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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Mentor. I'm Mark Boris. Paul Grossman, Welcome

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Speaker 1: to Mentor. Mate.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Mark could be here.

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Speaker 1: One of my favorite brands. You're the CEO of R

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Speaker 1: O M. Williams. For me, it's boots and sometimes pants, trousers,

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Speaker 1: definitely waterproof jackets. Is ze Kubra had sort of included

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Speaker 1: in the Row Williams range.

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Speaker 2: It's a different it's a different brand. It's definitely in

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Speaker 2: our range. There's been a long partnership between the Cooper

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Speaker 2: and Iron Williams brands over the last ninety years.

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Speaker 1: So it was let's let's just go back a loose

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Speaker 1: So Ara Williams, what's a Standford?

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Speaker 2: By the way, Reginald Murray reg Regg as he's affectionately

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Speaker 2: known Reg Williams was our founder. It's actually amazing because

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Speaker 2: the brand is well known and iconic. But our founder himself,

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Speaker 2: who is even named after is I think if you

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Speaker 2: put him in a lineup, Australians wouldn't pick him up.

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't big him. So I was in a live anymore. No, no,

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Speaker 1: how long ago was this brand founder?

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Speaker 2: So he founded in nineteen thirty two.

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Speaker 1: So where the middle of the depression.

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Speaker 2: Middle of the depression. Yeah, and that was that was

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Speaker 2: part of the inspiration that he wanted to make boots

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Speaker 2: and leather goods that would stand the test of time

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Speaker 2: and the harsh climates of the Australian out back. And

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Speaker 2: that's how that was. That was the origins of the

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Speaker 2: of the brand.

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Speaker 1: Did he when you say he started as interesting? Was

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Speaker 1: Redge inspired or maybe motivated by the fact that people

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Speaker 1: can't afford to keep replacing stuff, and especially during the

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Speaker 1: Great Depression? Do you know that, just as a side issue,

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Speaker 1: the Great Depression of the nine to nineteen thirty five

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Speaker 1: was not the greatest depression we ever had. The great

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Speaker 1: depression we ever had was nineteen sorry, eighteen twenty one

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Speaker 1: to eighteen ninety six, so before there was a great

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Speaker 1: depression for them, with actually a lot worse globally. That depression,

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Speaker 1: and we called the great Great Depression should be going

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Speaker 1: to the grade two or something the depression of it too. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: but the Great Depression in twenty nine anyway, and obviously

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Speaker 1: thirty two. I was getting sidetracked there, But I presume

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Speaker 1: maybe and you might know the story. If you do,

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Speaker 1: I love you to tell me. Is it because he thought, well,

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Speaker 1: people can't afford to keep replacing stuff, So what I'm

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Speaker 1: going to do is make something that's going to last

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Speaker 1: a long time.

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Speaker 2: Well, you're spot on, and part of what he constructed

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Speaker 2: was a boot that not only would last avery long time.

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Speaker 2: But most people don't know this. There's a targ on

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Speaker 2: our boots that has that those two yeah exactly, that

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Speaker 2: you pull them on and off with, and it's got

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Speaker 2: an address on it, five Percy Street. Yeah, and he

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Speaker 2: put that address on there. So one of the unique

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Speaker 2: things about our boots is they can be repaired. And

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Speaker 2: so once the owner of boots had sort of worn

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Speaker 2: through the souls, they'd send them out of the dress.

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Speaker 2: You'd prepare them and send them back.

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Speaker 1: As fire person through. It's good. What's the name of

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Speaker 1: the suburber?

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Speaker 2: Is a weird prospect?

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Speaker 1: Prospect?

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Speaker 2: That's it?

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Speaker 1: Is that prospect in New South Wales?

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Speaker 2: No, it's in Adelaide.

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Speaker 1: Okay, there must be another prospect. There's a second prospect.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, that's right.

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Speaker 1: So did they have post codes in those days, because

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Speaker 1: imagine if you said it to the wrong prospect, because

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Speaker 1: a prospect just outside of Sydney, it might ever got

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Speaker 1: any boots back.

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Speaker 2: I haven't heard of that issue happening.

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Speaker 1: But it might be House of Paul with tons of

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Speaker 1: boots exactly brought back to nineteen thirty two. So that's

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Speaker 1: very clever.

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Speaker 2: Though. Wait, he was the innovator and at the heart

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Speaker 2: of it, he was all about personalized service, right.

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Speaker 1: So was he boot maker by a professional whatever you

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Speaker 1: call it.

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Speaker 2: He wasn't. He was. He was a tinker. It is

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Speaker 2: probably the best way to describe him. And there's lots

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Speaker 2: of legends about how the brand actually started, but the

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Speaker 2: most reliable is that it has its roots in the

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Speaker 2: Nepabunna region in Finness Rangers and he was working in

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Speaker 2: a mission doing everything from building mines and he came

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Speaker 2: across a bloke called Dollar Mick, who was actually a

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Speaker 2: First Nations bloke, who told him how to do some

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Speaker 2: work with leather, and together they build this boot out

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Speaker 2: of one piece of leather. And at the time they

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Speaker 2: started constructing it in the mission, and he was kicked

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Speaker 2: out of the mission because he was paying the aboriginals

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Speaker 2: there at the fair wage and they didn't like that.

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Speaker 1: The mission didn't.

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Speaker 2: The mission didn't, and so he moved down to Prospect,

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Speaker 2: which is where his parents lived and started up a

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Speaker 2: factory out of the back of their house.

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Speaker 1: But what was his deal like other than this adventure?

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Speaker 1: What was his deal? Was he like a miner or something, or.

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Speaker 2: He was a wanderer. He was a young bloke at

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Speaker 2: that point, so he was just going around trying to

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Speaker 2: earn a wage where he could. But then then he'd

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Speaker 2: just go off and go into bush for a while,

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Speaker 2: and he just he was an.

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Speaker 1: Explorer, like a dreamer. Sounds like exactly, Yeah, that's pretty cool.

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Speaker 1: That's a great story actually, And obviously not obviously, but

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Speaker 1: I presume then the very first thing that he produced

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Speaker 1: was a boot.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, he was the boot. The boot was the

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Speaker 2: heart of it. And but he always did a lot

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Speaker 2: of work with with leather, so it was boot belts

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Speaker 2: back in the day. He looked some of the some

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Speaker 2: of the original catalogs. They had a wide range of stuff, saddles,

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Speaker 2: but basically just loved leather work. He loved working with leather.

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Speaker 2: He's a beautiful platter of leather. And if you've ever

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Speaker 2: seen our we've got these kangaroo platted belts that we

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Speaker 2: still sell today that he was instrumental in making from

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Speaker 2: back in the day.

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Speaker 1: At a kangaroo then yeah, wow, yeah, that would have

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Speaker 1: been fairly innovative, like back at that time of ninety

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Speaker 1: thirty two, using kangaroo hide too, because you've got to

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Speaker 1: get you've got to tan the hide, you've got to

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Speaker 1: exactly catches the kangaroo skin. It tan it.

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Speaker 2: It's right, it's right. And not many people realize this. Well,

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Speaker 2: kangaroo is one of the toughest and most lightweight leathers

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Speaker 2: there is. That's why a lot of the sports brand

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Speaker 2: use it on footy boots. Until recently, I didn't know. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: so it's an incredible leather, really really thin, really tough.

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Speaker 1: That's interesting. I guess that's an evolutionary advantage of the

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Speaker 1: kangaroo somehow, living in the back. What's funny about that,

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Speaker 1: you know, using our what is ours Australian materials for

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Speaker 1: Australian conditions. So Australia too was best, naturally best coming

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Speaker 1: off the back of a kangaroo. And I guess they're

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Speaker 1: making belts out of that and whips. And because belts boots,

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Speaker 1: you made whips too in those days.

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Speaker 2: We still do, don't sell as many of them these days.

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Speaker 2: They stock whips. Stockman whips they take. There's there's actually

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Speaker 2: only two blokes in the company that can make them

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Speaker 2: because they take almost a full day. That's an incredible

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Speaker 2: amount of platting and work that goes into them. So

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Speaker 2: we don't see a lot of them, but but yeah,

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Speaker 2: they still made today.

