London in 1990

Time for a final retrospective post about my six-month journey through Europe in 1990. This final post, one of 26, covers the 16 days I spent in London. At the time, I was travelling with Dean, a sheep farmer friend from Portland, Victoria.

We arrived in London on 23 October after crossing the Channel by hovercraft. For the next few weeks, we based ourselves at my Auntie Shirley and Uncle Tony’s home in Lewisham. Dean and I had arrived in the UK with working holiday visas. Our original plan had been to find work in London and base ourselves there for up to two years.

However, after six months on the road, we were both exhausted. Dean was also incredibly homesick. We were also shocked by the cost of living in London. As a result, Dean decided to return to Australia. I debated staying on alone. I’d clocked up a huge debt on my credit card and thus desperately needed to clear it. I didn’t hold out much hope of saving money while living in London. I ultimately decided a Summer in Sydney, earning Australian dollars, was far more appealing than scraping by in the UK.

Dean and I decided to make the most of our final days in Europe by exploring all that London had to offer. We also spent a week exploring Scotland, based in Inverness. Our trip to Scotland split our time in London neatly, with eight days in town before heading north, followed by another eight after our return.

Like all good tourists, we ticked off all the bucket-list sights, including Tower Bridge, the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral and Trafalgar Square. We watched the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace and explored the British Museum. Check out the photo above of Picadilly Circus. First, Foster's beer was a huge brand in the UK at the time, and second, every sign was a traditional neon billboard. The neon is long gone, replaced by high-resolution digital video screens.

My cousin Hilary also managed to secure a behind-the-scenes visit to Westminster Palace, otherwise known as the Houses of Parliament. At the time, she was the Public Relations Manager for Scotia Pharmaceuticals. She was promoting a new Evening Primrose Oil (EPO) supplement while we were in London. She organised a media day that included a series of interviews conducted at Westminster Palace, followed by an evening event hosted in The Wellcome Galleries at the British Science Museum. These galleries display artefacts tracing the history of medicine from ancient times to the modern day.

Hilary invited me to join her for the day. I helped her with the media interviews and final preparations for the museum dinner. I manned the registration table, greeting attendees and handing out press kits. As I recall, she was promoting new research on the benefits of EPO for alleviating premenstrual syndrome (PMS).  I was also suitably impressed that she'd scored an interview with The Lancet, the world's premier medical journal.

I recall a few vague highlights from our time at Westminster Palace.  For example, I remember climbing an internal stairwell lined with heavily lacquered wood panelling, plus a landing framed by a soaring wall of stained glass. It was all wonderfully ornate and undeniably Victorian by design.  We also got to briefly peek inside the Parliamentary chamber. 

My day with Hilary later became a career milestone of sorts. It was my first public relations event, and my first PR job. Little did we know that three years later, I’d join a technology PR agency and spend two decades working in the public relations industry. A career that culminated in me becoming the Chief Operating Officer of a global PR company.

On another occasion, I recall Auntie Shirley taking Dean and me on a walking tour of London’s lesser-known sights one afternoon. This included a visit to Temple Church, an iconic circular church built by the Knights Templar in the 12th-Century, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Old Bank of England. Shirley was determined to infuse some cultured British history into our otherwise backpacking, box-ticking tourism endeavours. I’m glad she did. Her passion for more obscure history was a timely reminder for me to look a little deeper wherever I travelled in the years ahead.

A final comment regarding my UK-based relatives. The first photo above of Shirley, Tony and me was taken at Crofton Park station. The second shows Tony trying on Dean’s classic Akubra hat, much to my aunt’s amusement. These are the only photos I have of my Uncle Tony. Sadly, I never saw him alive again. He had long since passed away by the time Garry and I relocated to the UK in 2005.

I don’t recall much of our time in London beyond the experiences I’ve already outlined above. However, a series of ticket stubs I’ve kept shows that we visited the Imperial War Museum, Westminster Abbey and Madame Tussauds. We also visited the Guinness Book of Records exhibition, where entry cost the princely sum of GBP4.00. I’m sure I was excited to visit this attraction. For many years, I received a new hardback copy of its annual edition for Christmas. It was always one of my most treasured gifts.

