The Main Event - CEO Cookoff

A huge congratulations goes out to Ozharvest, Mission Australia and Qantas for organising the inaugural CEO Cookoff held on Monday evening.  It was a huge success with donations reaching close to $1 million dollars.

We arrived around 5:30pm to the St. Mary's Cathedral location being sectioned off from the public and a huge marquee, stage and tents established.  As we registered and made our way to the tent allocated, the names of chefs from all around the country lined the tents; Maggie Beer, Bill Granger, Adam Liaw, Julie Goodwin and Neil Perry just to name a few.

I was allocated to work with Maggie Beer and George Columbaris (from Masterchef and the Press Club).  Overwhelmed, a little daunted, and even a touch intimidated, I walked up to introduce myself to George who promptly put me on "potato" duty.  I was to cut all potatoes to size as bevel the edges. Bevel?  Really?  ME? Details?  Clearly, this was not my forte, but I was determined to be the best.

As I cut my potatoes with nervous hands, I was introduced to the rest of my team; Peter Maher - CEO of Macquarie Retail, Adrian Taylor, CEO of Charter Hall, Kerrie Mather, CEO of Sydney Airport amongst others.  

In the adjoined tent we worked with Adam Liaw, Bill Granger 

and Justin North - all incredibly inspiring chefs.  Combined with the CEO of Optiver and IBM alongside my Telstra Businesswomen alumni Rachel Argaman (Toga Group), Emma Issacs (Business Chicks) , Annalise Law (the KangaGroup), Lisa Messenger (the Messenger Group) and others such as Jo Burston (Job Capital) and Leona Watson (Cheeky Food Group) - I was exhilarated.  

I also had the pleasure of meeting Alan Joyce himself. 

 I believe him to be one of the most influential CEO's of the moment and his candour and personality was engaging and wonderfully grounded (no pun intended!).  So much so, I provided him very direct feedback on the regular  LAX leg of the Qantas connection to Canada I fly (I had the opportunity - I was NOT going to waste it) of which he returned with some fantastic news and results for the next 12 -14 months to change this.  Clearly, I wasn't the first to mention it!  

At around 6:30pm the one thousand homeless and less fortunate from charities all over the city were welcomed with cheers and clapping into the venue and allocated their proposed table.  

Us "chefs" and "cooks" quickly plated up our first course of mushroom soup which was predominantly pre-prepared and therefore all trade secrets were kept.  Our tent became a hive of media and spectators with Matt Preston arriving in true cravat style.  

Cameras, video cameras and journalists swarmed the tent as Maggie Beer ripped apart steak with her hands for all of us to taste - who was I to decline!  

It was delicious.  

Our main course consisted of my perfectly cut (if I do say so myself, even Matt Preston agreed!) potatoes  baked and fried in butter (my trainer clearly would not agree with this menu), atop the potato a beef brisket sidelined with a divine cut of steak adorned with steamed shallots and pickled onions, wasabi paste and onion puree.  I'm afraid most of it was prepared due to the numbers, however, I did learn how to make a quick wasabi vinaigrette  from scratch - feel free to email me for details.

Karl Stefanovic kicked off the show with the Qantas choir singing " I still call Australia home".  

Throughout the night, an opportunity to meet some of the CEO's, chefs, celebrity guests and of course our special guests of the night was welcomed.  Some of the stories were of adversity, sadness, reflection but also of optimism.  That's what Mission Australia and OzHarvest provides, is a chance to change their life.  

Jimmy Barnes finished off the night with a rocking performance bringing the house down and everyone on the dance floor.  

I finally got to sleep around midnight after reflecting on all of the excitement, passion, inspiration and enthusiasm for change and the positive impact each donation dollar had made.

If only for one night - people felt like celebrities - optimism overruled, the challenges of their lives put on hold - if only for an evening to know that people care and that we want to help, however and whenever we can.  

I'm proud to have represented the over $6000 worth of donations provided to support the close to 1 million dollar result.  

Congratulations to OzHarvest, Mission Australia and Qantas for an incredible initiative, one that I am very much looking forward to being a continuous contributor to in every which way.

Andrea Culligan

T:Acculligan

E: andrea@theunimailgroup.com

A Decision to "Change the World"

2 weeks ago I made a decision to change the world.  Actually it’s more of an obligation.

I’ve always had a passion for the environment, not the activist hemp wearing type of passion, but the gardening at home, repurposing everything I can, and recycling all that’s possible kind of passion.  I was raised in Northern Canada after spending a few years huddled out on Vancouver Island where I watched the pulp mill and overfishing destroy the environment and create it’s own environmental and economic collapse, taking our family with it.

Some years later, I arrived in Australia surprised to note that there wasn’t a public recycling system and that you only got paid for recycling bottles in Adelaide – it wasn’t worth throwing the parties anymore!

I now reside in North Curl Curl on the Northern Beaches in Sydney, with my husband, my dog, my cat and my very hardy goldfish.  We purchased our house with the sole intention of tearing it down within 2 years and rebuilding an environmental palace and we’re still on track.   In the meantime, I’ve repurposed every pallet, every timber, every pot and well, anything else I can find to create an eclectic beach house that in the future will be completely self sufficient.

