Inner Chief Podcast

In this episode, we have a great chat with Marty Vids, an entrepreneur, mentor and podcast host, about building rapport, empowering customers and owning your job.   Marty has had quite the eclectic career and life, having started out in his parent’s milk bar as a kid, and then moving into the comedy scene as an MC. He has a few great stories from that past life, that’s for sure!   A career change beckoned and he landed up at Westpac as a mortgage broker, before leaving that to co-found Mortgage First, which he sold in his mid-30s. But the itch to build another business didn’t go away, and he started Mortgage 500, a company he eventually sold in 2016.   These days, Marty is also a mentor, life coach, MC, and hosts his own podcast, The Marty Vids Show.   You can connect with Marty Vids on LinkedIn.   Key Quotes from Marty   On his Formative Years... My early days really were a place of work. I would go in with my dad even on a Sunday and help him collect the newspapers and I'd be serving clients probably from

For more info check out www.chiefmaker.com.au/98 Our High performance teams series now enters part 13, and we’re right into the High Performance Culture pillar, where today we look at how to get your team focussed on winning, and collaborating intensively.   In this episode, we cover how to get your team members to come along on the journey in pursuing excellence, but also how to simultaneously avoid becoming too internally focussed and operational.   One of the ways true chiefs get the best out of their troops is to compete externally, that is, changing the game of the industry, giving the team the energy and the tools to be the best. Sometimes the converse is true, where a bunch of individuals end up competing against one another; the result being low energy, a team that’s defensively-minded and you as the leader can’t drive your own track record and career momentum.   So how does one set up and lead a high-performing, industry-leading, best-of-the-best team that hunts and isn’t the hunted?   In this episod

In this episode we meet Ted Prodromou, America’s #1 LinkedIn Coach, and talk about perception, connecting properly with purpose, and standing out online.   As you will pick up from this episode, Ted has bounced back from many setbacks, and offers up a number of immediately actionable tips for super-charging both your LinkedIn profile, but also your online presence and online etiquette in general. So get that pen and paper handy, log into your LinkedIn profile and be prepared to put your best foot forward!   A special thanks to Alex Mandossian for recommending Ted.   You can connect with Ted Prodromou on LinkedIn.   You can find Ted's books on Amazon.   Key Quotes from Ted   On the LinkedIn platform as a whole: The last three to six months, LinkedIn has been rolling out updates like crazy. And they really are pushing it as a content management platform, content distribution. So you post a video on there now, and it goes out to first, second and third-level networks. First-level is people who have accepted in

For more info check out www.chiefmaker.com.au/96 Our High performance teams series now enters part 12, and the second episode of the Culture pillar, where I talk you through how to tighten the bonds between the people in the team, and in you and the team. IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER BUILDING TRUST WITHIN THE TEAM MEMBERS AND HOW THIS CREATES NOT ONLY A SENSE OF BELONGING, BUT RESULTS IN HIGH PERFORMANCE.   There is a lot of research now that shows that the best high performance teams know each other really well. Not just the quality of skill and the individuals’ abilities, but they all say they know each other really well away from the office.   To form a team that’s really going to make an enormous difference in the world, you’ve got to have people you can trust, and so you’ve got to tighten the bonds and get to know them deeply.   In this episode, I outline: – How a personality modelling activity will help you understand others and communicate better with them; – Other fun games to find out more about colleagu

In this episode we meet Cliff Gale former Managing Director of Lite n’ Easy for over 20 years and talk about passion, respect for your people and keeping the soul alive in your business.   Cliff bought into Lite n’ Easy after he saw a two line ad in a paper in its very early days. He then led the business for over two decades and grew it into one of the most successful businesses of its type.   Key Points from Cliff: Know your business inside out Treat your people and customer with respect and recognise their efforts Keep the business emotive and build its soul Focus on the things that count and profit will come The difference between givers and takers   A special thanks to Sarah Chamberlain from The Real Estate Stylist for recommending Cliff. Key Quotes and Points from Cliff:   "You know, because we don't see it all the time, it's great when also when we see you like that, it makes you feel like you care. You care about the business, and you care about us." I said, "Well, I'm glad you said that because I

For more info check out www.chiefmaker.com.au/94 So , IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER THE POWER OF HIGH PERFORMANCE LIFECYCLES AND HOW TO USE THEM TO AUTOMATE THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE.   The pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of all great performers. It means mastering your craft and continually working to improve yourself. It also means leading your team to work collectively to improve itself. The long term benefits have an incredible compound effect on your ability to get results and rise above the pack.   Executive Performance Lifecycle: (P2R2) Prepare, Perform, Recover, Review   I outline: – the Prepare, Perform, Recover, Review (P2R2) Lifecycle and how to use it as an executive performance tool – How to lock this into as a system that drives performance – How to optimise each step – Some tricks to stay focused and embed the system in the real world   Stay epic

