Frikkie Brooks

Frikkie Brooks is the owner and manging director of Brooks Facilitation Services.

Frikkie grew up on a farm near Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. He went to school in Newcastle up to grade 10, and as his family relocated, completed his schooling in Pretoria, “I always joke and say I had to go there to meet my wife. I have been married to Anita for 44 years and met her on the very first day that I got to my new school.”

Commencing in 1979, Frikkie’s first job was as a geography teacher and he taught for ten years. Although he thoroughly enjoyed teaching geography, his further studies, in development planning, took him into various other fields.

After leaving teaching in 1989, Frikkie joined the then Department of Constitutional Development and Planning and has since been involved in development and the facilitation of various catalytic projects.

Following a long career in government, Brooks Facilitation Services was established when Frikkie retired. “When you’re 65, your sell by date arrives and you move on to greener pastures,” he explained.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Frikkie said that he has realised that being a geographer is about bringing concepts and people together. He says his ‘why’ is building constructive relationships and facilitating engagement between people as well as enabling processes.

Having been involved in various capacities in government for a period of 40 years, Frikkie was fortunate to have built an extensive network. “For me it was logical that I should try to keep the network intact for as long as possible. In the last five years I’ve been able to establish wonderful new relationships as well as bring some of the old networks together and merge them from a new perspective to collaborate and produce wonderful things.”

Frikkie started working in government pre-1994 and he successfully navigated the transition post-1994. He has worked under three different political parties and served under 26 political principals including nine premiers in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. He explains that his career was possible because as a technocrat nobody saw him as a threat.

“I’m a geographer, and I present the facts as I see them. I’d say unashamedly that I’ve never carried a political card in my life. Regardless of what my political views might be, they remain in my back pocket.”

Lately, Frikkie has come to realise that he has been able to manage the transition from government to the private sector quite seamlessly. He commented,” It has been a wonderful experience to be able to do that and I actually feel very privileged and honoured.”

The best advice Frikkie has received is to be driven by your values and principles and not by emotions. “I think that advice has guided me on a journey where I’ve been able to navigate quite difficult times in my life.”

For Frikkie, his greatest accomplishment has been an unblemished integrity record. “The biggest compliment I’ve ever got is that I was never approached for any underhanded dealings of any sort. I think whoever would have approached me would have known upfront what the response would have been.”

ADRENALINE JUNKIE
The biggest challenge Frikkie has experienced is that of the rapid change in the environment over his career. “Initially change generated anxiety and uncertainty. However, with the amount of change that I’ve had to manage in my life, I’ve now become a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. I love a change. I love the energy that change brings about. It releases new thinking; it forces you to renew your own perspectives. I’ve learned to embrace and to manage change.”

Frikkie believes one of his strengths is that he can work with people with whom has established relationships because these are always built on respect and integrity. He prides himself on ensuring that he treats everybody like they would want to be treated. He also believes that over time, he has earned the right to work with people he likes and trusts, and only on the projects where he believes he can make a difference.

“I think what’s also been helpful is that one has to think across cultural lines and beliefs and to recognise and embrace the strengths that diversity brings in any of the processes that we encounter.”

“I’m a firm believer that if it was easy, somebody else would have done it by now. Don’t shy away from the difficult things in life because that’s where you are able to make a difference. If you’re going to do the things that everybody else has already done, then there’s absolutely no challenge for you.”

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Frikkie believes in the power of positive thinking and understanding what works for him. He also draws his inspiration from the Springboks. “How special is the message that the Boks bring to all of us. That strength is found in diversity. The fact that nothing is impossible. The guys can dig deep enough to be able to get it done. That really inspires me and makes me believe that if they can do that for our country, then I need to play a role in the environment that I am in to create that same ‘Bok’ spirit amongst the teams that I work with because if we do that, we are unstoppable.”

In the future businesses in KwaZulu-Natal need to look for the opportunities and specifically to find partnerships and focus on the areas where government is not able to perform for whatever reason says Frikkie.

His major drive is to get the infrastructure of this province working again. He believes that correctly operating ports, airlines, roads, and rail would provide the catalyst for the province to thrive.

Frikkie’s motto is ‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly’. “Don’t do things half-baked because you’re going to have to do them over again. You’re going to embarrass yourself in the process.”