Tomorrow is Not Today

We found that, you know, people in the kitchen washing dishes are super important to our organization, but who sees them.

Welcome to the tomorrow is not today podcast. You've already started to create the life you want just by being here designed for you as a business professional. So you can be physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, more productive, less stressed, and living a life you truly love.

My name's Kingsley and thank you for coming on another journey with one of our uniquely qualified professionals.

Steve, Edgar, thank you so much for joining us on the Tomorrow's Not Today podcast. It's a pleasure having you in the studio. It's a pleasure to be here Kingsley.

Looking forward to it.

It's been a while, wanted to get you in here. I know you've got an incredible message to get to it. A lot of people who struggle with things that you've Yeah, for

sure.

Yeah.

Uh, and if you are wondering, yes, we are wet. We both got caught in the rain today. Um, I actually had to ride my motorbike in the rain, discovered that leather jackets aren't that waterproof. Correct. And I went down to get

you coffee. So that's why I'm wet. So

I appreciate that, Steve. Pleasure. That's awesome.

See, sacrificial man. I'm sure that'll be a lesson in there somehow with what we're talking about. But I want to ask you initially a big question to start off with, as we usually do, uh, How do you create a culture and an environment that is stable and mentally healthy in a big organization such as what you run?

Yeah, good question Kingsley. Um, it's something I work really hard on. Um, it's, uh, we've got 90 staff, varying age groups there. So there's, the ones I struggle the most with are the, um, 18 to 20 somethings. Um, they're sort of something I've not really dealt with before. I think it's really important to understand that, um, you know, they are a little bit different than I think and, um, it's up to me as their leader to think their way.

So, um, safe and stable is really the key there. So we have a zero tolerance on bullying and harassment, um, you know, really having their ears open all the time to listening to what's going on and they will speak up, that's for sure. So that's one good thing. It's something I'm probably not that used to, but, um, you know, it's just, it's up to me to sort of adapt into their, into their workplace, otherwise into their work styles, I guess.

That's it. Otherwise, um, you know, I'll find myself, I reckon, be out the back door pretty quickly. So, um, it's, uh, it's, it's a bit of a challenge, but, um, you know, it's just listening and, uh, and we're really, really working hard on it. We understand it's been a massive, um, shift in people's mentality, you know, post COVID like during COVID was, I don't think everyone's ever going to be the same again.

Um, me included. So it was sort of like, um, you know, we just set up and we had those really massive staff shortages, especially on the Gold Coast here. And, uh, we, we felt, well, you know, what's the, what's the use of sort of turning them over. Let's just try and keep the ones that we have and look after them and try and nurture them.

And, you know, hospitality isn't really rocket science. So it's really about trying to find great people. With really good values and um, and just, and can train them quite easily, and then just bring them to the organisation. They're not really burnt out, so they can come in and I really enjoy being in that stable sort of family environment, so that's probably the answer.

Do you think that would be a fairly normal thing for any organisation, like your whole approach there with what you're doing?

Uh, I'm not really that sure. I mean, I think certainly the way we approach that is way, way different post, uh, you know, March 2020. Uh, I think that's really what the change was. I think we're sort of sailing along.

Everyone's just getting busier and busier and busier and just promote, promote, promote, and really a burn and churn sort of mentality. So I think everyone had a chance to stop and think and, um, go, right, well, this is not really the way to go. It's, it's no longevity to it. So I'm not sure everyone else is doing that, but I do see the mental health awareness type of thing is really prevalent now.

And, um, and, you know, one of the things I'm really passionate about, as you know, is, um, is speaking up and not being frightened to show vulnerability and things like that. And I do know that resonates with anybody of any age, so that's one of the things we work on.

Yeah, because it's obviously when it comes to finding staff at the moment, they're in short supply to start with.

Hospitality tends to be quite transient. Uh, so you've got two massive factors to deal with. In and of itself alone there, not only that, like you said, you've got a massive age range of people and you've got to try to be able to relate to each one of those. So how do you actually get in a position where you can listen to all the different age brackets, all the different expectations, um, from someone who may be, Uh, a waiter, uh, from overseas or whatever, through to, you know, high level executive chefs and that type of thing.

How do you manage to put all that together?

I don't really know.

Great. So

much for this interview.

That's the end of that. No, look, it's, um, it's a great question and that's something that, you know, the short answer is really, I don't really know, but what you do do is just try and find out. So, you know, I've used things like, you know, try to, um, engage people who can talk to that age group.

