Tigers in Zurich

No, really, tigers. Please note that I am not referring to my new client in any way. The tiger I am referring to is that which I stumbled across on another one of my early morning runs near the zoo in Zurich. I wasn’t sure what time breakfast was so I decided not to hang around for too long. On the other hand it is proving most enjoyable to spend time with my new clients – they are turning out to be extremely friendly, pleasant and straight forward. I continue to enjoy my new role immensely and the inaugural meeting with Wipro’s executive sponsor was most productive. A series of mini team meetings last week also helping me start connecting with the team on the ground which I think is of key importance. I am looking forward to our first town hall event in May and I am feeling positive about the future. This optimism is especially pronounced because the delivery head of the account is coming to Zurich for a fortnight in May, so we can continue to go to the next level of re-structuring and giving people clear roles and responsibilities. All in all life is busy, but good. Today and tomorrow sees another series of customer meetings before the start of the jumping season with Pich and family at Gradignon this weekend. If only the sun would show its face here in Zurich then the world would be almost perfect.

Enjoyably Unforgettable

One of the things that struck me during my busy week last week was that for the vast majority of us our working lives will be fairly unforgettable. As much as I’d like to be remembered for curing cancer or inventing a new product that revolutionises water management techniques across the globe, the chances are that it is not going to happen. Although this doesn’t negate the highly positive effect that one can have on individuals around you, given this overriding sad fact of forgettable-ness (not a word I know mother, not even with a hyphen), I was led to draw the conclusion that you’re probably better off doing something that you enjoy doing with people you enjoy working with. Hmmm, I agree that all in all, my conclusion is rather unsurprising and well used. That said possibly not the classical starting point for today’s little gem of irrelevance.

The Elixir of Growth

Travelling back 13 hours from Singapore gives you lots of time for an irrelevant musing or two. One thing that strikes me about working for an Indian company is the constant talk and pursuit of growth and revenue – something which was always less of a topic of conversation in Accenture. The conclusion that I have drawn from my experience over the last year is that achieving growth basically equates to having the right number of people (typically you need to hire more people) and then you have to give them clear roles, responsibilities and the right incentives. If you get this right sized team doing what you they agree to do, then you’re pretty much on the right tracks to grow. I really don’t think it is a lot more complicated than that.

I also think it is important to recognise that this constant talk of numbers even has an effect on our clients – some of the clients I have spoken to so far are quicker to talk about needing to ensure Wipro’s growth than the Wipro people themselves, something which I always finds a tad peculiar! That said despite this relentless talk of numbers and growth, there was one introductory conversation that I had with the team last week which l will remember for a long time to come. Basically I outlined the conclusions that I had drawn from the handover with my predecessor. I also outlined three key messages which I said I would elaborate on during our upcoming town hall. When I asked one group for their reaction they said that they were happy to finally hear someone talking less about top level numbers and more about them, their careers and their long term future on the account. They said that they were relieved to hear this type of discourse, and that knowing there was a long term future for them on the account would encourage them to give even more in their day to day work as they started to feel less like visitors to Switzerland and more like real team members. And here’s me thinking that the Indian culture is more numbers than people focused. How wrong I was, and how similar people are the world over....

The Land of the Perfumed Toilet

I am currently sitting on my flight back to France from Singapore. I’ve been there for the last week. It was the first time that I’ve ever been to that part of Asia and overall it was a good trip. It’s been a while since we’ve had a list on the blog so as a summary here are my top 10 lessons learned from both a work and a personal/cultural perspective....

(1) The Singaporeans really don’t like drugs – the immigration entry card is quite clear on the subject – death penalty for all traffickers – a rather abrupt introduction to Singapore but at least you can’t say you weren’t warned. I cleverly snuck mine into my neighbour’s suitcase so that was something of a relief (just kidding). (2) I have never been in public toilets that smell as good as those in Singapore – the standard of cleanliness in general is very high, but there were 3 or 4 public urinals that smelled positively pleasant. If I could just have bottled the smell then I could have been a millionaire. It would have given a whole new meaning to the term “eau de toilette”. (3) They don’t like drugs but they do like process – they didn’t clean my hotel room for 3 days because I hadn’t followed the process of switching on a call light (maybe they should have a process whereby processes are explained to guests on arrival). (4) Still on the subject of predictability and process....the temperature of between 28C and 36C is pretty constant all year round. It can also be pretty humid, which can be a bit uncomfortable at times, although it does rain between 3PM and 5PM every day which helps freshen things up. In fact it also gets dark at the same time every evening and the sun also rises at the same time each morning. (5) Furthermore it is impossible to get a taxi between 3.30PM and 4PM because that is the time that the cabbies’ shift changes. All in all I felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day by the end of the week. (6) It’s also most bizarre to be in a country that’s only 45 years old – we old Europeans ridicule the Americans for having no history, maybe we should look a little bit further afield. (7) That Singapore is artificial perfection – it’s like Disneyland but on an adult sized scale. Singapore seems to have its very own mini London Eye, Sydney Opera House, British Colonial offices, Canary Wharf Tower and Empire State Building all mixed up together. It’s a most bizarre place with a funny mix of architectures, lights and colours. (8) That the men are really effeminate (and that’s saying something from someone who likes to wear pink shirts). (9) That the new fiancée of one of my oldest friends is absolutely delightful. Thankfully I don’t think she hates me (unlike all of his previous girlfriends), although I suspect that is because I spoke much too quickly for her to understand anything. (10) That you can eat really well in Singapore, that nightclubs are often in the basements of hotels (apparently...), and that air conditioned cabs and trains should be introduced everywhere....oh how my view of the London Underground has changed whilst in Singapore.

