Champions of Change

By Anthony O’Brien

Our leadership community is privileged to have two leaders who exemplify excellence and integrity and who encourage the highest ethical standards: noted humanitarian Professor Shirley Randell AO FIML and Dr Donna Odegaard AM, CEO of Aboriginal Broadcasting Australia. They share some inspiring leadership insights with Leadership Matters.

Dr Donna Odegaard AMTHEIR LONG ROADS TO LEADERSHIP

A long-time public servant including stints in the Department of the Prime Minister and the Public Service Commission, Randell was one of Australia’s 100 Inaugural Women of Influence in 2012. She is also a big supporter of International Women’s Day, which is fast approaching on 8 March. Prior to her public service, Randell taught Aboriginal children in remote schools in Western Australia before moving to Papua New Guinea to lecture at teachers’ colleges operated by the Uniting Church.

After her first retirement, Randell owned and operated consultancy businesses in Sydney, Rwanda, and Vanuatu. She also worked in a consulting role in Bangladesh in 2004–5 and 2014–15.

Darwin-based Odegaard is the founder and CEO of Darwin-based Aboriginal Broadcasting Australia, which is seeking to establish free-to-air television operations in every capital city. Currently, her unique television licences are regulated to broadcast nationally. As a result, the busy Odegaard is collecting frequent flyer miles taking her vision for her businesses to boardrooms across Australia.

It’s an impressive result for Odegaard who started her business career selling handmade clothes to support her family. She is recognised as one of Darwin’s most respected businesswomen and has strong views on what it takes to be a leader and manager today. Odegaard also has robust opinions about how business leadership has changed for women since the 1970s. She explains, “I’ve seen some massive changes in the past 30 years for women leaders, especially Indigenous women. We were breaking some ground in the 1970s but mostly in the areas of activism, politics, education and the arts.

“Today, young women are trailblazing in areas such as business, economics or they are entrepreneurial and are looking at global markets.”

Professor Shirley Randell AOWOMEN HAVE COME A LONG WAY

There were very few women in leadership roles when Randell joined the Commonwealth workforce in the mid-1960s. “I’m pleased to see that we now have many more women leaders,” says Randell who cites former Victorian Premier Joan Kirner and philosopher Jean Blackburn as inspirational female leaders.

“There’s more individual support for women today from other women, and we have more men who are fighting for women’s rights. In regard to whether we are better off, of course, we are.”

However, there is no reason for complacency, counselled Randell, “because, in reality, for example, we’re still a tiny percentage of engineers, surgeons, and parliamentarians in the Liberal/National party coalition.”

Odegaard, who earned her PhD from NSW’s University of Newcastle, agrees and even as recently as the early 2000s discovered there were still gender roadblocks for female entrepreneurs. “I very carefully ventured into the media and had a lot of pushback from males in the industry. But I just kept quietly chipping away to try and get more of a voice not just for women but for Indigenous people.”

Randell warns that when female leaders earn some successes, there can be a backlash. “When countries, for example, are taken over by fundamentalism, which we are now seeing, women’s rights are one of the first things to go.”

MEN’S VIEWS ARE CHANGING TOO

With a working résumé stretching over 60 years, Randell says she took her first significant leadership role in 1984 when she was appointed Director of Programs ACT Schools Authority in Canberra. She then honed her management skills when she was named CEO of the Council of Adult Education, in Melbourne from 1991–94. In this challenging role, Randell was responsible for 1,000 teachers and 50,000 students. When she first retired in 1996, she was CEO of the City of Whitehorse, the second-largest city in Victoria.

Men’s view of leadership had to change too over the past 30–40 years to help open doors for female leaders, opines Randell. “Quotas for women in leadership roles are important. Men had to change as well, and we’ve had these champions for change in Australia who are doing tremendous work in supporting women such as Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Things are changing to help us achieve gender parity.”