Okay. Um, you know, just trying to listen, as I said before, just trying to listen to them, what they want, and then you can act accordingly from there. We, we recently introduced some values to the organization, and, and, um, that's something that really, that's our rule book. And it guides us every single day with people's behaviors, and, uh, you know, it doesn't matter what age you are, you've all got to live by those values, otherwise you're not going to fit in, and just, you know, just things like integrity, and all the things you expect to see, honesty.

Um, if, if they don't live in every single person in our workplace, you won't last long. So that's what guides us, um, and, and the behaviors. And we, we just work really simply on rewarding great behavior and, um, encouraging people to like things like recognize a teammate. We've got a public, um, for the public, it's for, it's a staff, um, platform where if, for example, if I, if I'm working in the bar and I've had, I've got slammed on a night and you're ready to knock off, you might spend 10 minutes of your own time, help me clean the bar down.

Well, we use the platform to go, um, you know, I'd recognise, at Kingsley, um, thanks for helping me at the bar last night, you're a legend, you know, you really helped me out. And that gets, uh, publicised amongst all the staff, so it really does publicise, um, you know, really good, good things. And we encourage that with, uh, you know, there's, we do monthly staff rewards based on those values as well.

So, you just keep on trying to highlight the, um, you know, the good behaviours.

So let's let's delve into that because I love that. I think that's that's awesome. Um, and I don't know how many big organizations actually managed to do that sort of thing on a regular basis and keep it consistent. Yep. So when you talked about your values and they're the values that sort of guides everything, your rule book, as I think was the word you used.

Yep. How do you sort of play that out in a scenario? Can you give me a scenario where that's actually come into play and it's actually helped the organisation or individuals sort of come back and line up?

Yep. Well, when we induct people, it's, uh, we publicly show that a lot. So we've got an acronym, so it's SMILE, so it's S M I L E.

And each month we, uh, we mark, um, all of our staff on those. If you work there 30 hours a week, you're probably going to get, you know, audits a week. I think if you do five shifts, you probably get two to three audits a week. So at the end of the month, you're going to get eight to 10 audits. So you get a score out of that.

So, um, so we'll, we'll do a, um, we'll do a monthly, uh, awards on those across each department, because we found that, you know, people in the kitchen washing dishes are super important to our organization, but who sees them, you know, a customer, you might come and have a great Snitty and go, Oh, that was amazing.

But someone's got to get a clean plate to the chef to get, you know, that's really a forgotten thing. So those guys are super valued, We, we really push that hard. It's advertised heavily through inside, um, back of house and front of house in our club. Um, all of our staff know when we induct them, we go very, very deep into this is what's, what's required.

You know, if I have to get to the point of some performance management, sometimes I have and I'll point out and go, Hey, look, Um, you know, this, your behaviour is really not inside our values here and this is where you're falling down. Um, you know, I've just had a guy come up from general staff and a supervisor only this week and I printed off the values for him, so we have the values on how we display these and there's about ten sheets of paper, still old school, and I handed them to him, I said take those home, he's a young fella in his mid twenties, and I said you really need to read these, and he goes, oh, okay, and I said no, you really do need to read them because that's, you'll find that's what I live by and I really mean that.

And, um, and I've had someone I've had to unfortunately let go due to some pretty high level bullying. And quite often the case, uh, the people who do that don't understand they're doing it. They just don't think they are. And, um, it was clear in our, I tried to point out that, that her behavior wasn't inside the, uh, our values.

And, um, that's really where it was at, so. It was a no brainer. She had to go. So

it sounds like when you come into the organization, you've got a standard. This is your standards. This is your expectations. This is where we start. Yep. So, and it's obviously clearly outlined and they're agreeing to all of this.

Yep. So, when it comes to, um, anything that needs to be pulled up, it's not something coming out of the blue. It's not, oh, why did you say that to me? It's pretty, pretty clear.

Yeah. No, that's correct. And the challenge there is like I'm one person inside 89 others, you know, so it's like I can't see in here every single thing.

So it's about. You know, the, uh, you know, the, the, my line managers, there's about 15 or 20 of them. So they're the ones who really enable what goes on, what doesn't go on. Things like, you know, if you've got a problem, you need to go and talk to somebody who can fix it. Not, you know, most people will just go, I'll walk around behind the back in the staff room and go, oh, bloody, whinge, whinge, moan, moan.

Um, but it's not fixing a thing. So when you go and approach them and go, look, you know, that's really off, I understand you're frustrated or upset, but what's actually being fixed here? Nothing. So you should bring it up to someone who can fix it and let's, let's get on the, uh, get to work on, um, you know, on, on fixing the problem.

And I was only later on today, I've got a meeting with, um, two legends in my workplace and one of them is, uh, is not from this culture and his culture is don't complain about anything. It's just, uh, it was just a real master servant relationship. I pay him. He works and he's at a point where he never spoke up.

