Transparency, hard work, determination and client focus are the key to success in today’s corporate environment, Ace’s key brokers have been told.

David Smorgon, former president of AFL club the Western Bulldogs, told 90 brokers at Ace’s leadership conference in Melbourne that it was also important for brokers to understand their business and what distinguishes it from its competitors.

“Businesses, and the people within them, succeed because they are able to communicate the key benefits of their business, rather than just the features of their products and services,” he said.

However, he reassured them that failure does not necessarily spell the end for a broker.

“In business and life in general, it is important to remember that everyone will fail at one time or another, even the most successful leaders,” he explained. “But what sets good business leaders apart is that they treat failure as a detour, not defeat. I encourage everyone from all levels of the corporate world to analyse their failures as much as their successes to learn and improve for the future.”