Having more women on public and private sector boards is a must to promote gender diversity, argues Randell. “On those boards and in those executive suites where men are welcoming women, the fact that women are there is a considerable incentive to other people. However, in my opinion, quotas need to be there to achieve balanced leadership across the boards.

“We haven’t yet done this with business, but Elizabeth Proust who has just retired as Chair of the Australian Institute of Company Directors has been talking publicly about the importance of targets if we want to change the position of women on business boards.”

Randell recognises the success of diversity targets in the European Union and the United Kingdom to illustrate the effectiveness of getting more women and minorities onto boards. “We need to do the same in Australia. However, for this to be effectual, you need men welcoming women.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG LEADERS

Randell advises young leaders to pursue the routine actions involved in climbing the leadership ladder such as:

  • Working hard
  • Completing academic qualifications
  • Getting published
  • Attending conferences

She adds, “When you make mistakes you don’t stop.

“I’m a great believer that in every setback there’s an opportunity. That’s happened to me. I’ve had disappointments in my career, but there’s always a silver lining. In every loss, there’s always an opportunity.”

Odegaard advises aspiring women leaders to harness the power of social media. “Through social media women can connect to other support groups, and to networks such as IML ANZ.

“Those of us who were doing business in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were doing it basically on the smell of an oily rag. We were doing it out of our homes, we were poor, but we had a lot of creativity, but back then we didn’t connect as a community of women because we just didn’t do that. You couldn’t even think about doing things like that.”

The roles of women in business are changing, continues Odegaard, who is confident the younger brigade “are strong, confident and are sort of quietly changing things”. The television executive is fond of asking young aspiring female leaders, “What do you want to do?”

“If they have dreams and aspirations, I advise young leaders to stick close to good people and networks such as IML ANZ.

“The Institute can also provide valuable mentoring services, and certainly good advice and experience. Get as much out of it as you possibly can.”

Aiming for the summit

By Lachlan Colquhoun

 

While working toward climbing Mount Everest, Belinda-Jane Dolan CMgr FIML is using the same tenacity, abilities, and framework she employs in her mountaineering to help clients reach their own business and personal summits.

Dolan is the founder and Chief Executive of the Clariti Group, a business advisory and training company based in Brisbane. The firm operates all over Australia and around the world and has been recognised as a seven-time award winner in the annual 2017 Stevie Awards for Women in Business for its work. It delivers leadership and performance advisory and training across the globe and in some of the most remote regions of Australia.

By late 2018 Dolan will have climbed South America’s largest peak, Aconcagua in the Andes. This climb will be the fourth of the seven summits. “I’ve climbed three so far: Elbrus in Europe, Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mount Kosciuszko at home, although that was more of a jog than a climb,” she says.

Dolan’s ambition and achievements are even more remarkable given that she was born disabled and walked with the assistance of calipers until the age of five.

It was in overcoming this disability, and in proving her doctors wrong, that Dolan’s sporting and mountaineering ambition was born.

“I’m the sort of person who, if you tell me I can’t do something, it’s like a red rag to a bull,” she says.

“When they told me I wasn’t going to be able to walk, I remember thinking ‘what is the most gargantuan and audacious thing I can do?’, and that’s when I thought I’d go out and climb the highest mountains on each continent.”

Dolan’s goal-setting also extends to the Clariti Group. “Our focus is on using our company to positively impact the lives of one million and one people globally through our work. Clariti is a standout brand dedicated to building workplaces and leaders to reach their ultimate performance and, with our guidance, they truly believe in themselves that they can achieve their dreams,” she said.

Taking the symbolism of mountaineering further, Clariti is set to launch an online training program called Finding Your Own Everest as it seeks to make its business and leadership education work accessible globally.

“Whether you aim to expand your business in revenue or performance, the focus of the Climb Your Everest program is to achieve a pivotal goal, and we help guide you to reach your goals,” says Dolan.

“It’s about finding the highest point you can reach and understanding that the difference between good and great is often just a little bit more effort — that’s where Clariti comes in.”