Most recently, I attended a conference in Amsterdam – hosted by EO – the Entrepreneurs Organisation.  The theme – Change the World. 

Day 1 arrived with the outset of the bells ,whistles and egos of A type personalities from all over the world hoping for a laugh, letting off a bit of steam and hopefully as a bonus walk away with something a little substantial.

After kicking off with dancers, music, an incredible stage and a story, the conference began.  At the end of day 1, I felt a small twinge between Tony Robbins and Hillsong…and I wasn’t too fussed about the situation. I was there to learn, I wanted takeaways, I wanted structure on HOW to change the world and this wasn’t being delivered.

Day 2, brought curiosity and confusion…Big picture thinking, big problems, world poverty, hunger, homelessness, ..how on earth am I going to have influence?  I’m not a scientist, I’m not a chemist, I’m not a biotechnology expert, I may even struggle spelling biodiversity!  But the theme continued. I knew these were problems, I knew they were issues, but how was I going to have any influence on this turning into a positive result?

By day 4…I started thinking.  I mean really thinking.  The kind of thinking that doesn’t let you sleep, breathe or see anything else.  That entrepreneurial fire that creates movements, energy, contagious enthusiasm; it was building and building fast.

I started to figure it out.  I realized that we as a company have HUGE opportunities for influence. We are no longer 1 man, we are a company with a passion for change, empowerment, and responsibility and we are dead set excited.

We’ve broken it out into 3 categories and are implementing the actions as we go.

1)    How do WE operate as people and as a company and how will we measure this? 

Energy consumption, paper types, water usage, modes of transport, recycling, composting, repurposing etc

2)    How do we expect our SUPPLIERS to operate?

We will only work with suppliers that operate sustainably

3)    How do we help our clients achieve their goals whilst also creating a positive result for the environment, the community and the overall objective of changing the world?

We will endeavor to work with our clients to ensure their campaigns, and their results are focused on the future and sustainability is at the forefront of each business objective – using either environmentally friendly products and campaigns, or delivering results to a community as the end goal or providing an engaging platform between all 3.

What we realized as a business is that Step 1 and 2 are actually REALLY easy to implement and we personally now ask ourselves the following questions to assist:

How do you buy your clothes?

How do you purchase your food?

How do you use your energy?

How do you operate on a day to day?

And why don’t you tell others to do the same...

The key to all of this though is to share it.  Spread the word.

 Some simple objectives in past 3 days that our team implemented were:

o   Purchased from local grocers

o   Changed their containers to recyclable

o   Gave away instead of throwing out old furniture

o   Created a website for their art and giving their proceeds to charity

I encourage you to think about how you can change your world and what does that mean to you…it’s so simple, it’s so easy..

Some key takeaways from the conference that fuelled this passion on are:

Even when all others disagree if you believe it is important and true to your values - stick to it

Anything is possible

The environmental movement is NOT something to be fearful of, but something to be EMBRACED

We all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves

Set clear vision, be transparent and stick to your values

Tell MORE stories

Share the excitement with ANYONE who will LISTEN

It’s not about the money - it’s about the legacy - what are you leaving behind?

HAVE FUN

You can have a perfectly good dance party SOBER

Review all of the processes of our business, to understand the value or impact on our community and how we can change/enhance or develop

We as a business, have an obligation to change the world through the power of how we operate and what we do

If there is a hole in the boat, no matter the luxury..you are still not safe...so, you are no longer one man, you are an opportunity to effect change.  Get out there..see what you can do to change your world.

Growth – The Learning Years

We started Unimail in 1999.  Our vision at the time was to be the email service used by uni students across the country.  This was just as hotmail and gmail launched – so as you can imagine, we got lost in the trenches. 

The vision changed and shifted over the next 6 years and we grew steadily but not rapidly.  We created products and services that met the market, but our market wasn’t large and our vision wasn’t all that clear. 

5 years ago, we became very clear on our vision of “To Lead the Employer Branding Industry with Excellence and Innovation”.  We redefined our values, our mission and how we wanted to get there.  We shared it with our team and our clients and well, we grew….fast.

We grew over 100% in 2008, another 56% in 2009 and another 50% in 2010.  All of this lead to receiving the NSW Telstra Small Business of the Year Award, myself receiving the NSW Telstra Young Businesswoman of the Year and being listed on the BRW Fast 100 list in 2010.

We’re a very different business than where we were 11 years ago, in fact we’ve changed even more in the last 8 months.  The last few years have been a learning cliff for change however, instead of our next growth phase being a frightening concept, we’re excited, poised and ready to go. 

A few lessons had to be learnt to get here though and a few of them are as follows:

Take care of your Clients:

Seems like such a simple concept right?  But when you feel like your business is spiraling out of control and you’re flying along with it, the simplest things can become forgotten.