And on the work front...

(1) That I am now beginning to understand and appreciate the global nature of my account a bit more – it really is more than just Zurich and that there are real people at the end of those emails that come in over night from Singapore. (2) That we’ve got huge amounts of work to do in the APAC region – it really is a question of how quickly can we get some good quality boots on the ground. (3) That I am very happy that I got to spend some time with my Delivery Head who flew down from India – we think in a very similar way about how we should be looking to run the account so that was a big source of relief. (4) That being able to outline a clear team organisation structure with clear roles and responsibilities is going to be absolutely critical to success. (5) That being able to explain to the people in the team what a long term career model in the account might look like will also be pretty important given the feedback I received this week. (6) That a seemingly intractable problem that has dogged the account for the last 18 months can be resolved quite quickly with a new pair of eyes, some fresh good will and a good dollop of professionalism by some key people. I’m looking forward to going back to Zurich on Monday to market some success we had this week. (7) That being able to have agreed a new organisation structure has allowed me to understand how lopsided the team has become over the last 24 months and which vacancies need to be filled as a matter of priority. Time to get my little black book out I think. (8) That we’re actually doing a lot of good work and that we have a lot of happy customers – our real challenge will be absorbing new work and delivering that successfully. (9) That no matter how many emails, telephone calls or video conferences you want to do, nothing beats going to see someone in person, shaking their hand, looking them in the eye, and then drawing on a whiteboard with a permanent marker. (10) That I’m enjoying my new role and that I’m looking forward to my first town hall where I can formally roll out some of my new plans and ideas for the account. Some might say the future is bright, the future’s green white and orange.

No New is Good News

It’s been a bit quiet on the blog for the last week or so but that’s only because there’s so much to do in the new role I’ve taken up at work. Whilst there is clearly a lot to sort out including some fairly fundamental re-structuring to be done, the good news is that all of the client contact I’ve had has been positive. They seem receptive and willing to look at things with a fresh set of eyes. I’m off to Singapore on Sunday to meet some more key groups of stakeholders (both Wipro and client) so hopefully that will go well too. I’ve pretty much finished the handover with the guy who I am taking over from. We finished the transition yesterday with a lunch outside under a glorious blue sky in Zurich. He was relaxed like a man who had had the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. I sat next to him apprehensive about the issues which I need to address in the very near future, but still excited about trying out some ideas to re-establish a sense of team and cohesion among the 200 people who now report to me. My new boss has basically given me carte blanche to do what I need to do to turn things around, so I’m pretty happy about that. I just need to make sure the wider organisation can line up and support me in what I want to do (e.g. Mont Blanc fountain pens, pocket watches and holiday timeshares for everyone). I’m looking forward to the Singapore trip – it will be the opportunity to see an old friend who I haven’t seen for a good number of months. He has recently got engaged to be married, so I will be keen to meet his new bride to be. Unfortunately virtually every single one of his previous girlfriends has taken a positive dislike to me for some unexplained reason, so I am hoping that this time it will be different. Apparently she loves children so I am planning on giving her one of my own to try and break the ice and get in her good books from the outset. On the downside it will mean a full week away from home. Sandie is bracing herself because crèche is out and so Maxime will be roaming the house looking for trouble for a full two weeks. I suspect we’ll have to enlist his regular partner in crime, “Papy John”, to take him out for kite flying and Bar Tabac sessions – whereas Maxime and I have our naughty Saturdays, I am pretty sure that my Dad has naughty Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with him (we all typically go to church together on Sundays so that obviously makes up for the rest of the week). Assuming that the house is still standing and that no-one has been killed or locked up by the time I get back from Singapore, the next major events will be Easter, a belated start to the show jumping season at Gradignon near Bordeaux (after some clerical errors last week which prevented me from jumping at Oloron), some intensive German lessons in the Netherlands (don’t ask), and very quickly the Christening of Gaston and Capucine. And who knows, we might even get time for a holiday over the summer....