BCBusiness

TANYA GOEHRING 42 BCBUSINESS NOVEMBER 2017 sculpture of a hand with its middle nger raised. Right now, Jamie is most excited about Herschel's new travel and rainwear jacket lines. "It's good and bad," he says of leading a business with his brother. "It's good that I know we're both ghting for the same goal, and that's for this brand." Before Calgary-raised Lyndon and Jamie launched Herschel, they were sales reps for U.S. apparel icon Vans and Seattle-based sport - ing goods retailer K2 Corp., respectively. Lyndon admits that early on, their parents worried that the siblings would have a falling-out. But they've made it work, he says, pointing out that their older brother, Jason, is also involved in the company. "I run the benet of Jamie being my best friend well before we started the business together, and we're equal partners, so there's no hierarchy," Lyndon notes. "We make decisions together. We're each other's best sounding boards. We have disagreements, but they're short-lived. There's the beauty that there's no candy-coating in our conver- sations, so things can move really quickly." Jamie recalls how thrilled they were to start the com- pany. "We saw that there was a hole in the bag market and the accessory market," he remembers. "But globally, I don't think we had a clue how big that open market share was." Back then they were probably closer colleagues, Jamie observes; today, with the business growing so quickly, they try not to step on each other's toes. He handles design and produc- tion, while Lyndon takes care of sales, marketing and other tasks. "Although we talk a lot about it and really get aligned on it, we work less closely," Jamie says. JAMIE CORMACK How do you spot and encourage talent? I stopped hiring, other than major hires, I would say three years ago. I let my managers and leaders hire their own teams; I think that's important. I help, and I will obviously give my opinion, but I want them to hire their own team so that team can feel right to them and it's going to be their style. What was your biggest leadership mistake? In the beginning, it's hard to let go. I probably didn't let go early enough. I probably stayed in the trenches a little bit too long, probably became a little bit of a workaholic because of leadership. I think it took me a little while to realize that, "Hey, this is a really talented team that we have out here, and I can let go, and I know they're going to get the job done." L E A D E R S H I P JAMIE: What three things would you tell a young person who aspires to become a CEO? Show up properly on the front end of your business and the back end. The front end [is what] people can see; the back end is just as important—the financial side, the operations side, your systems, your policies. If the back end of the business is there, it's going to help you show up properly on the front end. Continue to push yourself. I think I learn something new every day I'm here, from every- body, too. If you're constantly pushing yourself, it keeps that passion going. I think that's everything, because I love to fight for the brand. 3 1 2 Be easy to do busi- ness with. If you're easy to do business with, people want to come back. It seems so simple, but it's one of the hardest things to do.

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