Likewise, I loved seeing all the famous tombs inside Westminster Abbey. Weeks earlier, we’d visited the tombs of Michelangelo, Galilei Galileo and Christopher Columbus. This time it was recognisable names like Charles Dickens, Sir Issac Newton, David Livingstone, and Charles Darwin. I was surprised to discover that Queen Elizabeth I is also buried here.

On 15 November, Dean and I caught the Tube to Heathrow (that’s us above waiting for the train) and boarded a flight bound for Singapore. Our life-changing journey through Europe had finally come to an end. Along the way, we’d visited 22 countries, travelled as far north as Harstad, more than 300km above the Arctic Circle; as far south as Meknes in Morocco; as far east as Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast; and as far west as the Strait of Gibraltar.

I’d just turned 25. It was time for another life-changing adventure. This time, establishing myself in Sydney, Australia, the city that ultimately became my home for more than three decades. I’d eventually return to London on business in 1998, stopping off in Beijing on the way there. I’d continue to return time and time again on business until the present day.

In hindsight, the decision not to use my UK working holiday visa has served me well. My life in Sydney has been filled with wonderful memories, friendships and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. My career has flourished, frequently paying for me to literally see the world.  Fifteen years later, I’d even fulfil my dream of living and working in London. Although, as friends often point out, Garry and I enjoyed a backpacker’s experience in the UK, but did so on a champagne income.

No, I never met Yasser Arafat. This photo was taken at Madame Tussauds. As an aside, the padded jacket I’m wearing was purchased years earlier in the USA. I’d bought it to survive a snowy winter in upstate New York as an exchange student in 1983.

From small beginnings big things grow

This is a post about my twenty-year career in technology public relations. I’m motivated to share this life story for two reasons. First, as I testified in a recent post, technology is once again revolutionising modern life courtesy of Artificial Intelligence (AI). I witnessed similar transformative inflexion points during my IT career. Second, Garry and I recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of acquiring Artiwood, our wholesale toy company. Hence, it’s been 13 years since I chose to end my public relations career.

My career in the public relations industry began in 1993 when I answered a small advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. The ad simply asked if I enjoyed writing about the technology industry. I duly applied and was ultimately appointed as a public relations consultant by Recognition Public Relations. This was a boutique agency focused on the technology industry.

At the time, the company was owned by Steve Townsend. A few days before I started, he relocated the business from an old, converted terrace house in Rozelle to shiny new offices in Drummoyne. For the next five years, I worked at Recognition, making my way through the ranks, eventually becoming Steve’s second-in-charge. Steve was a superb boss. He was a kind and generous man who demanded consistently high standards of service and performance.

As a technology specialist, I championed clients such as Scientific Atlanta (now part of Cisco), Lotus Development (now part of IBM), Digital Equipment Corporation (now part of HP), Telstra (Australia’s largest telecommunications carrier), and Cabletron. Steve taught me to write, encouraged me to excel in all things, and continually had my back as a consultant during these formative years.

After five years, Steve offered me an opportunity to buy into his business. It was a compelling offer. However, at the tender age of 33, I wasn’t ready to settle down and spend the next, however many decades owning a small business. As fate would have it, a headhunter contacted me in January 1998, a few days after returning from annual leave. It was a quiet week. My diary was empty, so I agreed to meet her.

To cut a long story short, in April 1998, I accepted a job at Text 100. At the time, this UK-based public relations agency was embarking on a global expansion. One of its executives, Ava Lawler, was tasked with establishing the company’s first outpost in the Asia Pacific. I was appointed, as a local insider, to help her establish an office in Sydney. Ava is on the right in the image above. Our CEO, Aedhmar Hynes, is in the middle.

