Could you work for a organisation that had only two rules , put the money in the till and look the part? How would you view a new Chief Executive who said the only way to change the culture is to say goodbye to most of the organisations bosses ?

How would you respond to a CE who said that the job of management is not to tell people what to do? What do you think to the idea that a organisation can measure how good their managers are by asking their colleagues ( employees ) to score them from 1 to 10?

Does this sound all a bit off the wall , wacky, even silly at best naive, idealistic impractical and unworkable? What do you think to a ‘Weekly Feelings’ survey , values before profit, kindness written into every JD, personality more important than qualifications and experience. Extra weeks paid leave for a honeymoon, extra  day off for child’s first day at school, use of company holiday cottages open to everyone.

All these unconventional ideas originate from a  chief executive who leads through kindness, admits colleagues are better at most things, believes most meetings are a waste of time of time , focuses on the top of the organisation and the front line claiming not to worry about the middle bit. In an organisation that has a Director of Fun!

This is not Silicon Valley, this is the UK. This is not some religious cult it’s a traditional high street business. All be it one that offers training for people on day release from prison and operates a recruitment strategy that targets people with a criminal conviction.

But in business you need to be ruthless to succeed. There is no room for compassion when organisations are under extreme financial pressure to improve performance. What counts is the bottom line. Profit comes before values. Kindness doesn’t improve efficiency or reduce costs. Employees need to be closely monitored and supervised otherwise they will take advantage .

Only this is a successful profitable business. The only explanation is this business and this CE must be operating in a unique set of circumstances. Only there’re not. Which organisation is this and who is this remarkable Chief Executive. It is Timpsons and his name is James Timpson. And if nothing else his views on leadership, recruitment,  employee empowerment and customers engagement are worth investigating.  (The Happy Index by James Timpson)