0:00:03 - (Kate Davis): Hello, I'm Kate Davis and this is Humor in the C Suite, a show about how leaders use humor to create an extraordinary work culture. My guest this week is Colin Brook. He grew up in a small town outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He then went to the University of Alberta where he got his degree in mechanical engineering and then he spent some time in the oil and gas industry. But then he got a job at Wika Instruments, a privately owned German base company where he has been the president of Canadian operations for over 16 years.

0:00:35 - (Kate Davis): We had incredible conversation about how humor translates between countries and continents and the power that humor has to connect us. He's about bringing people together and he loves being the prankster. We had a great conversation. You guys are really going to enjoy this one. So please welcome Colin Brook. I'm so excited for our conversation today. So, Colin, I thought we'd just start off by telling.

0:01:00 - (Kate Davis): By you telling everyone who you are, what you do, what company and what you guys are up to.

0:01:06 - (Colin Brook): Sure, yeah. Thanks, Kate. Thanks for having me. I'm excited about it. I'm hoping that there's going to be some laughs here. So let's see. So my name is Colin and I'm from outside of Winnipeg originally, you know, farm boy that then moved to Alberta and then I went to the University of Alberta and got a degree in mechanical engineering and spent some time in the oil and gas industry before coming back to Edmonton where I started with a company that was ultimately bought by WEKA Instruments, which is the company I work for today.

0:01:42 - (Colin Brook): And so I've been here for 25 years, the first nine years as engineering manager. That was the role that I had when WEKA bought us, and then the last 16 years as President of the Canadian operation. And WECA is a German based company, so my boss is in Germany, privately owned. And so I've had the privilege of working with our colleagues in Germany for the last 25 years, which are a lot of funny stories, let me tell you. Because they see things a different way. For sure.

0:02:17 - (Kate Davis): Absolutely. We'll get into that.

0:02:20 - (Colin Brook): Exactly.

0:02:22 - (Kate Davis): I love that. And what do you guys actually do at Wika?

0:02:27 - (Colin Brook): We manufacture instrumentation.

0:02:29 - (Kate Davis): Okay.

0:02:30 - (Colin Brook): Yeah. Here in Edmonton, plus our manufacturing facility in Oakville, part of the GTA in Ontario. We're 210 people and we make pressure gauges, temperature instruments, all things that you need to measure for your home or in oil and gas, petrochemical, food and pharmaceutical.

0:02:54 - (Kate Davis): Amazing. Just a little bit of pressure. Nothing, nothing big. No worries. I love that. And look, when we first started chatting, you really came across as someone who loves what you do first of all, and obviously who you're doing it with and how many people you're helping or the company is helping. Because nothing can really, you know, get built without you guys. Or a lot of things can.

0:03:24 - (Colin Brook): Yeah.

0:03:25 - (Kate Davis): You know, and it definitely. It's that chain, that domino reaction. But the fact you're leading with humor, I would love to chat with you about that. Now, I know we always start off with, what's your funniest joke? And you are just like, I don't have one. This is so stressful, you know, and it. It's so funny because I. Most leaders that I've spoken to are like, I have a joke, but it's filthy. It's such a dirty joke. I can't tell it.

0:03:52 - (Kate Davis): And you're just like, I just don't have one. So I thought I would tell one on this episode.

0:03:58 - (Colin Brook): Okay, perfect.

0:03:59 - (Kate Davis): Oh, yeah. Unless you have one that you thought of.

0:04:03 - (Colin Brook): No, I'm so. I'm so bad. Like, I have to tell everyone. I really. I have a fantastic memory, but I can't remember any jokes to save my life. So if yours is good, which is like, who knows? I'm gonna write it down.

0:04:16 - (Kate Davis): Okay, look, it's a one liner from my favorite. One of my favorite Canadian comics. His name is Stuart Francis. He's no longer doing comedy, but he started a greeting card company, which is hilarious because he's so funny. But one of his jokes when I was just starting to do comedy was, it's very simple. Do frisbees appear close? Do frisbees appear bigger the closer they get? And then it hit me. That's it. That's the joke. Like, it's.

