Our own Martin Haese recently delivered the 2022 Graduation Address at the University of Adelaide. He shared his diverse career history, including a tech failure, a retail success, and life in the public eye. An encouraging reminder came from Martin to the graduates that a tertiary qualification is the ultimate transferable and transportable asset.
“You take it wherever you may go. You’ve earned it and it is your own.”
When Martin’s first tech company failed, he thought he had failed. Actually, it taught him a lot and it was this disruption to his plans that was one of the most profound life lessons.
His next venture was the complete opposite. Starting with a tiny retail store in Regent Arcade – 10 years later, he had 18 retail stores across Australia, 225 employees, and manufacturing and wholesale in Australia, Indonesia, India and China.
That small business got big and Martin thought his career path was set. He was an entrepreneur, but he worked too hard to keep the wheels turning. Martin was the hamster.
So he was disrupted again, which forced Martin to think ‘where to next?’
This time, the reinvention came in the form of a return to school to complete an MBA. Although he had reinvented his business over the years (probably several times to remain competitive), he had never consciously reinvented himself.
Besides living a very frenetic life, what has Martin learned about success in a busy world? What he discovered was profound: everyone is looking for security, yet this is somewhat of an illusion. In a world where disruption is happening more frequently, our ability to adapt is our security. After initially rejecting that notion, he now embraces it.
Each of us operates within our own circle of comfort. Yet, we should think about stepping beyond that circle, again and again. Each time, your circle of comfort gets wider, and you learn to deal with that every time.
It feels like living on a tightrope. But in today’s rapidly changing world, the ability to live outside of your comfort zone is your best friend. It is your means of having the tools and skills that enable you to reinvent yourself. The organisations you work in will need to reinvent themselves to stay competitive, and you will need to do this too.
Reinvention is entirely personal. It sits with you. It is your responsibility. It is your opportunity.
It does involve risk, which makes us nervous. But if we are not happy, we should be more nervous about staying where we are instead of taking a chance to get somewhere better.
Be curious about life and people. About markets, technology, about science. Be curious about everything.
Reinvention, leadership and communication are all intrinsically linked. Express gratitude, not just when the good things happen. But express gratitude for the turbulent times too, when times get tough, we have our most profound learnings.
How you think about change will either be your accelerator or your handbrake.
Reinvention is thoroughly contagious. People love it.
If you are thinking about your own reinvention, speak with the South Australian Business Chamber’s Manager, Entrepreneur Programs, Jade Henshcke about the SAYES or Encore Programs: jade.henschke@business-sa.com or 8300 0114.