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Speaker 1: Everybody should have a whip for whatever reason you want

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Speaker 1: to use it. But everyone should have a whip. I

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Speaker 1: mean I should get one of those whips and put

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Speaker 1: it up in my farmer. We have cattle, but you know,

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Speaker 1: you know one is we're just dogs and stuff like that,

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Speaker 1: and you know we don't. Yeah, no one rides horses.

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Speaker 1: Everybody's on a motorbike. But my guys that love to

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Speaker 1: look at something like that, and they, you know, it's

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Speaker 1: funny people not just in the cities, but maybe people

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Speaker 1: in cities are more so this way, but people at farms.

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Speaker 1: My guys are generational farmers, so they're born in farmers

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Speaker 1: and there's a whole lot of brothers who all work

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Speaker 1: for me, and they are absolutely intrigued by these sorts

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Speaker 1: of stories about when it's australianized, like it's when it

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Speaker 1: has roots in Australian farming. And there are some special things.

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Speaker 1: And I don't know Williams is about to me anyway he's

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Speaker 1: associated with that. It's not just there is fashion, get

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Speaker 1: that bit, and there is all the benefits of wearing

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Speaker 1: the stuff for the last long time. It's reasonably prized.

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Speaker 1: Blah blah blah. It's iconic. And you know, we'll talk

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Speaker 1: a little bit later about the you know, the the

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Speaker 1: roots of the products and where it all comes from.

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Speaker 1: But there is the story that's behin and oram Williams

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Speaker 1: is the coolest part the experience of wearing something like

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Speaker 1: that that's has is that is associated with those origins.

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Speaker 2: Well, there's there's there's not a lot in our proud

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Speaker 2: nation that is like it.

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Speaker 3: In terms of Gina would argue with that, we're talking

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Speaker 3: about talking about real products, products that you're right resource with,

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Speaker 3: materials that can stand the test of time and the

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Speaker 3: harsh Australian climates that are made.

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Speaker 2: There's something about Ossie innovation that isn't talked about much.

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Speaker 2: But it's a very resourceful, very practical, very functional type

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Speaker 2: of innovation that's not it's it's not as it's not

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Speaker 2: the type of innovation that you necessarily gravitate to when

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Speaker 2: you when you think about the big tech companies and

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Speaker 2: that sort of thing, but there is something special about it.

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Speaker 1: There is tech involved, absolutely, there is craft, yeah, real craft.

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Speaker 1: That's very interesting. So do you have is there a

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Speaker 1: like a does Aaron Williams have in the head office

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Speaker 1: or one of their officers, like a little history wall

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Speaker 1: or a history room, photographs and all that sort of stuff.

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Speaker 2: If you if you go to five Percy Street and

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Speaker 2: prospect the right prospect, if you go there, there is

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Speaker 2: we still have that site. There's a store there. Above

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Speaker 2: the store is where the original workshop is, and there's

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Speaker 2: a there's a museum at the back that shares some

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Speaker 2: of the stories from that journey.

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Speaker 1: So people are still working there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, people be surprised there are. We've got some beautiful

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Speaker 2: loyal fans that you know, when they're in Adelaide, they'll

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Speaker 2: they'll make the trip outs not far out of the city,

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Speaker 2: so they'll make the trip out there to have a

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Speaker 2: wander and have a look around.

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Speaker 1: I was going to say, is it on the jurist

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Speaker 1: map sort of thing so to speak, you know, not officially,

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Speaker 1: but you know what I.

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Speaker 2: Mean, it is. But it's something also that we are

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Speaker 2: one of the things we've been privileged without current owners

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Speaker 2: the forest that they are investing a lot. I'm very

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Speaker 2: passionate about the Australian made side of things and making

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Speaker 2: sure that that moves forward and not backwards, investing a lot.

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Speaker 2: So it's something that over the coming years we will

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Speaker 2: lean into and make it. I think more of a

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Speaker 2: tourist more of a tourist attraction. That's definitely on the list.

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Speaker 1: All the good news is for anybody listening to this,

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Speaker 1: I can vouch with this stuff. I'm not getting paid

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Speaker 1: by these guys, no commercial arrangers, with our own winners.

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Speaker 1: But I've been buying our own Williams boots, which I

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Speaker 1: wear in Sydney and at my farm. I don't wear

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Speaker 1: a belt. I do have a couple of iron Williams belts,

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Speaker 1: but I don't wear them very often. But I definitely

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Speaker 1: wear the boots. I wear the suede boots here in

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Speaker 1: Sydney when i'm but I'm trying to dress up and

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Speaker 1: I'll wear them, probably inappropriately, but i'll wear them with

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Speaker 1: a suit because I don't give a shit. I quite

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Speaker 1: like the feeling when they're comfortable. As far as I'm concerned,

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Speaker 1: they look dressy. I often get told you should be

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Speaker 1: wearing a pair of leather shoes, but I'd rather wear those,

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Speaker 1: and I definitely have my farm. I'll wear them all.

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Speaker 1: My staff wear them up there too.

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Speaker 2: So I'm sure. I'm sure our brand team would a

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Speaker 2: heartbeat like to use you as a use mark, but.

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Speaker 1: I have commercially. You can put that up somewhere when

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Speaker 1: this goes to ED and you can put it up

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Speaker 1: if you're like, I don't care, because I actually believe

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Speaker 1: in the stuff. I really like the brand. I do

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Speaker 1: want to talk to you though, about years ago. I

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Speaker 1: remember many years ago. I don't know how long. It

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Speaker 1: feels like twenty years ago maybe not. But Aaron Williams

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Speaker 1: was at a crossroad. It looked, I seem to recall,

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Speaker 1: and I haven't done any research on it. I seem

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Speaker 1: to recall it was sort of failing and going backwards.

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Speaker 1: And I don't even who owned it. I think for

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Speaker 1: some reason, I thought it was someone from out of

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Speaker 1: the Murdock camp was running. I seem to recall.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so there was a period where the late ken

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Speaker 2: Cally and that's what was Yeah. Yeah, so the brands,

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Speaker 2: it's over. It's ninety three years, has had many twists

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Speaker 2: and turns. It's had at least five different ownerships really,

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Speaker 2: and it's there's been some core things that have stayed

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Speaker 2: and stuck the test of time. But there through the

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Speaker 2: various ownerships has taken I wouldn't say different directions, but

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Speaker 2: they've tried to extend it in different ways. And yeah,

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Speaker 2: that that period went through some tougher times and there's

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Speaker 2: been a couple of ownerships since. But yeah, it's certainly

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Speaker 2: taken lots of twists and turns over those ninety three years.

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Speaker 1: And would it be fair to say that Twiggy and

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Speaker 1: his wife bought it to save it? Like that sounds

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Speaker 1: a bit condescending, but was it more we can't leave

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Speaker 1: this in faile?

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I I don't mean FAI would go backwards or go

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Speaker 1: out of business, I mean not grow and not stand

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Speaker 1: the test of time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good question. I wouldn't say that at

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Speaker 2: the time when when they bought it, it wasn't it

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Speaker 2: wasn't on the cusp. But failing it, it had subsequent

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Speaker 2: owners that one of the private equity arms of LVMH

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Speaker 2: had had a hint of only before that, before the forest.

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Speaker 2: But I would definitely say that that Andrew and Nikola

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Speaker 2: had bought it one to bring it back into Australian

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Speaker 2: hands because they are passionate and love the brand and

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Speaker 2: want to be forever custodians of a brand to ensure

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Speaker 2: that it does continue to stand the test of time

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Speaker 2: and and last another ninety three years.

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Speaker 1: So whit? Whit? What is it behind their passion for

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Speaker 1: these sorts of things? You know, like people go, yeah,

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Speaker 1: they're rich, you know Andrews and Nikola are they? You

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Speaker 1: know they could you know, they they could buy another

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Speaker 1: country if they wanted to, Like, so it really doesn't

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Speaker 1: matter to them. What is it about that really matters

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Speaker 1: to them? Why do you think that they've just sort

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Speaker 1: of leaned into the R and Williams brand to sort

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Speaker 1: of maintain it and build it.