Like, he came to me in tears last week and, uh, and, uh, and someone goes, oh, why didn't he speak up? I was like, well, that's not how he operates. It's like he was just going to be completely compliant to a point where he was going to break. Come to me and said, I'm leaving. I said, no, no, no, come in, let's sit down, I've got a meeting organised today with him and his supervisor and a few others that are around that scope of what he does for a job and people have been letting him down because he works so hard.

So I've got to get through that with him, but, um, you know, most people won't work on it. They'll just want to winch. So

it sounds like then that you've got a culture where if there is an issue, it's encouraged to talk about it rather than most people. If you bring that up, then you're the issue.

Um,

uh, whereas in your culture, you.

Or what did the culture that you're creating is one where if there is an issue, um, and it's gone on, come on, let's have a chat about it, find out what's really going on and let's get a solution in there.

Yeah. I had a really good example only about six weeks ago, I had to bring in a, um, uh, a line manager, um, which is very difficult if they're outside the organization, I've got a.

fit into all those things. And I'm if you're sitting up the up the ladder a little bit, you got a bit of a target on your back. So look, that's, you know, but I was really clear when, and this chap came in and I said, look, you know, you need to fit in all the guys, all the staff, know what they're supposed to do.

They generally do it. Um, and they're very good at it. It's when they're busy that's, there's nothing required to, you know, they'll just do their job. But on this particular night, this guy decided to get out of his line and hook into the staff a little bit and start Getting a bit aggressive towards him and, uh, I got an email about, 8.

20 that night and he said, dinner service didn't go very well boss, um, three of the staff pulled me up and told me that's not how we do it round here, we won't accept you speaking to us in that tone of voice, that's not, and I thought, and he was sort of very upset and he was like, he wanted to know what I was going to do and I said, well I'll talk to you tomorrow because I'm sitting on the couch at the moment, so I went in in the morning and two of them were waiting for me, two of the staff, and they were very upset and like I just made it really clear to him, I said, um, you know, these guys, they're They don't need to be spoken to or spoken down to.

You know, there was no problem. You created the problem with your aggression towards them. And, uh, I was really proud of the guys for saying that's not, not how we do it around here. So it was a good example.

That's awesome for them to actually feel, I guess. the comfort, the confidence knowing that they can talk and, but in a good way, not in a whinging way, but in a good way and go, Hey, these, these are really our values.

And everyone here deserves to be respected no matter who you are, what position you feel or whatever.

Yep. And that's, and that was an occasion where I did go to the values and, um, and I've had to really show him that, um, that's where he was falling down and he's not there anymore. Look, he, he did to his credit, try to, you know, straighten it up, which was quite difficult for most people to do.

Um, it was very hard to look in and go, well, I'm the problem, but he did try, but look, he just didn't fit into our, our culture. Um, so look, the consistency there, and look, one other thing I'll say is, you know, when there's, when there's times when someone can't fit in or they continually, um, break down with that, it's, um, you know, you've got to make the hard calls and get rid of them, otherwise it's not fair on the ones that are doing the right thing.

And if you let those continue to survive and, and be a problem, it'll, it'll infect others very, very quickly. So we, we work. Pretty hard to make sure we cut out the cancer, I guess, so.

That's awesome. Mm. And that leads me to another thing which we're, we're hitting on. I know you're very, very big on this. You do so much work in the community, uh, more on a volunteer basis than anything, I think.

Uh, as far as that whole mental health side of things, because it, if you're working in that sort of environment, because right now, obviously, it's a big issue, the whole mental health in workplace, bullying, all that sort of thing's a massive thing.

Mm.

Um, and Honestly, I think a lot of our leaders in the country are not portraying that in probably the best light to a large degree.

Um, so for you to be able to bring that into the workplace, how do you sort of, cause that's obviously going to have a very positive effect on people's mental health and that sort of thing. So what are the things that you actually do, I guess, as a leader and as an organization to help individuals that way?

Yeah, sure, that's another big question, and I think we are breaking some good ground in moving forward with that. One of the big things is really caring about your people, and that's your customers, your staff, and everybody inside your organisation. Really, it's about caring for them, and if you've got that there, and you've really got it in you, that's what's going to happen.

That means you listen to them and that sort of stuff. But like, you know, we, we, uh, so I guess, for example, me, it might be like three years ago, if you came to me in hospital and said, Oh, you know, I don't want to work tonight. I've got some anxiety. I'd say, well, you better go for another job. And I wouldn't be too far off that.

