Wild Bill Hickok may have had the fastest hands in the West, but you figure that the legendary gunfighter might have met his match if he’d gone toe-to-toe intellectually with his cousin’s great-grandson.

Shooting from the lip, Earl Hickok, descendant of the famous 19th-century frontiersman, could talk a mule through a swamp full of crocodiles.

But, with the fiery CEO of Tecskor Software, the words don’t just come out in wild, rapid fire.

They are charged with refreshing candour and passion.

One moment, Hickok, eyes blazing, is shooting holes into business issues, the next he is choking on his words over a heart-rending note from his mother.

But a word of caution. If you have the pleasure of chatting with Hickok, be prepared to plug an extra dollar or two into the meter.

Oh, and if you’ve got 20 questions, pack a lunch.

1. Is your life as exciting, say, as that of Wild Bill Hickok?
“Gee, I hope I don’t get shot in the back of the head (as Wild Bill was while contemplating a pair of aces and a pair of eights, the ‘Dead Man’s Hand’). I do feel sometimes that I need to keep my back to the wall.”

2. Do you think Wild Bill would have felt at home in Calgary?
“I think he’d be comfortable. When I came out to Calgary (in 1982) it was like coming out to the Wild West. With the oil industry just booming, it was like going to a Wild-West new frontier and I haven’t been disappointed. Philosophically, the people that migrated here were looking for some new adventure. He (Wild Bill) went through law and order in the Wild West. I’d like to think we’re bringing some order and a higher level of thinking than the wild, wild west.”

3. Have you been to Deadwood (S.D.) where Wild Bill was murdered?
“Yeah, at the tourist site, I put my name down and they said: ‘Oh, right!’ I had to show ’em my driver’s licence. They got me in as a juror in the (mock) trial of (murderer) Jack McCall. Being related to Wild Bill is not something I can make any money out of but it’s kind of a neat thing. My son was born in Houston and a woman there has the Dead Man’s Hand. I’ve thought it’d be nice to get that back in the family.”

4. You once went through a stretch where you had seven days off in four years. Where did that work ethic come from?
“I grew up in a blue-collar family in Winnipeg. My dad was a hydro guy and my mother worked full time with the government. There were five kids and we all had to work hard to make ends meet. It wasn’t a hard-luck type story. But to have new skates and hockey stuff, I had to have a job.”

5. So you came by your philosophy of teamwork honestly?
“We had to be part of a team. We needed to pitch in and scrub toilets and swab floors. I think that formed part of my business philosophy of teamwork and the importance of everyone adding value.”

6. Who were the high-impact people in your life?
“My mother instilled in me that I could do anything I wanted to do. My dad was a Kinsman, big on volunteerism. He was commissioner of baseball, commissioner of hockey. And my grandfather — he was a contractor who built the local church — had a saying in his office: ‘I used to complain I had no shoes until I met a man who has no feet.’ ”

7. What was your first job?
“I was a short-order cook in high school. I was going to become a policeman and my mother brought in a friend who was an electrical contractor to talk to me. My mom really didn’t want me to become a policeman. She said: ‘You really don’t have the mentality of the soul for that kind of stuff.’ ”

8. Was your experience in the oilpatch the catalyst for Tecskor?
“There was this humongous untapped potential. There was all this technology around and people weren’t using it the way they should. We started Advantage Energy Services in 1991 and then Tecskor — which stands for technology, skills and organization — came out of that.”

9. You sound like you’re having a blast here.
“My mother had a saying: ‘Find something you love to do and you’ll never work another day in your life.’ I love what I’m doing.”

10. So you’re not exactly slowing down at 43?
“My wife has said: ‘If I could retire, would I?’ I said: ‘Absolutely not.’ It has taken 20 years to get into high-impact zone. And I really think that I can make a difference with some of the committees I’m on in what we can do for the average Albertan.”

