Get to know the staff at 1-grid – Meet Morne Patterson

If you found yourself uttering the words ‘I hate my job’ this January 2020, then, it’s time to sign that letter of resignation and turn on job alert notifications on Linkedin. When people force themselves into situations they don’t like, it shows. Eventually, you’ll fall into one of two categories – nayser’s ( Seth Godin’s famous words ‘Screw the Nayser‘ ) who consume your energy or positivists who abundantly radiate energy. There is nothing worse than feeling like your colleagues are trying to avoid you. A recent article on Forbes highlights that everyone looking for a job needs to be strategic in their decision about whether or not to accept the job position they applied for – people need to start looking beyond the salary figure outlined in the job description.

 

 

In a recent interview with Morne Patterson, 1-grid’s financial director highlights that he likes to work with people who model similar beliefs of his – and that is, to put your heart at the forefront of everything you do.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at 1-grid

It certainly is an important position and my role is to serve and mobilise my colleagues. I believe that one of strengths is that I’m quite a logical person who focuses on solving problems. So, for me, I enjoy trying to unpack and understand where people are getting stuck and helping them get through that. This enables growth and I love seeing people flourish in their careers. Over and above this, it’s important that I assist in ensuring our staff’s focuses are strategically aligned with 1-grid’s overall plan.

What’s your favourite part of coming to work every day?

I genuinely get a thrill from improving things. When I come to work every day, I always try to make or do something that’s positively impactful for tomorrow and I get a kick out of that. So, when I arrive at work, I identify an area where I’d like to implement something new which will make tomorrow easier for me or for our business. There’s lots of scope for this at 1-grid and the environment has been created where this behaviour is encouraged.

How would your peers describe your management style?

That’s an interesting question. I think people would see me as someone who likes to get things done. So, to try and move the needle in the right direction and being a results-orientated person. They would probably say I’m quite determined and super stubborn. But I think they would say I’m not your conventional finance-type-employee, and rather someone who likes to get out and make a positive difference within our business.

Please describe your favorite project that you’ve been a part of at 1-grid. Was it successful? If you could go back in time, would you change anything about this?  

I wouldn’t say that there has been one specific project which has been my favourite. What I have enjoyed most about my time at 1-grid is bringing new information to the table which has allowed us to improve the understanding of our business. This empowers everyone and improves our ability to make the right decisions.

What is one misconception people have about you?

When I get stuck I get frustrated and put my head down and work even harder. It causes me to stress out and not enjoy myself. This is because I’m so determined to achieve results and get things done and when I’m in this space I’m least activated.  I am ambitious but I come to work to have fun and interact with cool likeminded people.

If you could wave a magic wand, what problem in the world would you solve and why?

Access to education. If every single person in this world could have access to education the world would improve exponentially. Yes, people also need to have the desire to educate themselves but I believe that most people are looking for that opportunity. This also brings hope so that people can aspire to improve their own circumstances.

What criteria do you use for evaluating success? 

Because I have a financial background, I like to try and measure things in an objective fashion, so numbers are a good indicator. It’s easy to put down a benchmark and then to measure your execution against that benchmark. I try to be very clear around what the KPI’s are and then measure them in an objective way.

What kinds of people do you have difficulties working with, and why?

I struggle with people who don’t express passion. I love working with people who have a good attitude, that is passionate about what they do – you know, they just want to get stuff done. If people don’t express those similar beliefs, I do find that I get frustrated. For me, attitude is an emotion of passion – all of that is so much more powerful than intellectual capacity. Those are the traits I like to work with and associate myself with, If they are not there, I do find myself getting frustrated. 

How do you feel your work/life balance is? What would you want to change?

At the moment I am heavily focused on work as we’ve set out some big aspirations and there is a lot of effort needed for us to get there. I don’t mind getting my sleeves rolled up as I do believe in what we stand for as a business, our vision and what the opportunity is. With that being said my family and friends are what’s really important to me and that continues to be my focus.  But right now we are going through a phase of relentlessly pursuing a desire to improve how we are as a business. We want to be excellent in everything we do and I understand the determination needed to get there.

Here are some fun questions we asked Morne:

Room, desk, and car – which do you clean first: Room 

How many basketballs would fit into the room below: 10000

Would Mahatma Gandhi have made a good software engineer: No, he’s an extrovert 

If you could be a superhero, what power would you possess: The power to fly. 

Name three creative way to use a stapler: a back-up car handbrake, you can use it to make shapes or you can make irritating sounds to annoy your colleagues

Rate yourself on a scale of from 1 to 10, how weird you think you are: 10

If I put you in a sealed room with a phone that had no dial tone, how would you fix it:  I would start imitating the sound of a dialing phone. 

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why: A dog because I think I’m a loyal person.

What is your favorite food: Braaivleis 

How would you sell Orange Juice in the summer: Do people still drink Orange Juice?

If you saw someone stealing food. Would you report it: No, I would ask them to share some with me.