David Brewster - Management:Simple

Seven years ago, in the first of almost 100 articles for this newsletter, I wrote of the modern complexities surrounding the once simple task of packing an overnight bag for a business trip. I noted that I often spend “more time making sure I have a full set of batteries and power cords than I do making sure I have enough clothes”.

This, I suggested, was an example of a broader complexity we are faced with in our lives, particularly our working lives. “Modern evolution almost requires complexity as a matter of course.” Feedback from many of you over the years has reinforced that I wasn’t alone with these thoughts.

Has anything changed? That depends on your point of view. Read the rest of this entry »

The red rash around the top of the collar gives it away. The urgent tone of his voice only confirms Kate’s hunch. Mark is angry.

‘You said “no” to that urgent order I sent through,’ says Mark sharply.

‘That’s right. We can’t do it in the time you want.’ Kate surprises herself with her outward calmness.

‘But we … you … we … never say “no”. We’re all about service, remember. Service. The customer as number one and all that. Isn’t that what we talked about only last weekend at the retreat?’ Read the rest of this entry »

Spare me the dramatics. Spare me the countless column-inches of ‘how did it happen?’ analysis. The most surprising aspect of the recent financial market crisis has been the surprise itself. It was always going to happen. Now that it has, perhaps we can remind ourselves of a few home-truths.

At its core, the current economic situation is no different from any previous collapse. It boils down to too many financial institutions lending too much money to too many people in excessively risky situations. 

It’s been an orgy of lending. Not only have banks been injudiciously lending to house-buyers. Financiers have been injudiciously lending to the banks so that they could lend more to house-buyers. Read the rest of this entry »

There are few as fervent as the young environmental warrior. Spurred on by school and media, our youngest has been the driving force behind the energy saving light bulbs on our ceiling and the worm farm in our backyard. At the moment we’re being held to account for any excess packaging which crosses our threshold. But her crusade has a weak spot.

We live just far enough away from school that walking the journey involves some effort, albeit small. The drive, conversely, is not so short as to be farcical. So we mix it up. Sometimes she walks, sometimes we cycle together and sometimes she is driven.

Here’s the rub. Which mode of transport do you think our little green conscience prefers? Nine times out of ten, if given the choice, she’ll opt to be driven. Carbon emissions are momentarily overlooked in favour of the short term convenience of avoiding the walk. Read the rest of this entry »

“Thinking about thinking? That sounds a bit weird!” said my daughters. So much for the open minds of the young. For the last month I’ve been fulfilling a long term desire to lubricate my mind with the oil of philosophy. Along the way I’ve tried to explain to my offspring (clearly with limited success) what I’ve learnt and why it’s important.

Of course I can understand why the idea of thinking about thinking seems a bit bizarre. In the age of Go! Go! Go! even a pause for thought is likely to get you an impatient push from behind.

Australia’s new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently announced a summit of 1000 citizens to ‘harness the best ideas across the nation’.

The summit was dubbed a ‘talkfest’ while the media announcement was still warm. Commentators demanded to know how it would lead to concrete action. The idea that there could be any value in a group of smart people simply sharing ideas, in the hope of catalyzing further, even better ideas, is anathema to 21st century society.

Which is why even a small smear of philosophy could give you an edge. It will help you, to borrow from Rudyard Kipling, keep your head while all about you are losing theirs. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a dubious form of punishment. The small cafe was subtly lit, its distressed brick walls and retro furnishings creating an unhurried mood. It was quiet too, the background music contemporary but gentle. The place seemed a world away from the glaring sun and unbridled cacophony of the holiday resort’s teeming main street just half a block away.

The first customer, Shane ordered his espresso and withdrew to a comfortable nook at the front window. He smiled to himself as his coffee arrived. If I’m going to be banished from the beach, he thought, there could be worse places to be sent.

But I’m here to think, he reminded himself. Lyn is right. I’ve been crusty since we got here and it’s not fair on her. After all, this is a rare fortnight where we actually get to sail along beside each other rather than pass as ships in the night. The business is closed for a month. The weather’s awesome. What am I so grumpy about? Read the rest of this entry »

One of the benefits of the mobile phone culture is the ease with which one can do informal social research. It may not be kosher to eavesdrop on one half of a private conversation, but I figure that people who choose to loudly air their wares are willing subjects. This year I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in the Out-Loud Index.

My research findings can be summarized thus: people in ATM queues, on trains and in supermarkets are feeling over-stretched at work.

They feel their challenges are misunderstood. They frequently feel unacknowledged and under-rewarded. They have little or no remaining loyalty to their employing organisations or their managers. They are often sticking it out until something better comes along - or so they say.

These people feel - in fact know - that they are doing the jobs of two or three others. They know this because those other jobs used to exist. Sometimes it’s a former colleague on the other end of the phone. Read the rest of this entry »

It had been 20 years been since I last drove into the back of another car. But the memories have stayed with me. So it was with a mixture of cursing and resignation that I sifted through the glove box last week trying to find a pen that still worked and a vaguely blank piece of paper.

As I swore, it wasn’t person or property on my mind. No one had been hurt and cars are fixable. Weighing most on my mind was the looming inconvenience of it all. Forms, phone calls, more forms, repairers, quotes, still more forms. It might be 20 years, but I still have a nervous reaction every time a form is put in front of me.

So it was that I exchanged details with the crashee and headed tentatively home, dreading the call I had to make to the insurance company. The call which I was sure would start me on a long and clunky journey and have me feeling like the silver ball in the old Mouse Trap game. Read the rest of this entry »

What a buzz. Unexpectedly, on a recent trip to New Zealand, I was able to see, up close, the ‘World’s Fastest Indian’. This was the motorcycle made famous in the uplifting film of that name. 40 years on, Burt Munro’s motorcycle still holds land speed records for its class. It got me thinking about the speed of our working lives.

There’s little doubt the world feels faster. “It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place,” as the Red Queen says in Through the Looking Glass. Faster communication. Faster food. Ever more instant satisfaction. “Buy today and pay nothing for 40 months!” cries a local discounter’s advertising.

But I suspect we are reaching some limits.

Read the rest of this entry »

I quite like the flavour of a good quote. Earlier this week, however, I may have over-indulged. I’ve just returned from a Sydney management conference which was an all-you-can-eat buffet of words and wisdom from various internationally renowned ‘gurus’. Tuck in your napkin and I’ll give you a taste.

I have to say that I travelled to this meeting with some trepidation. Management conferences have a tendency to serve up a flavourless mix of stodgy, glutinous nonsense. Thankfully this one was different. Perhaps because Sydney’s stock of nonsense had been fully dispensed at APEC the fortnight before. Or because this convention was dedicated to the memory of Peter Drucker, one of the most sensible of all management gurus. Read the rest of this entry »