In this episode we hear from Geoff Lloyd, CEO and MD of Perpetual Limited. ABOUT GEOFF Geoff joined Perpetual in August 2010 as Group Executive of Perpetual Private and led the development and implementation of the growth strategy for this business. He took on the additional responsibility of Head of Retail Distribution in September 2011 and was appointed Managing Director and CEO in February 2012. Geoff was previously General Manager of Advice and Private Banking at BT Financial Group following the Westpac Group merger with St.George Bank. Before the merger, he led St.George’s wealth management portfolio. He held many senior positions at BT Financial Group, including Chief Legal Counsel and Head of the Customer and Business Services Division. Geoff is the Chairman of the Financial Services Council, an Advisory board member of The Big Issue and the Patron of the Financial Industry Community Aid Program.   He is a Patron of Emerge Foundation and is also Chairman of the University of Technology Sydney Law Advis

Most of us at one time or another have had a boss who seems totally disinterested in our work. They’re the opposite of micro-managers, leaving us completely to our own devices and at times in more senior regional roles can go missing for weeks at a time. Here is what you can do.

In this episode I catch up with Nicky Sparshott, Global Chief Executive of T2 Tea - a global luxury retailer offering the broadest and most imaginative range of teas and teawares from around the world. Nicky also serves as Vice President on the Global Leadership Team for Unilever's Refreshment Category, playing a lead role in M&A & E-Commerce. She also has experience on the agency side as a Partner at Y&R George Patterson (WPP Group). www.t2tea.com Key Points: “Be brave, because I think the world is changing quickly. What got us here won't get us there, and the best advice I would give to people is go after the dream, but perhaps also be prepared to take the path less trodden to get there, because I think it will hold you in good stead.” Nicky’s top messages include: On what Nicky learnt from a major setback from a failed product launch: A couple of really small choices that we thought were small choices, had not been clever and we did not deep dive. These proved to be those chinks in the armour

Why leaders micromanage and how you can adjust your approach to improve the working relationship so that it is a. more effective and b. less soul destroying.   Before you dive in and start trash talking your overbearing boss - it is wise to seek some understanding as to why they might be micromanaging you. Take a few minutes to think deeply and through their eyes about what might be causing them to dip down.

In this episode you’ll hear from Daniel Herbert, CEO of SSKB. We are going to be covering some powerful strategies that he learnt through 67 tests for the Wallabies. He was apart of the glory era of Australian Rugby, won the RWC in 1999, the Bledisloe Cup and beat the British and Irish Lions in 2001. He Captained the QLD Reds and was world player of the year in 1999. Critically he has now gone to a successful corporate career with the commercial side of the QLD Reds and is now CEO of SSKB. We cover what executives can learn from elite sport (and what doesn’t translate), about what made him stand out from the pack and how to be indispensible to an organisation. The lessons here are vital. Subscribe on iTunes here: https://itun.es/au/87Pqkb.c Subscribe on Android: http://tunein.com/radio/The-Inner-Chief-p1004701/ http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=141429   Key Points: “My only message to the next generation is, you have to impress. You have to still do the work, you have to still stand out from the crowd because the

In this episode I talk about why you should run across a desert (and love it). Huh? What I really mean is why you should do something epic. In 2007/8 I conducted a personal growth experiment by tackling the Gobi March a 250km ultra marathon across the toughest terrain in the world. This is a bit of that story and what I discovered on…and didn’t expect.

In this episode you’ll hear from Vivek Bhatia. At age 26, Vivek was a Indian migrant watching the big businessmen in their expensive suits walk around Sydney. This inspiring story is how he rose above the pack to become a CEO in just 10 years.  Vivek is now CEO and MD of iCare which delivers insurance and care services to the people of New South Wales. Whether a person is severely injured in the workplace or on the road, iCare supports their long-term care needs to improve quality of life outcomes, including helping people return to work. In 2008, Vivek was appointed CEO of Wesfarmers Insurance in Australia, where he was responsible for leading the multi-brand, multi-channel insurer through a significant transformation journey. He was also co-lead of McKinsey & Company’s Asia Pacific Restructuring & Transformation practice and has been the Chair of the former NSW Dust Diseases Board and been the NSW representative on the Board of SafeWork Australia. Key Points: Vivek outlines that “the day you stop le

In this episode we talk about executing your Life Vision as part 2. If you haven’t listened to Episode 57 of building your Life Vision I’d recommend doing that first.   There is an old saying, “Vision without execution is just a dream”.  And, chief, I’ve got a confession so make this was me. I was a dreamer with all sorts of grand ideas about who or what I’d become. I always had new ideas and goals that all seemed to flow from my creative mind.  I was the line from poem “George Gray” by Edgar Lee Masters that I read in Ep 57 on building your life vision...“a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.” I was stuck in my own sheltered harbour. Not willing to do the hard work break the boundaries, to look inside myself at the things I liked about myself the least or the limiting beliefs I held and grow beyond them.  It was only when I realised that all greatness requires challenge. It will requires a thousand steps one after the other to change my game. One must have a vision and one must execute. I’ve seen to

