Management Today articles from March 2003

Management Today archives from March 2003

EDITORIAL: True Grit is the vital ingredient for today.(Editorial)
March 4, 2003... It would not surprise me if many MT readers disapprove of our cover feature on mental toughness this month. It's a bit of a counterblast, and the headline, 'If you think you're hard enough', smacks of the testosterone-fuelled bar-bragging of...

CONTRIBUTORS.
March 4, 2003... HELEN KIRWAN-TAYLOR As author of our 'Failure is the New Success' feature, Helen Kirwan-Taylor drew on experience. 'Failure is a subject close to my heart,' she admits. 'If I hadn't been fired from my job at the US embassy in Moscow, I...

IN MY OPINION: Sir David Wright.
March 4, 2003... Chartered Management Institute companion Sir David Wright, now vice-chairman of Barclays Capital, calls for a fuller use of agencies in public services. I have been fortunate in my career to experience very different management challenges....

CUTTING ROOM.(personal finance)
March 4, 2003... Toynbee shows why low pay is no way to profits; my slow-motion euro cheque: how to hedge in the property market; mein hosts in Berlin... Evan Davis at large. I'm told that we're meant to get more right-wing as we get older. I must be...

BRAIN FOOD: Ten ways to ... Travel internationally.
March 4, 2003... 1. Check the climate 2. Have a local contact 3. Pack light hand luggage only 4. Take maps of the local area 5. Put local numbers in your mobile 6. Raise your credit-card limit 7. Confirm meetings 8. Observe local customs 9. Allow...

BRAIN FOOD: It just might work - Immersion.(customer relationship management)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Allegedly, between 30% and 70% of customer relationship management (costly) fails. So why not plunge into so-called immersion (cheap) to win over customers? Sean Meehan and Charlie Dawson, in Business Strategy Review, report that Tesco...

BRAIN FOOD: Unlikely managers - Customs officer.(Chris Wolley)(Brief Article)(Interview)
March 4, 2003... HM CUSTOMS & EXCISE, SOUTHEAST BRIGADE, DOVER Name Chris Wolley When did you become a manager? I first became a team leader 25 years ago. I am now operational manager in Detection - we detect the smuggling of prohibited items....

BRAIN FOOD: Quote.
March 4, 2003... 'Brains are becoming the core of organisations - other activities can be contracted out' Charles Handy said it.

BRAIN FOOD: Workplace rights - Flexible working entitlement.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... From April, employees with children under the age of six will be entitled to apply for flexible working and have their employer seriously consider the request. This is likely to lead to staff seeking part-time and flexi-time work patterns,...

BRAIN FOOD: Earning curve - Toys.
March 4, 2003... Robert A Eckert, CEO, Mattel (2001) pounds 1.26m John H Eyler Jr, CEO, Toys 'R' Us (2001) pounds 1.19m Marklin train set, world auction record (2002) pounds 113k Toy sales representative, p.a. (basic) pounds 24k-pounds 25k Toy designer,...

BRAIN FOOD: Route to the top ... How to win an argument.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Make your case simple and clear. If you write down the main points first, you are less likely to jumble them up. Ensure that your facts are correct. If one element of your case is shown to be false, it will reduce the credibility of...

BRAIN FOOD: Room service - Where Simon Breakwell stays.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... FOR BUSINESS: I stay in the 'W' in Seattle at least once every three months. It's part of a chain run by the Sheraton. It's my favourite hotel because of the beds, which are really comfortable - I always have a fantastic night's sleep there....

BRAIN FOOD: Speaking out - Ian Russell, CEO, Scottish Power.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Ian Russell, a tall, bird-like figure with a refined Scots accent, was introduced at Business in the Community's conference on corporate social responsibility as someone who could talk about rebuilding trust in the corporate sector. He had a...

BRAIN FOOD: If I had to start again ..(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Worrying about parallel universes, which do and did exist for each of us - if my reading of Scientific American is correct - is not to be recommended. So here are two thoughts already. First, whatever your youthful academic pursuit may...

BRAIN FOOD: Are you suffering from ... Compulsive consultant disorder.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... A consultant is like a handbag: no matter how coveted it is, there's always a better one around the corner. But why choose one if you can buy both? Compulsive Consultant Disorder is an affliction of media and business bosses. A consultant is...

BRAIN FOOD: Words-worth - Masstige.(prestige goods in mass market quantities)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Product line a bit tired? Go masstige. This ghastly neologism is the fashionable strategy among manufacturers hoping to sell prestige goods in mass-market quantities. The motor industry is trying it with cars like the Jaguar X-type and Audi TT,...

