Andrew Banks Quotes

101 Andrew Banks Quotes (Morgan and Banks, Talent2, Shark Tank Australia, Hudson, TMP)

1 2 3



[In May 2011.] I don’t think we should tip-toe through life towards death… I’d rather scream straight into it.
Andrew Banks

[In May 2003.] If you just make money, but do nothing for the community, I think that's negative karma. You have to give something back. I think it's good human nature. I feel like that's the way the universe works. I have to give something back, otherwise it won't give anything back to me.
Andrew Banks

[In February 2004.] Retiring is a fast track to dying.
Andrew Banks

[In February 2004.] Age and wisdom go hand in hand.
Andrew Banks

[Looking back in May 2011 on himself at 21 years of age.] I knew there was a journey out there with my name on it and I didn’t quite know what it was… I’d lost the focus. I was a young man in a hurry looking for something.
Andrew Banks

[In May 2011 looking back - after working in his own restaurant doing 19 hour days.] Everything else seemed easy after that.
Andrew Banks

[In May 2011 on human resources.] Your job is to find the secret in others.
Andrew Banks

[In May 2011 on his partner Geoff Morgan who was originally a competitor.] He was the only competitor that I really couldn’t get clients off. So I really respected him for that.
Andrew Banks

[In May 2011 on his companies share price multiple. Traditional thought says a multiple of 10 is cheap whilst a multiple of 20 is expensive.] We’ve got a multiple of 79. And I said to my wife ‘I think the world’s gone a little crazy.’
Andrew Banks

[In June 2011.] We’ve got to practice what we preach to our clients.
Andrew Banks



[In May 1997.] The game is all about optimisation, not just pushing safe bets.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997 on taking a risk on employing someone with less experience but having enthusiasm.] What you save in salary by taking… risks you can spend on training…
Andrew Banks

[In November 2004.] A new employee may be in a desk job in a manufacturing company, but they should still understand the basics of how the factory floor works.
Andrew Banks

[In the 1970’s on needing a real job.] What can you do when you're a partially qualified behavioural scientist? You go into recruitment.
Andrew Banks

[On his early days in Australia.] I borrowed $5000 to open Sorren's restaurant, selling it 18 months later for $25,000.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1987 on executives being flattered when approached by head hunters.] They feel flattered that a recruiter is seeking their counsel. They probably assume that one day the favour will be reciprocated.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1987.] Agencies have a much freer hand, and a much greater ability to source candidates than the client company. We can talk to close competitors and suppliers with a totally free hand.
Andrew Banks

[In June 1994.] Performance-based remuneration is definitely becoming fashionable.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997.] Everyone can get capital and technology, the only privileged asset you have is your people and how to get them.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997.] While the old paradigm used to be ‘How do we reduce staff turnover or recruitment costs?’, the new paradigm is ‘What must the business plan do to ensure we are an organisation that makes us the first choice for employees?’
Andrew Banks



[In May 1997.] If you get all your line managers working on that issue for two or three years, recruitment costs will fall and productivity will rise because everything in your leadership and business strategies ensures quality employees are queuing up to join your organization.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997 on too many employers setting out to find the perfect match.] They focus on competence, skills and knowledge, rather than whether the candidate fits into the culture and has the right attitude. If an organisation is to be efficient in recruitment, it must be capable of attracting people with both the right skills and attitudes. If candidates don't have the necessary skills, that's where training comes in. Otherwise the company will always be going to the marketplace looking for perfection and either they'll be unable to find it or they'll end up paying top dollar all the time to get it, and that's not good for profitability.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997.] Senior executive candidates interviewed by Morgan & Banks don't want a job they can do blindfold - they want to stretch themselves. The game is all about optimisation, not just pushing safe bets.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997.] What you save in salary by taking these risks you can spend on training - and you'll most likely end up with a far more effective executive.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997.] Why are Australasian executives so sought after? The very best of them are used to dealing over a wide base. In smaller countries workforces are more linked, people move around more. And in New Zealand you learn to deal with other people - don't burn your bridges because it's too small a place.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997 on Asian companies being keen to hire New Zealand and Australian managers.] They see Europeans as colonial and bombastic, and Americans as nationalists. Australians and New Zealanders are that little bit more sensitive.
Andrew Banks