0:04:45 - (Colin Brook): That's good. I like it.

0:04:47 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, it's a smart joke. Like.

0:04:49 - (Colin Brook): Exactly, exactly.

0:04:51 - (Kate Davis): But it always, like, stuck with me. I have another friend who came up with a joke about Halifax where they're like, for a city that was leveled by the Halifax explosion, it's sure hilly, right?

0:05:05 - (Colin Brook): True, true.

0:05:07 - (Kate Davis): So anyway, I like those.

0:05:09 - (Colin Brook): I like those little one liners. Those are like, like, dad jokes almost.

0:05:13 - (Kate Davis): They are. Yeah.

0:05:15 - (Colin Brook): Good. Another dad joke. But they're the funniest. For sure.

0:05:18 - (Kate Davis): Yeah. No, for sure. Oh, my gosh. So I love it. Okay, so we got that out of the way. Pressure's off.

0:05:24 - (Colin Brook): Nice.

0:05:25 - (Kate Davis): So how are you using humor in your day to day life to lead your teams?

0:05:30 - (Colin Brook): Well, I. With a lot more trepidation this year that. I mean, this days, you know, I. I'm. I grew up in a, you know, a Thick skin family. My kids, I think are growing up in a thick skinned family. It was always comedy hour and you know, borderline bullying around all of our, our kitchen tables right around supper. To this day, my, my dad would, would, was, you know, he was harassing me on Monday like not that long ago.

0:05:59 - (Colin Brook): So while that's all kind of whimsical and fun and 25 years ago when I started my career, it was even, you know, more whimsical and fun, but now it's, yeah, it's more difficult and I have to be a bit more careful because you don't want to offend anybody and. Yeah, and you certainly don't want, you know, to push people away and you know, be professional and you know, all those, all those things that you're supposed to do as a middle aged person, you know, you don't act like a teenager all the time.

0:06:29 - (Colin Brook): But I do find that humor, I use it as a way to, you know, disarm contentious issues. So, you know, it's not like you avoid them and avoid any conflict or any tough conversations. But if they come from a place with a little bit of levity, it seems like you can kind of get everybody to have a level of mutual respect and it takes a little bit of the emotion, at least the negative emotion away from it.

0:07:02 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:07:03 - (Colin Brook): So I tend to do that a fair bit, I think, and that's, that's pretty successful, I would say. I often say that, you know, you have to be like 99% a really good person. So that 1% of the time, if you have to be difficult, you can be difficult and, and humor makes you a decent person if you can laugh at.

0:07:25 - (Kate Davis): I love that and I love the fact you're saying it disarms people at those times that can be, you know, full of conflict and everything. That's a great way to put it. Can do you find, because you are across the country, are you guys remote, all of you getting together at all or.

0:07:45 - (Colin Brook): Yeah, I mean we get together for, for events like Christmas parties and things. We, we do have the, the Western Canadian operation. Gets together more often on our own and then we get together on our own in eastern Canada and Ontario. So to get together doesn't happen very often.

0:08:03 - (Kate Davis): Not national.

0:08:04 - (Colin Brook): So we use teams a lot for regions. Calgary, Fort McMurray, Montreal, Quebec City. Wow. So we're on teams a lot or at least on a platform. Yeah.

0:08:16 - (Kate Davis): Do you find it really helps build that team morale, like collaboration when you do use humor?

0:08:23 - (Colin Brook): Oh, for sure. Yeah, for sure. Especially I think A virtual platform works really well if you already know each other a little bit and then you use humor. In a virtual platform, it can be great if you know each other a little bit, but things are lost some in translation if you haven't had a chance to meet in person. And so you, Kate and I, we haven't had a chance to meet in person. And I think that if we did, our virtual interaction would even be more comfortable and Absolutely.

0:08:57 - (Colin Brook): More funny and more humorous.

