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Celebrating Rats…85 years since the seige of Tobruk

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Tobruk – the what, where, how, and why…

Tobruk is a deep water port town situated in North Africa in what is now Libya. During the North African campaign in World War II, Tobruk’s port facilities were critical in supplying the Allied forces as fought the Africa Korps who were commanded by Erwin Rommel. Should Tobruk fall to the Axis forces, supply lines would be dramatically shortened, allowing them to attack the Allied forces in Egypt and capture the Suez Canal. Between April and December 1941 British Commonwealth and Empire troops, the majority Australians, became involved in what was known as the Siege of Tobruk.

So, what have rats got to do with Tobruk?

The notorious radio broadcaster of Nazi propaganda to the UK during World War II was William Joyce, better known as Lord Haw Haw, he would announce ‘Germany calling, Germany calling’ and would then proceed to introduce threats and misinformation. During a broadcast about the Tobruk siege, Joyce scoffed that the men defending the garrison were ‘caught like rats in a trap’. The Australian soldiers loved the term ‘Rats of Tobruk’ and defiantly adopted it as a badge of honour. They turned the derogatory comments back against the Germans.

Australian forces who were the main force played a significant role in the defence of Tobruk. During the initial stages of the siege under extremely difficult conditions, they provided successful resistance against repeated Axis attacks. Their determination, defensive tactics, unconventional approach and skilful use of the rugged terrain contributed to their success.

What and How did the Australian troops do?

The environment was harsh, with flies, sand, dust and heat combined with constant bombing by the Luftwaffe. Despite these conditions including a limited diet they held out against a superior force in both equipment and troop numbers. The siege situation was fragmented and constantly changing. The Allied troops were often cut off from the main force. Junior officers and NCOs had to make decisions on the spot and not rely on senior officers. Small units operated independently along a long defensive perimeter, harassing the enemy, often at night.

What can we as managers learn from the ‘Rats of Tobruk’?

Apart from resilience and determination of the Allied forces particularly the Australians, what other lessons were there from the siege?

  1. Adaptability and Flexibility: The defenders of Tobruk had to adapt their strategies and tactics to the changing circumstances. Although Rommel’s forces had superior mobility and firepower, the Australians compensated with ingenuity. Adapting to new situations and finding innovative solutions is a crucial aspect of being a successful manager. Agility and resourcefulness often succeeds against scale and superior resources.
  2. Decentralised decision making is critical: too often we hear of organisations failing through top-down command and control systems. The senior Australian officers delegated decision making to the leaders in the field. Providing frontline managers with the skills and responsibility to make decisions creates sustainable organisations. One of the critical success factors in our logistics business was giving our warehouse supervisors the training and authority to deal with customers directly, allowing senior management to concentrate on longer term strategies.  
  3. Clear Goals: the goals and ‘why’ were important and clearly communicated to Tobruk’s defenders. Failure would lead to the capture of the Egypt and the Suez Canal by the Axis forces, cutting off essential supplies to the Allied war effort from the British Dominions and colonies. Not only did clear goals and purpose assist, camaraderie and what I call the ‘rats’ effect’ built morale and developed teamwork supported by senior commanders. Culture is important. Empowered teams outperform tightly controlled ones, especially when conditions are uncertain.

What other lessons from the Siege of Tobruk 85 years ago can you think of?

@thenetworkofconsultingprofessionals

September is the month of ‘the festival of the boot’…

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“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that”

Bill Shankly – Successful Coach of Liverpool United

In Australia, the late September and early October period is ‘grand final’ time for the two major football codes, Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Rules (AFL). Australian comedians and sports personalities ‘Rampaging’ Roy Slaven and HG Nelson call it ‘the festival of the boot’.

Politics, family, lifestyle issues, cost of living and food are forgotten about for a couple of weeks of dreams as fans ponder the outcomes. 

This is a great opportunity to discuss sport as it relates to business…

So, does sport have some lessons for managers?

What can we learn?

Here are three lessons to consider:

1.  Recruit the right people, then develop and manage

One of the most important lessons that businesses can learn from sport is to recruit the right people (emphasis on the ‘right’) and not necessarily the ‘best’ people. For a team to work, there needs to be diversity but underpinned by shared values. You can teach people new skills, but you can’t always teach them how to behave. Once you have a good team player – make sure you keep hold of them. Just because someone is the ‘right’ person, doesn’t mean that they will not require guidance.

One Australian Rugby League team of recent times that stands out in this regard is the Melbourne Storm. Only established in 1998 in Melbourne in the heart of AFL country, the club won the Premiership in only its second year and went on to win many more Premierships. Through long term coach Craig Bellamy and his coaching team, the Storm have identified and developed players who were not identified or sort after by other clubs. Bellamy began coaching the Storm in 2003 and is still the head coach!   

In our logistics business, we identified floor staff who had potential, with the right values, were ‘trainable’, have the work ethic and values. Many were casuals hired though labour hire agencies. They were made permanent staff, became supervisors and several became warehouse managers.

2.  Being resilient and overcoming adversity

In sport, as in business, change is inevitable. But it is how you deal with the change that can be a make or break decision. For athletes being mentally resilient is as important, if not more, than an athlete’s physical ability. Being able to deal with adversity, hard training sessions and setbacks strengthens an athlete and further pushes them to be the best that they can be.

A great example of resilience is the winner of Australia’s first Winter Olympic Gold Medal, Stephen Bradbury in 2002. Bradbury won the Gold Medal when all the other competitors crashed. However, what few people realised, is that behind the win were years of hard work and serious injuries.  