In this episode you’ll hear from Jennifer Holland, Founder and CEO of Throat Scope.   Jennifer’s passion lies in inventing, designing and developing medical products that will revolutionise the healthcare industry. Her first invention was Throat Scope, which has had outstanding success across the globe and began as the foundation of Holland Healthcare. Throat Scope was the recipient of ‘What’s Your Big Idea Queensland?’ in 2011, which included a $50,000 prize money from the Queensland government. This allowed Jennifer to develop and patent Throat Scope and have several working prototypes made. In 2015, Jennifer and Throat Scope were featured on Shark Tank Australia. Jennifer secured investment from Steve Baxter and this exposure propelled the business. In October 2015, Throat Scope was launched into the Australian retail and healthcare markets. Throat Scope broke a retail record with a company, which saw the product signed in seven days. Jennifer has since negotiated several lucrative distribution deals with

In this episode we build your own Life & Career Vision. "George Gray" I have studied many times The marble which was chiseled for me-- A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. In truth it pictures not my destination But my life. For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment; Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid; Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances. Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life. And now I know that we must lift the sail And catch the winds of destiny Wherever they drive the boat. To put meaning in one's life may end in madness, But life without meaning is the torture Of restlessness and vague desire-- It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid. - Edgar Lee Masters, 1868 - 1950 To leave the harbour chief we must start with a destination. One that inspires us and drives us to personal greatness. In this episode we will talk through creating your own Life Vision.    The very first time I did a vision board was in 2007. It was a transforma

In this episode we take an entirely new angle. I’ve been wanting to bring in some gurus on particular topics and it brings me great pleasure to start with our spiritual guru Damien Price on Spiritualism and how it fits in the corporate world.    Damien Price is a Christian Brother and has taught for over thirty years in schools throughout Australia and New Zealand. Over the past twenty years Damien has been involved in working with disadvantaged youth, homeless men and women, refugees and Asylum Seekers. Damien has Masters Degrees in Counselling and Pastoral Guidance. Damien’s Doctor of Philosophy degree focused on the sense of self that youth grew into as they engaged with homeless people over an extended period of time. He is now Regional Ministry Coordinator for PNG, Philippines and Timor Leste in a role that has him travelling and organising all over SE Asia. Some of the questions I ask Damien include:  • What is God and/or who was God and where do people get it wrong? • What is Religion and where do pe

In this episode we build your own Life Scoreboard.   Like most successful professionals, you probably started your career with clear ideas about what you wanted to do and who you wanted to become. Then, as time progressed, you got caught up in the corporate life. Before you knew it, you were running from one meeting to the next, and what you expected of yourself started to come second to what others expected of you. Add to the equation the responsibilities that come with a family and a mortgage and it’s easy to see why so many of us fall into this trap. We look forward to time away from work, but the four weeks of leave most of us take a year don’t ever seem enough.   It just doesn’t feel like living.     Years fly by, seemingly at the speed of light, and no matter how hard you try you can’t seem to slow it down. You may even have started to feel a little lost, disconnected from our soul, and of control as the year has progressed you don’t feel as comfortable in your own skin. You’re not coming from a place o

In this episode you'll hear from Mike Pratt. Mike is the Commissioner for Service, NSW Government, leading major service reform across the NSW Government. He is also Deputy Chancellor of Western Sydney University, Chairman of Bennelong Funds Management and a Non-Executive Director of Credit Union Australia. Mike was CEO of Consumer and SME Banking, North East Asia, with Standard Chartered Bank. He is a former President of the Australian Institute of Banking & Finance.He was also Group Executive of Westpac Business & Consumer Banking, CEO of National Australia Bank in Australia and CEO of Bank of New Zealand. He was also CEO of Bank of Melbourne. Previous directorships include Non-Executive Director of MasterCard International Inc, New York, Non-Executive Director of MasterCard, Asia Pacific, Non-Executive Director of BT Financial Services, Chairman of Shenzen Credit. Mike outlines how important it is to be well prepared, build out your network, incorporate lifelong learning, be disciplined, maintai

In this episode we will be talking about another pattern that has emerged through many of the CEOs on the show and that is “Taking the Path Less Travelled”.   Have you ever found yourself boxed in to a role or industry? Ever felt stuck in your growth or feel like your network and knowledge set is limited to your profession and industry? Ever had the nagging gut feeling that you need to do something drastic to change things up but you find any number of reasons why you shouldn’t? Feel like the dream of rising to the top of just having a more meaningful career is slipping away? One pattern that has come up time and again is one where they have come to a sort of cross-roads where they feel they are potentially going to be stalled.   WHAT IS TAKING THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED? It can mean shifting industries, roles, organisations or something that expands your horizons. The key here is to aim to build wide ranging experience and knowledge that you can use to become better, smarter and more connected. Normally these k