That's pretty much how I used to roll. So it wasn't great, but that's how it used to go. Um, you come to me now and say, I can't work tonight. I've got anxiety. Well, you'll get the night off. No question about it, but that's not the answer. It's a bit of a bandaid effect. Because there's a flow on, someone's got to come and do your shift, or the remaining guys are going to have to carry a heavier load, so, whilst you're being fixed up initially, it's not, uh, it's a bit of a band aid.

So I'll, I'll dig a bit deeper now. So we, we've set up a thing in our workplace called a wellness committee. So we've, we've asked for some volunteers across all areas, so we've got about nine people on it. So we're going to put them all through mental health first aid, which I've done, and I recommend very, very strongly for people to do, because it's an amazing thing.

So open your eyes up. So we'll put them all through that, uh, we'll, we'll meet, um, monthly at this stage about how to deal with that. So opening up some communication channels for general staff to go and talk to someone that they'll feel comfortable talking to anytime. That's really important and a lot of the times it's sometimes a work issue will be affecting their mental health.

So we've got to be able to determine that very quickly and this is where I don't think people have got to just yet in business. We've got to be able to determine is it a work issue or is it an outside issue? If it's a work issue we've got to be very careful we don't undermine the department heads and you can't come and go, uh, well.

I'm, uh, I'm not getting enough hours, um, the truth is not because you're a lazy bastard. Um, uh, and, uh, you know, come to the, the wellness committee delegate and go, well, I'm not getting enough hours. And, and they, they shouldn't have the power to go and just write you in your roster. You know what I mean?

There's gotta be some, there's gotta be some, so I thought we're really working with where that goes, but we do things like we've got, uh, free counselling, um, at any time for any staff member or any of their immediate family. We've got free gym membership for any of our staff, um, and, and we're finding that's not enough.

It's, um, It's a big jump between someone having a problem and actually taking the card out of the staff room and bringing up our counsellor. Um, it's a big step. So, um, we, we, we, we understand that that's not enough. So we're really sort of trying to dig into what's, what's next.

Because one of the things I think in those lines is the fact that if people do talk to somebody, They've got a mark next to their name, uh, and that's what they're afraid of, and for good reason, in certain organisations, so they're afraid to actually talk to somebody because of what, the repercussions that might happen, how they'll be looked at, how they'll be treated, all that sort of thing.

How do you, how do you combat that?

Yeah, well I mean that's It's a really good thing to say. It's, um, it's getting back to that whole feeling safe thing as well. So there's a lot of trust involved there. So, so, um, so I'll, I'll, I'll, I'm the only person who'd get that person's name in the organization. I'll get an email from that, from our, um, counselor and go, you know, it's, um, I've seen Kingsley today.

I think Kingsley needs another three or four sessions. Yep, I'm okay with that. And then the administration get invoiced saying I'm counselling for a staff member authorised by Steve, and we just pay it. So it's completely confidential in that regard. Um, there's a professional courtesy there, like obviously our counsellor doesn't talk about it.

She's local and she'll get in quite quickly. That's a real trust issue, and as many times as I say that, some people won't want to talk. But um, you know, sometimes it's just a, I think there's other things too, like um, learning, this is, came out of the mental health and some work I did with Matt Runnels at Mindful Australia, was um, having the ability to know how to listen properly, and most people can't do that.

Like it's, like if I'm the boss and you come to me and go um, I'm not feeling well. Sit down, shut the door and you know, you're almost compelled to dominate the conversation when what really should happen is just don't say a word. Just encourage them to go what's going on and just nod your head and just affirm that everything's okay.

And uh, I'm just learning that now because I can talk as you know. So it's just letting the guys get it off their chest sometimes and just understanding the fact. You know, it's like, You know, medical first aid, we aren't doctors or nurses when we do first aid, we're first responders, so mental health first aid, the same thing, we're not psychologists or doctors, we're just doctors.

We just want to, um, provide some ears for people sometimes and maybe some advice where to go from there. So,

okay. Um, there's, there's so much in that, like just what you're saying. It's just a huge amount of stuff that anybody's got one or more staff can take a lot out of this, which is fantastic. Um, You've put in place the, the counsellor, which is fantastic, um, and the, the gym membership.

How many people actually do you think would take that up?

Um, the counsellor was, last year we would have done, I think, we had something like less than 30. So it's less, like sessions, I mean, if it wasn't 30 people. Would have been about 12 to 15 people used it. Um, including a couple of my family, to be honest with you, so it was, um, which is fine.

But, um, And out of that there was, um, I think there was two others in my workplace who their spouses had come and another one where a lady was having some trouble with her marriage breakdown and her daughter and her both went to some co counseling. So look, and there was some really good work out of that and the staff member came back to me later and said they were so grateful.