THE HUMAN FACTOR: Patience Wheatcroft.
March 4, 2003... Tesco's boss Sir Terry Leahy is a supermarket warrior who won't miss the chance to check out the Safeway books or queer the pitch for his rivals. James Gulliver was the Philip Green of 30 years ago. A swashbuckling entrepreneur, he...

STATE OF THE UNION: Nick Denton.(space exploration)
March 4, 2003... China plans to put a taikonaut into space soon. Nothing would stimulate the US space effort more than a Chinese claim to the Sea of Tranquility. There's nothing like space exploration to turn even the hardest-headed Americans into soppy...

INSIDE OUT: Andrew Neil.(Tony Blair)
March 4, 2003... The Blairite 'big tent' has been torn down and a gladiatorial arena built in its place - in which the PM is taking on and slaying all his political demons. The New Year started with a remarkable transformation in the prime minister, and...

REALITY BITES: Richard Reeves.
March 4, 2003... In French and Spanish offices, it takes the first hour to kiss everyone, the second to discuss the latest gossip and the third to pop out for coffee. In wartime, careless talk costs lives. Nowadays, it is seen as costing profits. For all...

TECHKNOW: Things to come ... Self-healing PCBs.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... A dead PC is as often caused by a cracked printed circuit board - but not for much longer, if Fred Wudl has his way. The director of the Exotic Materials Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles has developed plastic that can...

TECHKNOW: Tech talk.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... ohnosecond (n): The sickening moment just after accidentally pressing the 'don't save' button and just before a whole morning's work disappears. irritainment (n): In-your-face media that you can't switch off, like video screens at railway...

TECHKNOW: Pushing the envelope - Roads.
March 4, 2003... Two thousand years ago, all roads led to Rome, but now road travel is so ubiquitous that there's one leading pretty much anywhere you could wish to go. Even if that's literally to the ends of the earth. Work recently started on a road to the...

TECHKNOW: Smart tools - Toshiba Portege.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... What is it? A desktop-cum-laptop PC with handwriting recognition. What does it do? Combining desktop power with the portability of a laptop and convenience of a PDA, this tablet PC is the tech industry's latest attempt to make a...

BOOKS: The Trillion-Dollar Kids.(Brainchild)(Book Review)
March 4, 2003... Brandchild; By Martin Lindstrom; Kogan Page, pounds 25 Heard of 'Mindark' or 'Entropia'? Bet your kids have. Branding is all in the huge under-14s market, and as Rita Clifton finds out, tweens make fickle customers. I must confess,...

BOOKS: On the bedside table of ... Herminia Ibarra.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... 'I am reading Authentic Happiness by the psychologist Martin Seligman. He believes we each have our own set range for happiness, and that we can work on stretching this range by building on what he calls our 'signature strengths'.' ...

BOOKS: 10 Top Business Books.(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
March 4, 2003... 1. Free Lunch; David Smith; Profile Books pounds 7.99 2. The Financial Times Handbook of Management; Edited by Stuart Crainer; Prentice Hall pounds 30.00 3 Globalization and its Discontents; Joseph Stiglitz; Penguin pounds 16.99 4. The...

BOOKS: The Capital System Skewed.(Going Off the Rails)(Book Review)
March 4, 2003... Going off the Rails; By John Plender; John Wiley pounds 19.99 Despite US rhetoric, the market is no longer free. Philip Augar is convinced by this plea for the reform of the Anglo-American model. These days, you have to move fast to...

BOOKS: The book that shook - Dianne Thompson.(The Intelligent Client)(Book Review)
March 4, 2003... 'Consultants, like the poor, are always with us. Most big corporations use them repeatedly and regularly, yet we're quick to point the finger of blame at them when things go wrong. Post-Y2K and the dot.com bubble, I found Fiona Czerniawska's...

BOOKS: Urge to plunder.(Bibliography)
March 4, 2003... Empires of Profit; by Daniel Litvin; Texere pounds 18.99 This survey of the imperial might of giant multinationals is timely, says David Smith. At a time when a major TV series and bestselling book on the British Empire has sparked so...

BOOKS: Three of a kind ... The delicate art of delegation.(Bibliography)
March 4, 2003... Delegation; Andrew Forrest; Spiro Press pounds 5.99 At just 51 pages long, this is about the fastest guide to delegation you'll find. Still, it's packed with useful advice; offers some exercises for the reader to try; and includes a section...

