In 1969, a wistful Winnipeg college grad laced on a pair of steel-toed boots, rolled up his sleeves, donned a hardhat and tackled a career with Poole Construction.

Today, that college grad occupies the Edmonton corner office of the same company, now known as PCL Construction, Canada’s largest construction company.

It’s an accomplishment Ross Grieve attributes largely to his early years as a hardhat, revelling in the “war stories” of seasoned construction vets.

He may be 32 years removed from that first job site in the bitter cold at Portage and Main in Winnipeg, but the 54-year-old Edmontonian hasn’t forgotten the lessons from his humble beginnings as a field engineer and surveyor.

Jack Dagley, for Business Edge
Ross Grieve remembers his early hard-hat days in Winnipeg with affection.

1. What are your memories of your boyhood years in Winnipeg?
“I grew up in a nice family environment, a loving environment. I was quite active in sports and I was pretty good academically. I had some self-esteem issues in those years. I was sort of a chubby kid with a brushcut and wasn’t quite as cool as the other guys, so I had to try a little harder in whatever I did.”

2. What were your boyhood dreams or aspirations?
“Our family didn’t have much money, so I guess my dream was to not let money be something that I was always scraping for. I worked hard at my responsibilities, whether it be school or a paper route or summer jobs like serving gas to boats on the Red River, cutting lawns, working in market gardens or working night shifts in factories. My parents taught me that whatever you undertook you had to do your best and complete it.”

3. Who has had the greatest influence on your life?
“My wife (Kathy). I’ve learned a lot from her. She’s been a terrific person in my life.”

4. Your first real work experience was as a surveyor with Manitoba Hydro while going to university. How did that help you in terms of personal development?
“It was really good for a young lad. We travelled across Manitoba and there was a great variety of work. We would be working in the bush, staying in camps, driving swamp machines. I learned about machinery and adversity, how to live in tough conditions. It was just a really good growing-up experience to see the tough characters in those environments and to learn about how to make things work, solve problems and innovate.”

5. What sparked your interest in the construction industry?
“While at university, there was a union building being built right outside our window. It was being built by a company named Poole Construction (the predecessor to PCL Construction). I knew a guy that worked for Poole. Our mothers played bridge together and we grew up on the same street. As a result of that, I applied for a job with Poole and they hired me in June of ’69.

6. If someone had told you then that you’d be with this company 32 years and become the CEO, what would you have said?
“I wasn’t thinking anywhere in that zone back then. I just wanted to get in there and find out what the business was about. I found out I did not know much about the practical side of construction. For the first few years, I was on a construction site, working with boots on and a parka in the mud and the cold and the ice and the snow. "I saw high-rise construction with climbing cranes, low-rise construction for a parking structure and I got a sense for what this building was all about. Most importantly, I got to share the war stories with all of the veterans that I got to work with. In order to estimate how much something is going to cost to build, you have to know how to build it. That was my masters degree.”

7. So you went to school on a lot of other people?
“Yes, I like people and I think I communicate well. I learned to listen, watch and learn from other people.”

8. How’d you feel when you were appointed chief executive in 1997?
“I was apprehensive, I was somewhat questioning whether I had the ability to carry the torch of those who’d handed it off to me to keep the company safe and healthy and have it prosper. I must say, some of those self-esteem issues raised their head again, but we had a great support network around the company and, having been so familiar with the company, I knew what I was going to be leading and who was helping me.”

8. How do you reflect on your 32 years with PCL?
“It has been spectacular. Gosh, if I could get the ear of young people looking for a career that is exciting and satisfying, I would sure do everything I could to direct them into this industry.”

9. How would describe your management style?
“It’s a conciliatory style and a hands-on approach. I like to know what’s going on. I like to get involved in a good deal of detail. I try not to interfere. I try to delegate authority and responsibility and let people run with it. But I also like to monitor it as well to make sure everybody’s doing OK and not straying off course. As opposed to being an authoritarian or dictatorial kind of leader, I try to bring together consensus of the stakeholders in whatever decision it is.”

10. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in business?
“The first thing I learned was to listen. And I think you always should respect the person on the other side of your table.”

11. Is it easier to run a company that is 100 per cent employee-owned?
“I think it’s great because I know that the large majority of the people who are representing us have a vested interest in how we do and how we portray ourselves to our clients.”