Um, that was, um, that was in place and the

fact that it actually extends to family as well. Yeah.

That's, that's huge. Yeah. So look, it's, there's two, there's two sides to it. It's like offering it is, is one thing and it's, Oh, isn't that great to sign with a gym membership. You know, you know, if you come and work at Cooley surf club, you know, you've got free gym memberships.

Oh wow. There's not many places do that. Um, but in reality there's probably 20 percent of the staff who actually use it.

Yep.

There's about another 20 percent that go, Oh, I'm gonna use it. And they don't. Um, and then other people just go, Well, it's not for me, for whatever reason. And some people have, um, We actually had the gym guy come over and do some, We do, every second month we do an engagement session with our staff.

He came over and, It was one, we did a live, um, question and answer thing on the, on the phones. I can't remember what it's called, but, um, yeah, it was like, what's holding you back from coming to the gym? And there's a number of issues like most people were a little bit, um, frightened of being judged or walking through the front doors for the first time, you know, a bit like the, you know, everyone stops and looks at you.

So there's a lot of that in with anxiety with people, but, um, trying to break those barriers down, but we're always trying things.

Yeah, no, absolutely. And the work you do, like I said before, is just phenomenal. So, I want to go to now where there's some people listening. They've got a business, they've got some staff, might be one or two, it might be 90 staff.

Uh. And they're like, I need to change something in my organisation because it's, the, the culture's starting to get a little bit toxic, it's not quite what I'm wanting, it's not who I am as a person, as far as I know, what are say three things that they could do straight away to start to change that?

Um, I think that, first of all, you've got to have a really good look at things.

So, if you're sort of inside, it's that old thing, if you're working in your business, you're not normally working on it, I think you've got to get in a helicopter, whatever that looks like. You've got to, whether you've got to get away for a few days, have a think about it and have a really good look.

Perhaps you might want to get someone else to a look and go, what do they see? And you could, you can normally get a good snap of that. fairly quickly. Um, and a lot of the times it'll be about what you aren't doing yourself. And that's a problem being a leader. You're, you're quite vulnerable to, um, see a lot of times it'll be, you have the ability to fix it.

Sometimes you are part of the problem. So you'll just need to change what you do. Um, it's, it's about being brave, I think. How

do you know if, if you are some of the issue? Cause it, I know you said you have like a helicopter view, go away and have a think about it. Sometimes it's still really hard to know, is that me?

Am I really doing this? Cause you don't really, you can understand what you do sometimes, but how do other people perceive that? Yep.

It's a big one. I mean, I think it's about, um, one thing I sort of really developed very early in my management career was. You know, if something goes wrong, have a look in inside before you look outside.

And I think if, you know, even now, like I look back with the, the wisdom of age , you know, you sort of look at someone and you go, you know, you know those people, if something goes wrong, they're always pointing the finger at somebody else. There's still loads of those around. I think that's a real key factor.

Yeah. And, and you can't do that as a, as a leader because that's, you're gonna, you're gonna be running a toxic workplace. It's, you know, it's, you've just gotta look at yourself and go, you know, it's continual improvement, but sometimes. It's, it's partly broken and you've just got to have a good look and go, you know, own up to it.

Like, I mean, I, I never ever am frightened to say I've, I've done something wrong. Um, or I can do something better, or it's, and it's really It's very compelling when I talk to a staff member and I go, well it's my fault, I've done something wrong, and they give you a bit of a look and it's like, but that's part of, you know, that's part of building trust.

So I don't really know, if you don't know how to do that, I don't, I'm not that good, but um, I think what I'd recommend is that someone else can have a bit of a look and um, you know, you don't want to get hurt in people's feelings, but sometimes you go, well, there's a bit of a lack of um, direction here perhaps?

Maybe it's not a personal thing, but you know, the introduction of values I think is important. It guides every single person, whether it's the CEO or the dishwasher, the saleman or whatever. It's um, everybody's got to live by them, everybody. And you've got to display them. You can't go, these are the values for all the staff, but the managers can do something different.

That's

not how it works. Okay. So we got, you got to stand back, have a look at yourself and what's going on. Uh, put in some value system that everybody from the top to bottom, no matter who they are, follows through. Uh, is there a third thing?

Um, well, I mean, I think it's, I think having a good look at what's going on around you and it's a constantly changing environment, you know, so you've got to sort of be lining up with what's in front of you there.

In my case, Hospo, like it's, um, it's changed so much since last, last year and you got to go right. Well, where are we going now? Like we've just rolled out of Christmas period and, uh, yeah, we had the best Christmas we've ever had last year. It was, uh, you know, the very first Christmas holiday period after COVID where people could book a holiday and international travels off the books.