If you think you're hard enough.
March 4, 2003... In more carefree times, business gurus exalted leaders who admitted to frailty. Not any more. The task of sustaining growth in a sluggish market calls for driven, leather-skinned bosses. Whereas emotional intelligence was the mantra in the...

NO DUMMIES.
March 4, 2003... By mixing business logic with vulgar chutzpah, the new bosses at Tussauds have jolted a moribund business back to life. The old lady must be spinning happily in her grave. Andrew Davidson reports. Dance with Kylie. You can. Step round the...

FAILURE IS THE NEW SUCCESS.('failure chic')
March 4, 2003... Effortless achievement has no place in these tougher times. We're more impressed by those who bear the visible scars of lost battles. Helen Kirwan-Taylor identifies this 'failure chic' as a backlash against mindless optimism. It was Thomas...

TRAVEL SMART.(travel alternatives)
March 4, 2003... Urban gridlock, motorway bunching, mainline and Tube trains off the rails... The failure of our transport infrastructure must be hitting the bottom line. But comfort - and speed - is at hand. MT suggests some exhilarating travel alternatives...

THE ANDREW DAVIDSON INTERVIEW: Nigel Crisp.(Interview)
March 4, 2003... Donnish and amiable, the NHS's boss nevertheless has a conviction and expertise that could transform the state monolith - Europe's biggest employer - into a model of cellular efficiency, if he can lure the right managerial talent. A man who...

COMING UP FAST: How to attract the right kind of investor.(funding for cosmetic company Pixi)
March 4, 2003... What are the options for a successful new cosmetics company like Pixi, whose founders have the impetus to expand but lack the financial firepower to do so? Rebecca Hoar reports. Pixi is more than just a pretty face. The make-up company...

COMING UP FAST: Building to last - Accept criticism.
March 4, 2003... DILEMMA: When I look in the mirror I see a people-crazy world-class motivator with a talent for redefining markets. So how come my new HR director's staff opinion poll portrays me as a humourless paranoiac dinosaur? ISSUES: Is the survey...

COMING UP FAST: Decisions - Michael Dell, Dell.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... MY BEST... That's easy. It was to sell computer systems direct to the customer, over the internet and telephone rather than through computer reseller companies. When I started Dell, I believed computer-makers using the reseller sales channel...

COMING UP FAST: Net result - New lease of life.(Seaton Automotive, a division of Douglas Seaton Ltd)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... What do Yeovil and Yakutat have in common? The answer is specialist vehicle leaser Seaton Automotive, a division of Douglas Seaton Ltd that has supplied cars to customers in the south-west for 83 years. So on launching...

COMING UP FAST: Stressbuster - A flexible brain.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Stress can restrict the ability to think creatively. Yet in harassed times we need new ideas more than ever. To keep your right brain accessible and agile... ALLOW YOURSELF TIME to doodle and dawdle once a day. A period of idleness often...

COMING UP FAST: Young Meteors - Christopher Bagot, Softroom.( )(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Most new architects spend 10 years in apprenticeship before launching a consultancy of their own. Not Christopher Bagot. He and two fellow architecture students were shortlisted for their design for the new Cardiff Opera House before they had...

COMING UP FAST: Crash course - Minimise the downside risk.
March 4, 2003... One of your management team has just pointed out that if the M25 were to be closed for a week, you'd probably go out of business. It has made you think about what other events - such as fire, flooding, computer viruses, litigation - would have...

MOTOR MOUTH: A jolie sort of vehicle.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 4, 2003... The new C3 is best evidence so far of Citroen's long march from the lacklustre anonymity that affected this most idiosyncratic of manufacturers after its takeover by Peugeot a generation ago. It is a well-designed, charming, comfortable,...

WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?(OVERRULED BY BOSS)
March 4, 2003... CONSTANTLY OVERRULED BY MY BOSS I am responsible for a team of five project managers in our consultancy The problem is that my ultimate boss overrules most of my judgments. She's reluctant to trust us to get on with things, and often...

FIRST CLASS COACH.(setting up one's own business)
March 4, 2003... I've been working for a big company all my life and am getting bored with corporate life. I'm strongly attracted to leaving and setting up my own business, but I'm not sure I have the confidence to do it. What if I fail? It is always...

WEAK AT THE TOP: John Weak's diary.
March 4, 2003... MONDAY Got in late due to late running of weekend. Found a new secretary in my office. I asked her (Tanya) what had happened to Hayley, my loyal PA with whom I have an almost psychic working relationship. She said that Hayley was on...