In 1983, Frank Coleman resigned his safe, steady job at Hydro to become a full-time private consultant. He was soon engaged with environmental impact studies for the Hibernia offshore oil development. “I did some work for Sealand Helicopters. I did some work in agriculture, and I found that all very fascinating.”
He says he would have been content to continue following his entrepreneurial instincts, but fate had something else in store.
Destiny
“I guess I always knew in the back of my mind that I was going to return to Colemans,” says Frank of the invitation to return to the family firm. “I tried to fight it for a long time. I guess perhaps I felt that I had to prove, to myself, that I could make it on my own.”
At that point, he’d been gone from the company for 18 years. He had to relearn the culture of the business, understand the drivers required to move it forward, and reacquaint himself with the market and products. Most importantly, he had to earn the trust of the people around him. There wasn’t any jealousy or resentment, but there was a natural curiosity about whether or not he was up to the task. Frank had joined the company in a senior management role and he was determined to quickly deliver an impressive performance.
Upon his arrival, he found an entrepreneurial business with hard working leadership and equally diligent staff. What they lacked, he found, was the infrastructure to carry the business to the next level. Specifically, they had limited computing capacity and no HR function. Frank had identified a niche where he was needed. Within 60 months, he had made his bones–and earned the company’s top post.
Seeing Results
Fast forward 24 years, and everyone can finally, clearly, see what Frank had so readily perceived. The results are, pardon the pun, frankly astounding. The company’s technology investment has grown into a Point of Sale business intelligence software that would make Sam Walton proud. Sales data from all 12 grocery stores, by department, is updated every two minutes. Each day, sales and inventory values are published internally and data automatically compared against results from the same day in the previous year. And each week, complete sales and gross profit reports are available for management review.
Scott Bennett, director of Colemans five-person information technology department, thrills to the company’s progressive environment. “We’ve brought in consultants from around the world, bought systems in the U.K.. It makes it very exciting to work here,” he says. When pressed, he admits he might be able to make more money elsewhere, but shakes his head at the thought of even considering that possibility. “I’m paid well, I have a lifestyle in Corner Brook that’s second to none, and I have a boss who gives me lots of leeway to make decisions.”
That autonomy is balanced by accountability. Thanks to the technology systems he’s helped put in place, Bennett and his fellow department heads know they will be held accountable for their decisions every Tuesday morning. That’s when Frank holds his weekly management group meetings. “We don’t manage the business by quarters, or by six month intervals, or annual statements,” asserts Frank. “We manage the business by day. We work with a sense of urgency so that we can fix problems before they become issues.”
Despite last year’s recessionary environment, and in spite of operating in an ultra-competitive retail environment against heavy-hitters like Loblaws, Sobeys and WalMart, Colemans annual retail sales are up 17 per cent. And shareholder return on equity is up by a comparably comfortable double-digit figure.
Rather than dreading her turn in the Tuesday morning hot seat, Janet Joyce looks forward to her participation in those regular progress meetings. Joyce manages the 830-employee company’s Human Resources department, and she relishes her inclusion at the departmental level. She describes the fact that she reports directly to Frank as a “very enlightened approach”. “HR typically reports to Finance,” she says.
That statement reminds her of a time when Frank overheard one of her colleagues teasing her about HR not being a revenue generator. “He was not amused,” she says about the perception of the department he founded more than two decades earlier.
Dear Ms Chafe,
I was able to take some time to read your ‘Frank Coleman’ article in full. I cried, I giggled, produced goosebumps and was immensely proud of my Uncle Frank. I live in Ontario and seldom see the Coleman family yet I often marvel at what an amazing family Uncle Frank and Aunt Yvonne have raised !
Uncle Frank is truly genuine and when he looks at me and asks how I am doing ? His eyes warm my heart and I know he has shut off his busy world and is awaiting truth as he shows me his love.
I am so thankful that your article captured my Uncle Frank and the amazing, caring intellectual he is ! I was simply compelled to compliment you on your excellent writing skills. You allow your readers to not see words but instead jump into a world, like Frank Colemans and experince a great wonder !
Thank You Dawn !
Tracy Ann Fardy
Thank you for your very kind words. I’ve written hundreds of articles and interviewed thousands of people in my career, and I have to agree with you that Frank and Yvonne are two very special people. They are their family are, frankly – pun intended – delightful. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know them better.
Dawn