Best can always be even better

I recently interviewed the chief executive of the Brisbane Broncos rugby league club, Paul White. I had surveyed the chief executives of NRL clubs, asking them who they thought was the best-run club in the league. The Broncos overwhelmingly landed at the top of the table. White, although pleasant, hospitable and open in his conversation, was only begrudgingly accepting of the title, the best-run club in the league. His view is that it’s not enough to be the best, you have to be better. It’s a philosophy that any business leader or founder would do well to live by.

It sparked a memory of mine, of a formative teacher from my high school years. In year 7 maths at Moruya High School, at the beginning of each new subject (algebra, geometry etc) all of the students would sit a pre-test. With little handle on the new concepts, usually we did horribly. The idea was that we would then spend a few weeks learning the formula and problem-solving skills required for that subject and at the end we would do the real test and see how much we had learned.

Well it just so happened there were a few incredibly clever kids in my class who would routinely get 100 per cent in the pre-test. While gloating one day, one of them was stopped in their tracks by Mrs Oates. “You shouldn’t frame the test where you scored 100 out of 100,” she said. “You should frame the test where you improved from 3 out of 100 to 75 out of 100.”

We may have been good at maths, but none of us really understood what she was talking about. Now looking back, I get it. Being the best at something should only be applauded if you really pushed yourself to get there. Once you are the best, you only deserve praise if you are continually pushing yourself to remain ahead of the competition.

White at the Broncos believes wholeheartedly in the notion of “continuous improvement” – it’s a philosophy he learned while working for mining companies.

Being a blokey league and ex-mining guy, he may not appreciate this, but the other person White reminded me of was American Vogue editor Anna Wintour. The fantastic documentary The September Issue looks at Wintour and her team as they put together the magazine’s biggest issue ever, September 2007. It is not extreme to say that the editor comes across as a nightmare to work for. From behind her trademark bob and dark, round sunglasses, Wintour has no problem cutting work or re-doing photo shoots, whatever the financial cost to publisher Conde Nast or mental cost to her team. It’s not because she’s a sadist (well ...), it’s because she strives for excellence in the product she is responsible for.

Entrepreneurs can learn much from the philosophies of Paul White, Anna Wintour and Mrs Oates.

Do you agree? Write and tell me your views.

BRW

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