This week was an exciting week for me as I finally saw Richard Branson in the flesh (with over 1,700 others!). After reading his autobiography “Losing My Virginity” in 2000, he inspired me to take a leap of faith and start a business with a focus on people. Today he reinforced those values saying, “a business is simply a group of people – get them to love your brand and your company, that’s half the battle! His simple philosophies of “lavish praise and people will flourish” and “people will leave when they are frustrated and not listened to”, reminded me of why I have admired his business success and mantra’s for all these years. Branson gets it. People must come first. Recruit based on attitude and culture and then retain by trust, empowerment and praise.
sabusiness is a magazine produced by UniSA for business and alumni communities. In this month’s issue, I am featured in an article with 7 other South Australian entrepreneurs excited about building and growing businesses here in SA. Please click here to see the full article (page 16 – 22) and magazine.
On Saturday the 4th of May we ran these advertisements in the Adelaide Advertiser. All newly created positions, these opportunities have certainly created a hive of activity in our inboxes with over 250 applications received by day 3! Click here for full details.
Aise Dillion Photography
Most people don’t like having their photo taken – especially corporate shots where you want to look professional and friendly, but not cheesy and too try hard! So, we were thrilled when we engaged Aise Dillion to take new shots of Salli Tanner, Senior Associate. Here is the behind the scenes and after shot. Aise can be contacted here.
Flexible Work Arrangements – they do work!
Readers of my blog will know that I am a big supporter of workplace flexibility to attract talent to your organisation and as a weapon to reduce turnover and increase retention. I was thrilled to hear Branson talk about workplace flexibility in his session in Adelaide this week. He believes if people want to work part-time, let them. If they want to travel the world for 3 months, let them. When people are happy, they won’t leave. It’s that simple. I have echoed these views here – 6 ways to introduce flexibility into your workforce and here – on how part-time can work, even in leadership roles. Last month, I took a week’s leave to Noosa and proved that flexible arrangements can work with a mobile phone and laptop in hand while enjoying the beautiful view!