New Director - Barry Scott

[craig 5,199]

I'm not buying the communications issues. Distance makes little difference in this day and age. You don't need a phone call to speak to your fellow directors - web conferencing facilities have come on in great strides in recent years.

 

I was just involved in a fairly sizeable project - based in Bermuda and with weekly webex conference calls with consultants in London - which is 3,500 miles away (fairly equidistant to Glasgow and Joburg) - and there are very, very few issues with the use of facilities, despite Bermuda not having super, super fast internet speeds.

 

And King should most certainly be able to rely upon fellow Board members and staff to keep him aware of how we are perceived, though I doubt he needs much information in that respect as it is glaring, and has been since before he even took over.

[Big Jaws 570]

I'm not sure that's fair. The Park's might be wealthy but they run a motoring group in the West of Scotland, they must come into contact with, and mix with, 'ordinary' Rangers supporters all the time. Paul Murray and John Bennett have visited supporters clubs in recent times and Murray certainly lives and works in Scotland, he's not an elusive millionaire, he's a fairly down to earth guy.

 

I do agree with Gonzo that King's remoteness must be a hindrance. I accept technology makes communication easier but there's still nothing to beat being in the same room as someone to know your message has been understood.

 

Perhaps it is unfair, incidentally I'm not unsympathetic to what Gonzo is saying, and I do understand where he's coming from. However the kicker with this sort of discussion, in order to demonstrate the point I'm going to have to use the example of myself, is that there are no demarcation lines between these statuses.

 

Now, I like to think of myself as a working class guy but the reality is I'm probably not. Like many I grew up in housing estates all through primary school but by the time I was going to high school my dads business had become successful enough that we didn't need to live in those traditional working class areas, and we didn't. Of course I had to work and I also remained in the comprehensive school system where I did my Saturday and summer jobs to earn my pocket money. So yes I had to got to work to make money, and still do, but the truth of it is we had moved up and therefore couldn't really be considered working class any longer. Then as I embark on my adult life I attend university and manage to get myself capped. I still have to go to work every day but I'm now a professional and the people in my circles are all professionals too. That's not to say that my circle of friends are anything other than down to earth its just that the majority of them are professionals of one sort or the other. Doctors, teachers, business advisers, self employed businessmen and freelancers consultants etc etc etc. I didn't go into the family business, I have my own, but perhaps one of my kids will take over when my dad decides to retire which he probably should because he's in his mid 70's now. So the up shot here is that my dad is very much of working class origin, I'm somewhere in between and my kids are definitely not. Just because a person might have to go to work every day does not necessarily make them working class. If their job is of a professional nature or as a business owner then its more than likely in the middle class bracket.

 

I'm all for our club directors attending supporters events its a far more intimate setting than delivering a speech from the pulpit on high and goes a long way to developing a relationship with the ordinary Rangers supporter. Its also a great way to conduct public relations. However and I'll say this again the Parks may well be down to earth but they are second and third generation business people and it doesn't matter how you swing it, it'll be more pronounced than my own example, their circle of friends will not be the 'ordinary Rangers supporters' that you or Gonzo are highlighting.

 

My main point is that we as people need to adapt to modern living... be it embracing technology, our general living standards or working practices such as those Darther brings to the debate above especially when more and more people are working from home via communication devices or the internet. The reality of the situation is that our board have to agree by consensus on any decisions it makes to take the club forward leaving Dave King as merely a name on a piece of paper or rather in today's day and age a computer screen.

[stewarty 2,028]

I'm not buying the communications issues. Distance makes little difference in this day and age. You don't need a phone call to speak to your fellow directors - web conferencing facilities have come on in great strides in recent years.

 

I was just involved in a fairly sizeable project - based in Bermuda and with weekly webex conference calls with consultants in London - which is 3,500 miles away (fairly equidistant to Glasgow and Joburg) - and there are very, very few issues with the use of facilities, despite Bermuda not having super, super fast internet speeds.

 

And King should most certainly be able to rely upon fellow Board members and staff to keep him aware of how we are perceived, though I doubt he needs much information in that respect as it is glaring, and has been since before he even took over.

 

Ultimately communication is a two-way process. If one side is not available or doesn't engage, communication breaks down. That I think sums up the issue. Is Dave King committed to communicating in a timely manner when needed? Second to that, is he prepared to trust the management team and set up clear delegated authorities in a way that empowers them to run the business without deference to the Board/ DK on operational matters?

 

I get the sense that DK is a control freak and likes things done "his way". I'm sure most folk have encountered folk like this in various walks of life though. We should be able to work around this.