Who Moved My Blackberry
I've just finished reading "Who Moved My Blackberry" by Martin Lukes with Lucy Kellaway (www.amazon.co.uk - œ4.99) which is a hugely funny dig at the corporate world and electronic communication.
It shows the fallout of sending delicate emails to the wrong people, what can happen when you align yourself to the wrong side even when you suspect all is not as it should be, and the perils of letting your Blackberry get into mischievous hands. Totally unlike the book "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr Spencer Johnson (www.amazon.co.uk - œ3.99), which could do with falling into more hands!
I know there's lots of negativity around communicating by email but I love it. I haven't got a Blackberry but I do have wireless internet so I can do all my emails in bed if the fancy takes me - yes, OK, sometimes it does! As I see it, it's all about how you use it. It's great for setting up meetings, keeping in touch with people when you haven't always got time to phone, or even making arrangements for a verbal chat.
I think the negative publicity kicks in when it's used as a distraction. It can aid procrastination and stop you from making decisions. It can help you put off jobs that you should be dealing with. It can become an obsession when you can't stop checking your email to see if you have new messages, or it can make you feel driven as you feel you can't switch off from it.
Like many people, I use email to aid my business but have become a bit obsessed with it on occasions instead of sorting out the real issue. When you realise how much time can be wasted without achieving anything it's quite a shock, and time to take stock.
Only checking emails at certain times, having a "must do" list of other things, and adopting a more relaxed attitude to it are all strategies that are good for keeping it under control. After all, if someone wants to contact you in a hurry, they'll use the phone.
Oh, and maybe not taking your laptop and/or Blackberry to bed with you is also a good strategy!
Dammit! I'm still saying maybe........................
Pam Stokes is a Business & Personal Development Coach. Besides coaching, she provides interactive online programmes for busy people, supervises newly qualified and trainee coaches, runs workshops in stress management and a Diploma Course in NLP. Free downloads http://www.pamstokesassociates.co.uk
The world of British entrepreneurship
The English dictionary has always been full of inaccurate descriptions and definitions. Dr Johnson's first dictionary, in all its glory, proffered some seriously poor standards: for example, his definition of 'cough' was "A convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity. It is pronounced coff." Such imperfections still blemish the modern dictionary: the word "entrepreneur", for instance, is widely believed to represent a person who creates a unique or entirely new product or service, but is still seen as interchangeable with "businessman".
Many modern British entrepreneurs appear to truly embody the unique spirit of entrepreneurship. Perhaps the most famous is Virgin's Sir Richard Branson, worth over £3 billion, as estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List 2006. Even the American giant Donald Trump professes to possess certain British roots, as his mother grew up in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Perhaps the most famous of modern British entrepreneurs is Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of the easyGroup, who was recently knighted. The dramatic take-off of Stelios' easyJet company, set up when he was only 28, is widely recognised to be the forerunner of the modern aviation scene, and responsible for transforming the airline market for the benefit of millions of consumers in Britain and across Europe. Today, his easy empire constitutes a variety of goods and services, including easyCar, easyMoney, easyHotel and even easyPizza. The brand easyCar has recently become one of the leading low cost car hire specialists on the web, again highlighting Stelios' unwavering entrepreneurship skills. Though Stelios was born and finished his schooling in Greece, his recent knighthood for services to entrepreneurship shows how he has become an integral part of British culture, and ingrained in the national business landscape.
Other notable British entrepreneurs include Andrew Regan, founder of Corvus Capital, and Richard Brown, Chief Executive of personal finance comparison site, Moneynet.
Regan, born in Manchester but now living in Geneva, is head of the firm Corvus, which operates in investments in insurance, technology, commodities, media, music, food brands, and telecoms among other fields. As well as this, Regan is an experienced traveller to the Polar Regions, and has been to both the North and South Poles, as well as backing 2005's Ice Challenger expedition.
Richard Brown's pioneering website Moneynet offers valuable information comparing financial data in order to help customers make the most informed choices about their finances. Among the areas covered by Moneynet are loans, mortgages, credit cards and insurance as well as life insurance. Moneynet also offers a handy news section, in which customers can be alerted to the latest trends and patterns amongst consumers and buyers.
Though many concur that Branson is the country's greatest entrepreneurial asset, the title has also been bestowed upon Jamie Dyson, inventor of the Dyson vacuum, Alan Sugar of Amstrad fame, and Sir Clive Sinclair, the man widely held responsible for the development of the modern home computer. The sheer number of people vying for the position of 'Britain's greatest entrepreneur' means that the term is often contested which can only be good for Britain and it's economy !
