Case Studies
Issue No. 16 - April/May 2004
OZ-Train
Staff of life
A few years later she set up a second company, Oz—Train Pty Ltd, which she intended to use as a vehicle for making and selling training videos. As clients warmed to the name it made sense to move her training and consulting work under the Oz—Train banner. Four years ago, realising that electronic learning was here to stay in some form, Denise started Where—u—learn.com, which now provides learning services to organisations as diverse as the Office for the Commissioner for Public Employment in South Australia, TXU, Elders Rural Bank and Savings & Loans.
The basis of the Oz—Train philosophy is that profit is not the final indicator of business success. It is a symptom of a well—built and properly oriented company.
“I agree with Peter Drucker when he says you are not in business to make money, you are there to add value to customers and to innovate,” Denise says. “I love what I do, and the team I work with. Making money is a by—product of doing this well.”
Denise has fostered “the Oz—Train way”, a philosophy which is nowhere spelt out but is understood by everyone in both companies.
“It is about having genuine interest in, and even good old fashioned affection for your customer,” she says.
“It is about bringing energy and humour to everything you do; it is about a healthy sense of competition as well as a commitment to supporting your peers; and it is about great pride in everything to do with the business, from the quality of the coffee and chocolate biscuits we serve at meetings and the art on the walls, to the ability to solve difficult problems and to enthuse and engage a learner or manager.”
It’s also about understanding the difference between leading people and managing them—and getting the balance right.
Denise feels fortunate to have had no major disasters, but the kinks along the way led her to develop some cardinal points.
- Make sure you have good personal...
