Video Transcription
Greg: Recognize your involvement in 21 years of network overdrive. And I just wanted to go down a bit of a memory lane and take this as a moment to record, all of that and happy to take it. You just remember like the start, the beginning of the journey. And so, there’s a couple of mythical, you know, origin stories, if you like some that I’ve shared, but, but both you and Mark obviously were there from the beginning. We formed the company, before that, you know, you both had a role in me becoming a professional its person. Mark was the person who first introduced me to Linux and, gave me, or help me purchase my very first computer. I refuse to buy a software license. I, I respected copyright, but I didn’t want to pay, which meant that I wasn’t going to use windows. And so, I remember three or four weeks of mucking around with the computer and I couldn’t even get a flashing cursor on the screen. And I was struggling back then. And then that opened the whole world of Linux and that communications, and then working with you in welfare and community development stuff. And I was working in a domestic violence refuge work and feeling burnt out. And you are the one who offered me a job part time in darkness cue to help with this growing community orientated, ISP, as a part time person, primarily to use my people skills to go and talk to community groups. And it felt like six months later, they key system administrator left. And then instead of hiring another full-time system administrator, you gave me the job. And I basically slept at the office for six to eight months learning how to do, you UCP. Does that, do you remember all that?
John: I remember that I remember those days service set up with Linux version one zero, 2.99 B. I should know his point.
Greg: Yeah, exactly. It was, there was almost a badge of honor that Linux hadn’t gotten to one yet version one day there was zero point something. And you taught me, accountability. And in that role, I remember very difficult times when I would make it decision, which would bring the service down the network down and nobody could do that. Get the email back in the day. And we’re talking 92, 93, no, sorry. I’m talking 94. What are you saying?
John: That’s a good question.
Greg: Six, I think it’s 96. It’s 97, actually six or seven year about impact. And did I really think about the consequences of my action and, you use the expression of chopping the fingers off people. Now I never, I’ve never used that expression, in network overdrive that expression of chopping the thing has never had
John: You’re much nicer than me. It was my threat to a certain other staff person who we both remember who used to touch things. You shouldn’t touch.
Greg: That’s right. That’s that the issue is that tinker is tinkers are the death of technology. I mean, in some ways tinker is unnecessary, but they made their own little sandbox of safety to play it.
John: Correct? Correct. Not on production systems.
Greg: That’s right. That was my baptism of fire. And so, if, if anyone’s listening in network overdrive and wonders, why I’m so stern about outages, you can blame this guy. I learned that and, that was amazing time really, for me to learn, I didn’t realize what was happening to me, but basically I was morphing into this take technical pain. I discovered skills. I didn’t realize I was good at, like, I remember back in DuVernay, there was people from university who, you know, I hadn’t even studied a uni degree, like a computer science that you need to agree. And we had honor students coming out. And they could not remember IP addresses like the TCP IP addresses. They couldn’t even remember one hang on. And we’re going to just quickly join. Mark’s going to quickly join in.
John: So us three were the three crazy people and I’ll come back to later. But, but yes, Greg very quickly shared I professionally was to remember details and problem solve. And so, we are the three problem-solvers that made all these, it things happen a lot of fun.
Greg: Yeah, that’s right. That’s right. So, did you, I want to credit you, John, for the tagline fog network overdrive, which is We Make I.T. Happen. We Make I.T. Happen. That was, that was your, you know, your legacy. Now to my great, distress, current marketing gurus have told me to change my tagline, so I haven’t completely got rid of it. It’s okay. We’ve now using a tagline of, I.T. Powering Profits, but I still like making it happen. And so, depending on who I’m talking to, we’ll use one business owner, I.T. Powering Profits, if it’s an I.T. manager, it’s We Make I.T. Happen, but that kind of thing.
John: So it depends on who you’re trying to sell to.
