Grahame Maher, CEO Vodafone Qatar

I’m Australian, and Australians seem to be wanderers.  Maybe it’s because we suffer from a “tyranny of distance” – which means that when we do travel, we don’t just do it for a week or two, we do it for years.  That’s why about 70% of bar staff in the UK are Aussies, with a similar percentage for ski instructors in Europe and Canada.

I’ve done my own share of living in different countries, but I’m put to shame by Grahame Maher, currently CEO of Vodafone Qatar.  In his time with the company he’s lead the Australian, New Zealand, Swedish, Czech and now Qatar organizations.

So he brings to this conversation a unique mix of loyalty to one company, but the perspective of living and working in many countries.  Even better, he is (in his own words) “a small business guy who never wanted to work for a big organization” and a baker by trade.  Intrigued?  You should be.

In this conversation, we look at:

• The tactics he used to move the Vodafone brand in New Zealand from 2% recognition to 96%
• The power of mission and values to drive Great Work
• What happened when an engineer accidentally turned off the network for 600,000 people’s phones
• How stories can carry the DNA of success (and why the right words matter)

Listen to my interview with Grahame Maher

0:16 Michael introduces Grahame Maher

3:57 The tactics he used to move the Vodafone brand in New Zealand from 2% recognition to 96%

8:11 The power of mission and values to drive Great Work

13:01 What happened when an engineer accidentally turned off the network for 600,000 people’s phones

16:39 How stories can carry the DNA of success (and why the right words matter)

21:34 Advice on how to get more Great Work

25:24 How to know what to say yes to and what to say no to

26:44 Michael closes the interview

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