James Strong dies
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I had the pleasure of working under James Strong's leadership as a young fella at TAA / Australian Airlines in the 1980's as well as meeting him on two occasions. When he started at TAA he made the effort to travel to every port on the network and meet as many staff as possible from all grades within the company. He promised us we would knock Ansett off their number one position which they had always held, and sure enough we did it. He had an amazing knack to get the support of even the most cynical old blokes. I recall an occasion when we were trumping Ansett in the traffic stakes, an old union leader commented "I quite like the little fella with the bow tie". For me, he had a very positive influence on me at a young age and as I've progressed through the ranks over the years to an executive position I still remember James Strong very fondly.
I love this quote from the Australian:
"In 1985 he was approached and appointed general manager of the then government-owned Trans-Australian Airlines, having worked as a senior lawyer and an executive and lobbyist in the mining industry. He was typically modest about his credentials. "I didn't know anything about airlines but they convinced me it didn't matter," he later recalled.
Say it all really....
"In 1985 he was approached and appointed general manager of the then government-owned Trans-Australian Airlines, having worked as a senior lawyer and an executive and lobbyist in the mining industry. He was typically modest about his credentials. "I didn't know anything about airlines but they convinced me it didn't matter," he later recalled.
Say it all really....
Last edited by busdriver007; 4th Mar 2013 at 17:22.
ahhh .. .. EWL old son , may others take a leaf: copy the cryptic. . A notch in the dark side stick is strikingly apt. Let's hope that a death notice thread does not end up winding up those disputants who before in these forums flogged the dead horse. (The mods have enough to do without having to drag out the fire hose, again).
John Gunn, who was commissioned by James Strong to write the TAA/Australian Airlines history, when he finished his mammoth researches and was ready to put this magnum opus to bed, found that the former enthusiasm of his recruiter had evaporated. Nor did he receive the timely emoluments he had been led to expect were his due. (i.e. short changed)
What Algie says is not without several grains of truth, for sure. But once again, to get into an historically purposeful, useful debate here on points raised, is a daunting prospect. (i.e. pissing in the wind)
On a lighter note JBT as 'a cordy' at Duntroon got the name 'Notsa'.
(Richard de Crespigny as a RAAF recruit got 'Dis-crepancy'.)
James Strong’s famous bow tie made its first appearance in the 1980s and he was still wearing it decades later, such as at the Qantas annual general meeting in 1998. It was in the 1980s that business leader James Strong discovered the power of the bow tie – an idiosyncratic quirk that set him apart in a sea of power suits.
At the time, probably only the occasional lawyer and architect would pair the bow tie with a business suit, signalling to the world that they were not quite as colourless as their colleagues.
Strong was new to the job heading up airline TAA in around 1985 when he came into the office to prepare for a round of media interviews designed to position him in the public’s mind as the new “face” of the company.
“He came into the office and he was wearing a bow tie, and asked us if we thought it would be all right for the interviews,” says public relations doyen Phil Burford, who was head of TAA public relations at the time.
“I don’t know if he had worn one before, but we had never seen him do it,” says Burford, now chairman of the Icon Communications group of companies.
“The TV interview went very well and he started wearing a bow tie for all his media activity. And then he started wearing one all the time.”
TAA later went on to produce a bow tie in the company colours of blue and yellow as a corporate give-away.
The adoption of the bow tie made Strong instantly recognisable to the public, and he was rarely mentioned in the press without a reference to it.
In terms of personal branding, it was a winner – a little like Virgin founder Richard Branson’s beard (and penchant for throwing women into water), Microsoft founder Bill Gates’s cardigans, or the glasses Dick Smith used to wear when he owned the electronic chain of stores.
Burford says his next boss, the then CEO of Nissan Australia, Ivan Deveson, also “worked” his signature braces.
“We would get him to do an interview or presentation with his jacket off and in his braces because he was in manufacturing. It looked like he was an executive in a manufacturing business.
“Using those visual cues works well for senior executives,” Burford says.
James Strong was appointed to the Qantas board in 2006 as a non-executive director, after his time as CEO and managing director between 1993 and 2001.
He was previously appointed to the airline’s board in 1991.
From BRW by Fiona Smith
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Speaking of Strong as if his death may finally allow the righting of some evil wrongs is a strange course of action.
We can of course allow unions and vested interest groups (pilots included) to have their dream airline but the fact is QAN is a business.
