Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence

Glenn McGrath did not rely on express pace or a bag of tricks. He built a career on height, bounce and the relentless ability to land the ball in the same dangerous place. 

“If you can bowl 99 balls out of 100 where you want to bowl it – bowling good areas, hitting the deck, top of off stump, just outside – you’re going to take wickets.” – Glenn McGrath 

The secret was not exotic. It was consistency. 

His other lesson was patience. The best Test bowlers take a wicket roughly every seven overs. Excellence is not forcing a result every ball; it is applying pressure until the opportunity comes. 

For investors, that is a reassuring reframe. Sound lending rarely looks heroic either. It looks like getting the basics right, loan after loan, year after year. As Johns put it: “If you take shortcuts, you’re going to get found out eventually, under pressure and under fatigue.” 

Every point is worth exactly one

Barty offered the afternoon’s clearest lesson in perspective. 

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s a double fault or an unbelievable 50-shot rally, it’s only worth the value of one.” – Ash Barty 

The scoreboard does not care whether a point was brilliant, ugly, lucky or unlucky. The skill is to accept it and move on. Andrews made the business parallel: respect the emotion, “put it in a box and move on.” Dwelling does not improve the next decision. In markets, calm and consistent judgement serves investors far better than reacting to every headline. 

Unbreakable: the discipline nobody sees

After returning from the 1995 West Indies tour with a torn intercostal, McGrath knew talent would not be enough. He found trainer Kev Chevell and committed to doing “whatever it takes”. 

“His goal was not to prepare me for cricket. His goal was to make me unbreakable.” – Glenn McGrath 

The work was so demanding McGrath joked that the international season felt like a rest. More importantly, he stopped breaking down. 

Barty also loved the unseen work: the empty back court, the small team, the repetition. Johns kept a private notebook on opponents so he could read a play before it unfolded. The public moment was simply where private preparation became visible. Investor trust is earned the same way: through the careful assessment, checks and reviews that happen long before an investor sees a result. 

Nobody does it alone

Johns’ career-defining 1997 grand final play looked like individual genius. In reality, it combined years of observation, his brother Matthew’s decoy call and flawless team execution. 

McGrath said Australia’s great side succeeded because players enjoyed each other’s success as much as their own. Barty’s test was simpler: “when something wonderful or difficult happens, who do you call first?” Andrews summed it up: “Resilience is rarely an individual achievement.” 

What the setback teaches

Barty’s 2018 Wimbledon defeat “broke my heart into a million pieces”. It also forced her team to seek help they did not have. Twelve months later, she was world number one. 

“It was probably the most important tennis match of my life to lose.” – Ash Barty 

The technical game was never the problem. The setback exposed what was missing: the freedom to play without fear. 

McGrath shared a harder lesson from his late wife Jane’s illness: uncertainty can paralyse, but once you know what you are facing, you can focus on the plan. For investors, too, clear information and a steady plan matter most when the outlook feels uncertain. 

Johns’ message was just as direct: “If you’re struggling, don’t be an idiot. Go and get some help.” Asking is not weakness. It takes courage. 

Beyond the scoreboard

Asked how they hoped to be remembered, none of the panelists mentioned a trophy. 

Barty chose hard work, kindness and loyalty. Johns chose being a good husband and father. McGrath was proudest of the Foundation that grew from Jane’s experience and now supports Australian families through hundreds of cancer care nurses. 

“If all of us went out of our way to do one positive thing for someone else once a week, the world would be a far better place.” – Glenn McGrath 

What it means for our investors 

Investment management is not sport, but the disciplines travel. Our 74-year record was not built on dramatic calls or shortcuts. It was built by doing a small number of things properly, repeatedly, through every kind of market, with our investors’ interests at the centre of every decision. 

As Andrews told the room, sustained performance comes from the right things repeated: know what you are playing for, choose your teammates carefully and build your habits when no one is watching. 

Excellence is rarely one extraordinary moment. It is ordinary things, done to an extraordinary standard, every day, for the investors who trust us.