How Booktopia adapted to industry disruption

As a manager for two decades in the book industry, John Purcell has led people through extraordinary change.

As an author, John Purcell is capable of amazing feats of imagination. But away from writing fiction, he’s been heading up Booktopia’s marketing and buying teams, and is now Director of Books, helping the online retailer become one of the fastest growing companies in Australia. In the past nine years, annual revenue has swelled from $4m to $114m (with a compound annual growth rate of 35% per annum). This year, Booktopia won the People’s Choice award at the national finals of the Telstra Business Awards, as well as the NSW Business of the Year award.

Starting small

“When I joined Booktopia, most of the staff were doing customer service and order fulfilment,” he recalls. At that time, Booktopia was a small operation. “A bell would ring every day and all of us – including the CEO – would go down to the garage and help load a single Australia Post van with books. They gave us three minutes in their schedule, so all of us would rush out there.”

Since those early days Booktopia’s personnel has multiplied from 25 to almost 200; and Purcell now runs a team of six people including a content team, merchandisers and buyers. But that culture of “rolling up your sleeves” has remained constant, he says.

Their culture has been guided by a very clear and simple business strategy, says Purcell. “Our CEO Tony Nash is single-minded about growth. He’s always been prepared to reinvest in the business so that when we needed a warehouse, or shelving, or automation, the resources were available.”

Beneath that overriding growth objective, managers are given the scope to develop their areas of the business. “There’s no micromanagement,” says Purcell. “We have a lot of ownership of our particular areas and that makes us feel that we are part of the business. I think that’s one reason our staff retention has been so high.”

Growing pains

Booktopia’s growth has been remarkable by any standards. It is the only company to be listed in the annual BRW Fast 100 eight of the last nine years. In September it was named in the Australian Financial Review Top 500 Private Companies. But growing at such a pace does present challenges for managers, Purcell admits:

“There’s never a stable environment when you’re growing so fast. We had a very fluid decision-making process and the danger was that teams could get overloaded and some projects perhaps wouldn’t achieve return on investment.”

To overcome this, Booktopia’s leadership team had to introduce more formal processes, explains Purcell. “For our growth to be sustainable, we had to develop our own corporate structure from within. What helped us was attracting people who had been in corporate environments. Every new person we hired brought knowledge and we would alter things accordingly.”

Alarm bells

Booktopia’s growth is all the more impressive when you consider the rollercoaster that Australia’s wider publishing industry has been riding. A decade ago mobile technology began seizing consumers’ attention and refused to let go. In 2011, high street bookstores Borders and Angus & Robertson closed their doors forever. All up, close to 200 bookshops closed around this time and the Australian book market fell by 20%.

Catherine Milne, Head of Fiction at publisher HarperCollins, recalls this time with a shudder: “They were dark days. Bookshops were closing, TV was suddenly accessible on mobile screens, social media was swallowing up people’s time and the Australian dollar was so high that – briefly – it became cheaper to buy books from overseas.”

Milne, who is publishing Purcell’s new novel, The Girl on the Page, says Booktopia helped the industry fight back. “It changed the retail landscape. After the closure of so many rural and regional bookstores, Booktopia was able to service all those Australians who can’t easily travel to a bookshop – not to mention many more who simply like the speed and convenience of online shopping.”

Question everything

As leader in an industry undergoing so much change, Purcell encourages his colleagues to stay up to date. “There are new products born every month from publishing presses. If you want to keep up, reading the right newsletters and social media is vital.

Reflecting on her own experience of leading through change, Milne recalls: “During rapid change you’ve really got to question everything; question your processes, question your methods. You have to ask yourself if what you did previously is still working today – and then be prepared to change when it’s not.”

“Our CEO James Kellow is incredibly good at setting very concrete goals for us that we can reach and then celebrating when we reach them. I think that’s the best way – to really focus on the things that you can influence, the things you can change, the things you can create.”

