Case Study: The Business

When Tristan White started The Physio Co External in 2004, he was working solo. In its first
year the company completed 1500 consultations. At the end of 2013, the company had 60
employees, was ranked by BRW as the 5th best place to work in Australia and well on the way
to achieving its 10 year goal of providing 'two million unique and memorable consultations to
Australian Oldies by 31st December 2018'. The Physio Co has grown consistently - 35% year
on year - since it began over ten years ago.
The trigger to define goals
'By about 2008, the company was employing around 20 people, but I had no strategy. 'Tristan
says that in 2008 he felt 'stuck' in his business. 'I'd built this complex web where I was the
decision maker on everything. I really didn't enjoy what I was doing and I wanted to change
that.'In 2009, Tristan started working with business coach Cameron Herold to create a picture
of what the business would look like in 2012. 'Once we had the vision, we worked backwards
so that we knew what had to happen each month between 2009 and 2012 and we could
strategically grow the business.'
Goals for 10 years and 3 years
Business guru Jim Collins coined the term 'big hairy audacious goal' (or BHAG), and this was
an idea that appealed to Tristan, after he'd read Collins' book Good to Great. 'I think a business
needs a long-term vision that extends 10-12 years out; a goal that is bigger than ourselves and
creates purpose. In my experience, most people want to be part of a business that actually does
something significant in the world.'
A shorter goal works alongside the long-term vision. 'A three-year goal is much more
actionable. The 10-year goal really is for the business owner. For many team members or new
staff, three years is already a long time. It is easier to align people to a three year vision than
asking them to look 10 years into the future.' When searching for a tool that would enable him
to put his plans into action, Tristan adopted the concept of the "Painted Picture External". 'It
really describes in great detail - not only the goals that we're working towards, but what the
business will look like at a certain point in time.' The Painted Picture may be detailed, but it
consists of simple statements. 'The job of a business owner is to make the complex as simple as
possible.'
Learning to let go
Staff are involved in creating and bringing the company vision to life. Tristan admits that the
transition to allowing others to make decisions caused him some stress at the
beginning. 'Moving from being a micromanaging small business owner to an empowering team
leader is a journey, and it was very hard... I'm pretty sure that's why a lot of small businesses
don't grow past a certain point.'
Purpose and values embedded in the culture
The core purpose and the core values of the Physio Co are part of the company's day-to-day
operations. 'The core values explain the behaviour that is needed to bring the vision to life.' He
says that repetition of the core values helps them remain present and the wording of the core

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purpose and core values has a tremendous impact. 'Keeping them simple is how you keep them
alive.'
The Physio Co actively uses their core values in the following key areas:
 Recruitment
'We're not looking to recruit people who are all the same, but we're looking for people with
similar values.'
 Performance reviews, rewards and recognition
'The highest performing members of our team are rewarded because of the way they live the
core values.'
 Daily meetings
'A 12-minute meeting in our support office every day ensures there is clear communication
among team members and helps us focus on bringing the vision to life.'
The challenge of change
The continual growth of the company has led to some challenges, particularly around structure
and leadership.' About 12 months ago, we outgrew our organisational structure. We had become
far too complex for the management team we had in place. I didn't see it coming; I think I was
asleep at the wheel.'
Triggers to watch for:
 A drop in staff retention
 Customer feedback
'We were short-staffed as a result of staff leaving, so we didn't have enough physios to deliver
on all our programs. If you say you're going to do something and then you don't, that doesn't go
down very well.' Tristan worked to rebuild relationships with the physio team and ensure the
management team was structured more sustainably - to avoid a repeat of that difficult period.

Questions:
1. Do you think it is a good step for Tristan White to apply the policy of hiring new
employee with similar values? [5 marks]
2. By using any ONE (1) theory under the motivators brought into the organisation by the
employee, suggest TWO initiatives for Tristan White to cultivate the motivation culture.
[20 marks]
3. By using any ONE (1) theory under motivation theories focusing on organisational
factors, suggest TWO (2) initiatives Tristan White to cultivate the motivation culture
[20 marks]
4. By using any ONE (1) theory under motivation theories focusing on employee factors,
suggest TWO (2) initiatives Tristan White to cultivate the motivation culture.
[20 marks]