Charles Cawley of Gateway Logistics, the transport industry recruitment specialist,
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warns that directors who have not worked their way up through the ranks may be out of touch.
'Companies need directors who can understand and listen to their people'
We were once taught it was a good thing to work your way up to the top. Alas, those who still believe this is possible may have been victims of a cruel hoax. Many companies no longer have directors who experienced life at the bottom. In some cases this is openly stated as a strength! The need for "breadth of vision and strategic thought" is cited.
As long as such opinions persist, if you are at the bottom of one of these companies there is no chance of getting to the top, however good you are. In the age of "Investors in People", these opinions belong in the dark ages. A change is needed before we all pay the price of ignorance. The decline of many companies could be put down to their inability to access and use information they already possess. Ignorance leaves them wide open to competition. Experience teaches at least two things. The first is that we know how things tick and can therefore make better decisions. Experience can go out of date, but it also gives senior staff the ability to listen, because their days in the lower ranks will have taught them what people are trying to say land also what is left unsaid). Managing a company demands not only the ability to speak the language of the City, but also having access to information From every part of the business so that you know what is going on and who to talk to. The ability to LISTEN is paramount. Business Fashion still clings to the idea that someone can be a generalist and succeed. This is not impossible, but those with generalist skills and specific experience will be even more effective.
Some large contract warehousing and transport companies ore controlledloy managers who appear to believe such simple illusions that spot, semi-spot and groupage traffic can be controlled by computers. Experienced traffic operators know better. An untidy bought ledger is a sign of something adrift, but an untidy traffic sheet is usually a sign of an operator squeezing every inch of road time and carrying capacity out of the vehicles, saving on sub-hire and unnecessary overtime. IF the sheet is tidy, it often indicates poor levels of business or unnecessary sub-hire and lazy traffic operation. Computers do good work in accounts for static record systems, but are unsuited as command generating devices in many traffic operations. IF you don't know the signs you should listen to someone who does. Companies need directors who can understand and listen to their people. Unless there is representation at board level by those who know the "code", the capacity to listen and gain information is seriously damaged. If board members were able and willing to speak and listen to traffic staff, millions could be saved alone by not purchasing unsuitable computer devices. The will and ability to listen is an essential management skill. Companies are less able to control their destiny as their boards become less able to listen. As impotence grows, so they succumb to competitors better able to access information within their own organisations. Internal information How is the key to company success, and experience is the key to that. The people blamed in the 1960s were "bosses' sons". In the 1970s it was "the oldschool tie". In the 1980s it was "graduates". Now, fantastically, it is people who have "come up from the bottom". Directors who argue against in-depth industry experience at board level are open to the accusation of supporting ignorance.
• If you want to sound off about a road transport issue write to features editor Patric Cunnane or fax your views (up to 600 words) to Nicky Clarke on 0181 652 8912.