Culture Corner

Culture corner

WABN: What has been the most challenging event in your career?

GS: "Two challenging moments stand out in my career. While working and training a newly de-segregated fast-tracked black management team workforce at the South African Broadcasting Corporation, the challenge was to develop a television format that would showcase 11 different language groups, from nine provinces into a weekly magazine show and continuous election coverage for the South African Community Elections in 1995. The stresses and pressures were amazing, but the joy of helping develop a new approach to broadcasting in South Africa was awesome.

''Through it I learned the value of listening, and that everyone has a voice, something to contribute and should be heard. I also learned that South Africans eat more meat than Australians.

"The other was convincing senior management at the ABC in the early 1990s to let a television producer with no experience in publishing (or gardening for that matter) take charge of developing the Gardening Australia magazine for the general marketplace. From it I learned that, with the right idea and the right approach, perseverance can pay off. The magazine became the highest selling magazine in its field within the first 12 months. I also learned that you can plant potatoes on concrete and that Peter Cundall tells the same stories over and over again."

WABN: Can you name a highlight in your career?

GS: "I've been blessed with many highlights in my career, but in recent years, going out to see the films created by first-time filmmakers as part of FTI's Making Movies Roadshow five-day filmmaking workshops is a standout. Sitting under the Kimberley stars watching the films they have created projected onto a big outdoor screen in front of an indigenous community of around 200 people, has left me with a profound respect for the true value of family, community and what filmmaking can achieve."

WABN: Is there an organisational model that you strive to achieve?

GS: "Dealing with the intangibles of ideas makes it a hard business model to sell, and convincing investors and funders that this speculative resource is worth investing in for the sake of the social and cultural fabric of our society is something we are continually striving for. There's little chance of returning money on the investment, but there's still a lot more gold nuggets to be found in this state."

WABN: What is the main quality are you looking for within your team members?

GS: "Hard working, creative, passionate, lateral thinking self-motivators, not afraid to argue a point, but understand that I am right about everything and will do everything I say without question.

"While subservient, sycophantic 'yes-sir' employees may do wonders for the ego, it won't advance the business, or the objectives of the organisation. I think it's important to make sure you don't surround yourself with clones of yourself."

To read the full interview, log on to www.wabusinessnews.com.au