Tag Archives: business

2013 Review

2 Replies

christmas coffeeAs the year draws to a close, it’s been an eventful one for this blogger.

This time last year I was one of seemingly thousands of women and men looking for a non-executive directorship, trying to distinguish myself amongst many talented and experienced people.

I started this blog with a view to differentiating myself (as I exhort my consulting clients to do) and at the same time wanting to share the learnings I have gained during my many coffee meetings. I also hoped to be able to help other aspirants avoid at least some of the disappointments and frustrations I have experienced as they travel on their own journeys.  I will continue to aim to do this and at the same time share my views of the various aspects of the “Diversity Issue” that arise from time to time.

The multiplier effect of social media resulted in my first non-executive director role and this has been a great learning experience.  I’ve been thrown in the deep end in terms of the expectation to contribute to the board and have had to put governance theories into practice.  I have also closely observed and experienced the boundaries between executive and non-executive roles.

Throughout the year, I maintained the pursuit of my 1000 coffees with people from whom I can learn something or who can introduce me to others. As a result of this and the support of a mentor and champion, I have just secured a NED role on the Foundation of a major NSW public institution.  I am excited to be able to work with such a talented and passionate group of people, both within the Foundation and on its board.  While they want the skills I can bring, the match-making process still came through networking and being recommended by others.

In the very same week I was contacted in relation to another potential NED role, this time in a privately owned, private equity invested company.  While it’s not yet certain where this will go, it is an exciting way for the year to finish.

2013 has been a year where the “Diversity Issue” has had more headlines than ever before.  There has been much more discussion and action about how to make change, as opposed to just the need for change.  More women have been appointed to boards than in previous years and more women have moved up the executive ranks in more companies and organisations than ever before.  I believe there is a greater awareness in Australia of the benefits of having women help run and direct businesses, whether they be public, private, government or non-profit. There is an acknowledgement of the need to do things differently than in the past, to help make that happen.  It won’t occur overnight and there are still many hurdles and stumbling blocks to manage, but change is taking place and recognition should be accorded to those who have driven this change.

My thanks to the people who follow this blog and who have recommended it to others. Thanks also to those who have encouraged me to write it and to continue to develop it (you know who you are).  Wishing you all “Season’s Greetings” and hoping you enjoy some downtime over the Australian summer.  1000 coffees will continue in 2014.

Coffee count: 217

Industry focus vs agnosticism

1 Reply

coffees5Right from the start, one of the questions I am always asked is “what industry are you focused on?” For many, the answer is obvious – years spent in banking would lead one to focus on the financial services industry; with deep experience in FMCG one would focus on retailing or manufacturing, as appropriate, etc.  With a “lattice career” and broad experience across strategy, marketing, general management and business establishment in different industries, the answer has been less obvious for me.

However, it has always struck me as a catch-22 question. If one focuses on one industry and then attains a non-executive directorship for a company in that industry, one is then generally conflicted from seeking a role in another company in the same industry.  Equally, it labels how people think of you.  So I have been pleading agnosticism and saying that few industries are “rocket science” and my skills should be applicable across any number of industries.  Usual response: nods of acknowledgement.

Two coffee meetings in the past week have led me to rethink this proposition….. At the first, with a mentor and experienced NED, the nod of acknowledgement was accompanied with a shake of the head. The problem with my answer, I am told, is that it doesn’t help people to place me in their own minds into a category. And for a first role especially, it needs to be easier for people to do that.  I was advised to focus on what my key skills are and consider to what kinds of businesses those skills would be most applicable or useful. It narrows the range of industries or companies by being more specific, without being so specific that one might be excluded from being thought of as a specialist in one industry only.  Articulated this way, I realised one can describe kinds of businesses rather than be very general.

