In order to grow your business, great leadership is essential.
If you've relaxed with the inflight entertainment on a Qantas flight, then you've enjoyed the efforts of Rob Lynch and his company.

In these politically correct times, Rob Lynch's approach to staff management – what he calls the "slap-kiss" method – sounds as if it could stretch the boundaries. After 30 years of success, though, Lynch is unapologetic. He is speaking metaphorically, after all, and his style works.

"Basically when you see someone doing something that's wrong, you can give them a slap. And I always make sure that very soon after that I give them a kiss for something they are doing right," says Lynch, the founder of Stellar Inflight, a pioneer in the inflight entertainment business that serves 22 airlines around the world. "If you do it straight away and you do it instinctively, it doesn't build up a resentment within staff or yourself."

Based in Sydney, Stellar Inflight is the flagship of the Stellar Group, which includes Stellar Sound and STELLARadio. The inflight division began life 30 years ago as Helen Irvine & Associates when Lynch, then a program manager at radio station 2CH, saw an ad to provide audio entertainment services to Qantas. He had no business structure in place, but figured the job could not be too hard. Using his wife's name for the business to avoid conflict with his 2CH bosses, he pitched for and won the deal.

Three decades on, Stellar is the world's oldest inflight entertainment provider and delivers a suite of entertainment services to airlines ranging from audio, film and television programming, video production and crew communication.

More than lip service
Good service – and word of mouth about that service – has been the secret to Stellar's ongoing success.

"We're in a niche area," Lynch says. "We understand it very, very well and we understand the players, we understand the mentality. And we understand that airlines like military precision … so you have to have a mentality that provides them with the levels of service they're looking for."

At the same time, Stellar is in the entertainment business, "so you've got to somehow combine these two extremes and provide the serious service, but make it fun".

Lynch reckons his people are the best in the business, so he is hell-bent on keeping them.

"We pay them well. We pay them more than they can get anywhere else. We give them total freedom. I don't care what time they get here. I don't care what time they go home. I do care about excellence in their work."

Another way to woo and retain staff, according to Lynch, is to use the best technology and be an early adopter. He is not a technician, so he lets his senior staff – the experts – choose the latest technology tools to drive the business and the best audio-avionic gear to win over clients.

Such investments keep staff and clients on side.

"It's all about being at the forefront. You have two choices: you can go for the dross … there's a lot of that around, or you can go for the very good stuff at the top and you charge more for it, sure. That's just the way we positioned ourselves."

Riding the waves
The journey from 2CH to international business renown has been a remarkably smooth one for Lynch. Stellar Inflight's success has led to profitable offshoot businesses. In 1980, Stellar Sound, a post-production operation, was set up to deliver high-quality soundtracks to the advertising industry, pay television and other outlets. The Nine Network, for example, has used Stellar Sound for the State of Origin rugby league series when it wants a track "sound sweetened". And 2000 saw the launch of STELLARadio, a business that delivers creative radio solutions.
The lessons from his 2CH days have not been lost on Lynch, however. He is still a stickler for systems and procedures, a trait he honed organising record libraries at the radio station.
Lynch is particular about staff selection, too. He wants individuals and self-starters. An early trick he learned about recruitment has served him well.

"I asked them when I was employing people 'what does your father do?' and they'd tell me. And it didn't matter what their father did but if he worked for himself I'd employ those people, and I used this (method) for many years.

"In other words, they'd grown up in a family environment where they understood the way the world works … And that's all I really wanted to know."

Lynch also knows a thing or two about schmoozing clients. Without doubt, maintaining the Qantas contract over a 30-year period has been crucial. He believes Stellar's commitment to customer service and quality is at the heart of the success story.

"Absolutely, very important," Lynch says. "It's all about relationships – always has been. You've just got to form those relationships."

Tips
o Get in experts to help your business grow
o Provide great service to clients and customers and form strong business relationships
o Introduce systems and procedures to ensure your business runs smoothly.

By Peter Switzer, published on 7/04/2009

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