5 Lessons about Career and Life I Learned from Stan Joyce, MD of South Pacific Brewery

Two weeks ago on 21st August 2018, I had the fortune of meeting with Stan Joyce, MD of South Pacific Brewery (SPB), one last time for an exit chat. As with any overseas assignment, the last day felt like too much to swallow—lots of emotions bottling up, hard to leave. However, feelings aside, it goes without saying that when you have to meet your MD, you have to do them justice.

This was three days after I had made my end-of-assignment presentation to the Management Team summing up my setbacks, achievements, learnings and experiences over the past 5 months. So I knew Stan didn’t want to just catch up on the same old things he had heard from me. When my good friend Linda Apana, Stan’s Personal Assistant, quickly hinted in a low voice to me, “Rong, he’s done now with the phone conversation,” I walked in briskly and firmly.

Stan welcomed me warmly and asked me to sit down. He came over from his desk and sat right opposite me on the long couch. He looked at me carefully in the eyes, like he was examining my psyche. Lucky for me, he sensed no trace of nervousness and self-doubt. He then commended me for the effort and work I had delivered. We exchanged some thoughts about the current state of SPB and its future, after which Stan stood up, towering over me, and asked me if I had any questions. Well, I thought for a second, and came up with a burning question. I looked up to him and asked, “Stan, before we part, could you share with me some tips to excel in career and life? A lot of people want to be the MD or a senior leader of some sort; some even want to be Stan. What are your secrets?”

Stan replied in jest and chuckled, “Well, I’m not sure if anyone wants to be Stan, mate. But I can tell you a thing or two about how to reach the pinnacle of your life and career.” The following are 5 lessons distilled from our next 40 minutes of enlightening conversation. They are not a scientific breakthrough, but hearing all these through Stan’s lens of personal experiences in his trademark wit and wisdom was something I wouldn’t trade Google for, so to speak.

1.    The 4 Corners of a Successful Life

When asked about what the pinnacle of success is, Stan responded, “It’s not any one thing, mate. It's pretty much like putting a 1000-piece puzzle together. In Eastern School of Thought, there’s this Ying and Yang. You can be your best friend and your worst enemy. Equilibrium in everything. Not absolute equilibrium, but it’s a balancing act, and it’s continuous.” He asked me, “So have you heard of the 4 cornerstones of life?” I reverted, “There are too many different facets, dimensions, divisions and seasons of life on Google. It’s overly theorized.” Stan laughed and said to me, “Well, let me tell you my version. It’s unorthodox.”

The physical realm

Stan said, “By physical realm, I’m not going to talk to you about fitness or healthy living. That’s a given. You need to take care of your health, and that’s why I shared with you the 3 Golden Rules on your first day here so you would survive PNG.” Stan went on, “So you like adventure sports. You love new experiences and all that you energetically presented to us MT last Friday. That’s good. You’re young. Do all that crazy stuff. I don’t need to name them. Keep up the good work—love that cliff-hanging video of yours. When you put yourself through situations that force you to get out of your comfort zone, stretch your endurance level, expand your horizon, humble you up and burn your ego, that's how your resilience is built, mate. A leader without such experiences is like a house of cards, and through all that, that's how a leader's character begins to form. The word character originates from the Greek word Kharakter, meaning engraved mark or pointed stake. You need to sharpen that saw, that chisel, mate. Amassing all these critical experiences will do you good. It’s what adds to your life’s stories. It’s not a direct investment in the short-run, but it makes you mature, whole and interesting in the longer-run. That's how you raise your game.” Read my article on Discovery Channel's Ed Stafford Survival Series. He takes this physical dimension to a whole new level.

The emotional realm

“This is not about your emotional well-being or mental health. Again, another given. If you have any common sense at all, you know you need to be emotionally healthy. Google it if you want to know more about it. On the emotional realm, I want to talk to you about trust. Self-trust, interpersonal trust and organizational trust. My role as an MD is leading our business so that we add value to our stakeholders: our investors, our community, our employees and myself, obviously. You can imagine how hard it is to build trust. It starts from yourself. The moment I have said something and I swallow my words, I lose trust immediately. When I doubt myself as I speak, I give into fear and fall victim to a lack of vision, lack of clarity, lack of leadership. I can be uncertain. I can question myself, but I must not doubt myself.”

