Brian Crookes knows a thing or two about being a statistic.
He is one. In fact, his name comes up on a few fronts.
Notably, in 2002 he became one of only about 140 Canadian men annually diagnosed with breast cancer.
At age 49, he also heads Calgary-based Hallmark Tubulars Ltd., statistically significant because he is the only non-Japanese president and CEO in the operation’s worldwide tubular group.
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| Mike Dempster photo, Business Edge |
| Brian Crookes says coaching, cancer and the drive to keep his business Canadian are motivators. |
And earlier this year, Crookes and his company – with offices in Edmonton and Bonnyville – became the first Calgary winner of the Prism Awards. The awards recognize achievement in business, through coaching excellence.
Laid-back, engaging and candid, Crookes says the combination of coaching, cancer and his resolve to keep his downtown Calgary business in Canadian hands is the force that motivates him and his thriving company.
With about 80 employees, Hallmark has annual sales revenue of about $170 million in the West, and $50 million in an East Coast partnership.
“The Japanese would love to be managing this operation because they’d love to live in Canada,” Crookes says. “The fortunate part is that we’re probably one of the most profitable (companies), which is our power.”
Fuelled by the mission to remain Canadian-controlled, Crookes turned to personal coaching in 2001 as a way to improve his leadership abilities.
A year later, the cancer was diagnosed. Often fatal (it’s estimated 40 of the 140 males diagnosed each year will die) his doctor offered no guarantees that three months of chemotherapy would work. Now in remission, he’s both optimistic and realistic.
“That brought me back into clear focus about what has to be done,” Crookes says. “I have to build leadership in the organization as fast as I possibly can. I don’t know what my health will do. At the same time, it’s a prudent approach in business.”
The company was started 25 years ago by curling legend Ron Northcott. Crookes was the second employee. Privately held and partnered with Japanese trading house Marubeni-Itochu, Hallmark sells down-hole tubular products and pipelines, as well as services, to the oilpatch.
While it was easy to control the company message when the business was small, Crookes says its growth – 20 sales people compared to two – makes clear communication up and down the organization more difficult.
Although he was skeptical at first, he found coaching helped him personally.
Realizing its potential, he introduced it to the 10 members of his management and executive team – the people he wants to take over when, or if, he leaves.
“The thing is, nobody wanted my job in this business,” Crookes says. “Nobody understood it. Now they do because of coaching.”
Understandably, most of his team “pushed back” against coaching. They couldn’t justify the time or money involved. Now, the staff eagerly await their 90-minute sessions every two weeks, Crookes says.
The results are measurable. He sees more confidence, more enjoyment and more accountability in the leadership group.
“Nobody would hold me accountable before,” he says.
“I was the leader, I could do anything I wanted. That’s the biggest change. That’s the maturity I see at the boardroom table. The politics are gone. I don’t want 10 people all saying the same thing. The teamwork is winning.”
The group put itself on the same page through a combination of one-on-one coaching and by participating in similar exercises.
For example, the group read from Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The book talks about the power of accountability if everyone is involved and if there is no hierarchical structure.
“It became a foundation of standard language for us to talk about,” Crookes says. “It talks about the benefits of conflict at the boardroom table, that you shouldn’t be agreeing with everybody in the room.
“I’m not there to have people say ‘yes’ to me. I want people to tell me what’s better than what I’m telling them.”
In short, the culture has changed.
Bruce Moeng, from Leader Search Executive Coaching Group, is the lead coach working with Hallmark and individually consults with Crookes.
As part of the process, he explains that each of the leaders was initially evaluated by their boss, peers and immediate staff. The evaluators identified traits they wanted to see from each leader.
From that feedback, Moeng and another coach created a plan for each individual to address areas that would develop their leadership skills.
Demanding accountability, Crookes expected a report on what each member had done, detailing how the action was valuable for the individual and the business. Crookes wasn’t exempt. In his case, staff noted a weakness. He lacked enthusiasm in acknowledging the work of others.
“Brian felt that he hired people to do a good job, and they should do a good job,” Moeng says. “It was hard for him to say, ‘Wow, that was really great, I appreciate the way you handled this thing.’ He just expected it.”
From his perspective, Crookes says he has become much more open. More self-aware, he understands his presence can positively or negatively affect people.
“I’ve realized that as a leader you are there to serve, not to be served. That’s what coaching has helped me to do, to realize I’m there to help everyone. It’s my responsibility to lead them and help them through the process.”
Crookes adds that he is now constantly in touch with people, talking about visions and values, sharing financial information, and keeping his corner office door open.
Of course, his battle with cancer has had a measurable impact as well. Family is now at the top of his priority list, a message he wants his staff to embrace as well.
He remains demanding, but wants his staff to understand that there is a life beyond work.
Recently, just a few days before flying to Singapore on business, he decided to take a more roundabout route to work.
“I knew I was going to be away from home for a few days, so I drove my youngest child to school, to spend a little bit of extra time,” he says. “I got into the office at 9 a.m. That’s something I’d would never have done before.”
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