It is part of a distinct leadership style; a theme that runs through the history of the man and the company he founded with a single Bedford truck and $7000 some 37 years ago. Today Mainfreight has been transformed into a major international logistics company with 6011 employees working in 233 operations around the world.
Last year the business had revenue of NZ$1.9 billion and expects to reach $2 billion this year.
Mainfreight group managing director Don Braid says: "The $1000 gift was unexpected, but in a way it came as no surprise to those who had worked with Bruce for some time. There's more to the man's generosity than this example. Bruce believes in sharing success with people who work hard. At Mainfreight we all eat at one big long table."
There's no Mainfreight head office or military style hierarchy. Plested and Braid are based at unfashionable Otahuhu in South Auckland. There are no company memos and as little email as they can get away with. Braid says instead of these there's a lot of "picking up the phone and talking".
Plested runs the business as a series of semi-autonomous branches -- that way each employee can feel they are part of a close-knit team. Something else binds employees to their branch: Mainfreight pays a bonus on a branch by branch basis where 10 per cent of net profit goes to employees.
Reporting is done weekly. At each branch the profit and loss figures are put up on the cafeteria wall. Everyone can see the bottom line and everyone understands what it means for the company and for themselves. Braid says: "There a capitalist motive behind this, Bruce believes profit is a great motivator."
He says Plested's motivation mixes incentives with responsibility. Mainfreight employees are empowered to make decisions. "Each person has responsibility for what they do. Bruce believes people grow when they are given this responsibility. They all know they are expected to look after customers, giving them a high quality freight service," he says.
Empowerment can be rewarding in other ways. Mainfreight has a policy of developing people and promoting them internally. Braid says the company offers staff training in every country it operates in.
People are given free rein and that means sometimes they make mistakes. Braid says Mainfreight is a strong believer that people can make mistakes, but though Plested can be a tolerant manager, Braid says there's nothing loose about the way the business is run: "Bruce has an eye for detail."
He is also fast-moving. Plested's secretary Carol Selwyn says she doesn't do slow: "It would be hard to work for anyone who moves slower than I do." Clearly the two are well matched. Selwyn has worked with Plested for 41 years, since before he started Mainfreight. She says Plested learned his management style growing up in blue collar Grey Lynn with Maori and Pacific neighbours.
"It's about creating a feeling of whanau. He sets high standards for himself and has created a family atmosphere where people want to prove their worth to him. They make their own decisions and have autonomy, but they want 'Dad' to be happy with them."
Selwyn says Plested has personal qualities that make this management style work. She says: "He can talk to people, of course the secret to doing that is being a good listener."
The Mainfreight founder also has a social conscience. A "living wage" is paid, Plested has contributed to the Maori Party, and Mainfreight also sponsors a school in Otara.
Plested is a thinker. Braid says over the years the chairman has designed a philosophy to run the company. "Some of it comes from within, some comes from experience, knowing what works and what doesn't.
"When Mainfreight was starting out, people had to work late on Thursday nights loading sea freighters. Bruce would make sure there was a roast dinner laid on for everyone who helped."
Plested is also a great reader; some of those ideas come from books. Books are important to him. He has worked with author Alan Duff to put books in the homes of poorer children. The pair see books and reading as a way to get people out of the poverty trap.
Plested has planted 100,000 native trees to bring bird life back to parts of the country and, Braid says, he insisted on the firm using recycle bins long before they were common.
Braid says Plested's vision is for the future. Few other business leaders think in terms of a 100 years or so. "It is all about visionary leadership. Many of us here believe in the same principles, we're here for the long term."
Mainfreight successes in the Top 200 Awards
1996 Finalist:
Best Corporate Strategy
2000 Finalist:
Bruce Plested Executive of the Year
2005 Finalist:
Most Improved Performance
2007 Winner:
Best Growth Strategy
2008 Winner:
Don Braid Executive of the Year
2011 Winner:
Don Braid Executive of the Year
2011 Winner:
Company of Year
2012 Winner:
Best Growth Strategy
Mainfreight milestones
1978:
Bruce Plested starts Mainfreight Auckland
1979:
Neil Graham joins Bruce Plested helping shepherd the company into what is now a publicly-listed logistics firm,
1984:
Plested's brother Gerald starts Mainfreight's first international sea and airfreight business
1989:
Opens operations in Australia
1994:
Don Braid joins through acquisition of Daily Freightways
1996:
Mainfreight listed on the NZX
2003:
Bought Owens Group
2007:
Acquired Target Logistics
2011:
Bought Netherlands firm as European springboard
2014:
$1.9 billion revenue
5 things about Mainfreight
1
Has a 100-year vision
2
Family feel: Don Braid's sons also work in the business
3
Sponsors Duffy Books in Homes
4
Works with the Life Education Trust
5
Strong association with Bairds Mainfreight Primary School