Dolan began her career in education and formed her first company in her 20s. She has spent the past two decades living and working across eight different countries, from the US to New Zealand to Turkey and the Gulf States.

Her passion has been business education and leadership, “to bring individuals together to make great organisations remarkable.”

Part of Dolan’s passion was motivated by witnessing some negative experiences in the corporate world which were alienating talented people and creating “corporate refugees” who still had a lot to offer. However, they were frustrated with the leaders and/or the culture of their organisation, which Dolan, says, “didn’t allow them to grow and shine.”

Clariti Group seeks to embody the best of corporate culture and to promote this vision to its clients. Dolan explains, “We understand how important leadership and performance are to the success of companies both here and abroad. As a developer of leaders and high performing teams sitting on and advising boards we can directly or indirectly influence the positive outcomes of organisations.”

For Dolan, the most important quality for leaders is “relatability”. “As a leader, you have to be real, and you have to be able to understand what you are good at and what you need your team to help you with,” she says.

Dolan recently completed the Chartered Manager qualification through the IML and said the process was “invaluable.”

“Completing the qualification was a fabulous decision, and I’m so glad I did it,” she says.

“As a goal-oriented person, the process of self-reflection that this qualification instils within you was incredibly valuable. As inspired leaders, we know that reflective practice is the key to operating at your optimum in an ever-evolving business environment. The qualification provided me with the opportunity to take my practice as a leader to the next level.

“I would not have done this to the same level if it hadn’t been for the Chartered Manager program.”

Can AI eliminate unconscious bias in recruitment?

Most of us appreciate how artificial intelligence can simplify tasks. It’s a satisfying feeling when your phone suggests a great restaurant while you’re travelling in a foreign city. Meals are of course one thing, but when it comes to crucial choices, such as unbiased recruiting, can AI be just as reliable?

A key issue for employers when they recruit is assessing if a person can carry out the requirements of the job. They must clearly outline the essential duties of all positions when hiring, being careful to not to confuse ‘abilities’ with ‘characteristics’.

To be unbiased means employers select the best person for the job. They make no assumptions about what people can and can’t do, or if they will ‘fit in’ as a result of their background.

During the early stages of recruitment, it can be easy for biases to creep into the process. For instance:

  • Advertising jobs – the Australian Human Rights Commission calls out commonly used phrases such as ‘join a dynamic team’ or ‘seeking a mature, experienced professional’ as possibly discriminatory against certain age groups.
  • Shortlisting candidates – forming an opinion about the candidate’s suitability based on their name or geographic location and what that might tell you about their cultural or racial background.

Could this be where an unbiased selector, such as AI, step in to eliminate any inherent prejudices?

 

Where AI has an advantage

Speed and accuracy. An area where machines outperform humans is around processing and analysing vast amounts of data. AI-enabled software and machines can carry out processes in a more advanced way. Although they mimic human behaviour when inputting and consuming information from multiple sources; they can gather, process and record data in more efficient way and in larger volumes. This means a larger candidate pool could be considered for roles, allowing for better diversity amongst the shortlist.

Perspective shift. Unlike humans who can at times respond based on gut feeling, AI always responds based upon evidence. In addition, AI’s ability to find patterns within data mean they could disrupt common thinking. In a similar way to how Deep Blue defeated Kasparov by making moves that his opponent didn’t anticipate, so can AI-enabled systems explore alternative avenues when selecting candidates.

 

Where AI falls short

In theory that may all sound convincing, putting AI to work however is a lot more complex. For instance, when Amazon created an AI-based recruiting system they failed to shield the system from bias. By teaching the system to rate male candidates as the ideal fit, not explicitly but by deducing through previous criteria that put female candidates at a disadvantage.

Ultimately, humans build the parameters that define AI’s decision-making. If bias creeps in then the system’s integrity is inevitably compromised.

 

Use AI to support a bias-proof recruitment process

For now it appears the best approach is not to view AI as superceding all human participation in recruiting. Rather it is best used as a support mechanism for unbiased recruitment.