We work with the top 250 companies around Australia and the main thing we learnt is to focus on our clients that have been the most loyal, and provide high levels of service and communication throughout the changes.  We had significant changes in our account management team and style.  We learnt that in order to continue our successful relationships with our clients, we needed to share our vision, be clear about our process and communicate with them every step of the way. Asking for feedback and acting on it also became essential to our next phase and we’re now even more transparent by providing insight on our goals and celebrating them with our clients when we achieve them.

Prepare for Scalability and Usability:

New system integration is always very difficult no matter the size or style.

We needed new systems and we needed them quickly.  We believed that we could mold to the system, not the other way around and in all honesty – it was just cheaper that way.  This became the most expensive thing I’ve done in the past 2 years.  Mapping the way we operate and being clear about our needs across the business should have been the first step and customising a solution to our needs should have been the second.  Unfortunately, we chose the latter and spent some hard earned money and time on the wrong things. 

We are now at a phase where processes are absolutely integral to our business.  Although we had always had them, not all were documented, transparent or even understood.  By documenting, process mapping and deriving the workflow, we defined the inefficiencies, structures, reporting lines, and accountabilities for each role of the business.  This would have been a lovely luxury to have prior to our growth phase but at 100 miles an hour we essentially restructured the business and redefined each persons role in the company. We now have full system integration across the business, which provides transparency and a clear understanding of our capability and workflow day to day and the best part is it’s completely scalable.

Don’t hire for the sake of hiring

We were in panic mode; there is no doubt about it.  We needed people, quickly and lots of them.  So we hired people who met the culture – but the culture was shifting around us. 

Now, I completely believe that if you hire the right mindset, the rest will follow.  However, when you are the only senior person in the business and the current culture is not the culture of your future, how do you know what to hire?

We decided to stick to our values but hire with experience.  We hired senior people into the business that are experts in their field and also had the core values we believe in.  We hired passion but with accountability and vision, people that saw through the mess and allowed us to define the new path to the future. Our business became complex very quickly and it’s been hugely beneficial to have people in house that understand and leverage off the complexity of the business needs.

There are many factors that have led to the successes and struggles we’ve endured through our growth period. We’ve learned a plethora of new skills and our team has had the opportunity to have influence on where we all go with the business. 

We’ve realized that the importance of experience, transparency and sticking to our values combined with calculated decisions – even if they are made quickly – are essential to eliminating knee jerk reactions and costly mistakes.

Growing pains in a business will in my opinion always test your dedication and commitment to being a business owner. There were a number of times where I truly considered working for someone else. 

The need to shift goals, alter visions, develop new strategies, deal with constant negatives and struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel can become exhausting and frustrating. Now that I feel I have unwound the tangles we are very excited about building the business the way we’ve always wanted it; Sophisticated, observant, collaborative, and transparent, all this while adhering to and maintaining the core values of the business.

Although I wouldn’t’ wish the past 2 years on anyone, the learning curve and experience it’s provided myself and our team has been instrumental for our future and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 Andrea Culligan

T: acculligan

When it’s big – someONE has to give

90 hour work week so far and it’s only Thursday....

It’s one of those weeks where the entrepreneurial roller coaster canes you with highs and lows.  Being in a medium size business I get caught up in the day to day and find sometimes, my business is running me not the other way around.  These weeks are hard, emotional and highly stressful.  I push everything aside in my life to focus on these times just to get the job done.  

I don’t mind these times though, truly, I don’t.  I find them cathartic at the end as they always push me to a new level of awareness of my strengths, weaknesses and new skills.  They challenge me and I embrace it. 

However, they don't come without sacrifices, and without a solid support system there is no chance  I would be able to achieve what I do day to day.  

  

Over the past 6 months I’ve spent a lot of time asking my friends the gender related questions as the quota for women on boards heats up and women equality in the workplace is the key topic…I ask the question..

“Is it women in the workplace we should be talking about – or is it really about the bigger picture of – When it’s big …someONE has to give”

I started with my business in 1999 which feels like a hundred years ago now and after winning a few awards and having a successful run at it recently, I reviewed where it all started to go really well.  That’s when it hit…it truly wouldn’t have happened without the other half - my support system.  

In my generation of women – 30-40 yrs old, I am finding it’s common practice for men to take a more significant domestic role due to their partner being the major bread winner or unable to participate day to day in the domestic duties.  They aren’t complaining, they aren’t thought of any less in their peer group and in fact – discussing detergent smells and engine noises at the same time is common ground for these guys. 

Our expectations have shifted and so have our perceptions – at least in my world.

Our guys these days are strong, emotionally secure, fully functioning men, with proper views in the world.  They’re happy to partner and believe in being part of the process – whether that means sometimes they are the bread winner or the domestic caretaker.   

Most senior roles of any kind take time, pressure, effort and significant stress. The roles and needs don’t’ change - we need to recognise it’s about whos’ going to save the day when it’s needed.  The old adage of behind every great man there is a woman, the true future statement is behind every man or woman there is someone there to support them in whatever capacity that may be.

I'd love to hear what you think!

T: acculligan