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Speaker 2: It's a great question. Although I'm I can't speak on

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Speaker 2: behalf of Andrew Nicol, but what I can say is

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Speaker 2: what I see from them and how they're supporting me

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Speaker 2: and the brand directly. I know that they've obviously there's

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Speaker 2: a like how most Australians have a level of affinity

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Speaker 2: of the brand is because there are lots of Australian

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Speaker 2: brands that are on a global stage. Not many of

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Speaker 2: them talk about their australianness as a big part of

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Speaker 2: who they are. So they've grown up with a connection

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Speaker 2: to the brand that passionate about it. And there is

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Speaker 2: a lot about what R. M. Williams is about that

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Speaker 2: is really important to them in terms of it's onshore

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Speaker 2: manufacturing and the fact that we employ a large number

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Speaker 2: of Australians to make this brand what it is the

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Speaker 2: fact that the way we do things, the quality, the

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Speaker 2: sustainability about the products and what we do is really

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Speaker 2: important to them. So there are a lot of things

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Speaker 2: that are aligned with their values that I'm sure we're

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Speaker 2: really important. When they were thinking about well why is

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Speaker 2: this brand important to them?

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Speaker 1: And how long you been there?

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Speaker 2: Now I've been there for coming up to four years.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so maybe give you a little bit of background

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Speaker 1: on yourself. So you have had a mixed bag. You've

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Speaker 1: been lots of different places, Nike, uh Nike Direct stores

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Speaker 1: for go to China. McKinzie obviously a you know one

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Speaker 1: of those consultant guys who gets paid a lot of money.

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Speaker 1: Prose pro sport House as well, and it says he

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Speaker 1: Harris Farm Markets. Can you give me a background.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I've I've had a maybe four stages to

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Speaker 2: my journey. One I I grew up in my family

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Speaker 2: business is Harris Farm Markets. My I grew up in

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Speaker 2: the Flemington markets, following my uncle around collecting receipts from

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Speaker 2: all the all the different growers.

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Speaker 1: And I see you from the Harris farm family, Harris.

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Speaker 2: Fan but I'm related to them, David and Kathy Harrott's

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Speaker 2: and my auntie and uncle. So I worked growing grew

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Speaker 2: up working in the stores during the holidays, stucking palettes

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Speaker 2: of mangos and so that was my original love of

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Speaker 2: retail started started there.

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Speaker 1: Of course, the Harrow's Farm business enterprise has been very successful.

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Speaker 2: It's it's the greatest fruit and ven you'll you will get,

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Speaker 2: and largely in New South Wales, but venturing into other

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Speaker 2: areas now too.

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Speaker 1: So you you've got a taste of retail as a

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Speaker 1: young man there. Yeah, and in wholesale probably the whole

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Speaker 1: whole chain.

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Speaker 2: It was. It was mostly mostly working in stores. I

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Speaker 2: did some work in the office, but yeah, there was

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Speaker 2: there was broad exposure, but there was something about that

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Speaker 2: direct into interaction with the customer, the messiness, but also

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Speaker 2: the liveliness of the retail environment, which is addictive but

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Speaker 2: also frustrating at times, but that's also addictive as well.

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Speaker 2: The second phase probably, Yeah, you're right. I went and

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Speaker 2: did an apprenticeship in consulting, so spent a big chunk

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Speaker 2: of that time with with company and most of that overseas.

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Speaker 2: I've done twenty years outside of Australia, big chunk of

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Speaker 2: it in China, time in the US, and that was

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Speaker 2: really helpful just in terms of understanding problem solving and

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Speaker 2: communication and structured thinking.

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Speaker 1: You might just explain an audience because some of the

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Speaker 1: audience don't know what McKinsey does, so just explain at

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Speaker 1: that level, the McKinsey level, consulting, consulting, you know, the

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Speaker 1: sorts of people who retain your skills and your time,

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Speaker 1: and the sorts of sorts of jobs. I don't mean

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Speaker 1: give me something specific, but like you say, problem solving

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Speaker 1: is sort of large problem solving.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. So typically they've brought in to help management problems

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Speaker 2: a few organizations in government and governments, so that that

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Speaker 2: could be anything from strategic challenges operational challenges, but they're

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Speaker 2: typically things that are at the management level and stuff

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Speaker 2: that challenges that they're thing to overcome or want an

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Speaker 2: outside perspective in terms of how how others are solving

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Speaker 2: and how to do it differently. So at a super

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Speaker 2: high level, that's that's largely why people engage companies like McKinsey.

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Speaker 1: And did you just do the same stuff with Peter

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Speaker 1: Price wort Es quips similar similar? So you know, I

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Speaker 1: just think for context, because the context is and you

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Speaker 1: come home to our own Williams, but and you're you're

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Speaker 1: sort of employed by our own Williams. And then whether

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Speaker 1: or not they sought to get used specifically or someone

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Speaker 1: like you specifically, we can talk about that in a second.

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Speaker 1: But the context of that is that our own Williams

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Speaker 1: obviously needed to strategically work out where it stood, what

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Speaker 1: it stood for, and what people loved about it, and

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Speaker 1: how can you take it forward and protect it, look

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Speaker 1: after it and grow it. And that's a pretty typical thing,

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Speaker 1: was what a McKinsey guy or girl would do.

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Speaker 2: It's I I there are people that spend their life

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Speaker 2: at that organization and I've I've got great connections that

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Speaker 2: that still do. For me. I'm forever grateful for the

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Speaker 2: time I had there was an amazing apprenticeship and just

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Speaker 2: understanding how organizations work at the highest level, all different

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Speaker 2: types of all different types exactly. So it was it

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Speaker 2: was a great It was a great apprenticeship that that

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Speaker 2: that stage of my my career journey. The bit that

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Speaker 2: I was I was yearning which took me to the

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Speaker 2: next stage was I went and worked for a I

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Speaker 2: think one of Austraight's greatest retailer is a guy called

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Speaker 2: Brett Brett Blundy and worked for him literally out of

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Speaker 2: his home for for many years.

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Speaker 1: Was beginning when he was doing bras and stuff with.

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Speaker 2: That, but it was it was at that stage where

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Speaker 2: he was in Diva Diva and Lavisa and and Dairs

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Speaker 2: and Dusk and a bunch of retail retail property. And

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Speaker 2: his pitch, his pitch to me was that I could

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Speaker 2: help him on the strategic stuff and he can help

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Speaker 2: me become an operator. And there's a big difference, a

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Speaker 2: big difference, a big difference, and it's important that I

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Speaker 2: think you're able to understand and learn how to do both.

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Speaker 2: And Brett is an incredible operator and I learned a

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Speaker 2: time from my time my time with him.

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Speaker 1: Maybe give us a bit of an example. So because

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Speaker 1: I just want to again context, but strategic is what

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Speaker 1: you're you're building expertise, are expertise up in strategic stuff

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Speaker 1: working at PWN or McKinsey. But then what you're talking

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Speaker 1: about in relation to bread operational stuff is like on

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Speaker 1: the tools, not literally, but like the tools of the business.

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Speaker 1: There's a big difference. I mean, you can be coming

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Speaker 1: in from a helicopter sort of looking down on everybody

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Speaker 1: and saying at the McKinsey's yes, you know, we looked

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Speaker 1: at this, and we looked that over there in another

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Speaker 1: country or another industry, and these are the sort of

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Speaker 1: strategies we saw worked out of there, and we're going

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Speaker 1: to employ some of those with you after we've done

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Speaker 1: a sort of a complete ordered on your business as

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Speaker 1: to how it works, et cetera. But then someone like

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Speaker 1: Brett Blunde is about getting shit done.

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Speaker 2: Like in terms of being on the tools. Some of

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Speaker 2: the starkest memories at like ten thirty pm on Christmas

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Speaker 2: Eve side by side with Brett putting jewelry on prongs

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Speaker 2: to set up for the Boxing day sale on for

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Speaker 2: the obviously day after Christmas. But there is a whole

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Speaker 2: bunch of just leadership, operational learnings that just came from

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Speaker 2: what it's like to be an operator on the tools.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a good word you used to leadership. Leadership

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Speaker 1: is about doing stuff or being seen as doing stuff

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Speaker 1: and doing stuff. Maybe you could just give me a

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Speaker 1: what are some of the characteristics of someone like Brett

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Speaker 1: Blundy that maybe you're borrowed because none of these things

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Speaker 1: are original, that will borrowed from everybody, from somebody else

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Speaker 1: prior to that. What are there some of the leadership

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Speaker 1: characteristics that you think you've borrowed from Brett that you

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Speaker 1: now employees, say, in any of the business you've been

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Speaker 1: involved with, but particularly in this business here, our own Williams.