“The book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a treasure trove of principles that I revisit often. Have you read the book?” Stan asked. I responded, “Yes, I have, the first 50 pages or so and the summary.” Stan reiterated the concept of emotional bank account from the book. He said in a lower voice and a more carefully pronounced manner, “Look after your emotional bank account. Each time you interact with someone, from your closest loved one to your business partner, think carefully. Am I withdrawing or depositing trust?” “Everything hangs in the balance, and you are the master of it. Now why trust? I won’t elaborate too much, but I will say that trust is a strong holder of emotions, good, bad and ugly. Reinforcing trust is strengthening positive emotions. Damaging trust is feeding disappointment and spurring feelings of betrayal,” he continued.

The spiritual realm

We often associate anything spiritual with extra-reality or divinity. The great Mother Teresa once said, “We can do no great things; we can only do small things with great love. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” “How does this relate to how we live a successful life?” Stan asked. “Religion and spiritual experiences aside, I’m referring to having a grounding, having strong roots, faith in doing the right thing, discipline and truth to oneself. It’s your compass, mate. Those with a broken compass will live a broken life,” he further explained.

“The famed American businessman Ray Croc once said, “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” Well, he actually said “...he set for himself, but we live in the inclusion, diversity and belonging world, hey? By that quote, though, I want to reinforce the idea of standards, high standards, mate: standard of one's conduct, standard of ethics, standard of execution, standard of leadership, standard of actually living (not standard of living). We think of standard as a process, a prescribed one, like an SOP, but I'm talking high standards, not a process guide. When you start thinking like that, you become the owner of everything, the owner of your life, the owner of people's trust, the owner of the company. Your mindset also changes, say if you work in a company, from working in to working on the business. That's a good one. Work on the business, not in the business.”

“Have you ever wondered why the Sun rises in the east?” Stan asked. “No, not anymore, because I know why,” I said. “So why?” Stan directed the question to me. “It’s because the Earth spins toward the east,” I replied. “Yes, it’s the law of nature. There’s a gravitation pull between things. So you’re a Buddhist, right? You believe in cause and effect. That’s it. That’s what I’m talking about.” “So are you talking about the Law of Attraction?” I asked promptly with much excitement. “I’ll leave that to you to read more about,” Stan quickly fired back.

The financial realm

“People are different. Different decisions. Different ways of thinking. Different lives. You cannot measure a person’s success by comparing their earnings with another person’s. No, that’s not how I look at it. I don’t feel successful because I earn this much and that much, or because I own a yacht this big or a mansion at that price. I look at my happiness level. If I actually need something, can I afford it? I distinguish between wants and needs, luxury and fulfillment. Greed is not good. Desiring to thrive is good. Some people only have principles when they are already rich and already there. It's very important to have principles when you're not there yet, and stand grounded in those principles.” Stan said.

“You will learn that you earn by serving. It’s about putting the best interests of others and your own at heart. Being an MD of this company, I care more than anything about the best interests of my stakeholders. I have to be able to look at my employees and the Board in the eyes and tell them what’s going on in the company and why we’re doing things a certain way, and in doing so I know my stakeholders have my own best interests close to their heart too,” Stan shared. “At the end of the day, we all work for money. However, let your pursuit of living be fueled by inherent curiosity and the drive to thrive rather than material success. Your passion and conscience come first. Everything else will fall into place,” Stan advised.

2.    Your Career Journey is not always Linear

Stan wanted to draw a diagram to show me the relationship between a person’s position (Y-axis) and their job grade (pay grade), X-axis. He also sketched a separate diagram depicting job grade and a person’s age. He then asked me what kind of a career I envision for myself. I told him, “A helicopter move.” That is jumping the job grade hoops, and very likely moving within my function of interest. He said, “A linear career is very exceptional, and it’s good if you reach the peak of your career in that manner. However, not everybody has the fortune to climb the ladder that way. You also risk an early burn-out, or a very unbalanced work-life. You probably will be suffering more than that.” Stan pointed out that a less linear career is more rewarding, less pressuring, and more stabilizing. It also allows you to become more well-rounded. You and the other person will reach the same destination, but you may very likely end up being happier because you didn’t jump off a cliff too many times and survived to get there. Stan continued, “Look, I moved from Australia to PNG. Out of all the places, I chose this, 30 years ago. Many people would be puzzled and wonder why Stan moved here when he had the choice to stay in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. I started with SPB as a lab analyst. I later on moved to Commerce Team in Marketing. Each time the lab team presents something to Stan, they think it’s best to keep it to 15 minutes of lab talk, but every time they end up taking 1 hour to explain to me stuff. Why? Because I used to be a lab analyst, because I want to know what they are doing, and their response is? “Wow, Stan really cares.””

