The Global Organisational Design Society has released Lord Wilfred Brown's excellent management videos from the earlyt 1970s, Explorations In Management. I keep another blog about Requisite Organization, a management theory that has a great deal of support in the literature. But it's a complex theory, it seems, and it gets a bit too much support from those of us who don't actually run businesses.
(Well, actually I do run a business, but it's closing down, and it never had more than three employees.)
Lord Brown ran the Glacier Metals company in the United Kingdom and made a good deal of money, before becoming the Minister of Health (I think). His accent alone makes it interesting — he pronounces "hierarchy" as HEAR-arky — but his focus on real life management makes it priceless. There's even some wonderful storyline between a general manager (CEO) and his personnel officer that is embarassingly accurate.
Hands down, the most informative management film I've ever seen. Lord Brown has something to say, something that's hard to grasp but worth the effort. He even describes a method for handling staff roles to make them clear and accountable. Hard to believe, I know, but he pulls it off.
The Global OD Society has been given permission to disseminate the DVD for non-commercial use. You can watch it but you can't charge for showing it or sell it. But you can use it in your factory or company.
Send them an email and ask for a copy. Let them know that manasclerk sent you: I need the PR. I don't know what the shipping and handling fees will be yet, but they can't be that much. If I get permission, I will burn copies them myself and slap on the Global OD Society label and pass this out like water at a marathon.
I'm really impressed. Some of you can expect to get a DVD in the mail as soon as I get a stack of them to send out.
