We analyse organisations based on character, culture and behaviours following the evidence rather than the spin.

Focusing on the HOW (qualitative), not just the WHAT.

We’ve all watched Qantas’ well-documented fall from grace from afar, but now, under new chair John Mullen, we see signs of positive change.

Here are four key indicators that point to better times ahead:

1. The HHH Index
What evidence is there of Honesty, Humility and Hard-Work?
Speaking to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors this week, chair Mullen said: “We’re a long way from fixing it, but now we have all the ingredients. We have a humble leader (in Vanessa Hudson), a CEO who leads from the front, no ego, and very much a team leader who walks the talk. On Christmas Day, I was home enjoying a beer, and she was walking the terminals and talking to staff. I really sense that people think there is a change and we’re heading the right way.”

2. Board Changes – Todd Sampson
At the same conference, Mullen said without referencing Sampson – “there comes a time when change is good for everybody.”

In a 2023 meeting more than one third of shareholders and Ownership Matters and Future Fund voted against Sampson’s re-election.
His response was that the reputational damage done to Qantas at a time when he sat on the board meant he was needed more than ever.

Sampson this week announced his earlier than scheduled stepping down from the board of Qantas.

3. Companies using their profile to virtue signal or take a moral or social stance.

Matters of individual choice or opinion, such as the same-sex Referendum, the Yes Vote, Australia Day, the Republican Movement, and the like, should remain so.
Large corporates such as Telstra, Qantas, Woolworths, and Wesfarmers have taken it upon themselves to pick a side, thereby risking alienating their employees, customers and stakeholders.
When they operate in low or non competitive environments, customers are even more conflicted. We find these trends concerning and an abuse of power and influence, regardless of persuasion. It reeks of hubris.

Mullen suggests in the Financial Review this week that “corporate Australia has done itself a bit of a disservice with … some things like the Voice. Whether you agree with it [the Voice], or you don’t agree with it, the way that corporate Australia went about supporting it, I think has been detrimental to the image of corporate Australia among many, many people.”

4. Woke or Anti-Woke
On matters of DEI, CSR or other trends, Mullen opines that “the bottom line has to be, just ask yourself what is good for your company and don’t follow the latest trend out there. Don’t be radically woke but don’t be radically anti-woke either. Just do what you think is right and stick to it.”

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