Our cover story for this issue of Talent Management Review is focused on the management of mavericks – a must-have for every business or more of a management challenge? In one of our workshop articles, Judith Germain defines a maverick as being wilfully independent. This wilfulness, she says, needs to be harnessed because, left unchecked, it can bring down companies from the jaws of success.
In a month that has seen Merrill Lynch and Citigroup lose their CEOs and tumbling share prices in both businesses, perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether these financial mavericks were regulated risk-takers or just plain reckless.
Citigroup has been one of the most active participants in the subprime mortgage-backed securities market, buying billions of dollars worth of mortgages and then selling them on to international investors. Given that these subprime loans are offered to those with inferior credit records or unpredictable earnings, this is surely a car crash in motion.
And the result? Not only will it be near impossible to secure a mortgage deal, particularly in the US, but, as the global economy slows down, we could see a huge surge in job losses too.
And let’s not forget the maverick actions of Gerald Ratner. His opinion of his company’s own products being “crap” was impulsive, with little thought for the consequences of his actions.
But the other side of the coin is where the maverick in your organisation is the talented visionary to drive your business forward. As long as reasonable boundaries are set for mavericks to realise their vision, these individuals, such as Ricardo Semler of Semco or Stelios Haji-Ioannou of Easyjet, can be the jewel in the company crown.
As evident, there is a fine line between the wayward, disastrous actions of one maverick and the sterling rewards of another: a fine line between work and play for the unconventional personality.
Some of you may remember Maverick, the television show starring James Garner, where brothers Bret and Bart Maverick travel across the West trying to stay out of trouble in the pursuit of financial gain.
“As my old pappy used to say, work is fine for killin’ time, but it’s a shaky way to make a living.”
Katie Pattullo
Editor