[In May 1997.] It used to be that there was one sort of executive who works best at home, who was very different from the one you'd send overseas. The gap is closing now between the two roles.
Andrew Banks

[In February 2001.] We have a lot of evidence that more and more employers, particularly in IT and technology, don't want to deal with non-electronic CVs.
Andrew Banks

[In February 2001 on advice to resume writers.] Be familiar with Web sites relevant to your career. Create a resume online, particularly overseas Web sites. Have three types of resumes: active (identities of job seeker and employer are revealed); passive (identities are concealed); and career club/affinity group (used to source job information to help your career). Resumes should reflect generic competencies, not be a laundry list of previous jobs. Reassure potential employers that you have an open mind and are flexible and that you can cross cultural boundaries.
Andrew Banks

[In November 2002.] A clear vision and a noble purpose.
Andrew Banks



[In November 2002 on how with David Morgan it had taken just 15 years to turn a two person firm into a $300 million company with 2000 employees in 10 countries.] Measure everything.
Andrew Banks

[In May 2003.] The Banks family is pretty lucky. We've all worked hard, but we've had some good wins. We don't really have… needs that we can't satisfy. So Geoff [Morgan] and I formed a foundation, called the Morgan and Banks Foundation. Like all philanthropy, you think about what you would do. We wanted to put a bit of heart and soul into it. We thought, [what] activities would make a difference?
Andrew Banks

[In May 2003.] Because we have contacts in recruiting, and because we've helped a lot of employers hire people, we understand some of the reservations employers have about hiring younger people. These kids may have come out of a drug rehabilitation program, got over the drug thing, and are now ready to go back into the workforce. Maybe they just can't get work because they've been dislocated in some way. They're from the country or maybe they haven't had a great education... For whatever reason, they're unable to get on to the first rung. These are the sort of things we'd use the money for. If you think of $1000 as 10 weeks at $100 a week, we'd split the money with an employer. We'd say, we'll give these kids $100 a week, you give them $100, and they're earning $200 for 10 weeks. Give them any job you can give them, that they can handle, will give them a start, give them self-esteem, get them going. For $50,000 we could get 50 kids work for 10 weeks. The trick is using our contacts to prevail upon companies with a conscience to give the kids a go. Now, after 10 weeks, the kids have obviously got to show that they've got some promise, and hopefully the employers will take them on from there.
Andrew Banks

[In May 2003.] We always felt that Morgan and Banks had to be something worthwhile in the community. If you just make money, but do nothing for the community, I think that's negative karma. You have to give something back. I think it's good human nature. I feel like that's the way the universe works. I have to give something back, otherwise it won't give anything back to me.
Andrew Banks

[In July 2003 on building his new business MB2 (Talent2) after having sold Morgan & Banks to TMP for $380 million in 1999.] When Geoff and I left the business (TMP), a lot of people said they wanted to talk to us. And they were not just from the old company. We will grow that (the recruitment) part of the business quite quickly. We did this in the mid-80s (with Morgan & Banks), starting with only four staff.
Andrew Banks

[In July 2003.] There's too much conjecture that what we're doing is about recreating the past. What we're really about is creating the future.
Andrew Banks

[In July 2003.] There will be some areas in which we'll be competing, but we're a local player while they're a global player. We'll fill the gap between niche players and global players
Andrew Banks

[In February 2004 on settling on the name Talent2 rather than MB2.] We wanted to build and develop a business that hired talented people - irrespective of their age. In other words, the baby boomers, the grey power who may have retired or are contemplating retirement. They are the ones we want to attract back to the job market on a contract basis as they are too experienced and talented to be out of the workforce.
Andrew Banks

[In February 2004.] In Asian societies, age and wisdom go hand in hand. Age is respected as a valuable asset - which is not necessarily true here in Australia.
Andrew Banks

[In November 2004.] Managers aren't told that recruitment is an important part of the job. Spending two or five hours a day getting the right person into a job can be just as vital as producing end-products or services.



1 2 3


Return from Andrew Banks Quotes to Quoteswise.com