Use the technology to hone in on specific processes that require objectivity. Software that check the language you use, such as Textio, can help edit out words or phrases that could limit the type of people who would respond to job ads. In addition, there are also existing systems that assist by removing information, such as names and geographical information, that may trigger bias.

Until completely bias-proofed technology exists, the onus still rests upon managers to use all possible options to ensure unbiased recruitment.

Data detective: Harnessing machine learning

By Emma Mulholland

 

Many of us don’t realise that, as we go about our days, we leave long data trails behind us. When we use our smartphone, for example, not only is our location and interlocutor recorded, even the way we hold the headset is. Is that a bad thing? It can be, says data innovator Shashank Pawar MIML. But in the right hands, he says, our data can help us take control of our financial future.

Pawar has worked at Microsoft for 19 years, where he oversees healthcare and banking portfolios. His mission is to bring back customer service – albeit in a modern, digital way. “I think about my mum and dad’s experience of banking,” he says. “They used to deal with one person at a local branch who knew everything about their lifestyle. He knew how old their kids were and would say, ‘Why don’t you set up a college fund?’ There was a level of service that we’re not enjoying today, even though the banks probably have more information about their customers than they’ve ever had.”

A computer science graduate, Pawar helps organisations store and protect customer data and put it to work (under Australian legislation, companies keeping information must have customer consent).

“I help my clients get the most out of the biggest asset they have within their organisation, which is data,” Pawar says. “When a person walks into a bank, essentially everything is recorded: the time it takes to solve their enquiry, the nature of the transaction and the money involved. That data becomes a competitive difference: it’s something you know about your customer base that your competitor doesn’t.”

And that’s where artificial intelligence comes in. Pawar develops algorithms that can sift through millions of these recorded interactions, establish patterns and make predictions about each customer. In years gone by, it could take up to a year to set up an algorithm; with cloud computing, Pawar can now run tests in a matter of days.

He hopes to create the banking equivalent of Spotify, a music-streaming service that uses machine learning – based on tracks played by the listener and their friends – to suggest new playlists. “Why can’t we do that with financial advice as well?” Pawar asks. “The bank knows my peers’ spending habits so if I’m aiming to save a large amount of money, it could tell me what other people my age, who managed to reach that goal, did – it might be shopping at alternative grocery suppliers.”

Pawar imagines a future where no-one will have to wait in line at the bank. Instead, organisations will analyse data and predict their customers’ needs. “Then we can use digital technology to text them the solution,” he says. “Or the next time they pop in to a branch, a friendly face will come and say, ‘This is what you’ve been looking for.’ The interaction is seamless – we seem to know about the customer and can give them personalised service. That’s the vision.”

Are we too busy to innovate?

Managers and Leaders can make or break an organisation’s efforts to generate fresh ideas and evolve.

Innovation and creative thinking are common management buzz words that managers and leaders hear every day. To some, these words are frightening – the fear of the unknown – and yet to others these same words are embraced as opportunity. Innovation is defined as the ‘successful exploitation of ideas’ as opposed to creative thinking which is usually required at the front end of the innovation process.

Research from organisations around the world has shown that the single most important factor in the success of innovation and developing creative initiatives is having a leader and a team with the ability and passion to turn ideas into business reality.  Additionally, a leader must provide focus and ensure their people have a clear understanding of exactly what kind of innovation the business requires.

All too often innovation is viewed as ground breaking technological advances such as robots being responsible for putting half the Australian workforce out of a job – and of course these types of statements dominate media headlines. This kind of innovation scares people – as many commentators identified during the 2016 federal election campaign when former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull kept reminding the voters about innovation and economic change (to his detriment).

Rather, innovation should be focused on small, incremental changes to products, processes, services and customer experiences that assist organisations to become more efficient, productive and competitive. Creative thinking is helpful during this process to identify new ideas.

