Well, the predictable has happened. Roger Corbett is the new chairman of Fairfax. No surprises there, and most of what could be said about him has already been said.
For a summary on the conventional wisdom on the situation, see this this piece by John Durie on The Australian website reprising what everyone has been writing for days – that the dysfunction may not be over because the members of the Fairfax family did not get what they wanted. Durie also makes the by now very trawled over observation that Corbett, while bright and battle scarred, lacks media experience.
For a more negative view, indeed perhaps the worst that can be said, remember this sledge by Eric Beecher, publisher of Crikey, which portrays Corbett as arrogant and completely at sea with new media and the threats it poses.
Yet some would argue that Corbett is a fixer of businesses, and that he will be exactly what Fairfax needs.
So what do I think? Let’s be clear. I have never met Corbett, or spoken to him so far as I can remember. I have never worked for him. I am dependent on what others say, and the distillation of this has already been chewed over by numerous commentators who are doubtless talking to the same people that I am talking to. I won’t pretend to add anything new.
What I can say is how I will judge Corbett – how I will come to a view about whether he is the right man for the job, or not.
Nobody, however brilliant, can have all the attributes necessary for a job like Chair of the Fairfax Board. The mark of good leaders is that they gather around them people who have whatever attributes and abilities they lack. That is, they must have the self knowledge to know their own shortcomings, and they must go out of their way to compensate for them.
Secondly, good leaders are not afraid of criticism. They make sure that they have people around them who will tell them when they are wrong, who will offer alternative points of view, and who will argue vigorously. The stronger the personality of the leader, the greater the need for fearless internal critics.
Now, Fairfax is notably lacking in new media nous at the top. Brian McCarthy is at sea with new media. Corbett shows no signs of being across the ways in which ALL institutions must change in an age when almost anyone can publish, and reputations are built and destroyed online.
So if Corbett is the right man for Fairfax I would expect to see him encouraging some brave hiring, perhaps of people from outside the mainstream, who are at the cutting edge of new media applications, particularly social networking.
Given that there is nobody on the Board who knows much about journalism, I would expect Corbett to be trying to compensate for this lack, too.
Then I would look for the critics. I hope to see Corbett opening himself to those who disagree with him, and who have the strength of character to argue and push their point. If, in six months time, there are only “yes people” at the top, then we will have to sigh and turn away from our hopes for the Fairfax empire.
All this adds up to a continuing need for board renewal, but also some refurbishment to senior management. If we don’t see it soon, then I fear Corbett will have been a mistake.
Lastly, there is vision. Is that too much to hope for from Corbett?
Probably. Vision is hard for companies with as many problems as Fairfax. But let’s watch, wait and hope.
4 Comments
Roger Corbett as CEO of Woolworths was obsessed with minutiae and detail, was affable with counter staff, packers, anyone but he did carry a great vision for Woolworths, pehaps borne of much direct experience. He had an enviable worh ethic.
To have achieved what was achieved during his term was no fluke, it was a combination of hard applied work and the wholesome support of his board.
If he becomes adequately familiar with the nuances and subtleties of ‘media’
as he did with ‘groceries’ he will not disappoint.
I’d like to add two more criteria, Margaret.
Firstly, that of ‘leaving editors the hell alone’. What we’ve heard out of Fairfax is that editors aren’t being allowed to do what they want with their titles. The complaints out of The Age about it being blocked from setting up theage.com.au as more of an independent product reflecting broadsheet values – not the salacious, hit-chasing sites that Fairfax seem to want – is a great example. Not suggesting that came from Ron Walker, but Corbett should ensure management stays well away from the editorial floor if he REALLY wants to generate new/better ideas.
And at the same time, the second criteria I think is important, Corbett needs to foster a better relationship between digital and print. In fact, he needs to remove the divide entirely. For all the talk of integration we still have a separate Fairfax Digital division (partly so it can isolate the really profitable part of the business, I suppose) that manages the paper’s websites, separate editors running them, etc. The result is what I mentioned above – there’s no consistent message in branding between print and online (and certainly no new ideas on online coverage and leveraging content online to generate new revenue streams). If Fairfax is serious about the future it will abolish the ‘Digital’ division/divide and get its very BEST content editors managing what should be multi-media brands (aided by the sort of experienced tech-heads you talk of recruiting).
“Roger started his career in retailing working on the dock of a Grace Brothers store. Thirty-five years later, he was named CEO of the Woolworths Group.”
There is an argument Roger knew retailing ‘organically’ as the child of a beef farmer knows beef farming.
The argument should now be over whether now as Chairman of a large ASX multimedia group, Roger Corbett needs to know as much as he did about Woolworths as he does of Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress, eBay, Woopra, Adwords, SEO etc etc
(There is also an argument that a dangerous myth caused the GFC. The myth is that good directorship skills are transferable across industries and enterprise types. There are a *plethora* of directorship appointments (of public (ASX) companies) of people across industries who are less experienced than Roger Corbett. Yes, believe it or not, there are people, not supermen and women, with little or no experience and poorly matched skillsets of enterprises, making decisions on those enterprises that affect the lives of tens of thousands, and millions of other people – within and outside those enterprises).
All the breast, Mac
I concur with David’s comments. Having worked at Woolworths and Big W personally, his approach to people, business and work as a means of enhancing your own life was never anything short of inspiring. He respects everyone equally, in honest, and approaches business with a firm hand. How well this translates from retail to journalism is anyone’s guess, but without a reason to believe that it won’t, then everyone should give it the chance to fail before criticising. Anyone organisation with Roger Corbett at the helm is greatly better off in my opinion.