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Ready Fire Aim: The Mainfreight Story
This is the story of a company built on the belief that with passion anything is possible. As they say at Mainfreight, 'Go anywhere as long as it is forward'.
Mainfreight was founded in 1977 by the visionary Bruce Plested, who set out to make the company a family, a team, where everyone has a share in the riches and where the word 'management' is banned.
The Mainfreight instruction manual is short: Feel the fear but do it anyway. This is a world where budgets are deemed ‘bullshit'. Why spend time preparing figures that are invariably out of date before the ink is dry? Just make more than last year. It's also a world based on generosity: Mainfreight is the backing force behind Books in Homes, and offers tertiary scholarships to the children of all its employees.
Did the rise to NZX sharemarket darling all go smoothly? Not for a minute. Initially there would be catastrophic ventures in Australia and America and finally a jaw-dropping moment in Europe when Don Braid and his team made their biggest purchase ever only to see most of the turnover and half the profit walk out the door.
This book takes you on a warts-and-all exploration of Mainfreight's journey from small transport company at the bottom of the world to truly successful global logistics company.
Mainfreight was founded in 1977 by the visionary Bruce Plested, who set out to make the company a family, a team, where everyone has a share in the riches and where the word 'management' is banned.
The Mainfreight instruction manual is short: Feel the fear but do it anyway. This is a world where budgets are deemed ‘bullshit'. Why spend time preparing figures that are invariably out of date before the ink is dry? Just make more than last year. It's also a world based on generosity: Mainfreight is the backing force behind Books in Homes, and offers tertiary scholarships to the children of all its employees.
Did the rise to NZX sharemarket darling all go smoothly? Not for a minute. Initially there would be catastrophic ventures in Australia and America and finally a jaw-dropping moment in Europe when Don Braid and his team made their biggest purchase ever only to see most of the turnover and half the profit walk out the door.
This book takes you on a warts-and-all exploration of Mainfreight's journey from small transport company at the bottom of the world to truly successful global logistics company.
360 pages, Paperback
First published August 16, 2013
24 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Keith Davies
43 booksKeith Davies is a well-known journalist and media manager. A former high-profile television current-affairs journalist, he is the author of several books, including a history of Fisher & Paykel. He has worked on the British daily newspapers and for the BBC, and, in New Zealand, on 60 Minutes and 20/20.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 9, 2023
THE SERVICE THAT YOU DONT EXPECT IS THE SERVICE THAT YOU REMEMBER.
Share 10% of profits with all staff - have your people think like capitalists.
All staff eat lunch together in branches. Maori way.
Treat people as if they are going to stay with you for 40 years. You slow down promotion and you promote from within.
Changing from co-owned trucks to owner-operated changed the economics markedly due to the sense of ownership by the drivers.
The poor have hunger in their bellies, and if they can get an idea, and an education, then they can go ahead and put it together.
Plested looks for 3 things with recruits; intelligence, energy and likeability.
Never seeking to blame but always searching for understanding so that they all emerged wiser from an experience.
Manage each branch as a small business with a focus on quality and margin control, and never believe more is better without the profit that comes from being quality focused, efficient and cost conscious.
We are a trust centre - logistics is a bank in which you hold peoples cherished inventory so you need to care for it.
Share 10% of profits with all staff - have your people think like capitalists.
All staff eat lunch together in branches. Maori way.
Treat people as if they are going to stay with you for 40 years. You slow down promotion and you promote from within.
Changing from co-owned trucks to owner-operated changed the economics markedly due to the sense of ownership by the drivers.
The poor have hunger in their bellies, and if they can get an idea, and an education, then they can go ahead and put it together.
Plested looks for 3 things with recruits; intelligence, energy and likeability.
Never seeking to blame but always searching for understanding so that they all emerged wiser from an experience.
Manage each branch as a small business with a focus on quality and margin control, and never believe more is better without the profit that comes from being quality focused, efficient and cost conscious.
We are a trust centre - logistics is a bank in which you hold peoples cherished inventory so you need to care for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2023
Great story about the great people that built a great business
I heard this book recommended on a podcast and was familiar with Mainfreight as I had passed their sparkling warehouses and trucks around Australia. This is a great story about the beliefs, culture and people that built this extraordinary company - many of the tips and tricks are just outstanding rules to follow in life and career.
I heard this book recommended on a podcast and was familiar with Mainfreight as I had passed their sparkling warehouses and trucks around Australia. This is a great story about the beliefs, culture and people that built this extraordinary company - many of the tips and tricks are just outstanding rules to follow in life and career.
February 1, 2024
Great story
August 3, 2016
Such a fantastic book. The story of a small Kiwi company succeeding internationally told in a compelling and entertaining way. Not only was it a fascinating read, it unleashes so much wisdom about the business world and what it takes to succeed that you finish the book feeling like you can take on anything life throws at you. Highly recommend giving it a read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews