If I knew then what I know now

I was asked these two challenging questions as part of the interview process for a publication. After a little pondering I thought I would share.

• What one event in your past has shaped your present?

I have learned just as much from poor managers as I have from great ones. The reality is that there is gold in every experience, we just need to have the clarity of mind and commitment to listen for it.

I worked at Ansett during deregulation and the pilots dispute in the late 80s – it was a tough time in aviation – but when I watched how senior leaders treated subordinates I was truly shocked. I could not understand how a General Manager could walk through an airport without even looking at anyone in the eye.

Business, after all is about building great relationships. People want to believe that they are part of something bigger than themselves, they need leaders that they can believe in. It was a wonderful lesson early in my career, even though it made me angry and disillusioned at the time, I committed to myself “when I’m running the show it will be different.”

• If I knew then what I know now, I’d…

It might have been handy to know a little about the internet, web development and hosting before I launched a website in 2001. I just went into it completely blindly – believing those technical people both outsourced and later employees – each individual telling me “what was right” for RedBalloon. And I naively believed them.

It took many years before I was able to establish a group of “IT mentors” that I could bounce ideas off – to validate what I was being told. It has been a painful and expensive journey to build an enterprise level website, and the team to deliver it.

No pain no gain they say – and now we have had a stable, productive and committed team for some years. The difference is immense.

Naomi Simson is considered one of Australia’s ‘Best Bosses’. She is an employee engagement advocate and practices what she preaches in her own business. RedBalloon has been named as one of only six Hewitt Best Employers in Australia and New Zealand for 2009 and awarded an engagement scorecard of over 90% two years in a row – the average in Australian businesses is 55%. RedBalloon has also been nominated by BRW as being in the top 10 Best Places to Work in Australia behind the likes of Google. One of Australia’s outstanding female entrepreneurs, Naomi regularly entertains as a passionate speaker inspiring people on employer branding, engagement and reward and recognition. Naomi writes a blog and is a published author – and has received many accolades and awards for the business she founded – RedBalloon.com.au.