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Speaker 2: The first one that comes to my mark is and

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Speaker 2: I don't know if I've borrow effectively, but I certainly

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Speaker 2: aspired to borrow it. His Brett has, like I've never seen,

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Speaker 2: an extraordinary ability to take emotion out of a lot

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Speaker 2: of decision making. And what I mean by that is

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Speaker 2: a problem would come his way, and when you're in

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Speaker 2: those operating roles, make problems constantly come your way all

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Speaker 2: day put up and his ability to just sort of

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Speaker 2: remain completely composed and make the right decision in that

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Speaker 2: situation is quite unique. Most people get flustered, they get frustrated,

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Speaker 2: they get angry, but he's got an extraordinary ability to

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Speaker 2: do that. And so it was a real turning point

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Speaker 2: in my career to realize. Actually it was actually a

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Speaker 2: performance review that I had with Brett. He got me

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Speaker 2: when we do our performance reviews, he'd make me send

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Speaker 2: him a two page letter on my reflections from the year,

436
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:53,520
Speaker 2: and he'd read it and he'd come back to me

437
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,399
Speaker 2: and he said, the first thing I've picked up on

438
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,080
Speaker 2: you is you've got worry. All the way through the

439
00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:01,160
Speaker 2: two pages, he goes, mate, you're a worry You've got.

440
00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,040
Speaker 1: To stop worrying as not a warrior, but a warrior,

441
00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:04,640
Speaker 1: as in you.

442
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:10,400
Speaker 2: Worry about stuff. And I realized Jesus is buddy right.

443
00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:13,640
Speaker 2: And so it's taken me on a journey which i'm

444
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,320
Speaker 2: still wrestling with today, that you have moments in your

445
00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:21,240
Speaker 2: day to day where you realize you're being triggered by

446
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,560
Speaker 2: something and it's it's taking you off course and it's

447
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,159
Speaker 2: making you think about the wrong things.

448
00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,720
Speaker 1: As in ruminating on something. Yeah, you mean, like this

449
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,560
Speaker 1: thing is not working and I'm going to let it

450
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:32,320
Speaker 1: affect everything else.

451
00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:37,040
Speaker 2: Let's less ruminating more having a negative emotional reaction to something,

452
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,679
Speaker 2: so then you just make bad decisions when you're not

453
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,680
Speaker 2: in the right frame of mind. So me, it was

454
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,520
Speaker 2: that was just a real It was an inspiring leadership

455
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,320
Speaker 2: trait and definitely one that I've tried to adopt into.

456
00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,000
Speaker 2: It doesn't matter whether it's business or life. You know,

457
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:55,720
Speaker 2: it's the same when you're hanging out with your kids

458
00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:57,200
Speaker 2: as it is.

459
00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,040
Speaker 1: With your day. How do you do that? So how

460
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 1: do you take let's look at someone who's got a

461
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:05,480
Speaker 1: small business. They're on there, they're on the on our own.

462
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,480
Speaker 1: I feel like Reg Williams would have been like nine

463
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:14,000
Speaker 1: thirty two and I don't know, there's the leather suppli

464
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,920
Speaker 1: has been halted for some reason. You know, the horse

465
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:19,440
Speaker 1: and carriage that was bringing the leather is a broken

466
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,000
Speaker 1: wheel and can't get to there in time. But you've

467
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,119
Speaker 1: got a whole lot of miners in there waiting for

468
00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:27,520
Speaker 1: to get their boots. How do you take how do

469
00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,679
Speaker 1: you take the emotion out of it?

470
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,760
Speaker 2: So if we take if we take that example, my

471
00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,879
Speaker 2: initial reaction would have been get onto that phone of

472
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,640
Speaker 2: that bloke and say, mate, like if we don't we've

473
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,080
Speaker 2: got farther'st day around the corner. We don't get that stuff.

474
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:44,080
Speaker 2: It's going to we're going to have a negative impact

475
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 2: and you just get angry.

476
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,119
Speaker 1: And brand's gonna be efected exactly, and.

477
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,679
Speaker 2: Just you go at him or her until you get

478
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 2: the outcome that you want. Whereas if you can take

479
00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,560
Speaker 2: that emotion out, it's not that you don't have to

480
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,639
Speaker 2: directly deal with that that problem.

481
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:01,520
Speaker 1: You still have to deal with it.

482
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,919
Speaker 2: You still have to deal with the problem, but the

483
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,600
Speaker 2: likely outcome if you're not dealing it from that aggressive

484
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,320
Speaker 2: emotional reaction is probably a far better one one that

485
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,639
Speaker 2: you can solve collaboratively. Now it doesn't mean you have to,

486
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,159
Speaker 2: you know, go hard from time to time, but but

487
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 2: but just generally being more composed, you'll get a better

488
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,640
Speaker 2: outcome in that situation for both parties.

489
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,960
Speaker 1: Do you think it's because worry and emotion becomes infectious.

490
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,119
Speaker 1: So you're you're dealing with so your next report, the

491
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:36,920
Speaker 1: person you're dealing with who's responsible for the supply chain

492
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 1: in your organization. If you then load hole of emotion

493
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,920
Speaker 1: on that individual, that individual then sort of loads it

494
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,800
Speaker 1: on to the next person and it just keeps going down.

495
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,520
Speaker 2: That's so true. It's a it's a snowball, and it'll

496
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:53,000
Speaker 2: just keep gaining momentum, and it just culturally it's it's

497
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,679
Speaker 2: it's unhealthy. It's why it's so important as leaders that

498
00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,639
Speaker 2: this doesn't seem like a big it's not something that

499
00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,240
Speaker 2: is aadership trait we talk about very much. But I

500
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,760
Speaker 2: just realized the significance of you know, when Brett those

501
00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,040
Speaker 2: examples would set the tone, it would set the example

502
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:11,080
Speaker 2: throughout the organization.

503
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:13,800
Speaker 1: And how important is it do you think in being

504
00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,560
Speaker 1: a leader in an organization as you are, how important

505
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:22,680
Speaker 1: is it for you to demonstrate resilience and what is resilience?

506
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,119
Speaker 1: Because I get to be confused about would resilience sometimes

507
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,679
Speaker 1: I think it means of different things, but yeah, what

508
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,080
Speaker 1: do you think about that, like demonstrating resilience and actually

509
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:33,440
Speaker 1: having resilience at the same time.

510
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:37,040
Speaker 2: But I think resilience is showing up. That's what resilience

511
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:42,080
Speaker 2: is for me and we all in our day to

512
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,240
Speaker 2: day lives, be it at work or at home, there

513
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,680
Speaker 2: are always things that come away. And for me it's

514
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,080
Speaker 2: probably more than just showing up one it's just showing up,

515
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,080
Speaker 2: being fund and sent up but showing up in a

516
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,320
Speaker 2: as positive way as you can. You know, there are

517
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:03,200
Speaker 2: those that once they take a couple of hits, they

518
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:05,560
Speaker 2: walk around like they've got the weight of the shoulders,

519
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,360
Speaker 2: the weight of the world on their shoulders, and that

520
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:11,600
Speaker 2: in the example you gave before, is also like compounds

521
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,600
Speaker 2: throughout the organization because they see that, they say, oh,

522
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:16,960
Speaker 2: the boss has got the weight to the world and

523
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 2: the shoulders.

524
00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:18,679
Speaker 1: It's really stressed.

525
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,560
Speaker 2: It's really stressed. We're in a really stressful period and

526
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,560
Speaker 2: things are not good. Versus being able to you know,

527
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,800
Speaker 2: whether the storm. It's not always just having the rose

528
00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:33,720
Speaker 2: colored glasses on, but just being able to work through

529
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:35,439
Speaker 2: your problems they as they arise.

530
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,480
Speaker 1: And is it acting though or is it actual different mindset?