But anyone with half a brain knows that pilots fly, managers manage, baggage handlers handle baggage, cabin crew man cabins and union leaders feather their nests.
Unless we choose to proceed down the US route where airlines and more recently car companies are considered strategic and allowed to act as sheltered workshops for bloated uncompetitive workforces and work practises until insolvent and the Government periodically props them up then pragmatic men of conviction like Strong and those that have followed him are going to have to make hard decisions.
His success in dragging QAN into the modern world has created myriad jobs and opportunites in aviation for reeducated workforces at QAN at Virgin, Tiger and Jetstar and meant that QAN is the only profitable airline in the world exposed to real market forces.
His later success at Woolies, IAG and MotoGp are testament to his acumen.
RIP
We can of course allow unions and vested interest groups (pilots included) to have their dream airline but the fact is QAN is a business.
But anyone with half a brain knows that pilots fly, managers manage, baggage handlers handle baggage, cabin crew man cabins and union leaders feather their nests.
Unless we choose to proceed down the US route where airlines and more recently car companies are considered strategic and allowed to act as sheltered workshops for bloated uncompetitive workforces and work practises until insolvent and the Government periodically props them up then pragmatic men of conviction like Strong and those that have followed him are going to have to make hard decisions.
His success in dragging QAN into the modern world has created myriad jobs and opportunites in aviation for reeducated workforces at QAN at Virgin, Tiger and Jetstar and meant that QAN is the only profitable airline in the world exposed to real market forces.
His later success at Woolies, IAG and MotoGp are testament to his acumen.
RIP
Pardon the presumption , but you appear to come on here, out of the blue, to push a blatently uncompromising pro-company line. A glib recitation of your 'facts of life', where you dismiss the function of unions so scathingly would not endear you to those whogot this website up and running,and today is frequented by men and women in the industry who hold no brief for the bean counters and many of those at the helm.
If others de ign to take you to task for some of your more absurd contentions,
by all means come back and tell us of the hig h regard in which you hold the present upper echelons of management,not to mention the highly esteemed board.
If others de ign to take you to task for some of your more absurd contentions,
by all means come back and tell us of the hig h regard in which you hold the present upper echelons of management,not to mention the highly esteemed board.
Last edited by Fantome; 5th Mar 2013 at 09:48.
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Oh they "manage" (some barely) but how many display good leadership ?
I think you need both qualities for success in the upper echelons !
I think you need both qualities for success in the upper echelons !
Last edited by Collando; 6th Mar 2013 at 05:05.
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But anyone with half a brain knows that pilots fly, managers manage, baggage handlers handle baggage, cabin crew man cabins and union leaders feather their nests.
I remember those days well, TAA was suffering an image problem with the public in comparison to AN at the time market share wise. Mr Strong did do a good job repairing this image problem, and to his credit he motivated the staff in preparation for the re-branding to Australian Airlines. TAA/Australian Airline went gangbusters clawing back a lot of market share from AN during Mr Strong's tenure. He was a standout manager at this time in my humble opinion.
I think Ben summed it up pretty well in this piece..
James Strong was a captain of change in airlines | Plane Talking
No-one in the 1980s in Australia saw the future direction of aviation with more clarity and purpose than James Strong, who has died at 68.
His understanding of the three big drivers of change in that decade was detailed, lucid and sometimes brutal in that he was conscious of what those changes would bring and very clear about resistance to such changes ultimately proving futile.
Those change drivers were US deregulation, (late 70s) the privatization of national carriers (early to mid 80s) and the branded global alliances (the 90s) which of late, have driven some airlines including Qantas, much more toward targeted business partnerships (with Emirates and American Airlines).
Strong, who rebranded TAA as Australian Airlines, and then took control of Qantas after it was merged with Australian and privatized and then listed, had a profound influence over the aviation media of the day, during times when every major and second tier newspaper in Australia had a senior reporter dedicated to reporting every aspect of the industry.
When the first Australian Airlines liveried Boeing 737-300 arrived at the old TAA domestic terminal at Sydney Airport the entire media contingent met Strong each wearing a bow tie, probably the only time James Strong abandoned one of his somber change sermons and burst into laughter
No-one in the 1980s in Australia saw the future direction of aviation with more clarity and purpose than James Strong, who has died at 68.
His understanding of the three big drivers of change in that decade was detailed, lucid and sometimes brutal in that he was conscious of what those changes would bring and very clear about resistance to such changes ultimately proving futile.
