The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal
00:03:24 · Vidit Agarwal, Robert Nason
[00:03:24] S0: Oh, is that how... This is the first time I'm hearing that backstory. That's great. That's a good, very creative way of coming up with a name. And as both of you know, the purpose of this show is to reimagine the concept of a high flyer, to celebrate the people that are doing great things but perhaps don't get the recognition, particularly beyond their job title. Robert, can I start with you? Is there anyone you know who you feel hasn't got the recognition they deserve? [00:03:50] S2: Well we come from an industry which is full of people that meet that description. Consultants rarely get the recognition of their achievements, their silent achievers if you like. But there's a couple that sort of stand out for me. One is my sister Jennifer who's got a similar background and experience to me, but she was... Took herself to New York and became the global leader of JPMorgan's investment banking business in a career that spanned thirty five years. She's just retired, but I'm extremely proud of her ability to cut it in a very difficult business and achieve huge success while bringing up four kids. And one other that I do recognize because of his humanness is David Thodie, the CEO of Telstra, who I worked for. He got lots of accolades for what he achieved at Telstra. But having been there and been an employee working for him, I saw the impact he had on 50,000 people and how he changed the culture of an organization. That is something I think everyone who was there at the time recognises but few outside recognise that level of impact that he had.
00:03:50 · Robert Nason, Vidit Agarwal
[00:03:50] S2: Well we come from an industry which is full of people that meet that description. Consultants rarely get the recognition of their achievements, their silent achievers if you like. But there's a couple that sort of stand out for me. One is my sister Jennifer who's got a similar background and experience to me, but she was... Took herself to New York and became the global leader of JPMorgan's investment banking business in a career that spanned thirty five years. She's just retired, but I'm extremely proud of her ability to cut it in a very difficult business and achieve huge success while bringing up four kids. And one other that I do recognize because of his humanness is David Thodie, the CEO of Telstra, who I worked for. He got lots of accolades for what he achieved at Telstra. But having been there and been an employee working for him, I saw the impact he had on 50,000 people and how he changed the culture of an organization. That is something I think everyone who was there at the time recognises but few outside recognise that level of impact that he had. [00:05:14] S0: Both great names and David might be coming on the podcast soon so stay tuned. He and I been in discussions and I'm trying to convince him it's been a two year process that he eventually might agree to, so let's see. And Neil, I feel like you are the high fly in terms of my definition who likes to stay under the radar, think in the time I'm going to know you, but I'm curious, are there people that you've come across your journey that you want to recognize?
00:05:14 · Vidit Agarwal, Neil Plumridge
[00:05:14] S0: Both great names and David might be coming on the podcast soon so stay tuned. He and I been in discussions and I'm trying to convince him it's been a two year process that he eventually might agree to, so let's see. And Neil, I feel like you are the high fly in terms of my definition who likes to stay under the radar, think in the time I'm going to know you, but I'm curious, are there people that you've come across your journey that you want to recognize? [00:05:38] S1: So there are many, Vidar, and I would do someone an injustice if I didn't call their name out, but I'm not going to. I'm going to call that a cohort inside the consulting business. And the cohorts are the senior managers and directors, so one or two levels below the partner. I think they or that cohort or that level is often underappreciated. They're under the most pressure. They have partners often demanding high expectations. They have client delivery issues. They have teams that they've got to keep busy and engaged. And they're also often in life changing moments. They're moving house. Something's going on in their own personal life. So it's a really difficult group. For me, the senior manager and director cohort in consulting firms are the real high flyers.
00:06:27 · Vidit Agarwal
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00:08:03 · Robert Nason, Vidit Agarwal
[00:08:03] S2: Yeah. I would say family circumstances required me to go out to work. So I completed my high school part time and I then completed my university degree part time. I didn't graduate until I was 30. That probably changed my perspective on work, and I learned a lot by being in the workforce at a young age. I took senior positions very young in public service before I moved into consulting. It gave me a background that you find consultants that you end up in consulting if you have that sort of background. I think I've met many people with unique backgrounds and experiences that find consulting as a home. [00:08:54] S0: Yeah, you talked earlier about David Todi, one of our previous guests, Andy Penn, the CEO of Telstra to go from David. I think he dropped out of school as well. Yes, very [00:09:02] S2: young age. You've got Yes, that in that's true. [00:09:07] S0: And before I come to Neil, Robert, just to go to your career as well, you both have had very two: successful, well established careers, but Robert, if you had to summarize it, is there a highlight from your career to date and a learning?
00:09:07 · Vidit Agarwal, Robert Nason
[00:09:07] S0: And before I come to Neil, Robert, just to go to your career as well, you both have had very two: successful, well established careers, but Robert, if you had to summarize it, is there a highlight from your career to date and a learning? [00:09:20] S2: Well, I found myself without realizing it, I suppose that consulting was really a really nice fit for me. I moved into corporate life after sort of a failed attempt in The US to get a technology firm and a consulting firm working together in the EDSKarney merger. I was on the executive team of Karney during that time. I decided when that split up in quite acrimonious terms, I came back to Australia and decided to enter corporate life. I just found myself in a series of disrupted industries going through major transformational change and learnt a lot about how to cope with those sorts of changes and execute and achieve transformational change while still trying to run big organisations, big industries and manage that. Was sort of a skill I picked up that I've transitioned and used my consulting experience to achieve that. I feel even in my corporate life I was operating more as a consultant inside a corporate structure than otherwise. Even as a CEO, I had consulting bent to how I solve problems. [00:10:44] S0: And would you say your Telstra time is what I think you built your credibility on?