Heart And Hustle: How To Thrive In A Crisis

When everyone’s working from home, who needs clothes for events and work?   Australian fashion royalty GINGER & SMART faced a crisis this year as it’s reason for existence, well, ceased to exist!  So what did owner Alexandra Smart do?  What all great business owners know is necessary: she let go of the past and adapted accordingly, creating a new offering for working from home, doubling-down on digital and noticing that her long-running sustainability work was now being valued by customers.  She says terror of those early days was quickly replaced with opportunity and she took the lessons learned by bringing in an equity partner to transform the business. 

To find out more, and to hear why we shouldn’t drop our dress standards when on Zoom, listen to this next episode of Heart & Hustle.

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Author, journalist, speaker and all-round media personality Felicity Harley barely knew how prescient she was with the release of her book, Balance Is BS.  It was released in April, just as its theme of overwhelm was playing out right across the globe. For many, she says, lockdown brought a sense of release from the rush of life, but for others it created more worry and work.   For Felicity, this year has been a time of wrestling with her own ambition and family commitments, with husband and Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley completely consumed by the challenges in his work. She says “it’s hard to take on more at home when you’re ambitious in your career” and she speaks frankly about what that has meant to her, in this latest episode of Heart & Hustle. 

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He’s calling the death of organisational hierarchy and he says that being innovative has nothing to do with having innovative ideas.  Paul Scott, transformation expert and author, has advised governments and corporates all around the world and has been frustrated by the lack of understanding of what true innovation is.  Happily, he believes that a crisis drives innovation and he brings a lifetime of experience as his evidence base.  He says “we resist change on a fundamental level because many of us have a low tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty.”  So in a crisis can our attitude to change, well change?   To find out, listen to this next episode of Heart & Hustle.

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Self-disruption might be the mother of business success in times of crisis. CEO of professional women’s network, Future Women, Helen McCabe is an expert in self-disruption.  And thank goodness: when it turned out this year that networking was no longer a thing, she knew it could be her ruin.   But her leadership muscle memory stepped in, and once again she prevailed.  The key, she says – and we can’t hear this enough – is listening to clients and never thinking you know better than them.  She learned that as Editor-In-Chief of Australian Women’s Weekly where she undertook a profitable overhaul and created controversy with Prime Ministers, brought Oprah and Prince Charles to the interview table and trusted herself to deliver an important product to 2.5 million Australians every month. 

To learn more about Helen’s advice on leading through crisis, listen to this episode of Heart & Hustle.

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Passionate hospitality duo Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll from Applejack have always thrived on challenging the status quo.

But what happens when a pandemic turns the status quo on its head?

These two leaders thrived by making some tough calls including rejecting the trend towards take-away meals from their venues, getting creative about staff engagement and motivation (including introducing a new staff benefits package) and a decision for complete transparency with the team about the real state of business finances. 

The result? Renewed purpose, gratitude and even business growth - acquiring one of Sydney's most renowned pubs in the middle of an industry lock-down. 

To find out more, listen in to this episode of Heart and Hustle.

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A pandemic is the least of the crises Dave Berkelouw’s business has seen throughout the years. 

The Australian version of Berkelouw Books was born in a crisis, post War World II and with Dave’s European family seeking refuge in Australia.  They turned to what they knew: they sold books.

Since then,  Berkelouw Books has faced continuous crises – the rise of eBooks, Amazon and the famous government proclamation that “in five years time, most bookstores will be shut.”  By the time the pandemic came along, thriving in a crisis was in Dave’s blood. They stayed open, unprofitably and almost laughably.  Ultimately, that paid off as books emerged in 2020 as a predominant force in our need for escapism. 

So what’s the secret to the continual rise of Australia’s largest independent bookseller, against all odds?  Listen to find out in this episode of Heart & Hustle.

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What a risk to take: after a distinguished 25-year career in finance, Irene Deutsch completely reinvented herself as Managing Director of premium jeweller Fairfax & Roberts.  Risky enough, yes, but right at the same time, Covid-19 hit, the economy collapsed and she shut the shops of this 160-year old business. 

She’s used to having data, teams and experts around her to help her make decisions, but this time she was on her own.  So what did she do?  Well, she launched a new business of course!  She says “I’m good in a crisis…in times of difficulty, I believe that’s when humans really shine”. 

For more, listen to what happened next in this episode of Heart & Hustle.

CREDITS
Host: Margot Faraci
Guest: Irene Deutsch

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How do you sell when you’ve got no product?  CEO of GWS Giants Dave Matthews faced that question in 2020, as the whole AFL competition stopped.  He stuck to his mainstay values of empathy and resilience and when games re-started, it was in strange circumstances: players and officials spent nearly two months isolated in the AFL hub, and in the midst of restructuring.  Dave says “in between training and playing we were having discussions with staff about finishing up”, while effectively living together.  The juggernaut young club recorded impressive membership and despite the revenue difficulties, have maintained their unique no-pokies position.  Additionally, the Giant’s pioneering commitment to investment in AFLW and netball has continued. 

To find out how this longstanding AFL leader is finding a way to thrive in the crisis of 2020 , listen in to this episode of Heart and Hustle.

CREDITS
Host: Margot Faraci
Guest: Dave Matthews 

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How many times have we said at work “we’re not saving lives”?  It’s a valid way to relieve tension and pressure.  But if you were, actually, saving lives, would your leadership be different?   Global human rights advocate Liz Broderick has a background as a successful businesswoman, and her leadership then is the same as it is now: a blend of courage, kindness and a singular ability to listen to the other side in order to drive transformation.    Within a day she’ll work between women in refugee camps, global leaders, the UN and her own 270-strong CEO group Male Champions of Change.   She’s been the creator of a highly-profitable major law firm practice, Australia’s longest-serving Sex Discrimination Commissioner and is now Chair-Rapporteur on women’s rights for the UN.   She says: “when I get up to advocate for change, it’s not just me, it’s me fuelled by thousands of instances of inequality I’ve witnessed.”    She’ll change the way you think about leadership, and her approach is available to all of us: while we may not be saving lives, how we lead matters.  

To find out more, listen in to this episode of Heart and Hustle.

CREDITS
Host: Margot Faraci
Guest: Elizabeth Broderick AO

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In this episode, I’m talking with Soren Trampedach – Founder and Chairman of Work Club Global.

With a background in Danish furniture design and craftsmanship, Soren helped orchestrate the workplace culture of organisations such as Google, Facebook, Deloitte and Microsoft.

Witnessing the successes arising out of these environments, he was inspired to create Work Club – a shared office and members club. 

Work Club has gone from strength to strength, by building spaces where different thinking comes together to not just to work, but to share and solve the problems of tomorrow. He says disruption in the last decade has been via technology,  in one industry at a time, but disruption now will be using technology across multiple industries.  So, there will be no choice but to step outside your own discipline and learn from others.  He’s convinced cities globally are on the cusp of wholesale transformation: while work habits have changed forever, humanity will always seek connection, and multi-disciplinary work hubs will be the answer. 

To find out more, listen in to this episode of Heart and Hustle.

CREDITS
Host: Margot Faraci
Guest: Soren Trampedach

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