531
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:40,800
Speaker 1: Like you can put yourself in that mindset, like you

532
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,879
Speaker 1: sort of step back from yourself and then reclose yourself

533
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,280
Speaker 1: and get into a mindset like so therefore it becomes

534
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,000
Speaker 1: real as opposed to acting or performance.

535
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 2: I'm not professing to be an expert here, mate, but

536
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:56,800
Speaker 2: I certainly do the best I can from me. I

537
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,120
Speaker 2: don't think it's I don't think it's acting. I think

538
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,080
Speaker 2: the important part and the bit that I'm learning is

539
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,480
Speaker 2: it's just about being yourself, but being yourself in your

540
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:10,720
Speaker 2: best self. And if you're trying to pretend to be

541
00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:12,960
Speaker 2: someone else and you're trying to be like overly positive

542
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,960
Speaker 2: team just seek through it and it's almost worse. But

543
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:22,359
Speaker 2: if they can see you being honest about Oh this

544
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,040
Speaker 2: happened and it really threw me. But you know what,

545
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,679
Speaker 2: this is how I'm thinking about it, That's what I

546
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,200
Speaker 2: think resonates and is setting a good example.

547
00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:37,600
Speaker 1: And in those cases, Paul is it is the leadership

548
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:42,080
Speaker 1: about being collaborative in other words, say or is it

549
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 1: about being not dominant but actually being decisive? In other words,

550
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:51,760
Speaker 1: problem I reckon, you solve it? Or what's your style

551
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,280
Speaker 1: or problem let's all get together and put up a

552
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:57,480
Speaker 1: whiteboard or whatever. We'll just work out a solution together.

553
00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:58,600
Speaker 1: What's your style?

554
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,160
Speaker 2: That's interesting? This is this is something that's like a

555
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,800
Speaker 2: live challenge that we're grappling with it with the leadership

556
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:11,600
Speaker 2: at Aaron Williams at the moment, and collaboration is critical

557
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:17,200
Speaker 2: because you know, we're not we're not building rocket ships.

558
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,640
Speaker 2: We're making boots, albeit the best boots in the world,

559
00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,480
Speaker 2: but we are to get those to market. It takes

560
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:28,800
Speaker 2: collaboration across multiple functions. But for me, collaboration is not

561
00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:32,360
Speaker 2: about holding hands and everyone just supporting. There is a

562
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,640
Speaker 2: part of collaboration which is about really being really clear

563
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:40,240
Speaker 2: on who's accountable, whose owner, and if you're not living

564
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,320
Speaker 2: up to your part of the collaboration in the journey,

565
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:45,320
Speaker 2: you've got to be held to account. And so there's

566
00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:49,960
Speaker 2: a there's a really fine balance between making sure that

567
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:54,080
Speaker 2: we are collaborating and communicating, but we're also holding each

568
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,239
Speaker 2: other to account to achieve the outcome that we need

569
00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:56,680
Speaker 2: to achieve.

570
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:58,920
Speaker 1: If you go back to ninety thirty two, old redg

571
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,479
Speaker 1: would have been if you looked, if you can get

572
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 1: him to look forward into twenty twenty five, he'd be going,

573
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,360
Speaker 1: oh my god, like I can't believe everybody's so sensitive,

574
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,000
Speaker 1: because it would have been an imagine. It would have

575
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,960
Speaker 1: been a pretty gruff environment in those days in prospecting,

576
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,800
Speaker 1: just outside of Adelaide, making boots for whoever you are

577
00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,560
Speaker 1: making boods for, and it would have been just a

578
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 1: matter of shit, let's just get this thing done or

579
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:30,520
Speaker 1: worry about however it feels later. But today, how do

580
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,960
Speaker 1: you you're a young man but relatively speaking, I'm talking

581
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:41,560
Speaker 1: about how do you balance up people with different generations,

582
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,200
Speaker 1: their expectations of how you should be as a leader

583
00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,440
Speaker 1: with how you might have been brought up yourself as leader,

584
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,240
Speaker 1: because I can imagine working in the mckinseyes of the

585
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:55,000
Speaker 1: world and getting caught into who whever, some firm which

586
00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,120
Speaker 1: which is a big organization dealing with the sea, and

587
00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,760
Speaker 1: especially it was banks and stuff. But back in the day,

588
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:02,080
Speaker 1: they just said, listen, I know, I'm going to pay

589
00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:06,600
Speaker 1: you a cup lot of money. You better you the consultant,

590
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,760
Speaker 1: better bloody give me the answers I'm looking for. And

591
00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 1: there was no you know, no one was worried about

592
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:14,640
Speaker 1: their p's and q's. You got brought up in a

593
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:18,360
Speaker 1: different environment. And by the way, even tweeting that like

594
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,840
Speaker 1: their miners like he might be different today to what

595
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,239
Speaker 1: he wrought it would have been. I know Andrew, and

596
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,520
Speaker 1: I remember what he was like. You know, back in

597
00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,520
Speaker 1: the eighties when I was at a certa law firm,

598
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:34,240
Speaker 1: we sort of work for these organizations and it was

599
00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:37,200
Speaker 1: people were sort of and he was West Australian too,

600
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,080
Speaker 1: at least in Sydney a little bit more. Westra was

601
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,120
Speaker 1: different to Sydney put it that way. I still love

602
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:44,800
Speaker 1: the West Trains. Actually lived over there for a while.

603
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:47,040
Speaker 1: We did a lot of work for Alan Bond in

604
00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:49,760
Speaker 1: those days and a lot of other guys Westralia. I

605
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,760
Speaker 1: lived there for years because you know, I was doing

606
00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,880
Speaker 1: a case and I went over to the case literally

607
00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:58,240
Speaker 1: for one week, and I was saying for three years.

608
00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:00,880
Speaker 1: The case took that long, and we get a whole

609
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:02,960
Speaker 1: lot of new clients as well. And one of the

610
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,440
Speaker 1: things I did notice is that where strains were fairly straightforward,

611
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:10,280
Speaker 1: straight to the point, did stuff around. I wouldn't call

612
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:12,400
Speaker 1: them insensity, but it could have been interpreted that way.

613
00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:14,880
Speaker 1: I was probably a bit the way that the same myself.

614
00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:18,880
Speaker 1: How do you balance that up that being brought up

615
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:20,400
Speaker 1: in that and being leader today.

616
00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:24,280
Speaker 2: That's a great question. And again I think one of

617
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:26,960
Speaker 2: one of the biggest things I've learned in leadership is that,

618
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:30,320
Speaker 2: like people often ask that question, the leader is born

619
00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:34,400
Speaker 2: or they made. And I'm a firmer leader that leadership

620
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,080
Speaker 2: like all things, as a craft. And I go home

621
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,120
Speaker 2: at night sometimes I think, Geez, I really screwed up

622
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:41,520
Speaker 2: with that. But it's okay because I wake up the

623
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 2: next day and you go at it again, I'll sort

624
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:48,200
Speaker 2: of tomorrow and so Mate, I firmly believe that, first

625
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,080
Speaker 2: and foremost, it's a craft, and you get some stuff

626
00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:55,040
Speaker 2: wrong and you apologize and you move on. So I

627
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:57,680
Speaker 2: don't think that there is also one size that fits

628
00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:02,400
Speaker 2: all as it relates to leading teams organizations. There are

629
00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:06,000
Speaker 2: moments where you have to be tougher, there are moments

630
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:10,200
Speaker 2: that you have to be more supportive, and that varies

631
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:15,080
Speaker 2: also in terms of the individual that you're dealing with.

632
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:17,680
Speaker 2: So I don't think there's one size fits all. But

633
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:19,239
Speaker 2: the one thing that I will come back to what

634
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:25,000
Speaker 2: I said before is as long as you're transparent, you're honest,

635
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:30,400
Speaker 2: and you are clear on why you are either making

636
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:34,680
Speaker 2: a certain decision giving certain direction, then I think that

637
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:39,160
Speaker 2: tends to resonate across multiple generations, irrespective of what their

638
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,880
Speaker 2: background is and what they've grown up doing.