Ava and I were a powerful duo. We brought complementary skills to the business and complementary personalities. Like all opposites, we clashed as often as we synergised. However, together we built one of Text 100’s most successful start-up ventures at the time. Ava was a savvy operator who championed me internally within the company and helped me establish my credentials. I owe much of my subsequent career to her early support.

As my LinkedIn profile attests, I went on to become Text 100’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, leading teams that secured noteworthy accounts, including Apple and IBM. In 2002, I was appointed Regional Director for Asia Pacific. I spent the next three years managing a network of ten offices, transforming the region from a loose collection of entrepreneurial start-ups into a unified, commercially oriented, and profitable entity.

During this period, I had the privilege of overseeing the company’s first foray into Mainland China. Under the leadership of Chris Tang, Text 100 opened three offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. As a result, I travelled regularly into China, supporting Chris and her team as they pitched for global accounts, including ARM and IBM. It was an extraordinary time watching this nation transform itself overnight. Elsewhere, an equally profound transformation was unfolding in India.

I learned a great deal about myself and the world, working cross-culturally for more than a decade. As individuals, we all carry unconscious biases. Exposure to other cultures, often in pressure-cooker situations, inevitably brought them out of the shadows. As a result, my Anglo-centric worldview was constantly tested and challenged. I came to understand that every culture has its own rhythm, its own aesthetic and its own expression of the human experience. My CEO will testify to the burnout I suffered during my first year as regional director. I learned a valuable lesson about the futility of resisting cultural norms and trying to bend them to your will. 

In 2005, I accepted an opportunity to relocate to London and run the company’s European network, a role that included responsibility for an office in South Africa. It was this relocation that prompted the creation of this blog. At the time, I found it increasingly hard to keep family and friends updated on our adventures. It was impossible to recall who’d been told what as emails and phone calls flowed. A friend who’d relocated to London around the same time showed me a blog he’d started, and the rest, as they say, is history.

My career at Text 100 finally ended in July 2012. At the time, it was a bold decision, without a clear roadmap ahead. I just knew i had to do something different. I’d joined Text 100 during an entrepreneurial global growth phase. As the years passed, I rose through the ranks to become its Global Chief Operating Officer (COO). Each role brought new challenges and new experiences. 

However, one common thread linked them all. My roles were always entrepreneurial by nature. I was constantly pioneering new entities and reforming old ones. Very little of what did involved maintaining the status quo. 

Everything changed after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Text 100’s parent company, Next Fifteen, launched a new strategic focus, committing the Group to reducing its financial dependency on the technology sector, and on Text 100, its largest subsidiary. The strategy made perfect sense for the Group, but not for me. 

As COO, my role had evolved from one of reform and GFC crisis management to one of relentless financial optimisation. A task best suited for a traditional Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). Accounting and Pure Mathematics were courses I came perilously close to failing at university. A CPA I was not. I sensed my contribution was no longer valued by the Group, especially its CEO. It was time to move on while my credentials were solid and my reputation intact.

In hindsight, perhaps I could have evolved the role and played more to my strengths? Perhaps persevering for another year would have made all the difference?  I’ll never know. However, one thing I know for sure is that the last 13 years have been filled with wonderful adventures. Garry and I have maintained our standard of living, continued travelling the globe, and built a business we’re proud to own.  My career in the technology industry has served me well. I am forever grateful for the lifestyle it’s afforded me, and the people I’ve met along the way.

Beachside reunion

My former CEO at Text 100, Aedhmar, was in town this week. I took time out, along with a few former colleagues, to reconnect and reminisce over old times. I last saw Aedhmar in January 2017 when Garry and I stayed over for dinner while on business in New York.

Our reunion involved two separate events. A group of current, and former, employees came together over lunch last Sunday at The Winery, one of my favourite venues in Surry Hills. The following day a smaller group of senior ex-Texties caught up again for a leisurely lunch at Matt Moran’s beachside restaurant, North Bondi Fish.