So we was, we was slammed all year. So, the people I report to go, this is amazing, we've made so much money, it wasn't funny, but then the downside is you're going to compare yourself now to what that was. And you can't go, well, um, we're never going to get there again. People go, why not? So it's, it's, we adapt to go, right, well, what's, what do we look at now?

So it's, you know, the cost of living is really hurting, but in regard to your own business, whatever it is, it's, um, you've got to know what's, um, what's going on with, um, you know, because they're, they're external pressures, which you have no control over. Or do you? You know, you're doing it in some ways.

Like it's, I can't control how many people come through my door. Yes, I can. It's called promotions and marketing. Um, you know, can I control how much they want to spend? No, I can't. But, you know, it's about making them feel like they can. They're welcome and valued in my workplace and, and that sort of stuff.

So I don't know what, what industry others are in, but you've got to look ahead and that could that be part of your problem because that's going to put some financial pressure on your business, which is going to put some mental pressure on you as a leader and cause issues inside your business. So that's a big part of it.

Yeah, no, that's, that's a good point because I think it doesn't matter what industry you're in. There is always things changing and adjusting, uh, whether it is an external thing or an internal thing, or, you know, the time of year that it might be, seasons, all that sort of thing. So, it sounds like, um, part of that, so you, you go away, you have a look at yourself, what am I doing, what am I creating, um, how do I need to adjust myself.

Have a level of values that everybody, no matter who they are, Mm-Hmm. Uh, lines up with Yep. And falls in lines with, so everybody knows what the standards are for everybody. Yep. Um, and then having a look around as to what's adjusting, what do I need to adjust, how do I need to change things? So I guess by doing that, then you can take the people on the journey with you so they're gonna feel safe.

Correct. Yeah. And, and look, and I, I had a thing when, you know, when, when Covid hit us and, uh. I remember sitting in the middle of my giant bistro there with my whiteboard and my desk out there. It was quite fun. But I'd sit there looking out over the, it just had a lot of peace and, uh, and solitude. And it took me a long time to work out the fact that, you know, what the business I'm in is, is to meet people's expectations and, and, and try to exceed their expectations.

So if, if I, uh, if I hit below their expectations, we're going to be in trouble. And um, and that was what we just focused on. It was like, you know, you've, you've, and it's about a feeling. In our case, it was like, you know, when you come into our place, we try and make it feel like you're on holidays, even if you're not on holidays, and you're going to feel like you're being welcomed as a friend.

It doesn't always work, of course, but um, you know, that's what we try to do, and the people who we do get it right for just rave about it, and um, that makes me feel good.

It's an interesting point lining up with the last of your three points, creating a culture and good mental health and things, because expectations are constantly changing and evolving as well.

So 30 years ago, if you had a remote control for your TV or your VCR, um, Not too, pretty good. Now, if you can't control everything while you're down at the beach for your whole house almost, then something's missing.

Yes.

You know what I mean? It's, the expectations and you can put that into whatever scenario you like.

Mm.

Uh, as far as getting phone calls returned, as far as when emails had gotten back and how quick and, you know, how the, the perception of everything really.

And that, and that's, look, I think that's why I'm involved with you. It's like, you know, I've got to look after myself. Mm. As a leader of the organization, if I don't look after that oxygen mask here, I don't look after myself, I can't look after anybody else.

And it's, I'm super important with the direction of the business. And if I'm off, off track a little bit, I was saying before we came on air here, it was, um, you know, if I'm having a bad day, which I do do from time to time. And, uh, you know, you, you can't, you've got to, you've got to walk in the front door and it's got to be like, as if you do it every single day.

But like, if you walk in and you're like, Yeah. Um, and the thing is, is if you're not walking around like someone stole your last tube bulb, you know, it's just gonna infect everybody straight away.

Yeah.

So you've got to be really careful, like super careful.

Yeah, no, that's very true. Yeah. Um, one of the things if looking at all the organizations around and I know you go to a lot of other clubs.

Um, and you see other, you know, business leaders around and you hear them, you're talking with them and you're, I know you listen. I know you talk a lot. We all know that, but you also listen well. Um, what is one thing that you would say you need to get this sorted as a general rule for what's going on at the moment in the business world?

Oh, it's a beauty.

Um, yeah, look, I think going right back to the start, I think, you If you're caring and you've got values, they'll, they'll, they'll carry you through anything. And, um, you know, if you really, really do care, and that's authentic, authentic behaviour. And, uh, that's one of my favourite words at the moment.