0:08:58 - (Kate Davis): You know, I'm sitting up straight right now. Really straight. Really?

0:09:07 - (Colin Brook): It definitely comes in. It has its place, and it's more difficult virtually, but. But still important.

0:09:12 - (Kate Davis): Yeah. And how do you. How are you using humor in your leadership style? Because it's not about telling the next best joke. It's really about, as you said, it can disarm, but it can also. Like, didn't you say you were a prankster?

0:09:27 - (Colin Brook): Yeah. Practical joke. Yeah. So I do a new employee orientation with everybody that starts, and it's my way of being able to meet people and put faces to names and often in different parts of the country. It might be a long time before I actually get to see them in their role. So it affords me a chance to meet them. And in my opening slide, I go through our zero tolerance for harassment and like, you know, all this kind of stuff, safety and. And then there's a part there that says, you know, we have a zero tolerance for practical jokes.

0:10:03 - (Colin Brook): And I always pause because, like, I wrote that, but then I wrote breaking that almost all the time. So I just. You're starting here. You know, we want to be professional and respectful, but, like, I joke around a lot, so. Yeah, if you want to be in a dark corner, then this is probably not the place for you to work. You know, we're social.

0:10:26 - (Kate Davis): Right. Can you give us an example of some of the practical jokes you've played?

0:10:32 - (Colin Brook): Things like taking, you know, do a print screen of somebody's desktop and then erase all of their icons and then put that print screen as their desktop.

0:10:43 - (Kate Davis): Oh, my God, that is so mean.

0:10:47 - (Colin Brook): That's fun. Somebody's birthday, you know, will fill their office with, like, every balloon you can imagine. So then it takes them half a day to, you know, get rid of. Dispose of all these balloons.

0:11:00 - (Kate Davis): That's great.

0:11:01 - (Colin Brook): Yeah, we've. We've done fun ones with email where, you know, let's say, for example, I was going to email if Kate Davis was my boss and I was going to send an email, I would send it to a colleague and cc Kate Davis. But but change the. So it doesn't actually go to you, but it looks like it went. And say, like. Like bad things, and then they're freaking.

0:11:23 - (Kate Davis): I love that. Oh, you're good.

0:11:27 - (Colin Brook): Now you goof around a bit.

0:11:29 - (Kate Davis): Oh, that is so great. A lot of times, the number one thing employees want from their leader is for them to talk like a real person. And because you seem so down to earth in this conversation, are you able to bring your authentic self to work, or do you find you still got to play that, you know, role?

0:11:48 - (Colin Brook): No, I think I'm. I mean, I'd like to think that some of the feedback that I get from even some of my executive is that what they like about me is the. You know, what you see is what you get different with you. And I would also say almost to a fault, to a certain extent, because, you know, I probably could be less teenager sometimes when, you know, when. When the. When it matters. But I would be the same with you as I am with my buddies or with anybody here or aboard me.

0:12:20 - (Kate Davis): Right.

0:12:21 - (Colin Brook): I just. I only do things that are fun, and so I intend to have fun no matter what I'm doing. And. And sometimes I probably could. Could be a little bit more serious, I think.

0:12:32 - (Kate Davis): Yeah. Because the company is based in Germany. Do you find their sense of humor is way different?

0:12:39 - (Colin Brook): Oh, geez. That's a. It's vastly different. Yeah.

0:12:42 - (Kate Davis): Let's get into it. I love this.

0:12:45 - (Colin Brook): Yeah. The. The germ. Well, so I don't want to insult anybody that's from Germany. Right. Because it's just different.

0:12:51 - (Kate Davis): Yeah. And.

0:12:52 - (Colin Brook): And they're the German culture who. Over 25 years, I've. I've gone four times a year for 25 years. It's become a professional second home for me. And. And I love the culture, and I love the food, and I love the beer. And so I respect what that country has been able to accomplish. And part of what they've been able to accomplish, you know, they were decimated over a couple of wars. Right. And yet now they continue to be this powerhouse of a nation, and it's their ability to thrive in a conservative but innovative way.