12. What other things does PCL to do instil loyalty in employees?
“Two things that instil loyalty are treating people well and running the company in a way that they’re proud of. There’s been a history of loyalty and longevity of employment in Poole and PCL. It goes back to our values and principles. All of that builds reputation and momentum and success and people like to be associated with a winner.”

13. When did you become a shareholder in the company?
“I was very fortunate because I was invited to join the group of 25 people that did a management buyout in 1977 of the Poole family’s interest in the company. I was a junior manager back then – my share cost $800 (he is the company’s largest shareholder).”

14. Has the economic slump begun to impact your business?
“It’s beginning to. We have a lot of work under contract that we’ve secured in better times and that work has to be completed, so we’re still very busy burning off those obligations. But what we’re starting to see is that new projects aren’t being announced as quickly as they once were. Some projects that we were tracking and hoping that we’d be starting soon are being delayed or deferred somewhat and there’s the odd cancellation. We expect that what was already a softening economy before Sept. 11 will start hitting us even harder than it would have probably 12 to 18 months from now.”

15. Do you anticipate the prospects for your company in Alberta to be stronger than elsewhere?
“Alberta is probably one of the few areas where we operate in where I don’t think we’re going to see much of a downturn in the immediate future. I think with the advancement of some of the oil and gas and petro-chemical opportunities that have been announced, there’s going to be a good deal of activity in this province to keep contractors busy for some time.”

16. What’s your vision for PCL for the next five years?
“Our vision is to keep our company healthy and prepare for the (economic) changes that we foresee. We’re very fortunate that we’re financially strong and well positioned with an excellent reputation and a lot of tremendous people resources to capitalize on future opportunities.”

17. Can you single out one project as being the most gratifying?
“I really hold BCE Place in Toronto as a spectacular project. I think most of the stakeholders enjoyed the process.”

18. You dedicate a great deal of your life to volunteerism. How important is that to you?
“Personally, I think it’s very important. There’s so much that needs to be done and I think people who have some skills and experience should give what they can back to the community and try to keep (it) growing, safe and healthy.”

19. God taps you on the shoulder and says you can change one thing in your life?
“Maybe have more kids. I really enjoy my (two) kids.”

20. Have you set a retirement date?
“No. I’m 54, I’m relatively healthy, I hope, I enjoy what I’m doing and I certainly would like to be working in 2006 when we turn 100 years old as a company. That’s not a drop-dead goal but I’d sure like to be the CEO then. That would be a special privilege. After that, we’ll just see how much the company needs me or wants me and how we’re all doing. I’m going to end up with a one-company career by the sounds of it and I’m absolutely happy with that.”

IN PROFILE: Ross Grieve

* Born/raised/age: Winnipeg, 54.
* Title: President/CEO.
* Education: University of Manitoba, Bachelor of Science (civil engineering), Harvard Business College (executive finance).
* Family: Wife Kathy (Edmonton Police Commission chair), sons Noah, 25, Matthew, 20.
* Career: Grieve has spent his entire career with PCL Construction and Poole Construction (its predecessor company). He began with Poole in 1969 as a field engineer and rose to CEO in 1997.
* Community role: Grieve is on the boards of several organizations, including the Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta and Northwest Territories, the University of Alberta, the Canadian Olympic Foundation, the Miller Thomson Foundation and the University of Alberta Hospitals Foundation.
* Passions: Golf, fly-fishing, sailing.

THE COMPANY: PCL Construction Group Limited

* Brass: Ross Grieve, president/CEO; Gordon Maron, chief financial officer, PCL Construction Holdings; Paul Douglas, president/chief operating officer, PCL Construction Canada.
* Profile: PCL is Canada’s largest construction firm, employing 1,600 salaried staff and 3,000 to 5,000 hourly tradespeople with offices in 24 cities, including Calgary and Edmonton. The employee-owned company handles large and small projects in commercial, institutional, industrial, civil and multi-family market sectors.
* History: The company was founded as Poole Construction in 1906 and became PCL Construction in 1977 when 25 employees purchased it from the Poole family.
* Stats: PCL’s contract billings for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31 totalled $3.2 billion – 55 per cent in Canada and 45 per cent in the U.S.
* Awards: In 2000, PCL was rated the 10th best company to work for in Canada. In 2001, PCL was recognized as the most respected company in Alberta in the human-resources category.
* Website: www.pcl.com
* Address: Building #2, 5410 99th St., Edmonton AB T6E 3P4.
* Phone/Fax: 780-435-9711, 780-436-9777.