Dudley Enoka
CEO Yellow Pages Group
What was your first job?
I was a clerical assistant, known as a "stapler" at NZ Post Office in Palmerston North. It was my "responsibility" to match a toll invoice with a telephone account and staple the pages together. It was
1969 and I was fairly happy with my $1235 salary. I responded to a newspaper ad, they interviewed me and gave me the job on the spot.
Did you enjoy it?
As a stapler I can't say I enjoyed complete job satisfaction, but it made me realise I wanted to do a bit more with the rest of my life.
What did you learn?
I learned that everyone, no matter what they do, should be treated with respect and recognised for their contribution, from the stapler to the CEO.
That's why as a CEO I try to spend a lot of time interacting with my staff - and I encourage my leadership team do the same.
How long did you stay?
I managed to staple bills for three months consecutively before I moved to another position within the organisation. In those days NZ Post incorporated Telecom, Post Bank and the Post Office so if you look at it that way I stayed within the Telecom group for 37 years until Yellow Pages Group was sold last year. You could argue I'm on my second employer!
What was your boss like?
Initially I found working in a government department to be regimented and at times frustrating with some promotions tending to be driven through seniority rather than performance.
But things changed in those 37 years and I managed to get a promotion or two myself - I'd like to think based on performance rather than seniority!
Any advice for someone starting out?
Be prepared to lick the stamps before you design them.