Five of us held court at a table on the balcony overlooking Bondi Beach from 1:00pm until well into the evening. Several partners, including Garry, eventually joined us for dinner as it was clear we weren’t going anywhere fast. Aedhmar claims she’s never had a long lunch morph into a dinner event.

It was a wonderful afternoon of love and laughter. I’m reminded once again how fortunate I was to spend almost 15 years of my career working at Text 100. The culture and camaraderie we created was something special.

Work, work, work

Loyal readers may have noticed that I haven't posted regularly for over a year. The reason for this is simple. In June last year, Garry and I acquired Artiwood, a boutique toy importer and wholesaler with a strong eco-friendly philosophy. It took five months of intensive negotiations, starting in February, to finally do the deal. Since then we've been working crazy hours including most weekends.

It took us three years to find the company. I’d almost given up hope of ever finding a truly well-run small business that, (a) Garry and I could afford, (b) that we liked enough to buy and, (c) that played to our collective strengths and passions. Artiwood is probably about as close to ideal as we could have imagined.

In the three years before we acquired it, the company grew more than 40% annually. According to the previous owner, he wanted to sell simply because it had become too successful. As he tells the story, the rapid growth adversely impacted his laid-back, alternative lifestyle. At the time, he lived in a communal rainforest retreat in the hills near Byron Bay.

However, despite his remote location, he’d set the business up with a highly outsourced infrastructure.  The warehouse function was outsourced, as were marketing, IT and accounting activities. It could basically be operated from anywhere in Australia (or overseas). As a result, it was relatively easy for Garry and I to transfer its operations to Sydney. We now run it remotely from a home office in our apartment.

We also put the former owner on contract for a year to help get up to speed on the toy industry, transition existing business relationships and help source new suppliers. Hiring him part-time also enabled us to negotiate a better selling price and reduce our stamp duty. He ultimately decided to exit the business early, and left in March, thus saving us a few additional dollars.

It’s been an intense period, to say the least. In year to 30 June, we grew Artiwood another 29%, with record growth in nine of the previous 12 months. We’ve also launched a new CRM system, added a new accounting system, and introduced new product safety procedures. We're now hard at work developing a new, modern e-commerce website, and refreshing its corporate identity.

If that wasn't enough, we’ve also published a new catalogue, built in an entirely new application, (and added 20 pages to it), exhibited at three Melbourne trade shows, plus another in Sydney, kicked off a monthly email marketing program, added a new part-time salesperson, and done all of this while enduring the usual learning curve that comes with owning a new business.

UPDATE: 20 July 2017

Almost a year later than planned, we've finally launched our new website. The initial response from retailers, suppliers and industry colleagues has been overwhelmingly positive.

Breakfast in Melbourne

I've just completed a brief overnight trip to Melbourne. I was in town to present results from the PRIA's Registered Consultancy Group's (RCG) annual industry survey. Since leaving Text 100, I've been consulting independently in the public relations industry. I've taken on the survey as an ad hoc project. 

This is familiar territory for me. I helped develop and implement the study in partnership with an industry colleague in 2001, then managed it for several years while serving as Text 100's Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand.  

I flew down to Melbourne on Tuesday, then delivered my presentation at a breakfast function the following morning. 15 people attended the event.  Everyone loved my presentation. It's reassuring to know I can still deliver content that industry colleagues value.

Perth for the weekend

I've just spent four days in Perth. I flew over on Thursday to deliver a presentation to West Australian members of the Registered Consultancy Group (RCG). Local members asked me to present on the annual consultancy survey I've been managing for the last couple of years. I originally helped the PRIA set up this survey in 2001 while working as the Managing Director for Text 100 in Australia.

This is my first time in Perth since visiting for a short holiday in 1991. At the time, I was between jobs and had five days to fill before starting a role with International Data Corporation (IDC). This trip, I spent the day working on Friday after arriving in town on Thursday evening. This included a half-day seminar with RCG members, followed by time spent with a local consultancy in the upmarket neighbourhood of Subiaco.