The same question came up the following day and I applied the advice of the previous day. This time, the person (who was a colleague in the past) provided insight into how thinking about kinds of businesses and focusing on changes in the market, could lead one to think about one industry in order to access many others. For instance, the advent of the NBN will affect not just the obvious telecommunications businesses, but also others such as e-health, music, retailing and so on. This thinking allows one to talk to people in one industry about the implications on other industries – being industry focused without being industry limiting.

Two very enlightening coffees…..

PS:  Shortly to have second round interview for first board role. It’s unpaid and it’s local, but it could be the first one!

Coffee count: 152

Getting into government

Leave a reply

coffees4In at least half of the meetings I’ve had with non-executive directors and almost all the meetings with head hunters, their advice has been to seek a role on a government board.  Government boards are regarded as good places to gain experience and make connections.  How one achieves that is another thing…

The Federal and NSW Governments both have registers for women seeking board positions. No doubt similar registers exist in the other states.  As it’s the obvious place to start, I register and receive automated replies acknowledging such.  Given that, as with all things, a personal interaction is usually more helpful, I try to find a way to add a personal element to my submission on the register.  It takes a fair bit of research but eventually I have a conversation with the person responsible for maintaining the NSW register, only to be told that it works a little like a matching database and there is no opportunity to have any personal contact.  No response to from the person who maintains the Federal Government database…

The search for some personal contact continues.  A friend with contacts forwards my CV directly to the NSW Treasurer. I receive a letter from a member of his staff acknowledging it and suggesting that I register on the NSW register. Hello, I’m already on it!  Didn’t anyone cross-check??

Finally, one of my coffee meetings elicits the name and number of the person who manages the process of recommending directors for NSW State Owned Corporations (SOCs). He described the multi-layered approach to coming up with a shortlist of names for board vacancies for SOCs, which seems to involve the existing chairman and board, possibly head hunters the board has appointed, the Treasurer and his staff and possibly another Minister and his or her staff. He went on to explain that his role is to manage the process to a point and then from the time of the interviews to a decision being made, the process is out of his hands and the time it takes is variable; it rests with the Ministers, the competing demands on their time and, inevitably, some politics.  With the patience obviously gained working in government, he explains that the process is not dissimilar to that of the corporate world – it helps to be known by the people involved in the process.

Looks like getting into government roles will take a few more coffee meetings….

Coffee count: 148

The experience conundrum

Leave a reply

latteThe experience conundrum is two-fold.  The first relates to the desire of boards to have non-executive directors with experience. Understandably, companies want their boards to function well and the directors need to know that each of them sitting around the table understands what their role is in terms of governance, oversight and decision-making. However, boards need to continually refresh and the wider community want to improve diversity.  How do you find new directors if they need to have experience?  Did the first ever director have experience?  It’s a little like the sign in the window of one of my local cafés: “Junior waitress wanted. Experience required”!!

Governance experience can be gained from working with not-for-profit organisations such as charities, school boards and sporting organisations. An understanding of governance and the decision-making process can also be gained by executives who report to boards or attend board meetings or board sub-committee meetings.  The AICD runs an excellent course that all aspiring non-executive directors are encouraged to attend. If the knowledge gained there is not considered sufficient, then what does that say about the value of the course?  And if all of that isn’t enough for a new director, couldn’t a chairman or existing experienced NED take the new NED “under their wing” for a while and mentor and them and pass on their wisdom and learnings from their own experiences?

The other experience conundrum is in relation to industry experience.  A chairman putting a new board together told me that I wasn’t appropriate because I didn’t have experience in the particular industry that group operated within. Diversity doesn’t just come from a mix of genders. It comes from a mix of perspectives, which may derive from different genders, different ages and different industries.  Very few businesses could say that their industry is so specific that they could not benefit from experience gained in a different industry, tackling similar issues. There are a huge range of industries where focusing on customer/client needs is critical, including retail, manufacturing, services etc. Similarly, there are a range of businesses where understanding capital-intensive assets is vital  – it’s not just in mining and resources.  Bringing a perspective from a different industry and from different experience will help reduce the risk of “group think” and sometimes lead to thinking about a mature business in a fresh way.