0:13:29 - (Colin Brook): And.

0:13:30 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:13:31 - (Colin Brook): Times. No humor is. Is confused there. You know, they're. They just. They take business more serious than Canadians. Right, Sure.

0:13:41 - (Kate Davis): I know you're trying to be very diplomatic here.

0:13:45 - (Colin Brook): Well, so I have a story. I just.

0:13:48 - (Kate Davis): Please.

0:13:49 - (Colin Brook): I was at a German board meeting, is our international board meeting, and it happened that I was there on my birthday. And so this speaks to the humor side of it, I think.

0:14:02 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:14:03 - (Colin Brook): And our owner, you know, did introductions and, you know, welcomes everybody. And it was in person in Germany. And then he said, oh, and we want to also recognize this is an important day. It's Colin Brooks birthday. And then he turns to me, like, I'm supposed to address the board. I didn't even know that anybody knew it was my birthday. And so I said, I'm happy to be here. But just so that all of you guys know, this is the worst birthday I have ever had.

0:14:35 - (Colin Brook): And I thought it was funny because it was true. Like, hanging out in a board meeting with all my jokes is not a great way to spend. But nobody laughed, so. No, nobody laughed, so that was the worst birthday I ever had. And my joke was lost in translation.

0:14:55 - (Kate Davis): It was lost in transl. It happens. I perform quite a bit in Scandinavia, and a lot of jokes that, like kill here do not translate there at all.

0:15:08 - (Colin Brook): I'm surprised. I'm not surprised.

0:15:09 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, no, it's. It's very. It's really funny. I mean, they have a great sense of humor, but they just don't use the words or the new. It's just different nuance.

0:15:20 - (Colin Brook): Yeah, Well, I find sarcasm. Sarcasm is a tough language in a different language. And when I. When I sit there and say, this is the worst birthday I've ever had, it's not even sarcastic, but it kind of is dripping a little bit. And, yeah, it just kind of goes past another language. And that's not unique to Germans. That's English language, right?

0:15:42 - (Kate Davis): Yeah. I mean, one of the questions I always ask, have you had any, you know, humor misinterpretations? That's a part of it. And acknowledging that and just saying, you know what, I didn't mean it that way. Is a part of it as well.

0:15:55 - (Colin Brook): Yeah. Especially if you, you know, accidentally offend someone and that's.

0:15:59 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Hi, it's Kate. I can't believe you made it halfway through the show. Look, if you or anyone you know would like to be a guest on Humor in the C Suite, I would love to have you, so email me. Kate Davis, ca. Are you finding, like, with your teams now, the multigenerational part of it different?

0:16:26 - (Colin Brook): Not really. Actually, no. We have a. We have a pretty broad demograph here of the 80s, and I approach things sort of the same way. And, yeah, I haven't found. I haven't found it too much different, really.

0:16:41 - (Kate Davis): We started off this interview by talking about political correctness and how humor has changed. And I'm with you. Like, I come From a generation where we had to have a thick skin, you know, and my mother still, you know, uses that kind of humor. Like she's British and cutting and, you know, does not hold back. And your feelings really should be just left at the door because it's not personal, it's just funny to her, you know, and my sister and I, I don't know how many times, if we take her out, she's 81 now, we're just constantly saying, you can't say that anymore.

0:17:17 - (Kate Davis): You can't use that word anymore. You can't stop. Like, it's just, it's definitely tricky, you know, so, and, and it's.

0:17:27 - (Colin Brook): A lot of it is even warranted. Not. And I wouldn't say all of it. You know, there's, there's just some society sensitivity that is warranted because, yeah, kids are cruel and past generations are cruel and, and so a lot of it is relevant and, and the sensitivity matters, but not all of it.

