Business author/speaker, now writing new Flight Centre business book - plus still kicking traditional HR into touch to get better business results.
Currumbin Valley Qld Australia
Joined February 2014
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Employers dont realise that recruiting people and not engaging them is like pouring liquid gold into a bathtub .....without the plug.
๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ-๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ - ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ-๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ - ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ ๐ด๐น๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป? ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐บ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐: ๐ฒ๐ป๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐@๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ท๐ผ๐ต๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป.๐ฐ๐ผ
Let me know your favourite in the comment section - unless you think you can top it! Finishing up the manuscript this month, so looking for that killer title!
Flight Centreโs first prototype was a $10,000 one-off, hand-cast by a surfboard expert. โWe wanted quality feedback,โ said the branding head They got it โ by the bucketload. Send me your fave captain story - [email protected]
At a 2002 Whistler conference, FCโs execs whiteboarded every โbrutal factโ theyโd been avoiding & began planning. The MD said: โ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด - ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด.โ
52-year-old Top Deck Travel has officially reinvented itself โ from Oct 2025 it will ditch the big buses in favour of mini-coaches & train travel (ideally not quite as mini as the originalTop Deck company car pictured, which technically counted as a vehicle if you squinted).
Just four weeks after Australiaโs borders reopened, Flight Centre finally hit positive operating cash flow for the first time in two years. Naturally, they threw a party - Flichella - a loud, colourful โwe made it throughโ explosion after the pandemic rollercoaster.
In his spare time, FC CEO Skroo Turner decided to launch - Across Australia Coachlines - a โno-frillsโ bus service โฆ but to save cash, skipped the luxuries - like air-conditioning and toilets. Slightly bonkers - an example from a great era, when people just made things happen!
It sounds like the plot of a B-grade crime flick, but in 2002, FC CEO Skroo actually received a ransom note โ cut-out letters and all โ demanding the return of Flight Centreโs first fibreglass captain prototype. If youโve got a story to add to his travel log, email me...
Asked about Flight Centre's ambitious plan to launch its own airline after Ansett collapsed in 2001 (turns out โFlight Centre Airlinesโ wasnโt meant to be), this was MD Skroo Turnerโs reply demonstrating that while some ideas soar, others nose-dive.
I recently spoke with Ronan McNeary, store leader at Sydney Airport Flight Centre, about those chaotic first days of Covid. As Ronan recalled: โWe had a line of people stretching out of the shop and down the concourse as people were desperate to get on any flight out."
I've been gathering stories from the wild early days of Flight Centre. As one put it, โUp to the mid-eighties we didnโt mean to break all the rules all the time โ but honestly, it was the only way to get anything done.โ Compliance back then was more of a 'vibe' than a policy.
A big thanks to everyone who has shared ideas so far. Also on the lookout for some catchy one-word title ideas if anyone is feeling a spark of genius...
This week I interviewed Angela Wilson from Flight Centreโs COVID refunds team. In the first week after the borders closed, they received a staggering 60,000 refund requests. For such a small team, it was overwhelmingโmade even harder by cruise companies only issuing cheques!
Does anyone else feel like the world has conspired to distract you the second you have a deadline? Only a few weeks left until the first draft of my new Flight Centre book manuscript is due. Iโm considering moving into a cave (with Wi-Fi) and lots of snacks...
Here's your bus, you're off to Kathmandu! Working alone for 2 years seems incredible now, but this was the norm for drivers and tour leaders working for the early Flight Centre business - the Top Deck Travel tour company. I can't even imagine this level of autonomy in 2025.
Working on the COVID chapters of the new Flight Centre book, and the scars of the shutdown are still raw. One manager welcomed his entire team to celebrate his weddingโonly to have to stand them all down a month later. If you have a story of your own, Iโd love to hear it........
Calling all Flight Centre people - Iโm writing a new book to replace Family, Village, Tribe (pub date: early 2026) and Iโd love your input. From titles & cover artwork to photos and stories, this is your chance to help shape it.
๐ Head to lnkd.in/gbFMjEXs for details.
ALT Calling all Flight Centre people - Iโm writing a new book to replace Family, Village, Tribe (pub date: early 2026) and Iโd love your input. From title ideas and cover artwork to photos and stories, this is your chance to help shape it. ๐ Head to https://lnkd.in/gbFMjEXs for all the details.
