25th August 2017 /
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White and Partners Leadership Academy 2017 – Who is your Keller?

White and Partners had the pleasure of hosting some of our key partners at our annual White and Partners Leadership Academy. The event was hosted by Professor Boris Groysberg, a tenured professor of business administration at the prestigious Harvard Business School.

White and Partners had the pleasure of hosting some of our key partners at our annual White and Partners Leadership Academy. The event was hosted by Professor Boris Groysberg, a tenured professor of business administration at the prestigious Harvard Business School. Attendees included:

  • House of Hiranandani, a key strategic partner and one of India’s largest developers who travelled from Mumbai to attend;
  • Duffy Kennedy Constructions, a builder and our partner at the mixed use project – Union Place, Jannali;
  • Monarch Hotels, our partner at the Acacia Ridge Hotel;
  • Colosimo Family, one of Sydney’s most well-known publican families led by Marcello Colosimo
  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the primary debt funder within our Hotel portfolio; and
  • Weinstock family, a key supporter of the White & Partners’ business for over 10 years

The day involved the study and discussion of two famed Harvard business case studies, including Wolfgang Keller and Jack Welsh. As expected the Wolfgang Keller discussion resulted in a number of camps, fire Keller or restructure the business to suit his strengths. The quality of discussions was outstanding, with participants sharing their responses to similar situations faced within their own organisations. For most in the room, it also raised important questions such as:

  • How do we handle an employee that is not performing?
  • When is firing a star employee the right decision in a market where skills are hard to find?
  • Is the problem the employee or the manager?
  • Are we as manager extracting the best from our employees?
  • Are we setting the right examples and giving enough ownership to those reporting to us?

The diversity of participants contributed to the success of the event. We were pleasantly surprised to receive feedback that despite operating in different industries, all participants have faced similar challenges in managing star employees and increasing staff productivity growth through organisational restructuring. Participants also unanimously agreed, that hiring stars is one thing, hiring them in the right role is another!