Peter enjoys working and connecting with people, bringing digital to life for customer outcomes and has over 20 years of comprehensive executive leadership experience across corporate and government environments. He relishes combining Silicon-valley startup culture, Human Centred Design, Lean and Agile to deliver amazing digital customer products and services.
With his family and friends Peter loves the great outdoors with the latest pursuit being marathon running. He recently reached a life goal of qualifying for Boston and will be running it virtually this September (fingers crossed!)
What is your favourite, or most used, inspirational quote?
Steve Jobs once said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” For me, it is having total belief and conviction in what you believe in and are driving for, to make a positive difference, and doing this together with, and learning from, amazing people, some of whom may be just a little crazy!
What does great decision making look and feel like for you?
There is a lot of theory on what great decision making looks like. Without getting into this, in essence I think it is being part of an empowered environment where quick decisions are made effectively balancing risk and return, and ensuring decisions are made based on what you really know is right and translating that into action.
When was a time you were at your decision making best?
Being part of creating Decida, a business with the purpose of making a positive impact on this world through helping people confidently make better quality decisions.
The other time was working in a large financial institution where we were leading the amalgamation from a number of diverse, competing teams after a large M&A to build a high-performing, world-class team with amazing leadership capability. We adopted an agile culture from a Silicon-valley start-up successfully into a corporate world with the backing and support of an incredibly progressive leadership team. Decisions were made, we learnt from our (many!) mistakes and adjusted, and leveraged/copied as much as we could from coaches, mentors and organisations globally. And, at the core, our decision-making was based on having a clear “flag on the hill” and an empowered, diverse team committed to the journey.
Who inspires you? Why?
People who are willing to look at the bigger picture, to move past their own beliefs and biases, to be open to new ideas, have a sense of humour and make the most of life! Who? There are SO many people that inspire me… a current individual would be Hans Rosling, who wrote the book Factfulness, inspires with his persistence, intelligence and positiveness through describing the potential for human progress.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to be a better decision maker?
Get the right facts, work with people who are smarter than yourself from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and genders. Learn to trust what you know is right and to get on with it – take accountability and be bold! We are only on this earth for a short period of time, so it’s important to make the most of it – and have some fun along the way!
What are you reading/watching at the moment?
I typically alternate fiction and non-fiction books. I have recently finished Neuromancer by William Gibson (a cyberpunk genre and influence to the Matrix movies), Sapians by Yuval Noah Harari (a fascinating mix of natural and social sciences) and now reading Factfullness:10 Reasons why we are wrong about the world by Hans Rosling. Nice to get one thinking differently!
What is the most effective strategy you use for keeping your Ape (your emotional reactive state) in check?
I use ‘will this matter in 3-5 years time?’ to keep my ape in check. I try to see the bigger “game play”, always try to see things from the other’s perspective, and laugh (maybe not always out loud!). Looking at things from a 3-5 year time horizon puts what’s happening here and now into perspective and talking things through with trusted colleagues and friends.
I recently have started marathon running and have learnt that to do it well without injury requires a great coach, teamwork, perseverance, grit, performance metrics, and a sense of humour! I also find running an incredible form of meditation where the brain seems to “process” stuff.
What type of decision maker are you?
Dominating Partner. A person who networks, believes in people and senses and generates opportunities and outcomes through conversations.
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