Surprisingly, among today’s managers and leaders the most common competency area of weakness resides in the development of creative and innovative thinking.  This ‘blind spot’ area has been identified by the IML 360 assessment
tool and is diagnosed in hundreds of
IML Corporate Member organisations around Australia.

Managers play a crucial role in sparking and encouraging innovation and creative thinking and their support and openness to ideas is vitally important. Research from NESTA in the UK found that 40 per cent of organisational innovation comes from the role of leaders in ‘modelling behaviours that encourage innovation’. Another 30 per cent is delivered by setting up the right team and having a talent pool motivated by innovation and incentivised to improve business operations.

It’s a well-known fact that the development of the iPod was a team effort; inspired and spearheaded by Apple CEO Steve Jobs and created and assembled by a team of engineers and designers – through hundreds of iterations and modifications. All good ideas are born flawed.

Barriers to innovation can usually be characterised into three distinct categories – risk aversion and fear of failure by leaders, hierarchical structure across staff levels, and lack of time to reflect on business processes. Notably, public sector managers highlight the first two categories as their biggest barriers to overcome (62%) while private sector managers suggest the third category is the biggest factor for reducing innovative outcomes (52%).

Of course, there’s always a lot of talk from government, CEOs and executive teams about the need for creative thinking and the requirement to cultivate a culture of innovation – but more often than not it simply doesn’t translate into action on the ground. Creating a culture where people feel safe to experiment with new concepts, are willing to share opinions and are empowered to frame new ideas is wonderful to preach from the ivory tower, but it must be followed up with action to eliminate barriers.

Further assessment results from IML’s small-to-medium sized Corporate Members suggest that insufficient or ‘distracted’ talent remains a major challenge to cultivate such cultures. This was confirmed by an interesting observation made from one organisation. A senior leader noted that employees in her organisation no longer have or make the time to reflect on improving business processes. Constant distractions such as social media, a 24-hour news cycle, access to everything on our phones and PCs and other ‘lifestyle’ commitments mean that all too often we no longer have the time to reflect and truly think about how processes can be improved. In other words, life is simply too busy to think creatively and innovate.

So, what are we to do as managers and leaders? For a team to innovate, a manager needs to ensure they have a number of team members who are innovators.

To identify the innovators inside a team, managers and leaders should look to identify people with three key characteristics:

  1. People who are open to ideas;
  2. Those who show problem-solving skills; and
  3. Employees who are highly motivated and use initiative.

Some of these skills can be taught through training, professional development and experience. Much of it is also achieved by the organisation’s leadership capacity and culture.

Research suggests leaders should adopt a transformational leadership style that is more inspiring and collaborative to generate a shared vision among employees. In a practical sense, many of the barriers to innovation and creative thinking are expressed through the limitations of a hierarchical organisation structure.

By Sam Bell FIML

IML’s general manager – corporate services and research

Let’s break some rules

In a fearful world, leaders need to embolden their people to swim against the tide.

By Jane Caro 

A few years ago, I used to teach a subject of intense academic rigour (not) at the University of Western Sydney. ‘Advertising Creative’ was an elective in the Communications degrees offered by the School of Communication Arts. I taught the course twice per year for seven years. I usually had about 100 students per semester. UWS (or WSU as it is called now) is a terrific institution. Quite apart from anything else 75 per cent of its students are the first members of their family ever to go to university. It also enrolls students from a wide range of ethnic, social and religious backgrounds. All the research shows that a rich spread of experiences and beliefs in an organisation is ground zero for creativity.

What I found while teaching this wide range of students, was that the usual suspects were not the people who did as well as they expected in my course. In using the term ‘usual suspects’ I mean the archetypal ‘good’ students. Those who study hard and are very good at following the rules, and memorising and regurgitating what they have been told. To their consternation, for once, they were not the stars of the show. I remember one of them asking me how wide the margin should be on the work they handed in and the way their mouth dropped open at my answer.

“Margin? I don’t care if it has a margin at all. I don’t care if you hand in your creative idea scribbled on the back of an envelope so long as it makes me laugh, cry, shocks me, disturbs me or makes me think. Neatest, correct entry will get you nowhere. Messy but original will win. Show me something I have never seen before.”

