25-year-old Aussie CEO, Kyle Hunt, reveals how he is different to Boomer bosses
A 25-year-old CEO has hit out at “boring” Baby Boomer bosses, revealing the wild game he plays with his 80 staff members to get them into the office.
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Kyle Hunt is a CEO and the boss of more than 80 people at just 25, and says he has thrown out the Boomer boss rule book.
The Aussie Gen Z is the CEO of the Health Care Providers Association (HCPA), the digital consulting firm Provider Digital and the medicinal cannabis supplier Rumen.
He clocks up around 50 hours a week, usually fits in at least one pub session with his mates, and reckons the secret to his business success is having “fun” with his staff.
Mr Hunt said that common sense will teach you that there’s got to be a balance but he thinks Boomer bosses need to embrace joy in the workplace.
He explained that Boomers have a reputation for being “boring” because they care more about the business than the people working for them.
“They just forget about the fun,” Mr Hunt told news.com.au.
He said his emphasis on fun means that while other bosses are in despair because they can’t get their workers returning to the office, he doesn’t have that problem.
“Everyone’s friends with everyone. Everyone wants to hang out, and it is a good energy,” he said.
He said his employees “much prefer” to work in the office because it is a good vibe and they don’t want to miss out.
He created this environment by finding the “right” people who are passionate and care about their jobs.
The Gen Z boss said it often falls on him to “create” the fun in the office and he usually comes up with ideas and then books in time with his team.
So, what does fun look like?
A team bowling session? A Friday early mark to head down to the pub? Is KFC being ordered to the office?
Nope, Mr Hunt has much more innovative ideas.
“Sometimes we hide money through the entire building and give them 30 minutes on a timer,” he said.
At times he hides up to $1000 in cash around the place and when people are “free” they can go and try to find some.
Unlike your stereotypical Boomer boss, Mr Hunt isn’t afraid to poke fun at himself and his status as a young CEO.
He recently embraced the “of course” trend that has been popularised on TikTok, in which people reveal what a certain aspect of their personality or lives means about them.
For example, a hairdresser might say, “I’m a hairdresser; of course, I have bleach stains on my hands.”
In Mr Hunt’s case, he got his staff to join in and poke fun at his youthfulness while also being the boss.
“I’ve got a 25-year-old CEO; of course, I’m a glorified babysitter,” one staff member jokes while fanning himself at his desk.
“I’ve got a 25-year-old CEO; of course, I’m having beers at 2pm,” another staff member said while holding a cold one.
“I’ve got a 25-year-old CEO; of course, we have a pool table in the office,” another said while leaning back to take a shot at pool.
If you couldn’t already tell, Mr Hunt has discarded formal language and corporate phrases like “let’s circle back” certainly aren’t typical in his office.
“If you use super formal language, how are you going to build a personal relationship? You may as well let them talk how they talk as long as they respect each other,” he said.
Mr Hunt said he finds formal language “awkward” and reckons it should only be used if someone is being fired or disciplinary action needs to be taken.
“You need to be quite clear on why, but apart from that, informal is the way to go,” he said.
The 25-year-old also doesn’t waste time micromanaging people and said that kind of thing happens in companies because the right people aren’t being hired.
“When you hire the wrong people, there’s micromanaging; when you hire the right people, micromanaging doesn’t exist because they don’t require it,” he said.
Mr Hunt said that while he doesn’t take a super serious approach to dealing with staff, he is very serious when it comes to the actual work.
He didn’t become a CEO in his mid-20s by accident, and his success came down to his “relentless pursuit” of it.
Mr Hunt said when he was 23 he had a heart attack due to underlying health condition and even when he was in the depths of recovery, he was still trying to work from his hospital.
“No matter what, as long as I’m alive … I’m pushing harder than most people,” he said.
Originally published as 25-year-old Aussie CEO, Kyle Hunt, reveals how he is different to Boomer bosses
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