639
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,120
Speaker 1: I've had to learn to become more of a listener

640
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,760
Speaker 1: than at teller. I just know that for myself, I

641
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,080
Speaker 1: have to be prepared to listen instead of just jumping

642
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,920
Speaker 1: in and telling, and I have to be more of

643
00:33:55,960 --> 00:34:00,120
Speaker 1: an asker as opposed to an answer a question. What

644
00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:02,880
Speaker 1: blah blah, blah. I suppose before I just the old days,

645
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:04,120
Speaker 1: I'd walk in and say, with this what we're doing,

646
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:08,600
Speaker 1: but go do it. Just give people tasks. It's I

647
00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,359
Speaker 1: grew up in a environment, in a lawphan where like

648
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:14,240
Speaker 1: the senior partner. If you didn't like in the eighties,

649
00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:16,160
Speaker 1: I used to wear a Paisley tie, which is I

650
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:18,240
Speaker 1: consider it was pretty cool. I was adding my twenties,

651
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:21,640
Speaker 1: late twenties. He pulled me up and he said, why

652
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:22,960
Speaker 1: are you wearing that tie? You should be wearing a

653
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:26,719
Speaker 1: stripe type because our clients won't think you were determined

654
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:33,400
Speaker 1: as a as a professional person. They'll think you're He

655
00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:38,640
Speaker 1: used the word fruity wearing a Paisley tie, and I

656
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:40,560
Speaker 1: got a shock. Like I was in my twenties, he

657
00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:42,560
Speaker 1: was in there. He would have been his mid to

658
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:46,960
Speaker 1: late forties. Yeah, so that was and people didn't give

659
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,520
Speaker 1: a damn how you felt. He certainly didn't because it

660
00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:52,520
Speaker 1: was his business and he wanted to run it as

661
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:54,600
Speaker 1: tight as he could, and he knew his clients better

662
00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:58,280
Speaker 1: than anybody. It's just very interesting how the world's changed

663
00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:01,160
Speaker 1: and leadership it self has changed is quite significantly. And

664
00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:03,960
Speaker 1: obviously the Aaron Williams brand whilst it was set up

665
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:05,840
Speaker 1: by Reggie Williams at ninety ft two, which was a

666
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,520
Speaker 1: different totally different new to what we are now. It's

667
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:12,319
Speaker 1: still the same brand, but with leadership that's appropriate.

668
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:15,080
Speaker 2: We'd like to think. So we'd like to think so.

669
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:16,719
Speaker 2: One of the things that as you were saying that

670
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:22,319
Speaker 2: during my time with Nike, and this might have been

671
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:23,799
Speaker 2: part of the time that I was there too, but

672
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:27,680
Speaker 2: there was a lot of talk about servant leadership and

673
00:35:27,719 --> 00:35:32,120
Speaker 2: the whole thing that's underlying that leadership philosophy is that

674
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 2: leaders are meant to be in the background. You meant

675
00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:39,640
Speaker 2: to be there in listening, in support of others, and

676
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,240
Speaker 2: it's not about and there's something there's something about that

677
00:35:42,239 --> 00:35:44,760
Speaker 2: that I think we come back to how we started

678
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,120
Speaker 2: this conversation with Reg Williams. Most Australians know who Aaron

679
00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:50,920
Speaker 2: Williams is. Very few could pick him out of a lineup,

680
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:55,040
Speaker 2: and Reg applied though he was a great listener, he

681
00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,279
Speaker 2: was a great supporter, he was a great enabler. He's

682
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:00,520
Speaker 2: sort of it's almost that leadership that leads from behind

683
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:05,120
Speaker 2: in some ways, and so that is definitely part of

684
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,160
Speaker 2: I think the DNA of the brand and what we

685
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:12,520
Speaker 2: are still trying to achieve today. I certainly don't engage

686
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,000
Speaker 2: in doing things like we're doing right here today. Mark

687
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:15,840
Speaker 2: Very often.

688
00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:17,799
Speaker 1: It's definitely work in progress for these things. And a

689
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:19,719
Speaker 1: great thing about is you're prepared to learn as you

690
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:22,719
Speaker 1: go to that that's pretty important. Could I just talk

691
00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:27,440
Speaker 1: about how many stores you've got astraina out fifty five stores?

692
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:29,400
Speaker 1: Do you cover every state every.

693
00:36:29,239 --> 00:36:30,680
Speaker 2: Week, cover every tradia.

694
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:33,160
Speaker 1: And globally?

695
00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:38,000
Speaker 2: So we are New Zealand and the UK. So we

696
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:44,640
Speaker 2: since so I started shortly after the Forest took over

697
00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:50,120
Speaker 2: the brand, and at that time we were really struggling

698
00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:53,640
Speaker 2: to fulfill demand in Australia and it's been a journey

699
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,319
Speaker 2: of really investing in ramping up what's been done in

700
00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:58,880
Speaker 2: South Australia to the point where it's only really been

701
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,400
Speaker 2: the last nine months that we're making a concerted push

702
00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:04,880
Speaker 2: into the UK and sort of have more global ambitions.

703
00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:08,799
Speaker 1: Because you couldn't you couldn't satisfy the supply chain in

704
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,719
Speaker 1: relation to any demand. Yes, you are. In other words,

705
00:37:11,719 --> 00:37:13,239
Speaker 1: if someone wants to buy the boots, so that you've

706
00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:15,200
Speaker 1: got to be able to deliver the exactly and therefore

707
00:37:15,239 --> 00:37:16,920
Speaker 1: you've got to get it made exactly. So if I

708
00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:19,200
Speaker 1: go back on the supply chain side, in terms of

709
00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:22,920
Speaker 1: inputs into for example, boot or.

710
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,240
Speaker 2: Belts, leather, leather is the biggest.

711
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,200
Speaker 1: I don't know what else. What's the bottom made of leather?

712
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:30,839
Speaker 2: Yeah, so different types of let's say some of the

713
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,200
Speaker 2: components that we've got to go into a boot. You've

714
00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:37,400
Speaker 2: got your leather uppers, you've got the elastic, you've got

715
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,880
Speaker 2: the tugs which make out a nylon. You've got some

716
00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,200
Speaker 2: of the rubber in the heel, you've got wax, and

717
00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:45,920
Speaker 2: you've got cork which is used for some of the

718
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:49,960
Speaker 2: cushioning that makes the boots so comfortable, stitching and the stitching.

719
00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:54,560
Speaker 1: So the raw materials are you still proudly able to

720
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:56,120
Speaker 1: say that they're Australian.

721
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:59,759
Speaker 2: Source some of it is, not all of it is,

722
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:03,759
Speaker 2: but that it never actually has been. So one of

723
00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,920
Speaker 2: the things that reg was amazing at doing was he

724
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:11,799
Speaker 2: broadly made it in Australia, but he was unashavably going

725
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,200
Speaker 2: and sourcing the best materials from around the world. So

726
00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:17,600
Speaker 2: you reference the wax jacket before he was getting that

727
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,520
Speaker 2: from the UK back in the day, because that's where

728
00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:25,320
Speaker 2: the best was coming. From. So he was very resourceful

729
00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:27,560
Speaker 2: in terms of just choosing the best leathers, and we

730
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:30,600
Speaker 2: do the same today. So we do have leathers that

731
00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:33,879
Speaker 2: come we have heritage tanneries in the UK. We get

732
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:36,879
Speaker 2: we get a lot of our supply from from from

733
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:38,759
Speaker 2: Australia and we get a lot from New Zealand. So

734
00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,920
Speaker 2: it's for us what's most important is making sure we've

735
00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,880
Speaker 2: got the right components and then we're building them the

736
00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:45,360
Speaker 2: right way.

737
00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:51,359
Speaker 1: And in terms of and this is an Australia thing there,

738
00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:54,000
Speaker 1: but the slavery actor, do you sort of ensure that

739
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,800
Speaker 1: these things are not sourced from that?

740
00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:01,400
Speaker 2: We lean him very heavily leave And so there is

741
00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:07,080
Speaker 2: I'm not sure how far down it goes, but most

742
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:10,240
Speaker 2: organizations over a certain side have to complete a public

743
00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:13,360
Speaker 2: statement called the Modern State Modern Slavery Statement.

744
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:15,239
Speaker 1: We do it in our own firm too, so yeah,

745
00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:15,879
Speaker 1: you have to do it.