The students who did surprisingly well in my course were often the ones who were just scraping through the rest of their subjects. They were the irreverent, lazy kids who winged their assignments at the very last minute because they were too busy having a good time. They were also less anxious than the high-achievers, less driven by the need for the approval of others. Their expectations, if they had any, were realistic. Yet, they were better at original ideas. They were more creative because they had kept their subversive spirit alive. They weren’t obedient or compliant and they didn’t follow the rules. And that is where creativity, originality and new ideas live. They germinate in that little internal voice that says ‘Why do I have to do it your way?’ ‘Why should I do what you tell me just because they call you the teacher (boss/supervisor, whatever) and me the student (employee/subordinate etc)?’

I remember one young man coming up to me on campus after the final results had been announced. “Thank you for the great mark,” he said, in a tone of bewilderment. He was clearly not used to scoring highly. “You deserved it,” I replied. “You think differently.”

The trouble with the world as it is now – whether it is in our education system, the workplace, politics, industry or even the media – is we are obsessed with compliance. We are preoccupied with ticking boxes, following the rules (complying with them, in fact) and being accountable. And accountability, as I have written before, is the proverbial dead-hand when it comes to creativity and original thinking. Accountability is a blame-oriented mechanism. If something goes wrong, someone will be held to account for the mistake. Creativity, originality and innovation thrive on mistakes. Whenever you try something new, by definition you are likely to get it wrong. That’s why the era of accountability has brought the western world to the place we find ourselves now. Some are looking backwards (I’m looking at you ‘Make America Great Again’) in fear and loathing, while the rest of us are desperately spinning our wheels and getting nowhere. Creativity and innovation, in my experience, can only really take flight in an almost fear-free environment. People must feel safe enough to fail before they can succeed. Managers who know this are both very wise and very rare.

We are currently living in a very fearful world. We’re terrified of being blamed and criticised. We’re scared of climate change, terrorism and ‘the other’. The future feels bleak and dystopian. I think we have to throw that self-limiting existential terror away. And we can only do that with some real innovation. So, it’s time to get subversive. Time to break the rules. Time to tear up the guidelines, excise the margins and scribble our best ideas on the back of envelopes.

Jane Caro runs her own communications consultancy. She worked in the advertising industry for 30 years and is now an author, journalist, lecturer and media commentator.

Business Innovation in 10 easy steps

By Leann Webb  FIML, Managing Director of Aurora Marketing 

 

When I think of successful entrepreneurialism, I see it as intricately connected to innovation. Innovation is at the heart of successful business, so as an entrepreneur you need to know how to innovate. And not just once, but over and over again so that you can stay in front of your competitors.

So let’s start with a simple definition: what is innovation? It is a new idea, device or process. And behind every successful entrepreneur is just that: a new idea, device or process.

But how do we purposefully innovate? Sometimes an idea just pops in to your head… but that is not much of a strategy for a sustainable business. We need to be able to purposefully create new ideas, products and devices.

 

Here’s my 10 step process for making it happen:

 

1. Clear your mind of logic and limits

As Walt Disney said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” Don’t constrain yourself with pre-conceived ideas of what is possible or sensible. This is especially true if you are looking for a disruptive idea. Let go of your perceived limits. Anything is possible.

2. Dream the preferred reality

Imagination is more important than knowledge so use the power of your imagination to create a vision of your preferred reality. What would you love? What would you prefer for how things operate? What would be the magic solution? And remember: all ideas are good ideas. No idea killers allowed.

3. Write it down

I’m a fan of the traditional notebook and I carry mine with me everywhere I go. This has been a habit of mine since my first day in my first career job. Every meeting, every discussion, every action item gets documented. This way, no ideas are ever lost or forgotten.

4. Research and explore

This is a crucial step. Once I’ve got the idea, I start researching how it would work, if there is a gap in the market at the moment, does it meet a need, what it would cost, how much could we charge, etc.