Kellow is one of the two leaders in publishing who Purcell admires most: “James and also Louise Sherwin-Stark [CEO at Hachette Australia] have made very strong and clever push to make sure they are publishing Australian stories,” he says. “In the past 10 years, it’s become clear that Australians are reading Australians, which is extraordinary because for most of our history we looked towards overseas literature.”

Separating fact from fiction

Purcell points out that neither of these leaders inspired ‘Julia’, one of the more memorable characters in his new novel, who is a terrible leader.

“Julia is the publishing director of my fictional publishing house and she’s a terrible leader because she’s all management and no product knowledge. She thinks only of the bottom line so her ability to inspire people in the business is nil, because she has absolutely no relationship with the books. All she sees is the numbers in the end.”

So how did Purcell’s real-life publisher feel when she read this? “There were times when I winced,” laughs Milne. “I thought ‘Is that the perception people have of publishing?’ Like any industry, there are certainly managers who prioritise profit above all else, but they are few and far between in publishing. In truth, you can only be a good publisher if you put the interests of the book and the reader first and if you invest the time that a book needs to get it right.

“I’m hoping that the mere fact I’m publishing The Girl on the Page is a counterpoint to the Julias of this world!”

By Andy McLean, Editorial Director of Leadership Matters.

*The full version of this article was published in the December 2018 edition of Leadership Matters.

Other life: The X Factor

Taking the helm as licensee of TEDxCanberra has been a rewarding journey for Wisdom Learning consultant Ingrid Tomanovits AFIML, on both a professional and personal level.

By Lisa Calautti

When Ingrid Tomanovits sat among the audience at her first TEDxCanberra event six years ago, little did she know she was about to embark upon a life-changing path.

Upon learning that the speaker and performer event was organised entirely by volunteers, Tomanovits made it her mission to get involved. Fast forward to 2018, and she is the TEDxCanberra licensee, where she oversees a volunteer crew, who spend more than 3,000 hours bringing an event to life each year in the nation’s capital.

The experience of organising has left Tomanovits grateful for those in the world who want to make life better for others. “One of the things that I love about TEDxCanberra is everybody on that stage is just an ordinary person who decided to pursue their ideas and take action to improve something,” she says. “It is really inspiring to me to see people who are relatable. You don’t have to be a business or industry mogul or a millionaire to have a positive impact on your world. That was the thing that stood out to me the most.”

TED originated in 1984 with the goal of spreading ideas via short and powerful talks, where Technology, Entertainment, and Design come together. Today, TED covers topics ranging from science to business to global issues. As one event in the global TEDx program, TEDxCanberra showcases the best-undiscovered ideas in the local community, which Tomanovits says is also about bringing people together to make things happen. Ideas on how to eradicate scabies, to schooling solutions for children suffering from critical or long-term illnesses, to starting a revolution of human kindness are just some of the talks that featured in the 2018 event.

Likening her work with TEDxCanberra to running a business in her spare time, Tomanovits’ passion is palpable. Her enjoyment at seeing the end result drives her, as she knows from personal experience that being in the audience can be life-changing. One achievement she is most proud of is securing more women speakers through taking a deliberate approach to finding and assisting them to prepare for the stage. Also, learning there are times as a leader when you don’t have all the answers has been a welcome lesson, she admits. “It might be contrary to a lot we are taught about leadership but, for me, it is about having the humility to know that I don’t have all the answers but I do know how to ask for help. I have found time and time again, if I am prepared to ask for help, it will be there,” she said.

5 Minutes with Brad Fenech

At just 24 years of age, Brad Fenech CMgr AFIML, senior consultant at Approach ICT, has already enjoyed a flourishing career in Canberra’s public and private sectors. He says the key to being a good manager is practising what you preach. we asked him to share six lessons from his career to date.

As told to Lisa Calautti

  1. Be yourself

“Build your own self. And what I mean by that is: it is all well and good to have role models but take bits and pieces from each as it is impossible to mirror one specific person. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses.”