This also reminded me of what my mentor, Fernando De Castro Pastor said, “Rong, career is not a race. Do not fall into the trap of relativistic thinking, constantly self-invigilating, cross-comparing, benchmarking and self-tormenting.” Writer Alain de Botton aptly penned this down in his book Status Anxiety. He wrote, “Anxiety is the handmaiden of contemporary ambition. Wealth is not an absolute. It is relative to desire. Every time we yearn for something we cannot afford, we grow poorer, whatever our resources. And every time we feel satisfied with what we have, we can be counted as rich, however little we may actually possess.”

As much as we all want to self-actualize, not all of us are happy when we’re there. Stan said to me, “Rong, keep your options open. Say, for example, if someone wants to be an MD, and if that person one day doesn’t achieve that, they will be unhappy. If you keep your options open, one day, you reach the same JG (same pay check) as an MD and you’re doing something else, you’re still happy. Don’t set your target as a job or a person. Examine your values, feel your calling, and discover what your passion is, and then commit to it. Destination is a dot. The journey is a continuum.” Apparently, at some point in a person's career, they may even choose life style over quick-fire career advancement and opt for career progression, moving laterally instead of vertically. It doesn't mean a person has plateaued. It could be the individual's choice. That person may even be a promotable or high potential. Even if that brings the person's ambition into question, the future of work may see more of this category of employees.

3.    Write down your Mount Korsiuszko.

While we were discussing the importance of writing down goals, from career goals to financial goals, Stan told me, “Well, these are goals, and it’s good you jot down your goals, mate, but they are not your dreams.” Stan proceeded to asking me, “So, Rong, what’s your Mount Kosiuszko?” Slightly turning his face and looking at me more sharply from one corner of his eye, he gave the question a long pause. The room was in a complete silence, and it was just me and Stan. I felt my heart jumping a bit because I didn’t get his question. Stan realized I didn’t get the question, and rephrased it to, “What’s your Mount Everest?” “I’m from Australia, mate, and that’s the highest mountain in the country.”

Stan wanted to frame my thinking into dreaming. Oftentimes, we are so caught up in driving our life, and we confuse goals with dreams. Most of us probably have lost that toddler’s spark when they see a teddy bear for the first time or a child’s brightened face when they see a Choo-Choo train. “Well, dream it and write it down. It is very personal. Hold on to it. Harbor it. Breathe it. Make it your pursuit of living. But do so because it genuinely means the world to you, not because it means you to the world.” We often smell the stink of fear when we think about our dreams, so we shun it altogether, but dreaming is creating opportunities. For those who dare to dream and make the effort to sow the seeds of greatness, they reach their Mount Korsiuszko.

Many a time, having courage is not not having any fear, but it is feeling the true depth of fear and overcoming it anyway. The Mystic Osho has something wise to say about fear. He said, “If fear is creating a trembling inside, rather than ignoring it or repressing it, just tremble. Allow it to happen, and it will go by itself. Once the cyclone has gone, you will be centered, more centered than ever before.” As I hark back to my experience cliff-hanging in Taupo, New Zealand, I realize there was so much fear before I fell. I tried to repress it, even knowing that I had no choice but to fall. When I fell, fear struck me, and I was petrified for most of the fall, feeling like my guts were hanging above me. Fear left me when I was hanging between the cliffs, noting that I was alive, and the rope didn’t snap. I felt a moment of clarity and centereness. I made it. A dream that instills some fear and nervousness in you is a good dream. It presents a challenge, it makes you grow, and it is an ideal worth pursuing.

