Rob Caslick is an engineer, social entrepreneur and one of the founders of Two Good, a business that provides food and work for those in need. Rob uses the problem-solving mind-set he developed while studying engineering to tackle social issues in the community. His initiatives have a focus on the power of food to break down barriers and bring people together. His business Two Good provides work for women at domestic abuse shelters and caters good quality food for people sleeping rough.
Where do you think you first begun the journey to become a leader and where you first started grappling with the concept of leadership?
Leadership wise I was in the navy so I had that fairly militant and hierarchical leadership training and that kind of worked quite the opposite for me because that’s not who I am, that’s not how I operate. It was more of I played the game and I appreciate respect to people for the people that I employ for instance, I learnt more around respect than I did around thinking that I’m in this position because of my rank as opposed to who I am. I think that really shaped me if anything as a leader, just knowing and appreciating the different types of managerial roles where you know a flat kind of management structure which I prefer or the very structured military like leadership.
I was thrown into the structured military leadership and it just didn’t fit well with me but that was more a rude awakening and I thought ‘hang on this is not how I like to do things by example and not have people follow me because I was a certain rank but follow me because I believe in what I’m doing, the belief that I have their best interests at hand’. I think that’s when I, that’s how I started to learn about leadership and what I thought of what leadership should be like.
Where do you think the drive to act and enforce change comes from for you?
I think its confidence I think the first I think it happens when you do something small first and then realize ‘hey I can do this’ and then now you see problems that you think well you know this person and you know this person and we can put these few things together and then all of a sudden, you’ve got a team to solve the problem. I don’t think I’m a great leader but I kind of lead by example but and I’m quite passionate about what I believe in and I think that passion is addictive. When people can kind of see that and then follow you and you know someone who is passionate you can quite easily follow. That’s one of the things that I’ve managed to do, [have] an absolute passion for something and then people think ‘hey I also believe that and I’m going to jump in and help’
What advice would you give yourself or someone else who was contemplating starting a social enterprise?
Don’t do it stick to engineering you’ll make more money. I think just it’s not going to be easy but it’s always going to be worth it so I don’t think I’d do anything different. I have of course made many mistakes but I’ve grown from that so I don’t know if I would tell myself is to do anything than kind of have faith that this is the right path and that things are going to turn out okay. When you’re starting something up that’s quite new and quite difficult you question yourself all the time ‘what the hell am I doing? Am I crazy?’. Just think about the bigger picture and having faith and courage that you know this is my path and I think I’d tell myself that.
You just have an idea and I think the saddest thing is an idea that’s not executed, even how stupid it is you’ve just got to start, you’ve just got to have a crack and then who knows? I’ve had plenty of crazy ideas that didn’t work but you don’t know until you have a go, sometimes it doesn’t work but you have this insight that says, ‘but hang on, lets tweak it here and this could actually work’.
To find out more about Two Good check out their website here.
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