply a corporate piece written for branding purposes; rather, it presents an honest account of a career built over many years of trial, responsibility, and reflection.

A Look Inside

The memoir balances technical details with personal anecdotes in a steady rhythm. Readers are given a glimpse into the early days of telecom when physical cable installations and analog switches defined the industry, and how the shift to digital convergence changed both customer expectations and corporate strategies. Readers also see the human side of these industry changes — the individuals who made the transformation possible and the communities that benefited from it.

Unlike many corporate books that conclude with quarterly results, Count on Me expands its scope. Bissonnette uses Shaw’s years of expansion to explore leadership within regulated markets and the delicate balance between innovation, investment, and public accountability.

A 2013 company announcement confirmed Bissonnette’s decision to extend his retirement until the end of 2015, taking on additional responsibilities related to government and regulatory affairs. This serves as a subtle but revealing example of how intertwined corporate leadership and policy have become in Canada’s communications landscape.

The Takeaways

The central lessons of Count on Me are presented not as slogans, but rather as patterns observable in hindsight:

1. Start with the customer’s experience, not the organizational chart.

Operations, not marketing, are where brand trust is built. For a connectivity company, uptime becomes integral to its identity. Bissonnette’s rise from field operations to the presidency reinforces the idea that leaders who understand how systems can fail are best equipped to prevent those failures.

2. Culture is a system, not just a speech.

Company culture is shown through how teams are supported, not merely through slogans or posters on the wall. Clear communication, empowerment, and respect for technical expertise are presented as operational imperatives, rather than just human resources aspirations.

3. In regulated industries, advocacy is an essential aspect of leadership.

The history of telecom demonstrates that strategy cannot be entirely separated from regulation. The book acknowledges that business success in such an environment often relies on clarity in policy and a willingness to collaborate, offering practical advice as well as industry insight.

Beyond the Boardroom

The personal side of Count on Me adds depth to the narrative. Bissonnette’s passion for photography and music recur as important themes, serving as reminders of the value of perspective — that leaders who remain curious about art and beauty often create space for innovation in their professional lives.

Throughout the book, there’s a steady, calm confidence in the way the story is told. Bissonnette does not write to aggrandize his own accomplishments or sensationalize corporate struggles. Rather, he seeks to document a significant period in Canadian business history and the people who kept its systems running smoothly. For those in the industry, it provides a candid view of leadership behind the balance sheets. For general readers, it offers a study in discipline, resilience, and humility.

The Broader View

For investors and professionals, Count on Me can also function as a practical guide to effective execution. The lessons it offers are not merely theoretical: reliability, culture, and communication accumulate in a way similar to how investment returns build over time — gradually, and often imperceptibly.

The book also provides valuable context for a crucial period in Canadian corporate evolution. Shaw Communications’ transformation from a regional cable operator into a national telecommunications company, later acquired by Rogers, reflects broader trends in connectivity, consolidation, and changing customer expectations. Bissonnette’s first-hand account offers insights often absent from financial analysis.

While the memoir concludes with the end of Bissonnette’s tenure at Shaw, it also opens a new chapter in his personal life. Retirement did not mark the end of his involvement in leadership and community. His continued work on various boards, mentorship roles, and advocacy for steady, ethical management reinforce a central theme of his career: that leadership is as much about counting on others, on systems, and on principles as it is about commanding or directing.

A Steady Hand in an Unsteady Market

In an age dominated by calls for disruption, Count on Me serves as a reminder that consistency can still provide a competitive edge. Bissonnette built his career on the belief that stability fosters innovation — rather than being at odds with it.

This message may resonate with readers. Whether managing a startup or a larger corporation, the true work of leadership seems to remain largely unchanged: building trust, maintaining clarity, and ensuring functionality during periods of transformation.

Peter J. Bissonnette’s Count on Me does not merely recount this story — it illustrates the potential of steady, consistent leadership in times of change.

Find it on Amazon or at Ingenium Books.