0:17:45 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:17:45 - (Colin Brook): And, and so finding where that, you know, thick, blurry line is, is difficult. And as, as I get older, I'm more sort of becoming more and more aware of, of that line of being quite thick and things are changing. So. Yeah, you have to be careful, be respectful.

0:18:05 - (Kate Davis): And within your industry, is it more male heavy than female still or is.

0:18:10 - (Colin Brook): It changed or in Alberta it's, it's, you know, oil and gas.

0:18:15 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:18:16 - (Colin Brook): Rural communities and, and quite, I would say quite male dominant. Eastern Canada, less so. It's a little bit more high tech and a little bit more liberal. Western Canada is more conservative.

0:18:28 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:18:29 - (Colin Brook): And Quebec are, you know, food and pharmaceutical, the medical industry, those are, are a positive shift to a better, you know, gender, gender neutral quality.

0:18:41 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Are you, do you find humor helps with your teen collaboration when you're trying to bring everyone together?

0:18:48 - (Colin Brook): Oh, I would think, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. When we, when we collaborate, you know, like I said, the plan is to have fun. You know, that's basically number one objective. We of course need to get done what we, what we plan to do.

0:19:02 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:19:03 - (Colin Brook): But I find it difficult to do that if nobody's having any fun.

0:19:07 - (Kate Davis): So, yeah.

0:19:10 - (Colin Brook): We have a pretty good time and we, we pick on each other when it's warranted and, and I mean, you know, I, I mean, pick on each other like in a, in a constructive way, but in sometimes it's funny, but it's also serious, you know.

0:19:24 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, of course.

0:19:26 - (Colin Brook): You know, why, why are you saying the same thing three times and you haven't actually said anything? You know, statements like that, that it's kind of funny, but at the same time, there's a ring of truth to it. So, you know, some of the best, best jokes, even, maybe not jokes, but statements have a ring of truth to them, and that's what makes them funny. And so if you can make it. Make something constructive and funny at the same time, that's kind of the sweet spot in collaboration, for sure.

0:20:00 - (Kate Davis): Absolutely. And I can't even imagine how much your industry and innovation and technology and AI is changing everything for you.

0:20:08 - (Colin Brook): Yeah, big time. Yeah. AI, we're sort of just scratching the surface on AI and making sure we don't get blindsided. That's our objective now. And we haven't even got to the point where we can really leverage it. We just don't want to be left behind.

0:20:25 - (Kate Davis): I mean, I'm safe. Computers can't tell a good joke yet.

0:20:30 - (Colin Brook): I should have asked ChatGPT or Copilot.

0:20:35 - (Kate Davis): Don't. They're the worst. It's worse than any dad joke. Don't do it. Oh, my God. Do you find your humor has changed a lot when you're dealing with family and your kids than when you're dealing at home, or are you the same sort of prankster?

0:20:54 - (Colin Brook): I think it. It's the same, but I think the gloves are off a little bit more with my family in the sense that, you know, I, you know, we. We joke around a lot and. And, man, I get. I have three children, so. And. And my beautiful wife. So, like, I. I give. I get back times 4.

0:21:11 - (Kate Davis): How old are they? Are they grown now or. They're.

0:21:14 - (Colin Brook): They're grown, but they're at home. 181 and 23.

0:21:18 - (Kate Davis): They don't leave. Right. They just come back with more people. It's the worst.

0:21:22 - (Colin Brook): I know. I know our grocery bill goes up and, yeah, the population's going up. Yeah. Boyfriends and girlfriends. But it's also fun. So, you know, we. We pick on each other. It's different in that sense, Kate, that.

0:21:36 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:21:36 - (Colin Brook): You know, you don't have to be quite so sensitive or. You don't have to be. They know you so worried about offending them. Yeah, do. Especially if it's maybe a new employee orientation. Like when I'm doing and meeting somebody for the first time, the humor is there, but it has to be a little bit more guarded. And so, yeah, at home. But these. These little munchkins of mine, they pick on me, like, relentlessly. So they've gotten good at it.

