was a great learner, and I’ve been to Bentonville, Arkansas, on several occasions. I was fortunate enough in 2006 to spend three full days with every leader of Walmart. Back then, when Lee Scott was the CEO, I had the great fortune to meet Sam Walton. I also spent three hours with the man himself when he came out to Australia, just by pure chance.
The reason that that’s influenced me so much is because Sam Walton built, in my view, the greatest company in the world. It’s certainly the most successful retailer. And even though we’re in a different sector of the market, the principles are the same.
I’ve been a great student of Walmart ever since it was only in five states or something. But he was already on his way. And he just made sense. So for three hours, I was riveted. I was a kid of twenty-six and I just went and put so many of those things into the business. So, he, without a doubt, has been a major influence in many of the ways in which we operate. That’s when I really understood culture. I instinctively knew what was going on but that word culture hadn’t come into my vocabulary back then.
I am a fan of Jack Welch in his sort of candid, direct continuous improvement,‘Be number one’ approach.
BK: yes, bottom 10% of managers leaving every year.
BB: Just in the way to keep it disciplined and focused. That would probably cover the guys that have influenced the business to some degree.
BK: I get that. Now, let me finish by asking you for a motto, a quote, or thought that best summarises your approach to life or business.
BB: I would have to tell you that there are two. I think I probably mentioned one of them, but it’s always about the customer. I’ve mentioned this one already too, but I truly believe that in the continuous learning, continuous improvement is that if something can be done better–
BK: Do it better.
BB: It should be. I say that quite often. The one that I have for the family is that we’re a ‘yes’ family. It’s just that one day, it’s going to get me into trouble.
BK: What’s a ‘yes’ family?
BB: ‘Yes’ means ‘Yes, can do,’ in the sense of no whingeing. Remember, I’ve got a four-year-old and a two-year-old. ‘Could you bring the plate to the table?’ ‘Yes.’So I think ‘yes’ is the answer. Everything ought to be ‘yes’ before it’s ’no‘.
BK: It can be done.
BB: It can be done.
‘… I truly believe in continuous learning, continuous improvement. If something can be done better, do it better.’
Bill Bridges
Real Estate Agent – Ballard Property
‘I’ve learned a lot of lessons by watching other people stop work. It’s not a nice sight and while ever you can keep your brain functioning, if you want to work, I think you should work … In fairness to yourself.’
A prestige property real estate agent in Sydney for over fifty-five years, the legendary Bill Bridges may be in his eighties but he has an undiminished appetite for the next deal and the one after it – be it for tens of millions or just millions of dollars. An ex-jockey who grew up in Cabramatta, some of his self-confessed rough edges are still apparent, but they don’t seem to stop him from making those record transactions!
Interview
BRETT KELLY: It is truly great to be with Bill Bridges, a long-time Sydney real estate agent, today. Bill, where did you grow up?
BILL BRIDGES: I was born in Liverpool, in the western suburbs of Sydney, and I did my schooling at Cabramatta Public School. I think there were only two Asian families in Cabramatta when I was there. They were racehorse trainers. I used to ride track work for them. One was called Billy Bushan and the other bloke was called Jack King.
BK: So, you grew up with horses?
BB: Well, I was an apprentice jockey at Warwick Farm when I was very, very young– sixty-odd years ago – for a bloke called Norman Turnbull. He taught me a lot.He was a scallywag, of course, as they all were in those days. Fortunately for me, I liked food better than I liked riding horses. The two don’t work well together, so instead, I spent quite a few years around the racetrack with jockey friends of mine, riding track work and, as always, I was the guy that found the punters for the jockeys.
They weren’t supposed to bet, but they all bet. It was like asking a rabbit not to eat lettuce, asking a jockey not to bet. Some bet very heavily. But in those days the prize money was very small, of course. We would race for £10 or whatever it was – it was pounds in those days – and of course they used to hold the horses and wait until they got to the right race and the right price. In those days, you would bet SP. There were only a couple of jockeys who knew which horses could win – a lot of jockeys could ride horses, but they didn’t know if they could win.
BK: you did OK?
BB: We were very successful.
BK: And then, after horses?
BB: After horses I became a contract cleaner. But before that, I worked for an SPbookmaker, which was a bit of an ongoing thing. Another great experience, but then I became a contract cleaner.
BK: And was it your business, or were you working for somebody?
BB: I was working with another guy. I was cleaning the Post Office at Balmain and this fellow came up to me, Max van Lubeck. He was a property dealer and a wheeler-dealer in a big way. He called me down from the ladder and said, ‘Would you clean a house for me?’ So I said, ‘Yeah, that would be fine. Where is it?’ and he said, ‘It’s in Balmain, Stephen Street.’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah? What am I cleaning it for?’ and he said, ‘I want to sell it.’
So I went and looked at the house and I said, ‘How much do you want for this?’I knew nothing about selling houses, of course. He said £3 000, I think it was, and I said, ‘Oh yeah. What do I do if someone comes in?’ He said, ‘Just take their name.’So a bloke came in and we got nagging and he said, ‘I want to buy it.’ So Max came back and I said, ‘I’ve sold that – will you take three?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ And then he said, ‘I’ve got about another twenty houses. Would you like to clean them?’
Anyway, the story is, I sold thirty-two houses in six weeks for Mr van Lubeck and he thought I could walk on water. But he was a great teacher. And I was a bit of a wild bloke – coming out of stables, all sorts of things,