Coffee count: 141

Morphing executive to non-executive

2 Replies

espresso2The CV.  One has to have one and it is meant to show your skills and experience.  Having had an executive career for 25 years, it’s pretty hard not to have a CV that reads like an executive CV.  But to present as a credible non-executive director, one has to show how the executive experience translates to being of value in a non-executive way.  In the first twelve months of looking for non-exec roles, I think I revised my CV four or five times (maybe more), following advice to reflect more metrics, bring out my commercial acumen, emphasise skills, limit it to two pages… But it still reads like an executive CV because it reflects an executive career.

Of the five meetings I’ve had this week, one was with a head hunter, who after talking to me said she understood much more about me than my CV represented.  Clearly my CV is not doing its job!  With some of her comments in mind, I am now working on making the CV one page and rather than talking about where I have been, will try to have it reflect what I have done that will have relevance to boards. Seemingly the same thing as I was doing before; but perhaps the titles of the executive roles create a perception that the words that follow don’t necessarily dispel.  Turning my CV on its head is going to be a challenge, perhaps a bit like turning myself inside out. But a different perspective will be a good thing.  After all, that is part of the value of a good NED.

Coffee count: 135

Stalking vs keeping in touch

1 Reply

machiattoIn the process of doing the coffee rounds for a little over a year, I have been seeking people’s advice and suggestions as to how to build a portfolio of non-exec directorships.  The purpose of meeting with people has also been to try to put myself into people’s frames of view and make them aware of my skills, so that they might think of me when a role arises.

So now it’s time to go back to many of the directors and headhunters to tell them I’m still around and looking for roles. Unfortunately, I don’t have much new to tell them! Will I look like a loser if I say “Hi there, still out there looking. Only changes to my CV are that I’ve taken on people’s advice as to how to describe my skills”?  Or do I say “Just keeping in touch. You said the search would take a while and it is. I’m still out here”?

Most of these people are busy people and I don’t want to keep emailing them with nothing new to tell them. But how does one keep front of mind if one doesn’t?  Don’t want to be seen as a stalker, or even worse, a persistent sales person (because let’s face it, one has to sell oneself in this process).  I’m going to go with a space of 6-12 months to reconnect with people. Ultimately, persistence has to be seen as a good attribute……doesn’t it?

Coffee count: 130

Introduction

Leave a reply

long blackI took a career break in the second half of 2011, having spent 25 years working, much of that on a full-time basis.  While it was confounding to me that with “nothing to do” I was busy all day, it was a nice change to be able to sit and have a coffee, read the papers and solve the problems of the world economy at my kitchen table.

With the benefit of some time and space to reflect, I realised that I didn’t necessarily want to be in the “cut and thrust” of an executive role any more. My preference was to consider a variety of business issues and help to solve problems. A portfolio of non-executive directorships and consulting work seemed to be the solution.  After all, an experienced female NED had said to be me five years before that if I still wanted to roll up my sleeves and fix things, then I wasn’t ready for NED roles.  Having spent the interim five years with not only my sleeves rolled up but my nose to the grindstone, I was ready to operate at the next level.

Seems that the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ (AICD) Company Directors Course was a necessity, and worthwhile.  Then started the serious process of breaking into the NED space.  It’s a process of writing and rewriting one’s CV and developing an appropriate elevator pitch. It’s also a process of meeting lots of people and continuing to expand one’s circle of contacts.

For the record, as I start this blog, I’m up to 126 coffees; coffee meetings that is. Truth is I’ve drunk many more coffees than that in the past year!  Seems like a long way to go. On the other hand, if you divide it by 42 weeks (I’ll explain why the 10 week absence in another entry), it comes to an average of three coffees a week.  For each coffee meeting, there are emails seeking introductions to the person, emails and/or phone calls to arrange it, research about the person and so on.  That alone is a part-time job.  But I have resolved to up the pace this year, even if it means I might have to have to add green tea to my choice of beverage.