SELF DEVELOPMENT

The First Full-Time Employment

I had not resolved the direction I would head forward in my future career, but the engineering teacher was impressed with my adaptability and skill in the fitting and turning engineering classes. The three closest friends of my school days had decided to enlist as apprentice fitters and turners, so I decided to follow suit.

Three of us, at age sixteen, enlisted with the Department of Defence at the ordinance factory in Maribyrnong, which provided the most sophisticated training program known at the time. The training unit was only used by apprentices, and all completed the two-year program before being released to the big, wide world of ordinance equipment.

After twelve months, we were introduced to a personal assessment program, testing intelligence, personality, and leadership skills. I was greatly impressed with this system, because youths don't always make a suitable choice of career, because of a lack of guidance or consultation at school.

After the personal assessment program, which did not have a quantitative assessment, I was advised that the results confirmed I had greater horizons than my career choice. It was suggested that my indentures be terminated, to undertake a career in the administration area, i.e., public service. It was also agreed that I would be rotated throughout the various departments, to gain as much experience as possible as quickly as possible.

Self-discipline number 2 applies: aspire to roles that suit your strengths and personalities.

Early in your business life, you should explore options to identify strengths and personality.

Self-Development

Unfortunately, I did not have access to accurate personal assessments early in my working life, but thankfully, good opportunities came along because of my drive and enthusiasm. Thankfully, as my career developed into the more advanced form of management, I expanded in understanding myself.

My employers pressed for increased management sophistication, and I was enrolled with the Executive Training College, Sydney University, and London Business School. During the training, I was educated in the theories of Myers-Briggs and Carl Jung, and I was assessed as introverted, but not excessively so; thinking; judging.

Thinking, as per the Myers-Briggs formula, means objective, rational, making judgements based on facts, not emotions.

Self-discipline number 1 applies: clearly define your strengths, weaknesses, and personality as soon as possible.

The most dominant trait in my personality has always been thinking, which was extremely helpful when given the task of correcting a nonperforming company or assessing a company as a potential acquisition target. At times, it is inevitable that various paths will cross; in other words, handling exercises that are not akin to our strongest suits.

For example, during my business life, l had to design strategic plans, looking to the future and plotting the future development of the company. Although creative thinking was not my personality strength, I coped reasonably well in these exercises by trying to anticipate what the company should look like in five to ten years and then working back from that point. After completing several of these exercises,

I became more comfortable with the process.

Experience showed me that any activity becomes easier after completing it a number of times.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The next exercise was an analysis of my strengths and weaknesses, which will also assist in deciding a career path.

Are you adept with numbers? Do you present well? Are you good with your hands, a good problem-solver, a good team player, or an individualist? Are you a good manager of money, keen on learning other languages, an achiever, a good planner, aware of any leadership skills? The list goes on.

Complete an initial exercise to identity both strengths and weaknesses and constantly review the results. I concluded that expressing myself clearly with clear English terminology was a weakness.

Many students enter part-time work in various industries, which could assist in these exercises.

If you are not numerate, you are not a candidate for accountancy; an introvert would likely fail as a salesman. At one stage in my career, I was selling insurance, and the results were reasonable, because of my hard work, but not top grade because I was fighting against my introverted personality.

Self-disciplines 2, 10, and 11 apply: after identifying the strengths, aim for roles that suit those strengths.

Stabilising My Finances

In 1956, at eighteen years of age, I was playing VFL football with Footscray Reserves and being paid a princely sum of thirty shillings a game — three dollars in today's currency. It was an insult, but the club used most of its funds to attract country recruits.

One Sunday morning, I received a visit from Keith Drinan, a previous great from St. Kilda Football Club, who at the time was coach of the Yarraville Football Club, playing in the Victorian Football Association. Keith stated he needed a centre half forward for his club, and he had received numerous recommendations about my ability.

I agreed to train with the club that week and played in a practice match the following Saturday. The next day, I had another meeting with Keith, who offered me a contract paying ten pounds a game. The offer was attractive, because I had a goal to build my first house before my twenty-first birthday. This particular goal was important to me because my parents, since marriage, had always been renters and had not purchased a house.

However, the plan failed when Footscray Football Club refused to grant a clearance to Yarraville based on the recommendation of the reserves coach. I then concluded that the possible gains from football were inadequate to meet my immediate financial goals, and I could supplement my income through other sources. First I took a job cleaning an office block five nights a week; second, I commenced working in a cafe all day on Sundays.