2. Be uncomfortable

“Go outside your typical comfort zones. Take some risks. For me, that’s learning to be more creative. It forces you to learn more skills and talk to people. With that, you naturally find new ideas popping into your head at random times of the day or night.”

3. Take time out

“Something I have really committed to is meditation. And I can’t get enough of it. We are always on the phone, or a computer or some sort of technology, so there is so much going through my head. A good way to just unwind and collect my thoughts is through meditation.”

4. Be creative and innovative

“While I have found it challenging, these traits allow you to be one step ahead.  As a manager or a leader, if you aren’t practising these qualities, when it comes to your team you can’t expect your colleagues to do the same. It is basic psychology – practise what you preach.”

5. Be a good problem solver

“Two words come to mind – passion and confidence. Someone once said to me that life is all about finding problems that you enjoy solving. I guess the stereotype is that a problem is a negative thing but I am slowly coming around to the notion that they are not all negative. I try to find problems that I
enjoy solving.”

6. Be strong in your decisions

“This goes back to confidence for me. You make a decision and you might not be right, but you sure won’t be the last person to make a wrong decision. There will be naysayers but if you are comfortable with your decision and you have remained ethical and considered all the sources of information, then I don’t think there is anything more that you can do. As a manager or leader, it is important to be able to make a confident decision while remaining ethical. It is as simple as that – make a good example of yourself.”

3 Points of view: Hey, that’s not fair!

Fairness matters to staff and employees a lot more than  you might think. As a manager and leader, how do you ensure you are being fair and even-handed? journalist Nicola Field asked three experts .

Employees need to trust you if you are going to lead them. That means I not only have to be fair, but also need them to perceive me as being fair.

I make efforts always to have open lines of communication. Where possible, I explain the reasons behind my decisions. I involve my team in coming up with an action plan to solve specific problems. You need to be vulnerable sometimes with your team and share your own experiences.

I make a constant effort to treat everyone equally. The goal is always to align my actions with the shared purpose. The team should be able to see the link between the actions and the goals we share, even if it sometimes requires challenging old processes.

Leaders are not perfect. I try to be aware of, and take ownership of, my own biases and emotions. I admit when I have made a mistake and forgive others when they admit their mistakes.

Transparency is another crucial ingredient in both being fair and being perceived as being fair. My team knows how I make decisions. I am always upfront and truthful.

Ankit Sharma CMgr MIML – Project Manager, MMG Ltd

Transparency is critical to fairness. Especially with any reward, recognition and hiring processes. Ensure selection panels have diverse representation because while it is important to be fair, it’s also critical that it is seen to be fair.

If you have staff who are working harder than others, this needs to be recognised. If some employees aren’t contributing as much, seek to understand why. If you don’t manage a poor performer this can leave others disgruntled. Equity theory tells us that employees can be demotivated if they feel their effort is greater than what they receive in return, and they may seek ways to improve the level of fairness from their perspective. So leaders must take action. Listen to what’s going on in your team. If you are seeing first-hand or hearing from team members about there being unequal levels of effort, look at both sides of the story and work to find a resolution.

Michelle Gibbings CMgr FIML

Author of Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate Your Career (Wiley)

Avoid the blame game. I have a personal philosophy of always looking at the problem, not the person. Fairness is about acknowledging that mistakes happen and encouraging employees to take responsibility.

For managers and leaders, fairness starts with transparent communication about expectations and consequences.

Be aware too of perception versus reality. Be sure you’re not spending time helping one particular employee more than others. Similarly, in any team there is almost inevitably one person who is super helpful, and another who just coasts along. It’s not fair to take advantage of those who work hard by overloading them – yet it can be an easy trap to fall into, until they’ve had enough and hand in their resignation. Instead, encourage the coasters to stand up and pull their weight – it’s not a case of picking on one person, or you as a manager trying to look good. What you are aiming for is the success of the team.

Coach the coasters to the point where they realise they need to pull their weight or reconsider whether they want to be part of the team at all.

