10 BCBusiness JUNE 2015 Portrait: adam blasbErg
As I write this—two days after the Van-
couver Canucks were eliminated from the
rst round of the playos—our cover story
might seem like something of an oversell.
Saved? What exactly has president Trevor
Linden done anyway, other than tease us
with the promise of a better team?
But then I recall a phrase my father would
dust o for just about any occasion that neces-
sitated a bit of patience, be it an interminable
road trip or a Christmas toy that remained
unassembled: "Rome wasn't built in a day." The
origins of the epigram are medieval French,
although today everyone from political leaders
to harried parents uses it to counsel followers
that good things come to those who wait.
Indeed, what Linden has accomplished
so far—taking a demoralized, barely .500 team
and making them playo contenders—
is remarkable. And not just because
the Canucks prolonged the season by
a couple of weeks. Linden, through a
series of moves detailed in "The Great
Turnaround" (p.24), has proven him-
self a leader focused not just on the
here and now but on long-term, sus-
tainable growth. "We are not going to
sacrice our future," he tells writer
Steve Burgess. "When you fail, you
have to have a very hard look at
yourself—where you are, why you're
there, and what you're going to do
about it. We're still going through
that now. It's a work in progress."
Linden's Canucks is one of "ive
case studies featured in our cover
story on turnaround eorts. In each
case, there was a telltale sign that
change was needed at the organiza-
tion and needed now: a losing sea-
son, a mountain of debt, a shrinking
market or diminishing client base. In each
case, it took leadership to tackle the problem
both decisively (changing business models,
restructuring operations) and with patience
(investing in the future, not counting dimes
for the next quarter).
The Canucks—one year after being left
for dead—won 12 more regular season games
in 2014—15, inched up from 5th to 2nd in the
Pacic division and took Calgary to a thrilling
sixth game in the playos. Not a bad start. We
look forward to seeing how Rome is shaping
up this time next year.
C O N T R I B U T O R S
Matt O'Grady, Editor-in-Chief
mogrady@canadawide.com / @bCbusiness
Veteran Globe and Mail food
critic Alexandra Gill ("The
Most Influential Women in
B.C., " p.34) first met Linacare
co-founder and budding
restaurateur Carol Lee at the
Women's Media Golf Classic
auction. "I had donated 'dinner
with a restaurant critic' and she
accompanied me on a review.
She had many questions about
restaurants, and I had a ton of
questions about skincare."
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Peter Holst, who photographed
Canucks president Trevor Linden
for "The Great Turnaround"
(p.24), says he likes editorial
portrait work because he meets
interesting and dynamic people,
goes to cool locations and,
due to time constraints, has
to think on his feet. He shot
Linden, who was "easy-going,
accommodating, friendly and
laid-back, " within two minutes.
When in Rome
editor's desk
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