People before Profits
 After 3 1/2 remarkable years at the helm of Vodafone Austrralia, Grahame Maher is departing to Europe to take on new challenges in other parts of the Vodafone world. Since he assumed the local leaderhip role in 2001, the business has undergone significant changes…. reducing capital spending by over 70%, operating costs by 40% and staff numbers from 3,400 to 1,300.
In an interview with Grahame shortly before he accepted the new role, he shared with us his approach to putting people before profits.
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Vodafone's business results have been impressive in recent times. The Australian business has gained market share from Telstra and Optus, growing well above their market share % through aggressive and innovative offers to consumer and business markets.
Overall, the company is very focussed and clear about its direction, strategy, values and brand – the end result being a greatly improved EBIT , with the Australian business generating cash returns to its shareholders and becoming significantly profitable.
One of the driving forces behind this change has been the transformation to a Values Based Organisation.
FMC When you took over the leadership at Vodafone Australia , your assessment was of a ‘bloated, impotent giant’. Clearly things had to change to become competitive, but there must have been many significant weaknesses you could have tackled at once. How did you decide on the Values based approach as the pre-eminent focus for change?
GM I have a strong personal belief that businesses and organisations are all about people. The Values based approach is one that has developed for me over the years in many different situations. Vodafone Aust was another example of how focussing on people in an organisation and being explicit about Where you are going, How you are going to be with each other and What you are going to do, delivers amazing results. You can only achieve this if you focus on people and communicate this openly and clearly to everyone in a way they can identify with..
FMC Changing the culture of any size organisation is no mean feat, and must come with set backs. What are the greatest challenges you have encountered in changing Vodafone’s culture?
GM Culture change is always tough and the challenges are in my experience always similar. The biggest is belief from the people that you are really going to do what you say. Unfortunately the business world is full of short term promises that never get delivered and lots of management speak that really delivers nothing. Values and culture are 2 of those words that many organisations use but then go on and act just like they always have. So belief that it is real and then being BRAVE enough to DO WHAT you say are always the toughest challenges.
FMC What prior experiences and background did you draw on that gave you the confidence to follow this Road less travelled?
GM As I mentioned before this is as a result of my previous experiences. I have lead many businesses and have found that this approach is what really works in all situations because it is always all about people.
FMC Vodafone uses a Balanced Scorecard. How does that work to support a Values based organisation? How is the balance struck between ‘hard’ business performance and ‘softer’ cultural indicators?
GM Good question. People think that values are the soft stuff. I actually think you will find that when you do this truly that Values are the hard stuff. At the core of a values based organisation hard calls are made based on feelings and what you value and that is hard to do and receive. To get an idea ofthis think about your personal relationships, how hard they can be and how it feels when some one else that you care for tells you they do not love you any more….ouch, that is hard to do or receive.
As for the BSC the beauty of that theory is that everything in the business should be measured and not just the accepted financial measures. The BSC has a natural flow which says the flow is PEOPLE then PROCESS then CUSTOMER and then finally FINANCIAL measures as they are just outcomes of the other stuff. This is completely consistent with the Values based approach which puts people as the most important focus.
FMC What visible signs tell you that things are changing for the better. For example, in the way people make decisions, the way meetings are conducted, and how leaders behave? Is it possible to measure some of these desired ‘behaviours’?
GM Firstly the financial and market results of our organisation. If any one doubts this approach just look at the turnaround. But more importantly is the way the organisation feels. This is something you feel when you walk into the business or when you deal with the business. It is also some thing we measure via climate surveys with our people and our partners. Then we review our customers and the general public by using customer satisfaction measures and Brand perception measures.
Other things I experience rather than measure are alignment and clarity. I see the business making better and faster decisions and being able to agree on things much more easily. I guess the end result measure of this is efficiency. Today we are managing a bigger business and doing more business than 4 years ago and we have half the number of people. That’s measureable.
FMC You have not always held the top role in organisations you worked for. What advice would you give leaders at non-executive levels in order to maximise their success in both people and profits?
GM Believe in yourself and your ability to make a difference. The biggest differences in organisations actually come from within the business and not just as a result of the people leading them. Then think about how you can help people leading the organisation rather than the normal corporate behaviour of trying to undermine them. Remember a values based organisation is all about people and relationships, up down and across the organisation. You can use the values based approach to help for all these relationships.
Interview conducted by
David Pointon
FAST Meetings Co. 2005
Vodafone is a client of FAST Meetings Co. and from our experience, we can testify to the unique and vibrant culture of Vodafone.
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