Inspiring open day speech by business legend mark bouris am

From wanting to be a “brickie” after leaving high school to scaling the heights of the global business world, Australian business legend Mark Bouris AM’s address inspired a packed audience at the International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) Open Day recently.

Bouris shared how paying it forward, in the form of mentoring, paves the way to professional and personal success in what was a highlight of the ICMS Open Day activities held on 12 August for prospective students to get a glimpse of student life and what the award-winning higher education institution in Northern Beaches, Sydney, has to offer.

“If you knew your potential and then you made your potential take you to wherever you want to be, you will be a successful person, not just in business,” Bouris said. “Appreciate how powerful you are, understand your potential and know where you are going to end up.”

As someone who has achieved enormous success in the business world, and who is instantly recognisable in Australia and beyond for his hit TV and podcast series “The Mentor” and as host of Celebrity Apprentice Australia, Bouris inspired and motivated the audience to “think large” if they wanted to change the world.

And on the way to success, Bouris urged the audience to take any opportunity to mentor others.

“Successful people are good mentors… the ultimate success is to share what you have learnt and to continue learning,” he said.

“To me, mentorship is a rising tide in the world today for commerce,” he said, predicting that in the near future mentorship, as opposed to guidance, would be “everywhere”.

“Today, to be relevant in business you must understand the concept of paying it forward.”

He related his encounter with Australian media tycoon, the late Kerry Packer, as a great example of mentorship; being asked questions and being held accountable in the sale of part of his Wizard Home Loans company in 1999 for $25million. He went on to sell Wizard Home Loans for $500million in 2004, and is currently the executive chairman of Yellow Brick Road Group and non-executive chairman of TZ Limited among other interests.

Despite early reluctance to study post-high school, telling the audience he would have become a “brickie” had his mother not pushed him towards university, Bouris holds a Masters of Commerce as well as two honorary doctorates. He urged students to tackle tertiary education with gusto, not only for the knowledge they would acquire but also for the principles of lifelong learning and how to apply the mind to tasks outside the lecture theatres.

“Study at a tertiary level is absolutely critical for developing a few things, one of the most important is to understand the way to learn outside of school, where you are in charge and in control of what you learn and whether or not you pass. The second thing is that it’s a way of you understanding how you reach your potential,” he said.

ICMS CEO and President Dr Dominic Szambowski thanked Bouris for taking the time to inspire staff and prospective students at the Open Day.

“What an honour for ICMS to have someone of Mark Bouris’ calibre speak to our students. He has inspired us all towards an even greater focus on mentoring our students to give them the best chance of success in business, and in life.”

For more information on ICMS, click here: https://www.icms.edu.au