Greg: But that, the essence of, of getting things done, no excuse, how bad that I learned that from you. I mean, I don’t know, maybe I had it beforehand, but there was an element of, I got that from you. So, and I was also sharing the Mark that you were the one who taught me Linux. So, in terms of this whole journey that I’ve been on for 25 years, or, you know, by career, before network overdrive, I’m blaming you and anyone out there who hates me being in technology. It’s this, this is the guy who taught me Linux. And I discovered a scale that I didn’t know, I was good at, to be honest, because I was comparing myself to other, fairly technical people and they couldn’t remember networking concepts the way I could. Cause I think for me, networking, it’s a very visual, sort of way of understanding the world. I can actually imagine myself, they, what does little packets, so many along the network and getting switched from place to place. I mean, that, that was a very visceral, concept for me and helped me my problem solving. And so, yeah, so both of you, I uncovered this bit about me personally, and that’s therefore gone into network overdrive who would trust these three significant people in my life back in the day, why I married. And two, I went into business with
John: You’ve got to explain this is a Medieval festival. We don’t normally dress like that.
Greg: How do you like that as a photo.
John: Fantastic.
Mark: We were just welcoming someone back from overseas, I think was the thing
Greg: We were very accepting of each other’s diversity in differences. I think we can say that. And I think some of our best ideas happened in traveling situation, at airports while we were driving and so on. So, John, Hey, I credit, the tag making it happen. Now I, I think I can own network overdrive to name, but I’ll be interested if you two agree.
Mark: I can’t Remember that
Greg: It came from these books. Now, what I want to know Mark is I didn’t realize how many different covers of this book is. Do you know which cover of Mona Lisa overdrive you had.
Mark: Oh, it was the one on the top left. Yeah. Yep. Yep.
Greg: The car one I thought so. I thought that was it. That book was sitting on the floor of my bedroom basically. And that word overdrive just stood out and I just substituted Mona Lisa with networks. Yeah. And we’ve, we’ve lived with the name for 21 years. That’s a result. Yup. Yeah. And the other thing I wanted to quickly flip on is it says our very first website. Now you need to explain how you got the title. We’ve got the assistant integrator network realized and technology.
Mark: Yep. Which I think essentially is the job I’m still doing. It is.
Greg: Yeah.
Mark: The meeting, my main, the main action out of that meeting was Mark. Can you work out how this bit of technology could work with this, with this data?
Greg: I know it’s absolutely amazing. Isn’t it? So, we, if you go back, I think network over Dodd’s website has gone through at least five or six iterations, but this was the, this was a version or 2001, and so this is your profile. I clicked into you, J D Holy Dooley. And you said that you were highly skilled and creative, and you’d be on the cutting edge for 25 years, even back then. And that was, this added another 21 years to it.
John: Now I do feel old.
Greg: And Mark solid makes of solid university training and practical field experience into the role of technology for always on the edge of the latest developments.
Mark: Yeah. Well that seems to be where I find myself a lot of the time.
Greg: Isn’t that amazing how, , it captures the essence, Hey and mine mine’s network realize either that not as good as you two, I’d have to say by the time I like the title network, realize, yeah,
John: you’re better kissing babies and keeping customers happy and actually realizing it. We will dream around and then organize it a bit, but you actually sell it and manage it. That’s fine.
Greg: So back in the day, we were all three guys in Brisbane and then I, before love decided to go to Melbourne and now I was meant to set up the branch office of network over drive in Melbourne and the head office was going to stay in Brisbane and then YouTube bailed on me. And that’s the time to explain yourself?
Mark: Well, I just had a break, right. I eventually moved to Melbourne, but, by the middle East, I was trying for the international expansion,
John: I just got picked up by another company that paid better than Gregory did.
Greg: Yeah. Frankly, that was, it was money. You say, that’s what I want to stress. You guys sold that to money.
John: I was happy to come back and work for slave pay.
