Solving problems a key component
FIRST JOB — AND WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
I started as a building cadet while studying construction management. I am now the CEO and owner of Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard (GCCM), now in our 18th year of operation. GCCM is the largest and most awarded vessel maintenance, refit and repair facility in the Southern Hemisphere.
BEST BUSINESS ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED?
Stop and listen carefully. You don’t always have to respond straight away. It’s always better to take your time and don’t succumb to pressure. Also, continually aim to create better solutions for your customers and your community. Better still if you can create a solution to a problem that they don’t even realise that they have.
WHAT YOU WISH YOU KNEW WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED OUT?
How to get faster approvals. Nothing much has changed. No seriously, I think as I have gotten older I have come to value collaboration more and more. Success often comes from collaborating with smart people and you don’t have to have all the answers yourself. You simply need to surround yourself with great people and good people. That has really been one of the largest success factors at GCCM. Because we were the first facility of this kind in Australia we were able to recruit the best of the best to be on our team. Working together to achieve the best results possible that keeps our customers coming back year after year.
YOUR GOLDEN RULE IN BUSINESS?
“Undertake and deliver” has always been the mantra of our family company in all that we have built, developed and managed. We live by this slogan and endeavour to run our company in this way. Over the years, reliability has become a cornerstone. Once we give an undertaking, people recognise that we will do our very best to comply. This sentiment is well received and essential to continued business relations in any industry. Innovation is also key to our ongoing success. Continual and sustainable improvements have been the hallmark of our trajectory at GCCM.
A LONG LUNCH — A WASTE OF TIME OR ESSENTIAL? EXPLAIN
While I am certainly not in the business of having long lunches on a regular basis I can honestly say that if and when time permits they are certainly never a waste of time. We are essentially in the business of creating relationships. Taking time to foster these relationships among the boating community is an essential ingredient to our ongoing success .
WHO IS ON YOUR BUSINESS MOBILE’S SPEED DIAL?
GCCM on-site partners, family and friends.
WHAT SHOULD GOLD COAST PRIMARY STUDENTS BE STUDYING?
Enterprise skills with a focus on digital literacy and international-mindedness. The rise of the freelancer economy means that we need to start building enterprise skills from a much earlier age than ever before. By 2020 over 50 per cent of the workforce in the USA will be freelance and that trend will follow to Australia. Essentially many of our kids are going to end up being their own bosses from a very early age. It might sound a little crazy and full on to be including this in primary school curriculum but this is where kids develop their attitudes to learning so they need to understand the importance of critical thinking, creativity and independent learning skills from the get go.
YOUR BIGGEST FRUSTRATION DOING BUSINESS ON THE GOLD COAST? AND HOW TO FIX IT?
In a world that demands business to operate faster and more efficiently than ever – bureaucracy is just continually increasing – there are layers upon layers of people in any decision making process and no-one seems prepared to take responsibility anymore. This means that it just simply takes too long to achieve any kind of progress.