As a celebrated high school hoops star who averaged a double-double over three consecutive years, Brooke missed the final shot in a game that would have propelled her team deep into the Indiana State championship tournament. She turned her disappointment into a life-changing discipline: lose, learn, get better. “You don’t crawl up in a ball and die. You go back to the gym, study game film, and work on your quest for perfection,” Brooke said. Her approach earned her a place in collegiate hoops history as a member of the first class of women recruits to receive a basketball scholarship to Purdue University. There she graduated top of her class and earned the top score on the national CPA examination. As an executive at Ernst & Young, where she oversaw operations in 150 countries, she applied the lesson of “ownership” by successfully steering the firm through its worst public relations fiasco ever: the HealthSouth scandal of 1999.
Recently retired, she now devotes herself to bringing her prodigious team-building and problem-solving expertise to numerous boards, including The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the International Women’s Forum. This episode of Corporate Competitor Podcast illustrates in Brooke’s own words how communication, diversity and inclusion, and a culture of constructive feedback can help employees think more like owners.
You will learn:
"Don is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met. I’ve known him for a long time and every time we talk I walk away wiser and more inspired. He is the best in the business at teaching you a skill – storytelling – that will last you a lifetime.”
“The ability for athletes to get hired is carried on through you because you are putting out the message that lessons learned from sports are important in life. It is embedded in this podcast, what you’re doing is significant.”
We speak the same language. I am inspired by the stories you tell, the people you have met, and the things you’ve done. Those of us that are competitors like to follow others that have been down that journey, so it is always fun talking to you!”
“Many of the leaders I have worked with were excellent athletes, and I think there is a direct correlation. You’re one of the few people that really has pursued this study, Don. Keep up the great work. What you are doing really makes a difference.”
“Don, you have mastered the skill of interviewing and asking great questions. That is a great skill all leaders need in order to understand their team members’ thought processes.”
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