Executive Interims in the Corporate Arena
How does the value of an ' Executive Interim Manager' work in practice? Here are just a couple of examples of how 'Interim Executives' stepped in to help a sample of large International organisations.
One such organisation needed a human resources 'Interim' to bring about change on a grand scale across several European countries. They acquired a large PLC, which within a hundred years had become the world leader in air and gas handling and the manufacture of large scale fans and compressors. The company was established in eighteen countries across the world, giving it a leading market position in its products.
Following the takeover, the company embarked on a comprehensive review. They found that what they lacked was an HR Executive who had International 'change management' experience. The company enlisted a top 'Interim Management' Agency to help. Within a couple of weeks an 'Interim Executive' was in place. His first task was to tackle the multiplicity of sites across Europe. There were nine production sites spread over the continent, each making the same product, with only slight variations. Rationalisation meant that four had to be closed; two in Scotland, one in France and one in England, accompanied by nine transfers of production across the continent. This was accompanied by an investment programme in new IT systems for each site. Hundreds of staff had to be organised too, as the plan was to reduce the overall head count from 1,400 to 1,100. Timing was critical as was the need to work closely with the council and the local unions. It was essential to get the council on side as it had the power to set the programme back by a significant amount of time. ( Bad past experiences of a company who tried to close a factory, without consulting the works council, thus resulting in the programme being delayed by several months!)
The purchasing was not being carried out in a centralised way and so the company was unable
to take advantage of its potential purchasing power. HR personnel were thin on the ground. The CEO wanted to centralise production and turn the factories into centres of excellence for specific products.
During the 'Executive Interim Manager's' year long assignment three key challenges emerged :- There were different cultures and languages operating in the various factories; there wasn't easily obtainable manpower facts and figures and finally a distinct lack in a training programme for those who were made redundant. The 'Interim' professional encouraged the staff in the factories to work together, as opposed to being in competition, this required a high level of commitment and the company had to ensure that their staff were really buying in to the changes. Some of the centres had very little personnel data – really just that of who was on the payroll. The idea was to ensure that the entire enterprise used the same systems, covering everything from personnel data to production schedules and purchasing orders. A system was also introduced to help those made redundant, by giving them every opportunity and training to help them find new work. The company enlisted local business development authorities to help with this.
The 'Executive Interim Manager' maintained that they eventually had a clear plan of action and a talented group of managers dedicated to the organisation achieving its aims. The plan had to be detailed and credible and the delivery had to be confident and on-time, despite the complicated various initiatives.
Another example of effective use of an 'Executive Interim Manager' was for enhancing the global performance of a large PLC. The brief to the 'Interim Management' Agency was to identify a top-level Interim International finance director with experience of working in the U.S and implementing major change programmes. Immediate availability was essential. Within DAYS the prime candidate was identified, fulfilling all the criteria, including the candidate having dual UK/US citizenship. The 'Interim Manager's' main tasks were to be able to upgrade and develop the copmpany's finance function and to be able to ensure that they performed effectively on a global basis. The PLC was an international speciality chemicals group. The company was moving from being a US-based business to becoming a global company. A financial expert was needed to act as a 'change agent.'
The company needed someone who was 'over-qualified' for the job, who could literally 'hit-the-ground running' on day one. This particular 'Executive Interim manager' could immediately see the wood from the trees. In that situation you are not developing someone as part of a career move, rather you're looking for someone who has been a leader and a manager. That person must go in and head the function and play a major role. That particular
candidate made it clear that he didn't want to be seen as a 'hands-off' consultant, but rather to be treated as the financial director who was doing the job, sharing the risks and achievements.
He initially won the trust of the team, helped their management team to identify 'course corrections' needed to ensure that the company would meet the requirements of its business plan and helped recruit two permanent members of staff- a new financial director and a financial planning manager.
At the end of the three month assignment the company had two new members of staff installed with the right skills set, the finance department was more effective, more structured and more capable and the company had a much clearer picture of where it actually stood in terms of its financial performance.
In both examples the 'Interim Executive' effected change swiftly and efficiently and left behind organisations better prepared to meet their challenges ahead.
J Hadley writes on behalf of Executive Interims - Supply Chain Practice. See: http://www.executive-interims.co.uk