Ken Murphy FIML

Founder, Ken Murphy Consulting

 

Is your workplace safe enough for teamwork?

In recent years, workplaces have shown a strong commitment towards workplace health and safety. Although physical risk at work is the lowest it has ever been, psychological safety has traditionally taken a backseat in terms of organisational priorities.

Psychological safety refers to the comfort of individuals to speak up about ideas, questions and mistakes without a fear of being punished or humiliated. For organisations that want to capitalize on the value of high performing teams, it is evident that they need to ramp up their commitment to building psychological safety.

This article will take a look at simple ways to promote a psychologically safe work environment for all employees.

Leadership

Unfortunately, leaders seem to be a major culprit for creating a less psychologically safe work environment. Why? As leaders, sometimes it can be hard to admit that you are wrong or that your opinion may not be as good as someone else’s. However, leaders who refuse to show any signs of vulnerability inevitably instill this expectation onto the rest of their workforce.

To prevent this misconception from constraining team performance, it is encouraged that leaders ask for feedback from their team, acknowledge their mistakes and show a genuine interest in calling on others for ideas.

Discussion space

There are numerous ways to promote a more psychologically safe space for team discussions. In particular, it is important to consider the types of materials encouraged and discouraged in the planning space.

For example, phones and technological devices can encourage member distraction, particularly in initial meetings. This can lead to less active listening by team members and can also make team members feel humiliated when they are sharing their ideas. As such, it is recommended that during initial discussions, technological devices are discouraged.

Another way of promoting psychological safety in team discussions is by holding discussions in a small meeting room. Small meeting rooms can create an impression of a more supportive team environment as it promotes more inclusive body language and reduces the risk of distraction.

Self-awareness training

Another method for reducing the risk of psychologically unsafe team work is self-awareness training. By encouraging team members to understand the perceptions of their personality in a team environment, they can understand the responses of other team members and adapt their behaviours accordingly.

One popular model for developing an understanding of an individual’s personality is the ‘Five Factor Model’. This model evaluates personality based on five key traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. By evaluating where each team member sits in this model, team members can tailor their communication style to support their colleagues.

How to facilitate effective innovation days

In the fierce contemporary business environment, we always hear people ramble on about the importance of innovation. So much so, more organisations are starting to implement workforce innovation days.

An innovation day involves the workforce splitting into small teams to try and solve a problem relevant to the business. For companies such as: Suncorp, Microsoft and Google, these innovation days have been pivotal for building high performance teams.

For those employees that participate in innovation days, it means much more than just working in a team to design a solution. Instead, they are working in a team to develop strategic ideas that the company could actually implement. This sets the scene for a highly motivated team as there is a strong sense of empowerment and purpose amongst members.

So, how can your organisation implement innovation days to maximise team performance? This article will take a look at the three key steps to facilitating an effective innovation day.

Step 1: Ideate

The ideate stage introduces teams to the issue and provides context around the issue so that ideas can be brainstormed. To promote effectiveness, here are a few sneaky hints!

Firstly, it is important to gain commitment by pitching why the business problem is a pressing issue and how it could potentially harm the future success of the organisation. By not answering the ‘why,’ employees are likely to care less about the issue. As such, passion and creativity may be lacking whilst designing a potential solution.

Secondly, to promote more active involvement by members at this stage, it is recommended that team formations are no larger than five.

Finally, there is a tendency for teams to rush this stage of problem solving and start going into detail about one specific idea before considering all available options. To reduce the risk of this, it is recommended that facilitators provide a time guide for teams.

Step 2: Prototype

This step involves teams taking their core ideas further. To promote highly effective prototypes at this stage, it is recommended that teams get the opportunity to discuss their ideas with coaches and mentors in the business. This will assist in highlighting any idea weaknesses and capitalising on any key strengths.

Step 3: Validate

The final step encourages teams to present their solution to their colleagues and other key stakeholders. This particular step is essential for two reasons. Firstly, it provides another opportunity for feedback so that elements of the idea can be strengthened. Secondly, even if the idea isn’t implemented, it provides teams with a sense of achievement for participating in the innovation day and producing a final product.

