John Symond Quotes

100 John Symond Quotes

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Every child is entitled to have their own identity and not live in the shadow of successful (or unsuccessful) parents.
John Symond

I believe there is a big difference between just making money and really achieving success.
John Symond

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
John Symond

Dad retired too soon; it didn’t suit him. He’s got back into it, though – about two years ago he started working again… and it’s reinvigorated him… It’s given him a new lease of life.
John Symond

I am vision person, not a detail person.
John Symond

He said, ‘Son, rule number one: give them a set of keys; rule number two: if they don’t work, blame the real estate agent for giving us the wrong set.’ From that day on I never went to a settlement without a set of keys, even if we didn’t have any!
John Symond

Some of the principles that are really at the core of any success I’ve had in business: I walked the talk. I worked hard. I worked ethically. I put a very high value on service.
John Symond

To be successful in business you must have a strong work ethic.
John Symond

I was seduced into going for bigger fish, which turned out to be definitely the wrong thing to do. In hindsight, what I did was forget about my knitting – that is to say I took my eye off the business…
John Symond

I have found that, generally in business, the big brother syndrome can equate to big bully syndrome.
John Symond



I was living on the smell of an oily rag. I knew what is was like not to have $10 in my pocket.
John Symond

One of the most humiliating moments of my life was when I had to buy a tie for a really important business meeting. I handed over my credit card to a salesperson in a busy shop in Skygarden in the Sydney CBD and, after making a phone call, he just took it and cut it up. Very, very embarrassing.
John Symond

Document everything, especially discussions.
John Symond

All my working like I’ve never had an affair or flirted with staff… You can’t, you don’t.
John Symond

There was at times an unrealistic view in my family that, because I was in the finance industry, I should have an unlimited supply of money!
John Symond

On the weekends I saw my kids and during the week I worked, because every day meant a chance of survival.
John Symond

I have always believed that a true leader has got to show as much strength in times of adversity as in the good times.
John Symond

Followers look to the leader for inspiration.
John Symond

I’m here to tell you that if I can do it, so can anyone in their own lives and in their own way.
John Symond

Australia had the reputation of having one of the smallest default rates in the western world. [It still does.]
John Symond



Investment property was an is a very important part of the Australian culture.
John Symond

[On initially naming Aussie Home Loans] I wanted ‘Australian’ in it because I thought that would be a strength.
John Symond

The challenge for me was to survive long enough for the public to hear about us, to write heaps of business and then to negotiate a better deal.
John Symond

Everyone is your customer, but the team working with you should always be your number one customer.
John Symond

The great thing about it was it was radical and it presented me as a David against the Goliath of the banks.
John Symond

I might have tripped up initially… but I was a quick learner.
John Symond

In business there will always be jealous competitors and sceptics.
John Symond

We can all be so good at what we do but we can never ever be 100 percent right on everything; it doesn’t matter how clear you are.
John Symond

Seek advice from successful people.
John Symond

Walk the talk.
John Symond



Be focused, and don’t spread yourself too thinly.
John Symond

Leadership is not about position.
John Symond

[On Aussie Home Loans] ‘I don’t know this business, but I tell you now this business will be very, very successful.’ That was Harry’s [Triguboff] prediction a month a or so after we launched.
John Symond

Aussie. We’ll Save You.
John Symond

It was the Reserve Bank; we had to tell them!
John Symond

I also learnt not to burn the candle at both ends, financially speaking.
John Symond

I think it was the arrogance of the banks that saved me – because they didn’t take Aussie seriously at first.
John Symond

What ultimately got Aussie where it is today is people power.
John Symond

Of course a black and white TV is cheaper than a colour TV!
John Symond

Banks have never been very good marketers.
John Symond



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