Page 62 - Be Reasonable – Do It My Way , Peter E. Daly AM, My Story

CHAPTER 5 - PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Following a year or two I eventually picked up the courage to phone Alan’s boss in South Africa and ask him whether he would have any objections if I offered Alan a job. There was stony silence on the other end of the line and all of a sudden there was a big burst saying “that is simply not on”. However, after a few friendly words he did say maybe I would concede if Alan stayed in South Africa for another three years.
I know it’s not easy to believe, but during the three years, I also recruited
Brian de Kock, Aegis’ Chief Accountant, who was easier to get over here because Brian’s wife Beth was an Australian. Almost three years to the day, Alan and Janice plus family arrived in Australia. Of course, immigration or business sponsored immigration depended on being able to demonstrate that we were filling a skills shortage not readily available in Australia. Insofar as immigration is concerned, he was a whiz at reinsurance.
Planning became a central part of my business strategy wherever I went. When I became involved with ICA, one of my first initiatives was to introduce a planning discipline. We introduced planning conferences with the industry, with the board and with management. These resulted in annually produced three Year Plans called Future Directions. It didn’t matter that there was only a very simple financial aspect, these were all about issues, strategy and resourcing. Our successes proved that if you have a plan and a road map you have a better chance of arriving at the destination and of getting everyone to join you on the journey. The planning is a team exercise and so is the execution.
Sport is just the same. If you go onto the field without a plan as to how you are going to run the match and deal with the opposition then I suggest you are very likely to lose unless the opposition doesn’t have a plan either.
One last thought is I always say to my people that while you are sleeping, I am working, so I always try to be one step ahead!
62