The building blocks of a high performing team

It sounds silly to treat teamwork like it’s Lego; however, effective teams can be built based on a few key building blocks. These building blocks are best described in Pac MacMillan’s (2001) ‘High Performance Team Model’. According to this model, the building blocks of a high performing team are: effective communication, common purpose, accepted leadership, effective processes and solid relationships. This article will take a look at why each of these blocks are significant to team success.

Effective communication

Effective communication is essential for team settings for multiple reasons. Firstly, it is required for healthy debate about topics so that more thorough options can be explored. Secondly, it assists in building the credibility of team members as everyone is able to better contribute towards the team project and understand the requirements of the tasks they are assigned. Finally, effective communication within a team assists prompt decision making so that projects can be completed quicker.

Common purpose

Having a common purpose in a team setting sets the scene for willful cooperation. In a study by Tarricone and Luca in 2002, it was found that having a team that was committed to common goals was essential in developing the accountability of team members as well as boosting their engagement in the project.

Accepted leadership

In organisational settings, sometimes teams are reluctant to assign a team project leader as team members like to feel equal. Sometimes personal motivations can be what comes in the way of this, such as a competitive work environment and desire to stand out to management. However, all personal motivations aside, accepted leadership is essential for team projects as it promotes project productivity, quick decisions, clear deadlines and healthy cooperation.

Effective processes

Effective processes lay out the method of cooperation in team settings. Different team projects may have different processes that are more effective; consequently, this is an important discussion for members to have at their first meeting. Processes may include the regularity of team meetings, how the team communicates with each other and shares information or how work is allocated and reviewed. By having clear processes suited to the specific project, there is less room for error and productivity is enhanced.

Solid relationships

As much as we would love for all team members to have solid relationships with one another, this is not always achievable in workplace settings. As such, organisations are increasingly focusing on the ability of individuals to work in teams when making recruitment decisions through the usage of psychometric testing and values-based interviewing. By building a workforce that is able to effectively manage relationships in team environments, communication is strengthened, misunderstandings are reduced, conflict is prevented and team agility is enhanced.

So there we have the five key building blocks to high performing teams. Can you identify which one of these blocks may be preventing your team from reaching its full potential?

To discover more strategies on how you can foster high performing teams, consider enrolling in one of our short courses. From communication essentials to time and priority management, you can develop important skills to better manage your teams for lasting success.

Reference:

http://www.unice.fr/crookall-cours/teams/docs/team%20Successful%20teamwork.pdf

What do dysfunctional teams look like?

Unfortunately, many of us have experienced working in a dysfunctional team at least once. However, with the increasing use of teams, effective teamwork has become a critical ingredient for organisational success. But what make a team less functional than they could be?

According to Lencioni (2002) there are five factors that cause a team to be dysfunctional. These are: an absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Whilst these five factors may seem to be distinct issues, Lencioni argues that they are heavily interrelated. This article will take a look at how these factors interrelate with each other and how to overcome them.

Absence of trust

In team settings, trust refers to team member confidence, positive team intentions and the willingness to be vulnerable amongst members. When an absence of trust is evident in a team, there are numerous consequences. This can include:

  • Limited constructive feedback
  • Concealed mistakes and weaknesses
  • Negative relationships and grudges are commonly held

To overcome a lack of team trust, there are multiple approaches organisations can take. Firstly, it is encouraged that organisations implement 360-degree feedback tools. These tools can be a powerful method for building trust in teams as they promote transparent communication and ensure that team members are more comfortable being vulnerable around each other.

Secondly, trust can be promoted through workforce training on personality profiles. By helping employees to develop a stronger understanding of their colleagues’ personalities, they will be more emotionally intelligent. Consequently, the credibility of team members can be maximised.

