Five great lessons from a centenarian

Ever wonder what it is like to work for a business that has been around for 100 years? IBM turned 100 and Fortune wrote a great article titled ‘Lessons from IBM’s 100th anniversary’. 

The five lessons are:

1. At the start, convince the troops you’re a company of destiny, even if that seems crazy.
2. Build a cult-like culture that people either buy into, or run away from.
3. Bet the company once in a while.
4. Make people talk about you.
5. Hand off to a successor who is better than you.

Imagine if you did not know that the five lessons were from IBM – could you substitute Google or Apple’s name instead and come up with the same five lessons? That was the question Jim Collins tackled in his books Good to Great and Built to Last.

As we put the final touches to the plan for the next year, it is a timely reminder of what is important, and where we should spend our energy.

As of FY12 I have rescinded my chief executive officer title and handed it to my colleague of eight years, Jemma Fastnedge. I know that I have definitely delivered on point number five. I will of course remain as founder and director of RedBalloon as we move into the next decade – on our journey towards our centenary.

Naomi Simson is considered one of Australia’s ‘Best Bosses’. She is an employee engagement advocate and practices what she preaches in her own business. RedBalloon has been named as one of only six Hewitt Best Employers in Australia and New Zealand for 2009 and awarded an engagement scorecard of over 90% two years in a row – the average in Australian businesses is 55%. RedBalloon has also been nominated by BRW as being in the top 10 Best Places to Work in Australia behind the likes of Google. One of Australia’s outstanding female entrepreneurs, Naomi regularly entertains as a passionate speaker inspiring people on employer branding, engagement and reward and recognition. Naomi writes a blog and is a published author – and has received many accolades and awards for the business she founded – RedBalloon.com.au.