0:22:04 - (Colin Brook): When they were little, we always had these family Suppers. Because I also think conversation is a skill. Not everybody can sit and have a chat about random things. And when our kids were little, we'd ask them how their day was. And in kindergarten, it was fine. What did you do? Nothing. Did you have coffee? And then by about grade two, it was like, okay, everybody just be quiet for a minute. Like, I'm all out of work.

0:22:36 - (Colin Brook): All my words, all day at work. I don't have any at home, so stop talking.

0:22:42 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, absolutely. Or when they get to the teenage years and we call them the Yep years, where it's like one word answers.

0:22:50 - (Colin Brook): Right.

0:22:51 - (Kate Davis): How was your day? Fine. What did you do? Nothing.

0:22:54 - (Colin Brook): Exactly. So I find, like, now when they were little, and then now they're so yappy that I almost miss those quiet teenage years.

0:23:03 - (Kate Davis): Yeah. See? Oh, my gosh. To put on my husband and I keep joking. If they don't move out, we'll move out. So, yeah, good idea. We'll just leave them in the house. We'll get it. We'll get in a little apartment somewhere. Let's do it. Yeah, exactly. I love it. Do you have any tips that you could give leaders who are starting out? I mean, you're 25 years or more in the game that could help them in terms of, you know, being secure and using levity in the workplace?

0:23:35 - (Colin Brook): Well, I think just to keep that in mind, you know, if you're not a person that is naturally outgoing or not, you know, even consider yourself naturally funny, that doesn't mean that you can't look for levity in every situation. Not everything needs to be taken so seriously. And if you approach even the most complex issues and the most tumultuous topics with a little bit of levity, you come from a place where you're coming from a positive place rather than regretting it or not looking forward to it all.

0:24:14 - (Colin Brook): And so I think that would be. My advice, is just don't take things so seriously all the time. Nothing's worth being that angry about or that sad about, especially when it comes.

0:24:26 - (Kate Davis): I love that. Where's the wisdom? Boom, boom, boom. It's. It's so true, though. We, you know, take your work seriously, don't take yourself too seriously, and bring that to it. And I think that's. I think that's wonderful advice, especially for people starting out, because so often when we are new to leadership, we tend to overdo stuff and tend to take ourselves so seriously. And, you know, and we're afraid because we're so afraid we're going to lose our sense of importance.

0:24:57 - (Colin Brook): Exactly right.

0:24:59 - (Kate Davis): And it definitely shows security. Have you noticed any benefits in your life from you using levity and humor?

0:25:06 - (Colin Brook): I'd like to think that it's tightened my relationships.

0:25:09 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:25:10 - (Colin Brook): You know, the ones that are closest to me, which is my family, you know, we have the easiest, loosest form of humor, and those are my best relationships. And then.

0:25:23 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.

0:25:23 - (Colin Brook): And then from there with other friends and family and then my colleagues, you know, we're. We're. We're friends and we're. We're buddies and pals because we can laugh about some stuff. And I think so. I think that's what I think. It really strengthens your level of trust, some vulnerability, and then your relationship is stronger with that type of an approach.

0:25:49 - (Kate Davis): That is so true. It really does build trust and meaningful relationships. And it just. And it does. It is hard, you know, when you are working remotely, like, you know, and you don't. Like. I love knowing, you know, like, Colin, what tea do you drink in the morning or do you have coffee or what do you have in it? Like, just those little nuances that we miss out on where we're all so separated or we were for so long.

0:26:15 - (Kate Davis): And I love the fact you're pranking new employees. That kills me.

0:26:19 - (Colin Brook): Yeah, yeah, it's. It's fun. It's fun. And you just have to know. Know your audience a little bit. And. Yeah, and. And. And during, you know, during COVID and. And the sort of. The uptick on virtual had its own challenges. It was always easy. Like I said, if you knew each other first, then. But we. We've done some team events here with wine wine pairings. So, you know, send. Send everybody home with four bottles of wine.

