James Webster’s Weblog

Magpies seem to be jacks of all trades - scavengers, predators and pest-destroyers, their challenging, almost arrogant attitude has won them few friends. With its noisy chattering, black-and-white plumage and long tail, there is nothing else quite like the magpie in the UK. When seen close-up its black plumage takes on an altogether more colourful hue with a purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers, and a green gloss to the tail. Non-breeding birds will gather together in flocks.

source RSBP

Magpies are, perhaps, most famous for the peculiar habit of lining their nests with shiny items. As a manager I’m also tempted to allow the glittery and the shiny to distract me. The symptom is most prevalent in the absence of long term goals. When there isn’t a long term direction to maintain then the latest development framework, methodology or web app can easily take over. (It’s not hard to find something more shiny than writing a process document or performance review.) Shiny is also a metaphor for ‘the now’, it’s very easy to make your decisions based upon ‘the now’; the current project or the current performance of an employee. Think very hard about your long term objectives and keep them in focus. Then learn to recognise the genuine opportunity from the shiny bottle top.

Predator, Challenging and Arrogant are words often used to describe managers and like magpies few friends result. I don’t watch The Apprentice, not because it isn’t good tv - it’s great, but because all the hopefuls seem to be trying to make themselves into the very worst kind of managers. Noisy chattering, arrogant, predatory, glitter chasing managers.