Why this CEO believes his job is to do nothing

So, you actually did get ready for the next job. When it happened for me, it was slightly earlier than I expected, but I’d been given this incredible support in getting ready.

What did they teach you?

As a fun example, we went to China and we had to document our journey and create a movie.

You could make a documentary, you could make a spy movie, you could do whatever you wanted, but you had to present it.

So, I am a CFO, I’m given a Sony camcorder and I’ve got to make a movie.

It was hilarious. I made it about the Chinese state.

The hypothesis was that it’s very hard to compete with a company or a country that doesn’t have elections, that doesn’t have any shareholders, that has an almost infinite balance sheet and unlimited resources.

One of the shots [in my film] was a team laying new flagstones on the pavement across the road from Tiananmen Square.

The pavement went as far as you could see and there were these two highly skilled craftsmen, and I thought, “This is going to take their entire lifetime.”

And then our group CEO, who was an insightful guy around leadership, said to me, “I want you to second guess your CEO. Not in an undermining way. I want you to say to yourself all the time, I see the decision he’s made, what decision would I make? And discuss it with him.”

The [divisional] CEO was part of that conversation. He would encourage it. I’d say to him, “I see you made this decision. Why did you make it? I would have done this.” The trust and the transparency [between us] was elevated. And I’m very grateful for that.

What’s the secret to good leadership?

Leadership fundamentally is about two things.

First, it’s about identifying the vision and the opportunity. Do you have the vision? Have you identified the opportunity?

Second, it is capturing that opportunity.

A leader needs to be able to set the vision, and then create the movement.

It is not only about getting people to follow you, but to surround you [and take up the mantle themselves]. One individual can’t run a large business. My job is actually to do nothing. I should be able to sit in my office and do nothing for a long time before anybody notices.

What is your morning routine?

I don’t spend 20 minutes in the garden staring at the North Star or the Southern Cross. I try to train four to six days a week. I used to run a lot of ultra marathons and marathons.

There’s a run called the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. It’s 90 kilometres. I’ve done 10 of those.

But my long distance running days are probably over. I’m more of a cyclist. So I run or ride four to six days a week. I don’t ride in the dark any more. I’ve got an indoor trainer.

What is the most important thing you look for when hiring someone?

I absolutely look for, can they make the team better in every respect? Can they do their job of being a senior executive and making the team stronger? That’s about real humility, and willingness to engage in constructive debates. It’s about a willingness to commit to collective results.

I don’t need somebody who’s going to say, “Yes, sir, no, sir, three bags full, sir.”

I need somebody who’s going to get engaged, who’s going to play the ball and not the man or the woman.