5. Colour it in

This step is where the idea starts to become real and the vague vision starts to become refined and detailed. If it is a new business or product, I start brainstorming brand names, logos, colour palettes, developing flowcharts and diagrams, selecting locations, etc. Here, I start to get a real feel for the business and product and how people will interact with it.

Leann Webb will be one of many speakers at our upcoming Brisbane Conference on the 2nd November 2017. Book Now to hear Leann and many other specialists in their respective fields discuss attributes of successful leaders at this full day event.

 

 

6. Share your idea with trusted partners

This step is the one I believe to be the toughest. I am very protective of my new ideas and I don’t like negativity. So when it comes to sharing an idea, especially if it is a bit fluid, it is really important to share with the right kinds of people. If you can’t find those people, my preferred approach is to discreetly share little bits of information in an informal way and see what reaction you get.

7. Set a deadline

Once you’ve decided you are going to do it, set a deadline. Most people flop around like fish out of water unless they have a deadline, so mark a date on the calendar and commit.

8. Develop an action plan

And now, write a list of everything that needs to be done and work out what is on the critical path. Who is going to do it? When does it need to be done? How much will it cost? Put together a detailed action plan and allocate responsibilities. Get it done.

9. Launch (and shoot the engineer if you have to)

In new product development, there is a saying “Sooner or later, you have to shoot the engineer and put it in to production.” The ‘engineer’ refers to the product engineer who wants to release a perfect product. While this is a noble principle, the longer you take to get the product to market, the more it costs and the more market advantage you sacrifice. It is far better to launch the first version and continue improving the product through subsequent version releases. So launch the product, even if it isn’t perfect.

10. Listen, adapt, persevere

And the last step is continually listening, adapting and persevering. When I think of my businesses, each of them is so totally different to how they started. Different business models, different delivery models, even different services. As business operators, we’re in a constant state of evolution.

 

Meet The Innovator

Pepper Financial Services whiz Matthew Tinker isn’t one to have a ‘lend of you’ when defining innovation. By Susan Muldowney

 

“Innovation” is a popular word in business circles but many leaders hesitate to define what it actually means. Not Matthew Tinker FIML. As head of innovation at Pepper, he’s in the business of developing ideas to attract more customers to the ASX-listed financial services group. “I define innovation as change that adds value,” he states.

In 2015, Pepper sought to expand its model beyond broker networks directly to consumer. Tinker, who has been with the company since 2011, was made head of innovation and was charged with finding out exactly what consumers wanted from a financial services product. “We also spent a lot of time trying to make data-driven decisions around what our product should look like or what service offering we can provide to customers,” Tinker explains.

Pepper also worked with a global innovation network that connects start-ups with expert mentors, the market and finance. “We partnered with 1776, so we can be exposed to innovations around product experiences that are being built by start-ups,” Tinker says.

Tinker then helped create a local start-up incubation program late last year, called Free Money. The program was a partnership between Pepper and Australian pioneering start-up consultancy Pollenizer. The aim of the program was to encourage start-ups to build new financial technology (fintech) solutions. The winner received 12 weeks of training and financial support to further develop their ideas.

 

“You have to be heavily focused on your customer and you have to challenge the status quo”

 

Exposure to innovative fintech solutions spawned many new ideas for Pepper. One involves mining data to give customers what they want before they know they want it.

“In one of our business lines, customers call us for statements once every three months. We’re using data and machine learning to predict those requests before they happen so we can provide a ‘wow’ moment for customers. It’s also a cost efficiency for our business because that’s a phone call we don’t need to answer,” Tinker says.

Tinker and his team help to foster innovation at Pepper through programs such as Spark Box, which encourages employees to nominate customer challenges that they would like to solve.

“We take them through a series of workshops to help them design solely for that customer challenge. We provide the framework for them to conduct interviews with consumers and we also give them access to the right people, whether it be lawyers or compliance people, so they can check things before they go further with their ideas. Then we help them execute the idea.”