Greg: Did you have, when you started network overdrive, what did you hope for it? Or what did you want to see it happen? You did JV, you can think back to that time, like people say that the best time, that the two great times in a business owner’s life is one when they start a business and the second is when they sell the business, but you experienced starting the business, like, so what sort of thoughts or dreams did you have?
Mark: I think, I think what I, what I remember and what is amazing to see as a, as a reality is that we, you know, we had that founding conversation at an international airport with the thought that this, , business would be have at its heart, a mixture of, you know, commercial viability, but also a focus on, you know, social connection, connecting different communities, not just for the sake of making money, but, for really a, like a holistic form of well being for everyone who’s connected with it. And I think that’s, it’s so amazing to see that that’s true. You’ve got to, you’ve got a KL office. I think that’s something that we always dreamed about; you know? Yeah. I think that the network realized there is also the dream realized.
John: Very forward looking and creative, technology to help people.
Greg: Yeah, I can. I think I borrowed from you John, an idea that the network overdrive team, and then there’s a network. I have a drive family and people come and go in the team, but the extended family grows and grows and now it’s 21 years big the family. And, and I think that that concept came from you, John, you, you, inspired me to follow that. And I, and I feel that, and I think it’s changed as a boss. I’ve seen other people who feel betrayed when someone leaves their business, I take it as a personal attack. And for me, I see network either drivers that change for people to come in, develop some skills and some experiences and some people, and then go on to flourish and it’s okay to not be part of the team forever. And in fact, who is going to be part of the team forever about the family, we can solve feel somehow connected in the family context.
John: Exactly. I’ll think you’ve got that really good in network. I have a drive. And for those who don’t know, Greg and Mike and I we’ve known each other and done things on and off together, in different parts of the world, like 30, 30 years now. So, I have a drive.
Greg: Absolutely. It’s a long-time family and people can do that. So, so I wanted to recognize that in both of you. And I just want to take a few more minutes if that’s all right. So, can you say, I’ve got a thank you message here for Mark, you were the one to show me Linux, and I’ve got a spelling mistake, which is also typical of me, and I know open and open me to the world of technology, and you continue to be the technology Explorer for network overdrive because you continually give me new ideas, even now that I bring into the network overdrive. And then I think that, you’re, you are the genius of the, in terms of the origin of the idea that became a business and a way of life for me.
Mark: Wow.
Greg: So, one or two, I’ll the spelling mistake, and you will get this, you will say this message. And so on the side here, I’ve said this for both of you that way as a network overdrive, couldn’t have got to be 21, with your ability to explore the fringes and to take me on the journey. So, I want to thank you for that, Mark.
Mark: Thank you.
Greg: And publicly recognize that to everybody. And John, I’m out of saying a similar thing to you. If you could say that you have been a mentor and a trusted confidant that it’s God made for the early process, and then you came back to set up the operations that allowed me to take my first trip overseas. And that’s significant because in that trip, I met the people that helped me set up the Malaysian office. So everybody who’s currently working for me in the Malaysian office can feel somehow connected to you as you did that, to allow me to go out and do that trip, and so your legacy, if we still use the operations manual, you have to develop the OHNS stuff, policies. I just submitted a tender the other day. And, you know, and then it’s kind of says, do you have an OHNS manual tick? Yes, thanks, John.
John: My pleasure
Greg: And like I said, you, you, you and a day board and overseas office that now can support customers and clients all over the globe, , from those moments. So we, we, we network overdrive 21 has been, so much influenced by your contributions, both at the beginning of the start, but also in the ongoing ways that you are and the way that you interact with me and the other people in network overdrive. So, I want to thank you both
Mark: My pleasure. Well, happy birthday network overdrive. Keep exploring, never stay, still keep going forward.
John: Yeah, happy birthday. And, I’ll see you at 40 and keep up the good culture that makes not just a business, but a family that has fun in a professional way. It’s better than just being any old company. Amazing.
Greg: Bye everybody.
Mark/John: Bye.