Putting Every Experience To Work

Date: 01/02/2011

Experience is the best teacher, and self-evaluation the best way of getting the most out of it.

Following its recent acquisition of the Mobil Oil retail fuels business, 7-Eleven is now one of Australia's biggest private companies, and going from strength to strength. A key figure in the story is CEO Warren Wilmot, who's in his seventeenth year with the company. As a young man, straight from the farm, he drove trucks, picked potatoes and managed quick-service restaurants before moving into retail. He says every one of those experiences taught him something, and he's enjoyed every step along the way. What's important, he says, is self-evaluation: reflect dailyon why you're doing the job, what you're getting out of it and what you're contributing to the business.