Leadership in Public Life - Gladys Berejiklian

Gladys resigned as Premier of NSW last week as a result of an ICAC inquiry into her dealings a few years back . Whether she is guilty or innocent (nobody is perfect) -  she has bee an outstanding example of leadership in  Public Life - and In my view, NSW is richer  for having such an outstanding leader.

I, for one, believe that Gladys would make an outstanding Prime Minister one day! 

Below is a LinkedIn Post from the Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Policy to the Premier of NSW, Armine Albandian 

Over the past few days, there has been an outpouring of support following the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian. The love for her has come from people of all backgrounds and from all corners of the country and has been truly unprecedented.

Politicians can be hard to like, and I understand why.  

Politics is obscured by process and tradition, translated through someone else’s opinion, and executed with pragmatism that seems to forever trump ideals. It is the part of politics I like the least.

But Gladys was not your typical politician.

Throughout the pandemic, she entered our lives and our living rooms, and spoke directly to us. She never stood on ceremony. Gladys told it straight and she did so while leading us through some of our darkest hours as a nation.

She was a politician we could like.

We will remember her time in public life as a high watermark for dedication, resilience and courage. That she was the first female elected Premier in NSW is thankfully, now an afterthought.

Many people have been inspired by Gladys and have asked what it has been like to work for her for more than 6 years. This is what she taught me about public service:

1.    Work harder and smarter than everyone else, be persistent and always come prepared. If you do, you will find a way through any seemingly intractable challenge.

2.    Govern for everyone. It’s your job to understand what it means to represent the views of the citizens you serve. Never take the people you serve for granted, you govern at their behest and that is the ultimate privilege.

3.    Leadership isn’t about popularity and it’s not about perfection. It’s about making the best decisions based on the available facts and then holding your nerve. It’s also about apologising when you get it wrong.

I am proud 

I am proud of the Government’s work throughout the pandemic and bushfires. I am proud of the innumerable reforms that will impact lives for generations. And I am proud of the infrastructure that has transformed the city and state I first encountered when I arrived in Australia ten years ago.

Most of all, I am proud of my dear friend, this remarkable woman, for her spectacular leadership.

Credit to Teny Aghamalian for the black and white photo!

Downloading your contacts and emails from linked in

Thanks to Josh Rockwell

Ivan’s 60th

Refundid - startup raises $3m - 6 months after being founded

It’s all about customer experience says Paul Greenberg - E-retail Veteran  - who has recently backed Refundid through AP Ventures.

Brad, Judd, Joel and Ilan have formed Refundid - whose leading product is  a fintech tool designed to cut, or essentially eliminate, waiting times for refunds for products bought online.

Refundid takes responsibility of the refund and repays the client immediately. Refundid gets paid by the retailer once approved.

It effectively provides a short term loan to the retailer!

The founders get that  trust and positive relationships, encouraging repeat custom is a key ingredient of a succesful retailer.

The plan is to have 100 top-tier retailers on board within the next 12 months, says Brad Karney…..

And then go global!!

One of the Most Motivational Talks by Arnold Schwartzenigger - have a vision - have a goal - the rest is easy

What’s the key ingredient of a successful entrepreneur?

So, You want to be an entrepreneur! 

Welcome to “Club Fear!”

It’s all about being a lifelong learner 

No university can prepare you for the life of an Entrepreneur! 

The Ingredient is Knowledge - how to get that knowledge - how to use that knowledge 

Part of the entrepreneurs DNA 🧬 is to be a lifelong learner - and eventually he/she becomes a professor of the school of hard knocks !!

Knowledge is power - and you build knowledge through lifelong learning! 

As Albert Einstein said – perhaps the most famed of all Nobel Prize winners – put it, "Once you stop learning, you start dying."

Henry Ford once said, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young."

Staying mentally sharp and focused on identifying new opportunities involves more than just dumb luck – it is a continual absorption of new information and knowledge! 

Even an entrepreneurs failed venture is merely a learning experience for the next successful venture .  (and let me tell you - there will be many failed ventures)

A Successful entrepreneur never stop learning, from as many sources as possible. And, of course, use those learnings to their advantage.

So what is an entrepreneur ?

 "An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures".

Generating new ideas means learning about what already exists, where there are gaps in the market and what could be done to fill those gaps.

What do the need to learn

Think about the various areas of knowledge demanded of any founder to get a startup to market:

• The actual product or service
• Negotiations
• Sales 
• Marketing
• Systems
• Branding
• Finance 
• Project management
• People management
• Time management
• Customer service
• Technology
• And the list goes on 

So - how do you learn?

Learn by reading 

What do all successful entrepreneurs have in common? They read. Lots. 

• Warren Buffett reportedly devotes around 80 per cent of each day to reading. 
• Bill Gates strives to read one book a week. 
• Mark Zuckerberg needs two weeks to read one book and share it in his online book club. 
• Oprah Winfrey selects one of her favourite books every month for her book club. 
• Sir Richard Branson might wow you with his impressive bookshelf – particularly given his well-known dyslexia.

Of the five entrepreneurs above, only Buffett and Winfrey have a college degree. The rest are dropouts.

Learning by doing

While knowledge is indeed power, it takes action to build profit. After all, actions create experience. And as Einstein famously said, "The only source of knowledge is experience."

Put simply, entrepreneurs keep learning by what they do. They put new-found knowledge into action. They use the experiences of others to trial and test their own new ideas before pursing the most favourable course.

Whether knowingly or not, entrepreneurs will keep reading, keep creating new experiences. And all the while learning.

Learning by collaborating 

Sharing ideas

Collaborating 

Leveraging off others 

Knowing where the levers are

Join a BBG Forum 

You Cannot do everything yourself - find people who can join you on the journey. Be a great leader

Because “ leadership is the ability to influence others - no more - no less” John Maxwell 

Inspired by 

Alan Manly - the CEO of Universal Business School Sydney and author of The Unlikely Entrepreneur.

How to be happy

• Live  in the now
• Narrow the gap between expectation and reality
• Be kind - treat others the way you want to be treated 
• Be in flow 
• Find something bigger than yourself to believe in