4.    Can you win friends and influence people?

Stan asked me if I had been in a position to influence Management. I told him, “It depends on what kind of influence you are talking about. If it’s a massive restructure or high-impact project that touched the lives of hundreds in the organization, nope. Not that kind of influence, not yet, but if it’s steering a course of action involving a tier-3 or tier-4 project of my domain-specific expertise, then yes.” Stan remarked, “Well, you’re still an early professional, so no worries, mate. But I want to tell you that the ability to influence is the rarest commodity of all time. Expertise without influence is followership. Influence without expertise, if you can influence at all, is leadership. Some question this. Well, influence is also about tapping into your team. It’s facilitating a discourse on which is the best route to market based on our vision.” He looked at me with raised eyebrows, eliciting my curiosity even more and rendering me completely on the edge of my seat.

He then told me about being interested and being interesting. “Yes, active listening will take you a long way, and so will empathy. However, being interesting, in the right way,” he added, “will make you become a strong influencer and positioner.” “Now why do I care to stay informed just about everything and anything in this country, taking the time to have a beer or dinner with one of the big people here? It’s because I want to know what’s happening. I want to understand how that will influence my business and my board members. It’s always approaching your influencees with a ‘tell them what they don’t already know’ mindset. That’s what a strategic influencer is hired to do, to shed light, change perspectives, get buy-in, build a community of believers,” Stan shared.

“Besides, influencing others is also about engaging heart and mind. It’s about establishing connection through how you carry yourself authentically and credibly. Your reputation is what people say about you when you’re not there in the room. Can you quickly establish common ground and develop rapport with someone on a higher rung of the ladder than you? Can you size a person up quickly enough to at least scratch the surface of getting know them personally upon meeting that person for the first time? Can you inspire your people, so much so they give you 200%? Lastly, integrity, integrity, integrity. Are you dependable? Are you trustworthy? Are you still fueling the party? Or are you out of gas?” Stan shared. “And when one day you’re the party maker, but everyone else has run out of gas, what do you do?” He asked, again his eyes fixed on me, looking like he was implanting a thought in me.

5.    The End of your millennial bubble

Stan asked me if I was proud to be a young man of my generation, “a mil-len-nial,” he pronounced each syllable with an accentuated stress. Obviously, which millennial wouldn’t be proud of being a millennial? For one thing, it’s always nice being in your early and mid-20s, nice to know you haven’t reached the 30th year mark yet. You can still feel the full bloom of youth, and you might get away with a few cases of recklessness.

Stan then went on to talk about the millennial generation being one of entitlement and gross impatience. While not every millennial grew up the same way, culturally, socio-economically and techno-generationally speaking, he has a point. We live in a world where a 16 year old computer geek can become a CEO of a start-up company in Silicon Valley. The rise of the gig economy has allowed people to be their own bosses and work at their own pace and time remotely. Based on a study by Qualtrics on 6000 millennial respondents, on average, they check their smartphones 150 times a day. Growing up digitally plugged-in and collectively being named the selfie generation makes that unsurprising. A majority of them are positive about themselves and their future outlook—everything is awesome, according to the study. The lifestyle zeitgeist has been here for quite some time now, with food, apps and services catered toward a more virtually connected, fast pace and personalized world. Oh, and have you read that book The 4-hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss? And the 4-hour Body? And how about the 4-hour Chef? Right, everything in 4 hours.

Millennials in general, if not cursed to poverty and hunger, are among the luckier masses whose parents have worked hard and paved the way for them to thrive in an ever-increasing opportunity-rich, but also competition-ridden, world. Yes, there are millennials who struggled hard with limited or without support from their parents and still manage to make a mark. Those are exceptional individuals. No doubt about that. Stan asked me, “So will you still be a millennial when you turn 34, for example, and then you have a Mrs. Rong? And later on you have a little Mr. Rong? Still feel like a millennial then? What are you going to do next, mate?” Stan wanted to tell me that at one point in my life all this will come to pass. Like any stage of a person’s life, there is a beginning and end, and a new beginning. His probing eyes met mine, and the pause made me feel challenged. I smiled, and replied, “Well, millennial in name only, just like I am now a retired teen.” We both laughed at that and said farewell to each other one last time.