I also accepted that sporting careers have a short lifespan, and I was more interested in achieving my long-term goals: developing myself to play a significant role in industry management or the financial sector.

The next move was to purchase an allotment of land for the construction of my house. As I did not want to overstretch my financial capacity, I limited the cost to six hundred pounds, meaning unmade roads and no sewerage.

I hired a builder after inspecting many of his completed projects and was impressed with the quality of the workmanship. During this period, I was assisted by an uncle who had completed the same process some years before.

Numerous self-disciplines apply: always move forward in areas you are suited for, and never overextend yourself financially.

Change of Direction in Employment

After almost two years in the public service as a clerical trainee, I came to a number of conclusions:

• I learnt nothing during the two years, other than how to spread three days' work into five.

• The work was dead boring.

• There was no challenge.

The thought of me leaving the public service horrified my father.

I started at an insurance company the following week. My new employer, the Automobile Fire and General Insurance Co., was one of the star performers on the stock exchange, and this information changed my father's attitude.

I was totally committed to achieving success, and after a few weeks, I was given a key to the office, because I was always first to arrive. The initial activity was managing the renewal program for the motor insurance portfolio, and after three months, the program was two months ahead of schedule. As a result of my progress, I was then asked to check the work of another colleague who managed the workers' compensation and public liability program.

The next move was to learn about fire, loss of profits, and householders insurance. It was amazing how quickly I absorbed the technicalities of the insurance business. It simply was a matter of spending time on the issues. The performance proved to my superiors that I was there to succeed, and they gave me every opportunity.

Self-discipline number 12 applies: take every opportunity and commit yourself.

After less than twelve months of the rigorous training program, I was invited to the chief clerk's office for a discussion about my next challenge. He enquired whether I would be interested in becoming an inspector — a coveted role as a salesman servicing existing business and acquiring new business in a predetermined geographical area.

My immediate reaction was one of excitement, but I explained that a problem existed, because I did not have a driver's licence. The response from the chief clerk was, "If you are so keen on the role, I am sure you will correct this problem quickly."

Upon returning to my desk, I sought out driving schools. That evening, an instructor arrived at the football club, after my training session, for my first lesson. The next lesson was the following morning, as I drove to the office through the peak-hour traffic, and the lessons continued each morning and afternoon. On the fourth day, I expected another lesson, but the instructor said we had an appointment at the police station at 9:00 a.m. for my driver's licence test.

The state of euphoria as I travelled to the office was amazing, and I rounded off a fantastic morning by displaying my driver's licence when I entered the chief clerk's office. A briefcase was provided, with all the rating manuals and necessary documents, and I was advised that my role as inspector would commence the following Monday and the car would be available on Friday afternoon. The territory to be serviced was to be the Central Business District of Melbourne and inner suburbs of North Melbourne, Carlton, Fitzroy, and Collingwood.

Self-discipline number 12 applies: take every opportunity and commit yourself.

As a new driver, I had to learn quickly to park the car in confined spaces in the inner suburbs. Thankfully, the Volkswagen made life a little easier, but a problem was just around the corner. Whilst turning on a roundabout, the car stopped, and I assumed the petrol tank was empty. The early-model Volkswagens did not have a petrol gauge, and I was unaware that a lever on the floor released fuel from an emergency tank. I pushed the car around the roundabout, and I was terribly embarrassed when the road service mechanic pointed out this issue.

Another amusing incident occurred that was embarrassing at the time. The key priority was to do everything possible to gain the renewal of existing business. Therefore, if a knock at the front door of a residence gained no response, we would go to the rear door. On this particular day, I received the shock of my life when a teenage girl opened the rear door naked.

I continued as an inspector in two metropolitan districts for two years, after which the general manager requested an interview to discuss the next step in my career. My employer's owners, General Credits, a finance company, had purchased a small finance company in Townsville and decided to open a branch; therefore, the insurance subsidiary was expected to do the same. It was determined that, notwithstanding my youth at age twenty-three, I was the preferred candidate to open the insurance branch office.

It was quite a challenge, but I decided to accept the huge demand and head north.

Self-discipline numbers 12 and 14 apply: take advantage of every opportunity; accept the challenge.

The Move North

The challenge was to develop business between Mackay and Cairns from an office in Townsville, meaning travel every second week. Mackay is 250 miles south of Townsville, and Cairns is 250 miles north of Townsville. This posed a huge challenge, because the company did not have a customer in the north, but it helped that General Credits was owned by Commercial Bank of Australia; thus, my first contact in each town was the manager of the bank.