Those change drivers were US deregulation, (late 70s) the privatization of national carriers (early to mid 80s) and the branded global alliances (the 90s) which of late, have driven some airlines including Qantas, much more toward targeted business partnerships (with Emirates and American Airlines).
Strong, who rebranded TAA as Australian Airlines, and then took control of Qantas after it was merged with Australian and privatized and then listed, had a profound influence over the aviation media of the day, during times when every major and second tier newspaper in Australia had a senior reporter dedicated to reporting every aspect of the industry.
When the first Australian Airlines liveried Boeing 737-300 arrived at the old TAA domestic terminal at Sydney Airport the entire media contingent met Strong each wearing a bow tie, probably the only time James Strong abandoned one of his somber change sermons and burst into laughter
Last edited by TIMA9X; 6th Mar 2013 at 05:12.
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My view of it would be that, once, we had three domestic airlines. Ansett, TAA and Compass. James Strong wanted TAA to be premier airline (measured by market share).
To achieve that, he sold the assetts of TAA and turned them into paint, uniforms and advertising - Australian Airlines.
He won 4% of market share and sent the lot broke (Compass was admittedly more complex but the outcome would always have been the same).
The Australian government subsidised the Qantas take over of what was left of TAA (sorry Australian??).
Woolworths? Now thats something for Australians to be proud of isn't it?? Farmers being sent broke. Service stations decimated but arhh the market share!
Unfortunately for us all, Australians that produce anything are seen as tall poppies and decried by government, oppositions, unions and the press, whilst the slick lawyers who manipulate our overly complex system of governance are praised and lauded.
Sadly - James Strong was just another successful lawyer leaving the rest of us poorer
Just my opinion though!!!!!!!
To achieve that, he sold the assetts of TAA and turned them into paint, uniforms and advertising - Australian Airlines.
He won 4% of market share and sent the lot broke (Compass was admittedly more complex but the outcome would always have been the same).
The Australian government subsidised the Qantas take over of what was left of TAA (sorry Australian??).
Woolworths? Now thats something for Australians to be proud of isn't it?? Farmers being sent broke. Service stations decimated but arhh the market share!
Unfortunately for us all, Australians that produce anything are seen as tall poppies and decried by government, oppositions, unions and the press, whilst the slick lawyers who manipulate our overly complex system of governance are praised and lauded.
Sadly - James Strong was just another successful lawyer leaving the rest of us poorer
Just my opinion though!!!!!!!
"CC" despite the mans demise (for which I am sorry) yr post was well written
The workers in any Co haven't got a chance these days with corruption from the Govt down to CEO's, beyond that it's anther world almost underground.......the 'trough' is full of snouts not of the working kind!
Wmk2
The workers in any Co haven't got a chance these days with corruption from the Govt down to CEO's, beyond that it's anther world almost underground.......the 'trough' is full of snouts not of the working kind!
Wmk2
Yes I too have mixed thoughts about Mr Strong but perhaps now is not the ideal time to air grievances? He certainly shook up entrenched outdated work practices early-on in his airline career but then seemed to revel in it later on by facilitating the disgusting excess that the Dixon's of this world benefited from. Can't reconcile those two issues.
Not sure many engineering apprentices would be quite as unbiased in their views though! It would be ironic (and for his family I certainly hope it doesn't happen) if the A380 that will perform a funeral flypast on Monday was delayed by a technical hitch!
Not sure many engineering apprentices would be quite as unbiased in their views though! It would be ironic (and for his family I certainly hope it doesn't happen) if the A380 that will perform a funeral flypast on Monday was delayed by a technical hitch!
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Captain Casper
Are you saying that Compass Airlines was a third airline in Australia when TAA was transformed to Australian Airlines? It certainly looks like it and if intentional would appear to be an egregious lie of the type common by some around that era.
Your post superficially has some merit, but at what cost?
Are you saying that Compass Airlines was a third airline in Australia when TAA was transformed to Australian Airlines? It certainly looks like it and if intentional would appear to be an egregious lie of the type common by some around that era.
Your post superficially has some merit, but at what cost?
It seems he and Toomey introduced and proliferated the use of the Cost and Revenue allocation process which has been perfected to this day....He has many business interests including aircraft leasing(surprise, surprise!). He was more employee friendly than this crowd but that is not hard.