Fear of conflict

The second factor of team dysfunction is a fear of conflict. Whilst an absence of conflict in team settings may sound seemingly ideological, conflict is necessary for producing healthy debate and critically evaluating ideas. Typically, teams that have an absence of trust are likely to also fear conflict as team members are less willing and confident to share different ideas or provide feedback.

To promote healthy conflict in team settings, it is recommended that organisations continue to develop the emotional intelligence of employees. By building the emotional intelligence of their workforce, conflict is less likely to get out of hand, meaning less team members will fear it.

Lack of commitment

Another factor that undermines the effective functioning of teams is a lack of commitment. A lack of commitment is a common consequence of a lack of trust and conflict in team settings as team members have less passionately expressed their ideas. By feeling uncomfortable to present ideas that they are passionate about, team members are likely to be less committed to the course of action.

On top of promoting healthy conflict and trust to build the commitment of team members, there are also other approaches. In particular, setting deadlines and encouraging team members to nominate which task they would be most interested in being responsible for are effective ways of building commitment.

Avoidance of accountability

When there is a lack of commitment towards a course of action, team members typically feel less accountable for the risk of failure. This leads to counterproductive behaviours that undermine the success of the team project.

To maximise the accountability of team members and promote team efficiency, it is recommended that teams take the time to develop goals and expectations before commencing the project.

Inattention to results

The final factor of team dysfunction is an inattention to results. This factor refers to the tendency of members to care about something other than the shared goals of the team. This dysfunction thrives in organisational environments where team members are assessed individually rather than being assessed on their overall group performance.

Evidently, any one of these five factors could be detrimental to the performance of a team. Can you pinpoint which one caused your dysfunctional team experience?

Reference: Lencioni, Patrick M. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team : A Leadership Fable, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/detail.action?docID=292516

The Lowdown: Project delays and bust budgets

How can you minimise the risk of a project’s timeline and budget blowing out as you work through to completion? By being aware of the inherent biases in our brains, and examining the landscape for insights into similar projects. By Vanessa Mickan.

Sydney’s light rail expansion is – surprise, surprise – massively over budget and behind schedule. I’m trying to imagine the planning meetings at the outset of the project, which will (eventually) add 12 kilometres of track to the city’s public transport network. I think we can safely assume the discussion did not go:

 “Let’s dig up some main roads to cause chaos and bring retailers to their knees.”

 “Then let’s surprise them by doing it for at least a year longer than we said we would.”

 “Don’t forget to make it cost more too. Like a billion dollars.”

 “Are you sure about that, only a million?”

 “No, no, I said billion, with a b.”

 “Genius idea. Taxpayers love that! All in favour say aye.”

Like most of us when we tackle a big project, everyone probably went into the light rail project believing they could get the job done on budget and on time.

So why is it that despite our best intentions and planning, big projects inevitably end up costing more and taking longer than we think they will? And as a business leader, what can you do about it?

Be aware of optimism bias. Four out of five of us have brains that are wired to present a rosier view of what will happen to us, according to cognitive neuroscientist Tali Sharot. For instance, about 40 per cent of people get divorced, yet newly married people rate their likelihood of splitting up at zero per cent. Step one in stopping the optimism bias from derailing your next big project is to simply start being cognisant of it.

Don’t fall for the planning fallacy. This common psychological quirk means we’re usually confident our project will go according to plan, even though we know other similar projects haven’t. Almost half of Olympic Games go over budget by more than 100 per cent, and many struggle to finish construction on time. Yet still Games organisers get taken by surprise. The Rio Games in 2016 are a memorable example, but the Montreal Games in 1972 hold the record: they were 720 per cent over budget and workers were sweeping up building debris as the opening ceremony began. The solution? Study data from similar past projects, and learn from them.

Streamline your communication. Tech innovator Justin Rosenstein designed the collaboration software Asana because of his frustration with wasting so much time at Google making sure the left hand knew what the right hand was doing – or what he calls “doing the work about work” – rather than developing products. But if it makes you feel any better about your own big projects, it took Rosenstein three years to launch his software … which just happens to be three times longer than he thought it would.