Tinker says innovative solutions are formed when you put your customer’s needs at the centre of your business. “You have to be heavily focused on your customer and you have to challenge the status quo. You will be told ‘no’ a lot. I always follow up a ‘no’ by asking ‘why?’ That’s probably something that frustrates a lot of people about me. Around 99 per cent of the time, they end up saying ‘Tell me how we can do it’.”

Disrupting The Disruptors

 

Musician Jack White’s Third Man Records is helping rebuild Detroit with a brand new vinyl record pressing plant and outlet stores. Is there life for legacy industries post-disruption?
BY JAMES JENNINGS

 

A funny thing happened alongside the rapid rise of digital music streaming services: vinyl albums – those cumbersome 12-inch plastic slabs that fell out of favour in the late-80s and early-90s – have experienced a remarkable resurgence, with worldwide sales increasing exponentially year-on-year.

Although the arrival of the Compact Disc appeared to signal the death knell for the LP format, a so-called “vinyl revival” that began around 2007 has seen records make a roaring comeback: in the US alone, it’s projected that 40 million records will be sold in 2017, with sales approaching $US1 billion. In Australia, vinyl counts for 15 per cent of all physical music sales, with 2016 experiencing an 80 per cent increase in overall sales compared to 2015.

The popularity of digital streaming has done nothing to quell the desire of music lovers to hold something tangible in their hands (although the devaluing and lack of aesthetic appeal of CDs has meant their potential resurgence won’t be on the cards any time soon), leading to a vinyl boom and the growing popularity of Record Store Day, an annual international celebration of the format.

Although vinyl sales still only account for a small portion of overall physical music sales – in the US they will only make up around six per cent of a projected $15 billion in revenue this year – the resurgence is enough to provide a significant increase in demand and a second wind for a once-doomed legacy industry.

One of the most vocal champions for the growth of vinyl production in a post-disruption world is none other than the White Stripes’ Jack White (pictured top), whose two solo albums – 2012’s Blunderbuss and 2014’s Lazaretto – both wound up in the US Top 10 vinyl sales during their respective years of release.

Following on from the opening of White’s Third Man Records’ storefront in Nashville in 2009 (the premises including a record store, novelties lounge, label offices, distribution centre, photo studio and the world’s only live venue with direct-to-acetate recording capabilities), White and Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell – White’s nephew – opened a second storefront in Detroit’s historic Cass Corridor in 2015.

In February, White cemented his dedication to the vinyl format and his staunch desire to keep it alive and kicking well into the 21st century with the opening of Third Man Pressing, a state-of-the-art vinyl production facility. Billed as an investment in Third Man Records’ hometown (Detroit is White’s city of birth), the plant is housed in a 10,000 square foot warehouse that cost seven figures and boasts eight custom-built record presses from Germany’s Newbilt Machinery, each unit costing $220,000.

The significant investment from White has also created new manufacturing jobs: the current plan is to run the presses, which produce 5000 records per eight-hour shift, for 24 hours a day, resulting in the need for approximately 50 employees to keep production moving (the Nashville flagship store, by comparison, employs a staff of 30).

“Fifty jobs isn’t a new Ford factory,” Blackwell told Rolling Stone in February. “But for Detroit to continue moving forward, you need to have different ideas. (Manufacturing) is a field that’s driven by creativity. That’s something this city has always been flush with.”

Third Man Pressing is only one of about 20 vinyl record plants in the US – and one of only a few dozen worldwide – but with Jack White’s ingenuity and vision leading the charge, the fascination with vinyl LPs and their resurgence will only further the format’s growth among record collectors.

“Jack White is the public face for vinyl,” Blackwell told The Detroit News not long after the grand opening of Third Man Pressing in February. “This is us putting our money where our mouth is. This is an investment to show our dedication and our commitment to the format and the industry surrounding it.”

 

Go inside the Third Man Pressing facility in Detroit . . . watch here