I spent Saturday reacquainting myself with a few of Perth's local sights, including an afternoon in Fremantle, before flying back to Sydney on Sunday morning. It's encouraging to see my new role with Senate SHJ generating some interesting travel opportunities.

Training for a life of leisure

Today was the first day of my life after Text 100.  You'll recall I

recently posted news that I was moving from my current employer after 14.5 years of service.  I must admit it was an odd feeling this morning to wake knowing I could lie there as long I liked.  There were no critical deadlines to meet, no urgent emails to read and no dawn conference calls to attend. 

As I mentioned in my earlier post I've decided to take the next two months off to decompress and clear my head.  This is proving more challenging than expected.  I find myself constantly tempted to research career options, review job ads and make networking calls.  It seems unwinding requires as much discipline as a full time executive role. 

In the weeks ahead I'll do my best to chronicle my journey in search of new, fulfilling career.  I'll also keep you abreast of my efforts to improve my fitness and knock over list of accumulating home repair and maintenance chores.  My first personal goal is to simply make time for a daily 5km walk around Grand Drive in Centennial Park and the surrounding parklands.

Deja vu: the adventure begins (again)

I'm sure regular readers have noticed it’s been sometime between posts. Why?  Put simply, 14 years of predictable, stable lifestyle are about to radically change.  In July I leave my current employer with no fixed plans for the future. It's a bold decision I made some time ago but have waited until now to act. There are plenty of punters who think I'm crazy to give up a comfortable, well-paying job that's all but set for life.  

However, for several years, the journey with my current employer has felt like a dead end.  I've achieved every goal I set for myself almost 15 years ago, and then some.  Life has become staid and predictable. I feel I have another career path within me.  After much soul-searching I've decided it's time to bring it to fruition.  

As you can imagine this decision has consumed my focus since I set the wheels in motion in late-January.  It’s been more than 21 years since I was last out of work. Understandably the prospect of finding my next pay cheque is proving both daunting and exhilarating.  Since taking this decision I’ve experienced a full spectrum of emotions; from relief and anticipation to utter terror and despair.

What should I do with my career?  As you can imagine I’ve received advice by the truckload.  It’s all been rich, varied, and at times terribly contradictory.  As time passes my options have coalesced into three distinct categories:

1. Take a year off, either to study for an MBA or to consult on a freelance basis until my next step is clearer.
2. Go into business for myself, ideally buying a going concern I believe I can successfully grow and develop for the long-term.
3. Strike out in a new career direction with another employer, leveraging the international business skills I’ve accumulated over the years.

Naturally, each option has merits as well as pitfalls.  With so many choices to explore I’ve decided I need to take a couple of months off and clear my head.  Some might say I’m simply procrastinating.  However, taking a moment to still, or perhaps distract, my mind seems to be the right way forward.  I’ve enjoyed a surprising sense of peace since taking this decision and I'm already seeing new opportunities and connections appear without me forcing the issue.

As a result, I’ve finalized plans for two travel adventures in August and September. First, in August Garry and I take a three-week road trip up the West Coast of the USA from Los Angeles to Seattle.  We then return to Sydney for two weeks before I’ll depart again to take my parents on a vacation through Canada and New York they’ve always dreamt about.  The second trip is a recent development, reflecting in part the success of a ten-day vacation I took with my parents in China last month.  My father coped well with the travel, the food, and the long days of sightseeing.

Dad turned 75 in May. In the midst of his ongoing cancer therapy, there was a time when none of us thought he’d see this day.  Every year has become a precious gift.  Therefore, while reflecting on my own career future I realized that I’d created a unique opportunity to more spend time with him before life settles into a new routine.  It seemed foolish to pass up the chance to take him on a journey listed on his bucket list. 

My parents and I will kick off in Vancouver in mid-September.  Here we’ll catch a train through the Rocky Mountains to Banff; then on to Toronto and Niagara Falls, before taking time to explore New York.  Our journey will finish with a week of driving from Montreal to Toronto via Ottawa enjoying the spectacular autumn foliage.  I then return to Sydney and start making more concrete plans for the future.

