I’m very black and
white. I hate grey! It’s
either right or wrong,
and there’s nothing
in between. I’m quite
brutal in that sense, and
that’s how I manage.
but I’d like to be the Kerry Harmanis or the Andrew Forrest
that’s got 20% or 30% of the company personally, not 4% or 5%
like I have. In years to come I’d like to have the majority control
over a company that mines something. I don’t know what that
is yet. I have some ideas, but we’ll see how they play out.
When you reached crossroads, did your
intuition guide you or did you seek advice?
I have always surrounded myself and linked up with people who
are the best in their field at that point in time. You outgrow
your mentors – I guess you’re ‘upgrading’ them. I’ve still got
my existing mentors who keep my feet on the ground, which is
fantastic, and you need that. But I’m always looking at the next
level up of who I think has done a really good job in where I
want to get to, and I get to know those people and hopefully they
give me advice. People like David Flanagan, who is a mentor a
few years above me and a few steps up.
I’ve always had a framework of where I’ve wanted to be, even
when I was in university. I know where I want my end point to
be, and the stages I have to go through to get there. You need
that framework, and to stick to it. I still have that, to this day.
What lessons have you learned that might
assist young managers and aspiring leaders?
I’ve never focused on money. I love mining – it’s in my blood.
I love getting my hands dirty, and I think if you love something
then everything else follows: success, financial reward,
recognition, respect. If you don’t love the field you’re in, you
should change. Life’s too short!
I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and being hands-on is probably
something I do well. And learn from your mistakes. I’ve got
the rule that it’s fine if you stuff up once, but if you make the
same mistake twice then you shouldn’t be in this organisation.
A university lecturer taught us that you should never be at the
same minesite for more than two years unless you’re changing
positions. I’ve used that motto to this day. I spent eight years at
Barminco but I was changing positions every couple of years,
and progressing up the ladder. Of course it’s a bit hard, now
that I’m MD!
I do a lot of mentoring of students and graduates (I’ve got
about 8 or 9 in Northern Star), and I give that advice to them:
if you’re not learning something new, you should move on.
Always vote with your feet.
How would you describe your style
of leadership?
I’m very black and white. I hate grey! It’s either right or wrong,
and there’s nothing in between. I’m quite brutal in that sense,
and that’s how I manage. People understand that. But we pay
extremely well in the mining industry. So I’ve always taken
the view that if you pay well, people should be able to do the
job, and if they can’t, then they’ve got to go. I expect results
and I don’t micro-manage. I’ve always had the philosophy that
without accountability, there is no responsibility.
I think, as you climb the management ranks in any sector,
you end up with a common set of skills. It’s all about managing
people and budgets. I’m still a big believer, probably against
a lot of management books, that you should have a technical
background in the sector you are in. I couldn’t go and run Coles
and K-Mart. But could I go and run a civil contractor? Probably
yes, because there are some common contracting skills with
people and equipment. I think the best leaders I’ve seen are
people who have got a strong technical understanding of the
business they’re in.
Northern Star’s vision has two clear
elements: safe, quality exploration/mining,
and creating shareholder profit. Are there
ever disparities between these two?
I work by the motto that if you’re making money, everything else
looks after itself. I spent the bulk of my career as a contractor.
One of the business owners I worked for had a really interesting
philosophy about safety: “If you’re making money, you are
safe”. If you’re not safe, you won’t win contracts, you’ll hurt
people, you’ll have workers’ comp, an unproductive workforce
and a client that kicks you off site, so you’ll end up not making
money. You’ve got to keep an eye and manage it, but if you are
profitable, you’ll find you’ve got good management.
One thing about mining: we’ve got a social license to mine
in the community. We have to be environmentally friendly, we
can’t hurt people, and we’ve got to do all those right things,
and display that. Otherwise that license gets taken off us.
Mining companies used to operate completely differently 15, even
10
years ago. The stuff we did on mines! It’s a very safe environment
now. We’ve swung the pendulum completely the other way, and for
some a bit too far, but it’s a lot better than how we operated years ago.
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