Angus McDonald, chief executive, Barbecues Galore. Source: Supplied
Angus McDonald began his career in retail as a schoolboy working on the shop floor of Safeway supermarkets (now owned by Woolworths). More than 20 years later, he’s the chief executive of Barbeques Galore and has worked in management positions for some of Australia and New Zealand’s biggest brands.
Despite his career success, McDonald hasn’t been immune to mistakes. And his biggest mistake is one that provided a lesson he still carries today.
The mistake
In his days before Barbeques Galore, while working for another company he doesn’t want to name, McDonald was tasked with establishing a new distribution channel for a new section of the retail business. It was a matter of selling the same products to different customers in another market segment, so McDonald began where most corporate organisations start: research.
“To start this new journey, we did a heap of research and wrote an enormous business case with a big waterfall plan detailing all the things we wanted to deliver,” McDonald said.
Keep reading for free