Garry’s life is also taking a radical turn.  While researching options for acquiring a company I stumbled across a stationery wholesaler.  Some initial due diligence quickly revealed a host of simple changes, which if undertaken, would dramatically improve the company’s growth potential.  After some agonising internal debate, I ultimately decided it wasn't the business for me.  However, Garry became somewhat passionate about the opportunity and ultimately made an offer.  In July he’ll start life as a small business owner.  Watch as Gazena takes on the world.  It’s somewhat ironic that my current journey of discovery has ended up setting Garry on a new career path.

My next path of exploration proved somewhat more compelling.  By chance I spotted an executive role advertised on LinkedIn, the business networking social media site.  The brief was written in a style that captured my imagination.  On a whim, I drafted a cover letter and submitted my resume.  Weeks later I received a call and was asked to come in for an interview.  To cut a long story short, I was subsequently short-listed on the spot and invited to meet more of the executive team. 

It was both motivating and inspiring to find myself in this position the first time I’d seriously applied for a job.  However, I found myself somewhat conflicted by the prospect of leaping straight from my current employer into another role without a pause.  In the days that followed job applicants were narrowed down to me and one other person. I was not successful. A part of me breathed a sigh of relief. This experience made me realize I needed to take a break and clear my head before truly committing myself to another career path. 

As you can see, it is been quite a journey so far, hence the blogging hiatus.  However, as I finally start to wind down my current employment commitments, I’ve decided to revive the blog.  In the weeks ahead you’ll see me update you on a host of travel adventures, including:

• An Easter weekend in Adelaide.  Garry and I took time out to explore garden city, as well as exploring the southern coast of South Australia and the picturesque Adelaide Hills wine country.

• A series of ANZAC weekend excursions with my brother and sister-in-law during their five-day vacation in Australia.  Garry and I took them on a day trip down the south coast to Wollongong the day they arrived, before heading to Canberra for a picture-perfect weekend of blue skies and sunshine.

• My final business trip to the USA.  I found myself in San Francisco with a weekend to fill.  On the spur of the moment, I booked flights to Southern Utah to take in the dramatically eroded landscape of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.  The experience proved more memorable than expected and the photos simply speak for themselves. 

• Ten days in China with my parents.  I took on the role of tour guide, escorting my parents through the urban wonderland of Shanghai, the historical realms of Xian, and the cultural highlights of Beijing.
  
  
• A brief excursion en route to Hong Kong airport where I rode the Ngong Ping cable car to Po Lin Monastery. This Lantau Island institution is home to the Tin Tan Buddha, a 34-metre-high bronze statue that sits serenely on a nearby hill. The more hardy visitors climb more than 240 steps to its base to marvel at its colossal size.

• Stories from far North Queensland where Garry and I are traveling this week to witness the marriage of his younger brother to a wonderful, lively lass from Cornwall, England. They currently live in Port Douglas and so family and friends have been invited to join an informal ceremony on a boat anchored along the Great Barrier Reef.

• Highlights of our forthcoming road trip up the West Coast of the USA, followed by a summary of the trip to Canada I’ll be taking with my parents.

A year initially devoid of travel seemed to have morphed into a final hurrah before life truly does change for good.  However, future posts won’t just be about travel.  I’m keen to also share the journey of my new career as its direction begins to unfold.  Let the adventure begin (again)!

UPDATE: JUNE 2015

Garry and I have acquired a fast-growing small business called Artiwood.  We take possession on 12 June.  After several false starts with my new career direction, it's exciting to have finally found the right opportunity. I've looked at dozens of businesses in the last three years. So many of them have been a bitter disappointment and their numbers simply haven't stacked up once I've taken a closer look at the books.  

However, this business is the real deal. Its owner is selling simply because it's become too successful, too demanding, and in desperate need of significant investment to gear it for continued success.  If things play out as we believe we'll double the size of this business within four years; and be well on the way to setting ourselves up for life.