746
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:21,360
Speaker 2: And this statement is really about making sure that we

747
00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:27,200
Speaker 2: as a brand are accountable for the boots that we produce.

748
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:28,839
Speaker 2: We need to make sure that we know that if

749
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:33,640
Speaker 2: we are sourcing materials or components anywhere in the world,

750
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:35,120
Speaker 2: that we know where it's coming from.

751
00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:38,080
Speaker 1: You some twelve year old kid in slave labor exactly

752
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:42,960
Speaker 1: learning you know, one ring at an hour or something

753
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,719
Speaker 1: for doing the work. That's sort of what we're thinking about.

754
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:48,120
Speaker 2: It's exactly. It's exactly that it's got to do with

755
00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:51,839
Speaker 2: making sure we first of all we know exactly where

756
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,200
Speaker 2: it's coming, we have transparency over our supply chain, and

757
00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:59,160
Speaker 2: then we know that, Yeah, the conditions in those partners

758
00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:05,720
Speaker 2: that we are working with, we're proud to work.

759
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:07,960
Speaker 1: With and they stand by Australian standards.

760
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:08,800
Speaker 2: By Australian standard.

761
00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:12,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and it's fair at the end of the day. Exactly,

762
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,440
Speaker 1: it's fair and I think for me that's really important

763
00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:19,560
Speaker 1: to know that. And so but you're still you might

764
00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:22,680
Speaker 1: source some of the inputs, but is it still put

765
00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:23,919
Speaker 1: it together? Made? Would have been cooled.

766
00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:26,680
Speaker 2: It goes through it goes through eighty pairs of hands

767
00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:33,879
Speaker 2: in Salisbury and South Australia. And we've actually just restarted

768
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:38,279
Speaker 2: tours of the workshops. If anyone's interested in actually going

769
00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:41,680
Speaker 2: and seeing how boot gets made. You welcome together. Is

770
00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:43,600
Speaker 2: it on your Websits on our website.

771
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:45,000
Speaker 1: A video or something like that.

772
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:47,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's I mean, we've got various videos up that

773
00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:50,480
Speaker 2: show that the process, but there's nothing like actually going

774
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:52,600
Speaker 2: and seeing it because it's not just the construction process.

775
00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,640
Speaker 2: But we've got such an incredible team down there that

776
00:40:55,760 --> 00:41:01,839
Speaker 2: are so proud of showing off that beautiful craft and

777
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:03,960
Speaker 2: so they genuinely love it when people come and visit

778
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,600
Speaker 2: and engage. And it's pretty unique because you can actually

779
00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:09,239
Speaker 2: just genuinely walk the lines and obviously with someone you

780
00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:12,200
Speaker 2: can't just randomly walk in there, but but you can

781
00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:16,040
Speaker 2: see see how it's made, what's going on. So we

782
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:18,960
Speaker 2: pride ourselves and this has been you know, also a

783
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:20,920
Speaker 2: part of the DNA of the brand and being a

784
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:24,920
Speaker 2: very transparent, very transparent brand. And so yeah, that all

785
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:27,080
Speaker 2: happens in Salisbury and South Australia.

786
00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:29,640
Speaker 1: That's cool. And how many skews would you guys have

787
00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:33,040
Speaker 1: that that? You know? In other words, product.

788
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:34,279
Speaker 2: Lines, Oh you're testing me.

789
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,320
Speaker 1: We're just took about boots and you know belts.

790
00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:42,440
Speaker 2: At the moment, it's it's it's it's it's thousands when

791
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,320
Speaker 2: it accumulates over over seasons between boots. We do everything

792
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:50,400
Speaker 2: from boots, belts, other leather goods apparel. So we've got pants,

793
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:53,600
Speaker 2: t shirts, Yeah, we've got a we've got a wide range,

794
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:58,360
Speaker 2: and a big chunk of it is uh what we

795
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:01,279
Speaker 2: describe as core like things that have stood the test

796
00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:04,400
Speaker 2: of time. And then we continue to innovate through seasonal

797
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:07,279
Speaker 2: iterations and just trying to there's a big push at

798
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,000
Speaker 2: the moment to just try and elevate the quality of

799
00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:14,880
Speaker 2: the full product offering so apparel, other types of leather goods, bags,

800
00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:17,040
Speaker 2: that sort of thing back to what we think is

801
00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:21,400
Speaker 2: taking it forward but honoring the past. That's sort of

802
00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:24,840
Speaker 2: the tightrope that we're trying to balance.

803
00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:26,760
Speaker 1: Many years ago, I had a business in India. Background,

804
00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:29,160
Speaker 1: I had a business in India and ice other every

805
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:31,759
Speaker 1: four or five weeks and it's been a week there.

806
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:35,839
Speaker 1: This is a pre GFC and all the stuff are

807
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:38,560
Speaker 1: Indian and we had like six hundred staff there or something.

808
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:45,680
Speaker 1: And my senior guy there for shall panded his name

809
00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:50,160
Speaker 1: for shell pandit was a Sikh, like a tour guy

810
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:53,640
Speaker 1: over the turbinal, a highly religious guy. But you know,

811
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:57,279
Speaker 1: he ran the whole business for us, and I wanted

812
00:42:57,280 --> 00:42:58,960
Speaker 1: to buy him something astrain, so I brought him a

813
00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:01,279
Speaker 1: fan of what so shoesy as from one of the

814
00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:03,239
Speaker 1: stuff they told me to socials And when I went

815
00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:05,920
Speaker 1: over there. I bought him some pair of iron Williams.

816
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,560
Speaker 1: Actually got a pair of black ones made black because

817
00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:13,279
Speaker 1: I like the black. Uh what do you call it?

818
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:18,719
Speaker 1: Not black? Yeah, so don't pair of black swaye one

819
00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:21,520
Speaker 1: same as mine? Because he was looking at mine once

820
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:24,480
Speaker 1: and he said they had nice boots, mister Mark were

821
00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:27,120
Speaker 1: in nice boots. And so I bought him pair his size,

822
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:31,760
Speaker 1: and I gave him to him, and somehow he knew

823
00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:35,520
Speaker 1: that the boots that I was wearing were Aaron Williams.

824
00:43:35,719 --> 00:43:37,880
Speaker 1: I'd never told him, he never asked me. And then

825
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:41,160
Speaker 1: when I gave him the Roon Williams, the boots I

826
00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:42,960
Speaker 1: took him out of the box was too Bockley Carriages

827
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:44,640
Speaker 1: had him in my bag, So I took him out

828
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:46,200
Speaker 1: my bag and gave him to him. He knew there

829
00:43:46,239 --> 00:43:48,439
Speaker 1: were and Williams. He didn't look at the the thing

830
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,279
Speaker 1: you pull up what do you call the thing the tug?

831
00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,160
Speaker 1: He didn't look at the tug. He just knew there

832
00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:55,200
Speaker 1: are On Williams. He must have and he was so happy,

833
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,920
Speaker 1: Oh my god, he was over the moon, like really

834
00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,360
Speaker 1: over the moon. And this is a guy living in

835
00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:03,920
Speaker 1: those days. Our office was in Delhi, New Delhi, but

836
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:07,759
Speaker 1: he was from Budjab in India and somehow he knew

837
00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:09,200
Speaker 1: this whole story and then he started talking to me

838
00:44:09,239 --> 00:44:10,600
Speaker 1: about their own Williams brand.

839
00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:15,440
Speaker 2: You asked earlier, is there is there a tourist trail

840
00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:17,920
Speaker 2: or a pilgrimage to that five Percy Street store and

841
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:22,000
Speaker 2: Posh Prospect, Well, the Indian cricket team and the stunting

842
00:44:22,040 --> 00:44:25,040
Speaker 2: cricket team frequent there. The team were all excitedly showing

843
00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:27,799
Speaker 2: around photos of Bora in there buying buying iron.

844
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:31,359
Speaker 1: That's interesting because we were because my business was we

845
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:33,359
Speaker 1: own part of a business at General Electric owned and

846
00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:36,480
Speaker 1: one of the biggest you g g was one of

847
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:38,239
Speaker 1: the biggest companies in the world at the time, and

848
00:44:38,719 --> 00:44:41,560
Speaker 1: they were a big sponsor of the Indian cricket side. Yeah,

849
00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:43,759
Speaker 1: and I can't remember which is the captain of the

850
00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:47,080
Speaker 1: Indian team at the time. He was personally sponsored by

851
00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:50,640
Speaker 1: General Electric And so it may be that Verschell had

852
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:55,400
Speaker 1: seen this guy's wearing the boots.