It's, um, you know, and people see that. If you're authentic, people can see it. There's no bullshit about it. It's like, you are who you are, and what you say is, you know, you're going to do what you say, and you do it all the time. I think, you know, especially in club land, a lot of bright lights and, you know, there's gambling and, um, a lot of money flows through.

And a lot of the times in my industry, it was really shallow coming through. And look at, I spent a long time in my, my career being really challenged by that mentally, personally. Um, it was, um, it'll chew you up and spit you out real quick. So it's sort of. You know, just trying to be, and as I said, you're off air too, I'm going to do a talk to a, I'm part of the alumni of a leadership academy back in 20 odd years ago, and talking to the new guys coming through, they're going to be fresh faced, wide eyed, and I've got 20 minutes to talk to them, and what I'll be saying to them is, you know, just be there for your people, Look at yourself, make sure you're okay, um, and, and just really care because that's what's going to carry you through.

Being able to, two things, being able to adapt to what's in front of you. Don't be afraid to say you're wrong and care about your people and that'll bring you through. But if you're not careful, money really skews values, I think. Be careful.

Yeah, no, that's, that's probably a really good point, but that was a good summary of everything.

Um, now what we always do ask at the end of, uh, tomorrow's not today podcast is, and you've heard me talk a little bit about this, but I've never asked you directly this question. Uh, so there's two parts to the question. Firstly, we talk a lot about the ultimate tomorrow, what that is. So for you, what would you say the ultimate tomorrow is?

Thanks.

Um, well, it sounds a bit, uh, a bit, uh, kumbaya, but it's, it's in a, it's in a peace and happiness is, is, is one thing. Well, it is a thing for me, um, there's a lot of bullshit floating around with, uh, you know, with doing stuff and making money and yadda yadda yadda, but really, at the end of the day, you know, trying to have a work life balance and, um, and what we worked on with our mastermind group, um, before Christmas was, it's, um, you know, being authentic, um, you know, really working on your relationships at home with you.

Your spouse and your family, um, you know, being a great leader in the community, um, you know, doing some charitable stuff, which I get enormous reward out of and I always feel guilty when I go and do do that because I take more out of it than what I give, I think. Um, and just, you know, leaving some legacy for, for the future leaders, I think is massive for me, but, um, and just, you know, just make a difference, you know, just be, make a difference to somebody, just do good stuff.

Now, second part to that question, which you've partly answered. Uh, but how do you create your ultimate tomorrow?

Um, well, you've got to work really hard on it. And it's what I'm doing with, uh, with, with the mastermind group at the moment. It's, um, it's, it's searching inside yourself and, um, and, and it's really hard because you've got to work on what you're, you're not doing well and, uh, share it with you, with your others, um, and just continually get better.

Um, yeah, this, this. I'm partway through a book that I was got recommended to the compound effect. And I'm really, really taking that, uh, serious at the moment. It's, um, it's doing the small things, uh, correctly every day. So it's, um, you know, if you want to lose weight, well, you know, maybe it's just a fact of, uh, don't eat chips with your steak, you know, and keep doing it, you know, that type of thing.

So it's, it's about just trying to continually improve and, you know, just, and be brave to be able to make change, you know, if you go, right, You know, um, if I'm not sleeping well, why? Delve into the question and get the answer, because the answer will be lying right in front of you.

Mm.

And, uh, so that's, that's what it looks like for me.

It's um, it's just make the changes, you know, in my case, and, um, I've had a bit of a, I'm skirting on issues of, um, over consumption with alcohol. And um, you know, I've had to make some changes in my life in regard to that, um, and the negative effects it's having on me. Cause it's a bit of a silent killer.

Um, it's not that silent, but we'll tend to try and ignore it cause it feels good initially. And um, yeah, for most parts, most people can do well. But I have a little bit of a trouble with my relationship with alcohol at times, so. It's, um, it's just being brave and honest with that sort of thing and make sure it doesn't affect your life in a negative way.

I think you made a really good point there that, um, because you hear a lot of people on podcasts and things like that, and just on TikTok and Reels and like, oh yeah, you just do this and this and this, and it's fantastic, it rolls off the tongue really easily. But to actually make those changes, it's not easy and I think a lot of people look at those podcasts and I know I have over years.

Watch them and go, Oh, you just do that. Okay. How come it's not working for me? Like it worked for you. You just said it and you just do it. Whereas I'm sort of struggling putting this into play. I'm struggling to stop doing that. Or I'm struggling to actually get, get up and make this happen. Um, and I think.