11. So you’re not going to the beach tomorrow?
“I get a lot bigger charge working than contemplating my navel on a beach and putting sand into a sandpail. I was brought up as a plough horse that you pulled the plough every day. I think I’d be somewhat lost to just go and play.”

12. How is the old work-versus-play balance working out?
“I’ve done a pretty good job of not working weekends in the past three or four years for family time. We’ve got a summer cabin now and we’ve got a ski place in Fernie (B.C.).”

13. Two people you’ve idolized?
“I wasn’t big into sports heroes as I was people doing great things. I looked up to Winston Churchill as a leader and visionary. I looked up to John F. Kennedy as an example of someone who could charismatically engage people to new heights and tap into their inner souls to make them go where he thought the nation should go.”

14. What’s the key to getting the most out of employees?
“We pay people to use their noodles, right? But what good is that if you never give people time to free think? People say that people are their most important asset. But then a lot of companies treat them like children and work them like dogs. And that’s your most important asset? It’s when you give people a chance to think about things that the breakthroughs happen.”

15. Describe your business philosophy?
“Give more than you get. Always try to over-deliver.”

16. What’s the key to attracting top-notch talent?
“Talent attracts talent. As an individual, who do you want to work with, an incredibly talented group or a bunch of duds? You hear all the talk about how people are having a terrible time attracting IT (information technology) resources and software technology people? Tecskor doesn’t have that problem. We’ve got a lineup. You know why? They know we’ve got tremendous talent here.”

17. What’s the greatest compliment you’ve received?
“My mother sent me a note. It said: ‘Many people take power and do nothing important. I’m pleased to see you’re getting to do more powerful things.’ I grew up with that social responsibility and I take that seriously.”

18. How do you react to images of starving children?
“I focus on how I can make the biggest impact making that better, like what we did in donating $520,000 worth of software to Nigeria so that they can leverage what they’ve got in telecommunications, e-learning and how to train doctors more effectively. If I thought the best way was to pick up the phone and give $30 a month and that’s all I can do, then that’s what I would do. Which is not a bad thing.”

19. How do you find the extra time for committees?
“I’m doing three days a month for the next year and a half as chairman of the provincial government’s working committees on e-learning and e-government. If we don’t put something back and lead by example, then what kind of an example are we setting? If all businesses do is worry about capitalism and being capitalist pigs that some people think business is all about, we have to look at what kind of society we want our kids living in.”

20. The best advice you can offer anyone?
“Just do your part to make a difference. Nothing infuriates me more than people criticizing the way the world is, yet they will not lift up a hand to volunteer at the school, at the Lion’s Club, to do the heart foundation or the cancer stuff, or go to the United Way, or volunteer to coach baseball or ringette or Brownies.”

IN PROFILE: Earl Hickok

* Born/Raised/Age: Winnipeg, 43.
* Title: President/CEO, Tecskor Software, electrical engineer.
* Education: Bachelor of Science (electrical engineering), Lakehead University.
* Family: Wife Susan; children Celest, four months; Caleb, 6; Bryson, 10.
* Highlights: Conceived and developed Tecskor’s PEAK work co-ordination system; established Tecskor in 1997; co-founded Advantage Energy Services, 1991; formerly with Esso Resources; distinguished lecturer with the Society of Petroleum Engineers; member of Alberta government committees on e-health and e-government and Information and Communications Technology infrastructure strategy.
* Role models: Sir Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy.
* Claim to fame: American legend Wild Bill Hickok was his great-grandfather’s cousin.

THE COMPANY: Tecskor Software

* Brass: Earl Hickok, president/CEO; John Burrows, chairman; Joe Moreau, COO.
* Focus: The private company’s goal is to be a world leader in providing practical solutions for leading, managing and working in the digital economy.
* Mission: To help people work better — together.
* Product: The PEAK work co-ordination system helps organizations achieve their goals through proven fundamentals, coaching and software applications.
* Web site: tecskor.com
* Address: #1700-521 3rd Ave. S.W.
* Phone/Fax: 215-1297/531-1464.