My sources of business were the bank, its customers, and customers of General Credits, which were primarily motor dealers. I found it interesting that the ethnic mix of the population differed from town to town. For example, Mackay had a strong Maltese community; Cairns, Ingham, and Innisfail had very solid Italian communities.

The wet season created many complications, with flooded creeks and rivers, which was exaggerated by poor road systems. In particular, the road systems south to Mackay were the biggest problem, causing me to spend many idle hours sitting on the banks of flooded waterways. One experience — which I laugh about these days — was embarrassing. A notorious creek eighty miles south of Townsville, renowned for flooding, prevented me returning to Townsville. As it was late afternoon, I returned to Ayr to stay at a hotel for the night. The creek was only twenty kilometres north. As I awoke at 4:30 a.m., I decided to go to the creek to determine if I could travel though to Townsville, but the flood showed no sign of abating.

What to do? I decided to return to the hotel for some extra sleep, but as I attempted to mount the stairs to my room, I was confronted by the owner's huge Alsatian dog, which caused me to retreat quickly. Whilst surveying the premises from outside, I noticed that hanging stairs could give access to the upper floor, so I parked my car below the stairs and climbed to the roof of the car to give me access to the hanging stairs. As I mounted the hanging stairs, a police car arrived. Following an explanation, the police officer escorted me up the stairs to my room, because the dog recognised the policeman.

Another interesting experience worth relating involved the managing director when he visited the north. As we headed south to Mackay, torrential rain commenced, and when we reached the notorious road section between Proserpine and Mackay, flood waters had started to accumulate. Because of the poor condition of the road, it was necessary to travel under a rail bridge, but it too was flooded. We drove through the flood, and I could feel the MD's body tense when we reached the deepest point.

Self-discipline number 3 applies: assemble all necessary facts before making decisions.

A frightening experience occurred one morning as I headed to Mackay. About fifty miles from home, I noticed a black flash outside the left-hand side of the car and realised it was the front wheel, which had careered off into a sugar-cane crop. It seemed an age before the front end of the car hit the bitumen, and when that occurred, all I could do was fight with the steering wheel until the speed reduced sufficiently for me to use gear changes to eventually bring the car to a stop.

Thankfully, two young guys travelling in the opposite direction saw where the wheel entered the sugar cane and recovered it. Inside the hubcap were the nuts for the studs, with sufficient thread to allow me to reconnect the wheel and drive — very slowly — the fifteen miles to Ayr, where a customer replaced the front end. At 4:00, I set off on my journey, but by the time I reached the next town of Home Hill, aftershock kicked in. I could not drive any further, so I stayed the night at the local hotel and had a few drinks and dinner with the local bank manager.

The previous week, the car had been serviced, which included a wheel rotation, and the motor engineers agreed that the most obvious cause of the problem was the possibility that the wheel nuts had not been sufficiently tightened. Thus, they paid the cost of repairs.

Self-discipline number 3 applies: I had decided, after deep thought, that sufficient thread on the studs allowed me to drive further.

Another problem spot was the Herbert River Bridge, north of Ingham, which regularly became flooded because it is probably the strongest-flowing river in the wet season, because of heavy rain in the north of the state. The milk supplies to Townsville were transported from the Atherton Tablelands in huge tankers, and in the wet season, the only way to cross the flooded bridge was to await the arrival of a tanker and follow the tanker across the bridge in its wake.

Self-discipline number 3 applies: accumulate knowledge about the problems you could encounter.

The Value of Knowledge

When travelling up and down the coast, I met many commercial travellers, and I gained vital knowledge from them of all the trouble spots and how to cope with such problems. It reminded me of my Boy Scout training as a teenager and its motto, "be prepared."

Another Change

After four years in the north, the managing director telephoned to say that I was ready for a new challenge and proposed my transfer to Albury on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. I was pleased with this proposal, because Albury Branch was considered the jewel in the crown. A previous manager had been a huge success by developing a fantastic business.

The geographic spread of the business was to Wagga in the north, Benalla and Mount Beauty in the south, Deniliquin in the west, and Corryong in the east. The area is a strong farming community, raising dairy, beef, sheep, grains, fruit, vineyards, hops, and tobacco. North East Victoria and the Riverina are considered some of the best agricultural land in Australia. The area was very affluent, and much business competition continued between towns on either side of the Murray River, Albury and Wodonga. I established many friendships, which still continue to this day.