20 rules for business success from Rich Lister Geoff Harris

Flight Centre co-founder Geoff Harris made his estimated $800 million fortune by sticking to some basic rules of business.

The serial entrepreneur has gleaned these insights from his roles at Flight Centre, Boost Juice, Topdeck, the Hawthorn Football Club, and more recently his involvement in philanthropy.

Harris has shared his 20 rules for business success with SmartCompany:

1. Be clear on responsibility

Clearly communicate rights and responsibilities to your team. You need to be clear on discipline, standards, performance, values, punctuality and teamwork.

2. Share information

Communicate everything. Don’t bullshit. Tell it how it is. Give the brutal facts even if it involves you.

3. Don’t avoid confrontation

Don’t avoid confronting people who need to be confronted. You must be a coach and mentor and administer tough love when it is needed.

4. Be accessible

Be totally accessible and available to all your staff. Keep your antennae constantly massaged by walking around and talking to your people. I’ve never had a personal assistant. Graham Turner [Flight Centre co-founder] is the same – he has a mobile and no PA. It can be done.

5. Spend equal time on strategy and execution

If you come up with a strategic announcement you should spend equal time on the implementation and the how to. You should communicate this endlessly to all staff.

A lot of businesses have brilliant strategy but don’t spend equal time on execution. I’ll walk into a business with a great new marketing campaign which has spent all this money on advertising but the staff don’t know anything about it. 

6. Don’t be complacent

Constantly challenge your model and strategies. In other words, don’t believe your own bullshit. Lead a culture of innovation and constant change to keep moving forward. Demand an innovation culture.

Constantly swim against the stream and don’t simply replicate what others are doing.

A classic example with Flight Centre is we went up against Thomas Cook and others which all had staff with at least 10 years’ experience.  We went for staff who had a degree, had a HSC pass rate in the top 10%, had travelled extensively and had a great attitude.  That really stood us apart with enthusiasm. 

7. Get your aces in places

Staff aren’t your greatest asset: Only the right staff in the right roles are your greatest asset. Poor performing staff or staff in the wrong roles are your biggest liabilities. You need your aces in places. That means you need to have the right people in the key driving spots in your business.

Hire on positive attitude, cultural fit, teamwork and determination to succeed; fire on negativity, poor performance, poor values and poor attitude. It’s like at the Hawthorn football club, we had a no dickhead policy.

8. Take on your base when needed

Have the courage to change conventional wisdom.

9. Radiate optimism

Leaders must radiate optimism, enthusiasm and a can-do spirit. It must be part of your DNA and part of your business culture.

10. Raise the bar

Leaders must raise the bar, lift expectations and challenge your people. Expect them to achieve. In 2008, Jeff Kennett said “this is our year” at the Hawthorn Football Club. “What resources do you need to win a premiership? I expect you to win one.”

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