In Hammersmith, headmaster William Atkinson proved that a failing inner-city school can be turned around. Atkinson is a model leader who inspires loyalty. Leaders who are prima donnas on the other hand can be a pain. Certainly, we found that todays celebrity chefs, Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay, continue to be unreconstructed enthusiasts of the if you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen school of HR. Who says that they are wrong, though? Commis chefs queue up to work with the likes of White and Ramsay in spite of the abuse that inevitably goes with the job. Whatever your opinion of Ramsays management style, hes certainly passionate. He says, Cooking is anger, pain, sex, drugs and rocknroll. If people dont want to do it they should fuck off out of it.
Tom Peters, the famed US guru, would probably applaud Ramsay. Human Resources experienced a day with Peters when he spoke to several hundred managers in London. His underlying message was that business is now a brawl with no rules. In such a climate only the most passionate who want to succeed and be the best will succeed. Gary Hamel, author of Leading the Revolution, similarly argues that speed and innovation matter most. Dominic Mills, who reviews Hamels book, suggests that the most interesting aspect of the book for HR readers is when Hamel discusses how companies need to find ways to maximise the two is: innovation and imagination. Peters also talked about the need to pay whatever it takes in the war for talent. Sadly, this does not always work. Football managers have spent millions on Stan Collymore and he has proved to be a huge disappointment. We find out why.
Morice Mendoza
Editor