0:26:49 - (Kate Davis): Okay, I'm coming to work for you.

0:26:51 - (Colin Brook): Yeah. Charcuterie board and stop. Yeah, and we did. We had the wine, you know, the vineyard, the wine maker come online and pair the charcuterie with the wine that we were having. And they were Canadian wines, so we had Canadian ones do it. We did it twice. Once out of B.C. and then one out of the Niagara region. And. Yeah, the reason I'm mentioning it is because, well, the mistake we made was we did it on a Thursday, and by the end of these virtual pairings, like, a couple people with their spouses, like, they're getting low in the camera, and now they're laying on the floor.

0:27:30 - (Colin Brook): No work happened on Friday, and. And so we laugh. To this day, we laugh. You know, these. These people, we all got, you know, drank too much and stayed home in the safe comfort of Our homes.

0:27:42 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, that's very funny. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Where is it? Just feet up in the air, no.

0:27:53 - (Colin Brook): Cats going across. It was. It was really fun, both of them. And we should do them on a Friday. That would be. That would make the next day more productive because.

0:28:01 - (Kate Davis): Absolutely. Always have your wine pairings on a Friday. That is good advice right there. People listening to the podcast, you heard it here first. I always love to end the podcast. What is the funniest thing that's ever happened to you? Do you have a story you can share?

0:28:18 - (Colin Brook): Yeah. Well, so we do a carnival every year on site in Edmonton and then we replicate it in Oakville. We have all the families and grandchildren and everybody come for an extended barbecue in the back. And we thought that what would be really fun would be to have Colin in a dunk tank. And so I thought, well, that's. That's great. Like, that's what this organization needs is to see me in a Speedo in a dunk tank.

0:28:45 - (Colin Brook): So let's, let's do that to begin with. And then we're setting up in the back and the dunk tank arrives and we fill it with water. And then two of my vice presidents here, I'm kind of in the back setting up the bar, you know, for having a beer. And I look and a one ton ice truck shows up and proceeds to fill the dunk tank with as much ice as would like, overflow the water that was already in there. And so then I got to spend the next three hours being dunked by every grandchild that's connected to this business into this ice bath of a dunk tank.

0:29:26 - (Colin Brook): So, like, I laugh at it now. It was not funny.

0:29:32 - (Kate Davis): No. Oh, my God. Cold plunge is a really in thing right now.

0:29:37 - (Colin Brook): But he's not for me.

0:29:39 - (Kate Davis): It's not for you.

0:29:42 - (Colin Brook): Plunge. Yeah. So that was. That was.

0:29:45 - (Kate Davis): I love. And you had no idea they were going to fill it with ice?

0:29:48 - (Colin Brook): No, I was. So, yeah. So I love that. I like it as a story because they, you know, that's the level of comfort. We have a good time.

0:30:02 - (Kate Davis): Yeah. Oh, so good. So good. Thank you so much. Great wisdom. Great points. It's so important for people to hear and to know that they know can bring humor into leadership and that it just makes you a better leader and it makes you more receptive and it makes your people want to stay, you know, for sure. And I think that's really, really important. And I love all the stories and, and just even the ones, you know, even the jokes that don't hit. I think it's so important to know that that's okay, too.

0:30:37 - (Kate Davis): And, you know, and there are other ways. Pranking. I love the screen things. I might. I might start doing that. I'm not gonna lie.

0:30:45 - (Colin Brook): Yeah, that one. That can end up with somebody smashing computers, though. You know, they get so frustrated.

0:30:52 - (Kate Davis): Where did it go?

0:30:54 - (Colin Brook): This icon I can't click.

0:30:57 - (Kate Davis): Oh, my gosh. So good. Anyway, thank you so much for being a guest on Humor in the C Suite.

0:31:04 - (Colin Brook): My pleasure. Thanks for having me, Kate. And it's a great topic, and it's. You're the only. You're the only one that I know has this as a topic, and it brings it to the public. So I love it, and it speaks right to me. So thank you very much for having me.