What you said is really critically important that you got to be brave because it's not easy to make those changes sometimes. Correct. And it's really hard and you do have to push yourself. It doesn't just happen. Um, I, I think that brave, I think it's a really good word to use for that because you're breaking out of every thought pattern, everything that's comfortable, um, what other people might be thinking about you,

all of that sort of thing.

And once again, you're looking at yourself, not anybody else. You're going,

you

know, like it's, uh, we're a consumer society. It's like, you know, why, why can't I just go and buy happiness? Why can't I just go and buy, you know, we all want to go and get the, uh, I want to lose 10 kilos in two weeks. Like, no, you know, it's just, everyone wants a quick result and they're not prepared to work for much these days.

So once again, I think the critical thing is looking at yourself. What do I need to do differently to get a different outcome? There's a million self help books and podcasts and videos and CDs, whatever they are these days. But, you know, once again, if you don't, you know, whatever you teach me, if I don't do, it's not, you know, you can't make it happen for me.

It's just, it's just me.

Yeah. We all, we all got to put it and we all have to work hard at it. And yeah, and funny thing is people, um, people always think it seems to be easy because they're looking at other people on the outside and not looking at what's happening on the inside.

Correct.

I remember one of the guys, uh, Andy Frazella, I'm pretty sure it was.

I was watching one of his podcasts and come from, you know, very humble beginnings, uh, through to now, you know, incredibly successful guy. Uh, he sounds rough as, but he really, really cares for people unbelievably. Uh, and he, in his thing, he said 90 percent of the time, you're going to be pushing it uphill.

You wonder if you should be keeping going. Why is it so hard? Why do I have to keep struggling? And then you get a bat. 8, 9 percent of the time, it's like, I'm gonna give up, I just can't do this anymore, and then 1 percent of the time, it's like, yes, I've had this massive big win, that's it, that's fantastic, I feel awesome, and then you go and do it all over again.

And most people don't realise that these guys, they look phenomenal, they've got everything, all the success, everything's happening. But what they went through, and even, I was listening to a podcast, uh, Ed Milet was interviewing him just the other day, and he said, you know what, it's just as hard now as what it was back then.

Because now I've got more responsibilities, I've got other issues that come up that I never dealt with then, but come up, and he said, if you're going to do it, you've, you've actually got to understand that if you really want success that you think you want, you're going to have to work really, really hard at it.

Well, it's a continual thing, I think. It's like, if you say, right, I want to. You can't just go, I want to lose 10 kilos and that's the end of the story. What you should be saying is I want to, I want to lead a healthier and better lifestyle.

And,

and this is what's going to happen to do that. I'm going to need to get up earlier and I'm going to need to fit an hour's worth of gym into my life four days a week, or, you know, get up and go to whatever you're going to do, but you can't just do it, stop and expect that's what's going to happen.

Cause that's not how it works.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's

always, it's just a work in progress. That's a journey, not the destination, I guess, is a bit of a cliche, but.

And it's funny how cliches are so very true and that's why they become cliches.

Yeah, yeah. Because they are. I'm going to make one. Yeah, good.

I'll buy into that. All right. Um, now, Steve, how can people get a hold of you? Because I would really encourage people, I, I know you not just from the interview but on a more personal level, I know what you do, I know how you work, um, and when it comes from that leadership, culture, mental health and making changes and making things happen well.

Mm hmm.

Um, you're definitely one of the best I've ever seen out there. And I'm not just saying that it actually is for real. How can people get a hold of you? Uh, if they want you to come and do some work in their organization, speak for them or whatever.

I'm on LinkedIn. So I just, uh, I'm just at Steve Edgar.

Um, with my dial on there probably 10 years ago with a , maybe a better hairstyles, a bit flatten the rain, but, um, so I'm on LinkedIn. Um, also my mobile number's probably an easy way. It's 0 4 2 1 2 2 0 1 3 5.

Wow.

Um, or I've just got a, a new, um. A new website I'm trying to build. So hopefully I'll get it up soon, but that's just steve edgar.

com. So,

okay. Yep. Fantastic. And like I said, I would certainly encourage people to get ahold of that. Uh, Steve is phenomenal at what he does, not just good at what he does, but he actually comes from a heart of service and. Definitely wanting to help people as well. Steve, thank you so much for joining us today on Tomorrow's Not Today podcast.

Been a pleasure having you and I, I enjoy your friendship and hanging around you. It's just, it's phenomenal that you've definitely an inspiration to me. That's for sure.

Thank you, Kingsley. really, uh, really changed my life since I got involved with you. And, um, it's in a really massively good way. So, um, good stuff, mate.

I really appreciate you.

Fantastic. Thanks, Steve. Have an awesome day. Thanks, legend. Create the life you want. That's it.

See you.