Keith Williams

[RTR]

......A man for all seasons, and definitely BA.

The MoS yesterday did a piece on his abilities and he penchant for solving problems, which he relishes. His dealings with Len McCluskey turned very much towards solving the BA 'conflict' and they actually became friends the story goes.
It certainly shows that McCluskey dealt with the problem with some skill but not without some great skills from Keith Williams too, who was "determined to resolve the dispute."

All is well. KW now has a fund of £5b to take BA back to the top. No small target but as he is a problem solver it can only be good news for the CC. Good luck to them all and best wishes for the future.

[PAXboy]

Please know that I have nothing personal or corporate against KW and that I have never worked in the airline world and do not expect to. Nor do I have anything personal against RTR

Well, I'd hesitate to hand out such golden oak leaves at this stage. The best time to judge a CEO is three years after they have left office.

I think that there are many reasons why the Union settled now and one of them is the arrival of a new CEO but not necessarily this CEO. If they demonised the previous one - and have now got a new one - it would be a very silly Union that demonised the new one, irrespective of who it was.

Secondly, it may be true that KW now has a fund of £5b to take BA back to the top.Whilst the weight of history is against him, I wish him and BA all the best in that task.

Thirdly, with a positive blurb in The Guardian today, the BA publicity folks are earning their keep. Here is a quote from that:
Williams said BA will launch a marketing push later this year. "We are looking at how we do some marketing of the brand, and you will see that over the next six months." He added: "We have £1bn of investment over the next few years … we are doing a lot of work on training and the product and that will help the branding."Lastly, I don't believe a word that the MoS or the DM say about anything or anyone. Their bias is way to obvious.

[AV Flyer]

I'm sure that KW is a true professional but as for him being given any credit for 'resolving' the BA CC dispute then I would be very leery and I'm sure he wouldn't accept it either.

As a direct consequence of WW's handling of the dispute all the way through the Union's back was firmly against the wall with absolutely no where for it to go but to capitulate. The Union tried blackmailing BA management by calling strike action yet again but WW's detailed preparations held strong. BA then used the Union's impotence to implement everything it ever wanted and maybe a little more leaving the Union militants with nothing better than to use B & H against their fellow employees which blew-back on them getting them suspended and even sacked.

It could be argued that KW showed unnecessary clemency towards the Union and could well have gained even more advantage for BA if he had not granted an 11th-hour extension to the Union's potentially unprotected strike call deadline thus sparing its leaders embarassment and shame in first having to sweat, make the call, then either-way revealing to their members how incompetent, deliberately misleading and down-right unprofessional they have been throughout the entire matter.

IF KW had just waited a little longer we wouldn't now be repeatedly hearing the Union's pathetic "WW didn't resolve it in 2 years then KW, our hero, stepped-up, gave us what we wanted and resolved it all in 10 seconds.....", totally misleading and deceptive nonsense.

Indeed, this new 'closing the jet-way door' business is going to be KW's first test as to how well he really did. Will the Union be mature and accept it as a reasonable request to achieve cost savings with minimal extra effort on their part or are we going to see a repeat of "WindowsGate" with its accompanying infantile truculence and belligerence all over again..............

I note that the picture of WW with red devil eyes is still being posted on the CC89 website main page in direct contravension of the Union's agreement with KW to mature and professional communications moving forwards.

One is left wondering just exactly when will this promised maturity begin?

[WHBM]

Williams said BA will launch a marketing push later this year. "We are looking at how we do some marketing of the brand, and you will see that over the next six months." He added: "We have £1bn of investment over the next few years.
My expectation is that they will do this by deciding that franchised commuter operators from non-London points are the way to go, upping their investment in FlyBe, repurchasing some of Loganair, both at considerable expense, and rebranding them both under the BA banner.

The repainting of the fleets will be just coming to completion when Keith Williams' successor then comes along, decides that franchised commuter operators are not the way to go, and flogs off both the operators to their managements for £1.

[PAXboy]

WHBM That is FABULOUS.
:D :} :ok: :)
You have encapsulated modern 'management' in one.

I recall being at my company's NY head office in 1989 and being given the run down on the outsourcing that they were doing and how they were going to do the same in the UK. I was deeply skeptical that it would be good for the company (as opposed to the balance sheet) (and balance sheet and actual balance are two different things, of course :rolleyes:) when a senior member of staff took me aside.

She pointed out the history of outsourcing and insourcing in our particular field (telecommunications and IT) and said that it was now fashionable and financially attractive to outsouce and that, in due course, the tide would turn and insourcing would be the name of the game.

I thanked her, relaxed and let the wave flow over me.

(By the way, I think that we'd better be careful about mentioning the CC dispute in this thread!!)

[AV Flyer]

Thanks for the warning PAXboy. I trust you and the mods note that my entire response was based on KW and his achievements, or otherwise, being the sole subject matter of this thread.

[WHBM]

WHBM You have encapsulated modern 'management' in one.
Nothing original (or modern) in this approach, PAXboy. I believe the Grand Old Duke Of York was the originator of the approach !

[PAXboy]

Indeed WHBM, another example that I have seen in my time is the building strategy:



The company have a number of regional buildings, either due to natural expansion or acquisition.
So they work out how much money they can save by moving everyone into a single HQ. It will cost a fair amount in one-off costs but it will be worth. having everyone under the same roof will produce Synergy and Savings and Blah Blah.
They make the big move and some folks don't want to make the move and take redundancy and others are let go (with suitable expressions of sadness) other bits of fall out occur.
10 years go by and the CEO changes ...
20 years go by and the CEO changes ...
Then they say:
"The business has changed"
"If we de-centralise we will empower all our people to do their best"
"We need to be out in the market place nearer to our customers"
So they break up the company into smaller bits and move it around the country and some people take redundancy and others are let go (with suitable expressions of sadness) etc.
10 years go by and the CEO changes ...

I have seen this happen in commerce as well as central govt. It's just one of the myriad ways that mgmt waste money and people. Sorry to be so cynical but having been in commerce for 34 years ... I've landed up this way. :(