“The power behind being personable” why Teitzel’s 45-year career celebrations couldn’t be missed
John Teitzel, 76, first joined the company in Hughenden, QLD before moving to Armidale in 1983 to take on the role of Wool Area Manager and later Branch Manager. Today you’ll find him at the Armidale Saleyards, still supporting the team in a Casual Livestock role.
Although Payne only worked under the “industry legend” for a brief stint in 1992, he said the lessons learnt from Teitzel in the early stages of his career still resonate with him today.
“I only had 12 months with John but he is a guy who makes an impact on anyone that works with him. He’s got an incredible work ethic, strong attention to detail and a very good moral compass in both business and the way he lives his life,” Payne said.
“But the main thing John taught me was the power behind being personable and using people’s names.
“We would have a client come in and John would say the person’s name, ask them how their partner was and say hello to their three kids. He’d even know the dog’s name! And it wasn’t just the name, these people meant something to him as well.
“He never took anything for granted, he wouldn’t just assume that because he had a relationship with a client, he would naturally do their business.
“He was always on the front foot, adding value which is also something that really resonates with me today.”
Having gone on to work in Forbes, Dubbo, Shepparton and Brisbane while working up to a leadership position, Payne believes staff retention and length of tenure is what separates Nutrien Ag Solutions to other businesses in the industry.
“Where we have really strong businesses and sustained success, we generally have length of tenure of our staff in that area,” he said.
“John is representative of that no doubt. His length of tenure has sustained our business in Armidale for a long period of time.
“He’s just a really good guy and an industry legend JT, he wouldn’t have too many enemies that’s for sure.”
For Teitzel, it’s the people that have made it a fulfilling and long-lasting career and the reason why he still straps on the boots and heads to the saleyards several times a week.
“I just enjoyed what I was doing, enjoyed the people I have worked with and for,” Teitzel said.
“I’m basically retired but I just do a casual livestock role here now and it’s definitely the people that keep here me today.
“The Armidale branch has been a great steppingstone for a lot of people. Robert spent some time with us here in 1992 before coming up through the ranks and we’ve remained very proud of him and his achievements.
“There’s been others like Robert who have gone on to do some big things and it's just been wonderful to nurture some of those people.”