853
00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:57,480
Speaker 2: And it's fascinating even the efforts that we're doing at

854
00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:01,040
Speaker 2: the moment with the expansion in the UK, like the

855
00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:04,359
Speaker 2: thing that makes me personally so proud being over there

856
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:08,200
Speaker 2: or hearing stories like this is that there is a

857
00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:12,959
Speaker 2: deep level of respect for the brand and what we're about,

858
00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:16,840
Speaker 2: even though we don't have a strong presence outside of Australia,

859
00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:20,279
Speaker 2: but there is a real respect for who we are

860
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,680
Speaker 2: and what we do, which as Australians we should be

861
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:24,239
Speaker 2: very proud of.

862
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:27,200
Speaker 1: There's two things, and I know it's on an Australian brand,

863
00:45:27,239 --> 00:45:32,800
Speaker 1: but there's two things that particularly in the prome reduction world,

864
00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:37,520
Speaker 1: like you know in farms, that I always think of

865
00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:40,200
Speaker 1: when it comes when it comes to durability and things

866
00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:42,320
Speaker 1: that are nearly like a non negotiable for a farm.

867
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:45,960
Speaker 1: It sounds silly, and I've got I've got both of them,

868
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:49,359
Speaker 1: a pair of ourm william boots, in which case at

869
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:51,400
Speaker 1: the time that we leather the boots because the sway

870
00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:54,160
Speaker 1: doesn't do too well in the rough, but leather boots

871
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:57,440
Speaker 1: and stupidly it's got nothing to do with anything, but

872
00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:01,000
Speaker 1: it is a toy. Had a Highlights who's forty years old.

873
00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:04,480
Speaker 1: It always starts it's the most reliable car in the world.

874
00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:07,000
Speaker 1: There's bloody highlucks. I've got two, but the one is

875
00:46:07,040 --> 00:46:08,840
Speaker 1: forty years old. It's got three and eighty thousand colminters

876
00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:10,680
Speaker 1: on it and I just ride around the farm. We

877
00:46:10,719 --> 00:46:13,879
Speaker 1: didn't even by the registering. That's just just carrying shit around.

878
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:17,040
Speaker 1: But it always starts. Things have fallen apart on it,

879
00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:19,880
Speaker 1: but the mode always starts no matter what. And the

880
00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,799
Speaker 1: boots always you're can always getting fixed repaired. I don't

881
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:24,600
Speaker 1: send them to Prospect to get repaired these days. I

882
00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:27,000
Speaker 1: just sent them down to local boot maker. But you

883
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:30,880
Speaker 1: can always get repair. No drama's getting sold. I like

884
00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:34,439
Speaker 1: to get put rubber underneath them, under the actual leather,

885
00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:37,760
Speaker 1: soul whatever it is, mainly because it's where my farmers

886
00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:42,440
Speaker 1: and be a bit slippery. But and they're like two

887
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:45,880
Speaker 1: old favorites, silly. It's sort of like comforting to me.

888
00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:48,160
Speaker 1: And to be aligned to a brand like that, like

889
00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:51,040
Speaker 1: for you, for me anyway, in my mind, I just

890
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:53,200
Speaker 1: thought about it for R and Willims boots to be

891
00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:55,680
Speaker 1: aligned to a high lux the toy to high Lux brand,

892
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:59,520
Speaker 1: like it's you know, globally it's the most reliable brand

893
00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:01,239
Speaker 1: cars is there.

894
00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:03,359
Speaker 2: I don't think it's a coincidence that you think about

895
00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:08,279
Speaker 2: those two things, because those two things are what help

896
00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:11,919
Speaker 2: you get stuff done, especially on on the on the land.

897
00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,759
Speaker 2: In that example. But and I think at the end

898
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:19,160
Speaker 2: of the day, what is what is so humbling and

899
00:47:19,239 --> 00:47:24,200
Speaker 2: amazing is we spend time in our retail stores, not

900
00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:27,319
Speaker 2: half the time, but so often get customers that come

901
00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:29,799
Speaker 2: in no interest in buying. They just want to tell

902
00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:33,719
Speaker 2: the story of their boots and what they're like, what

903
00:47:33,719 --> 00:47:36,640
Speaker 2: their boots, the journey that they've been on with those boots.

904
00:47:37,239 --> 00:47:39,480
Speaker 2: And I've got an email on the we on the weekend,

905
00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:42,080
Speaker 2: lovely email from it from a woman who's originally from

906
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:44,879
Speaker 2: the UK but now living in Byron and just send

907
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:47,480
Speaker 2: a photo of a boots just to share like this.

908
00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:51,000
Speaker 2: You know, this has sort of followed my life's journey

909
00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:54,200
Speaker 2: to where I am today. And there's something about you know,

910
00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:57,840
Speaker 2: life's journey that that these things take you on. That

911
00:47:57,960 --> 00:48:00,799
Speaker 2: is It's why it sort of and hit such an

912
00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:02,640
Speaker 2: emotional chord with with with people.

913
00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:06,359
Speaker 1: It was that song I think it was Jane fond

914
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:09,480
Speaker 1: of These boots are mad made for walking. And I'm

915
00:48:09,560 --> 00:48:11,719
Speaker 1: thinking about it as you say that you have a

916
00:48:11,719 --> 00:48:13,800
Speaker 1: female brand, you have a female sort of products, I

917
00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:16,040
Speaker 1: should say that we do. And you have a co

918
00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:19,160
Speaker 1: lab with the Snoby Union we do. What's that about?

919
00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:24,160
Speaker 2: So we've got it. We've had a history of of

920
00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:32,279
Speaker 2: partnering with Wallaby's and we reignited it this year. It's

921
00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:36,960
Speaker 2: the first time that we have explored doing licensed product,

922
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:44,040
Speaker 2: and the reason we have experimented in it is because actually,

923
00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:46,960
Speaker 2: what we really care about, other than the sport's great.

924
00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:52,600
Speaker 2: We actually care less about being on the laser engravers

925
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:54,520
Speaker 2: in the stadium or being on the jerseys. What we

926
00:48:54,560 --> 00:48:58,319
Speaker 2: care about is the fan and supporting the fan. And

927
00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:02,440
Speaker 2: so we tried to create some fan gear that is

928
00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:05,799
Speaker 2: actually cool and people want to wear it and and

929
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:11,080
Speaker 2: it's resonated really really well. So that's It's not something

930
00:49:11,080 --> 00:49:14,160
Speaker 2: that we're gonna always do, but we've just been.

931
00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:21,520
Speaker 1: But yeah, as Oarren Williams, do you reckon you've been

932
00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:23,240
Speaker 1: on a bit of a tear last couple of years.

933
00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:26,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been. It's been. It's been a good a

934
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:31,120
Speaker 2: good run. It's been a good run and it's come

935
00:49:31,200 --> 00:49:33,400
Speaker 2: from a lot of the team doing a lot of

936
00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:38,480
Speaker 2: hard work and yeah, but it's been We've got a

937
00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:40,040
Speaker 2: lot of we've got a lot of things to work on,

938
00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:44,040
Speaker 2: a lot of things to do. But I think at

939
00:49:44,120 --> 00:49:47,000
Speaker 2: least if we look at ourselves and for the customers

940
00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:50,279
Speaker 2: that we're engaging with. We don't It's like we were

941
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:52,160
Speaker 2: talking about leadership before. We're not getting it all right,

942
00:49:52,239 --> 00:49:55,000
Speaker 2: but we're moving it in the right direction in a

943
00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:57,640
Speaker 2: way that I think Rench would be proud. Our owners

944
00:49:57,640 --> 00:50:00,440
Speaker 2: are proud, and I think that's all you can or

945
00:50:00,440 --> 00:50:00,960
Speaker 2: you can ask for.

946
00:50:00,960 --> 00:50:03,600
Speaker 1: Australis proud, mate, Goodness luck.

947
00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:04,359
Speaker 2: It's not thank you.