For us in business, mental resilience is also an important component for success, as pulling through the tough times and remaining positive in the face of adversity can create opportunities. In my former logistics business, in the space of three months we lost two of our largest customers. They represented 30% of our business. This looked like a disaster. However, we implemented a plan, knuckled down and within 12 months our revenue grew by over 50%.  

3. Embrace Team Diversity

A very good example is the 1995 Rugby World Cup winner South Africa. President Nelson Mandela, in a move to unify a racially divided country, supported the traditionally white-dominated South African Springbok rugby team during the Rugby World Cup. Team captain Francois Pienaar, understanding the importance of this gesture, worked to bring his team together, focusing on shared goals rather than individual differences. Led by Mandela and Pienaar, they showcased the power of embracing diversity by beating the favourites, the New Zealand All Blacks.

Before I went into business for myself, I worked for a national transport business. The CEO was a larger-than-life character, well known and respected in the industry with a work ethic second to none. Within the business was a national operations manager who was highly skilled and driven, much like the CEO. He was seen by the CEO as ‘the type’ of manager the business needed. At the time my wife, an industrial psychologist was providing some professional services to the business and was asked to draw up the ‘essential’ characteristics for the perfect manager so they could be replicated throughout the business. The vision being ‘clones’ throughout the business nationally. After some discussions the idea was dropped.

Businesses need a mix of people to meet their full potential. Whilst I am not advocating diversity for diversity’s sake as is frequently the case today, it is critical to have a diverse pool of experience and talent in an organisation. ‘Group think’ is dangerous and often the best ideas and actions come from a diverse workforce.

Sport offers a wealth of lessons for managers, providing insights into leadership, teamwork and success. Recruiting and developing the right people, being resilient and embracing diversity are just three of the lessons for us in business to learn from sport.

Can you think of other lessons we can learn from sport?

In the meantime, if you are in Australia enjoy the ‘festival of the boot’ the finals of the two football codes.

@thenetworkofconsultingprofessionals

Aesop’s fable of The Ant and The Grasshopper

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The grasshopper said to the ant,
“All you ants do is work all day.
You should be more like me and play, play, play!”

With Christmas and the new calendar year approaching, its often a great time to reflect on the previous year and plan for the next, which I have covered in previous blogs.

Rather than using a Christmas or end of year theme, I’ve elected to use Aesop’s fable, “The Ant and the Grasshopper.”

Who was Aesop?

Certainly not a brand of cosmetics! Aesop was a Greek storyteller, said to have lived around 600 BC, who is credited with a number of fables known as Aesop’s Fables, the most famous being the Hare and the Tortoise.

The Fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper.

In summary, a diligent ant works tirelessly throughout the summer to store food for the winter. In contrast, a grasshopper spends his days playing music and dancing, mocking the ant’s hard work and inviting it to join in the fun. The ant, however, remains focused on its task, warning the grasshopper of the harsh winter ahead. As the seasons change, the ant settles comfortably into its nest with ample food, while the grasshopper, unprepared for the cold and without food, faces a grim future.

With the end of year approaching do you think there are any lessons for managers in this fable?

As mentioned earlier, the end of year is certainly a time for reflection and an opportunity to plan for the future. Here are three lessons from the fable:

  1. Preparation and Foresight

The ant’s forward-thinking and preparation for the winter months underscore the importance of strategic planning in management. Leaders should anticipate future challenges and prepare accordingly, ensuring that their teams and organisations are not caught off-guard by unforeseeable events. This lesson emphasises the value of setting long-term goals and working steadily towards them, rather than being swayed by immediate gratifications or distractions.

  1. Resource Management

The careful collection and storage of food by the ant exemplifies effective resource management. For managers, this translates to the prudent allocation of resources, including time, budget, and manpower, to ensure sustainability and growth. Efficient resource management also involves making tough decisions about where to invest effort and assets, and prioritising activities that ensure the organisation’s survival and success in the long run.

  1. Work Ethic and Discipline

The ant’s unwavering commitment to its task, even when tempted to abandon its duties for temporary pleasures, highlights the virtues of work ethic and discipline. Managers should foster a culture that values hard work, responsibility, and persistence. Encouraging a strong work ethic and maintaining discipline within the team are crucial for achieving objectives and maintaining operational integrity, especially when facing adversity or tight deadlines.

In this fable, can you think of any other lessons for managers?

On behalf of my readers, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

@thenetworkofconsultingprofessionals

Where’s my tractor?

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“Sorry Minister, we know it left Hamilton, but it failed to arrive in Taumarunui.” – NZ Railway Executive

The above quote is attributed to an executive from the state-owned New Zealand Railways in the 1980s. A farmer had written to Richard Prebble, the then Minister for Railways complaining that the Railways had lost his tractor. After weeks of fruitless complaining and an offer to pay $20 to compensate the loss based on some obscure statutory railway regulation, he wrote to the Minister.

Prebble then ordered the railways to find the tractor. A reply came back stating that the tractor had failed to arrive in Taumarunui. The distance by rail between Hamilton and Taumarunui is just under 160 kms. At the time, the NZ Railways was a monopoly, had 22,000 employees and was losing a million dollars a day. It was also losing customers, freight and sometimes whole wagons. With 22,000 employees in a small country like New Zealand they could not find a tractor!

Prebble then wrote apologetically to the farmer stating that they could not find his tractor. Frustrated that the bureaucrats (and the Minister) in the railways could not help him, the farmer decided to take matters into his own hands. He got into his car and followed the railway line. In a week, he found his tractor and six missing rail wagons!

Following this sad account of poor customer service, consultants were engaged. Their final report found many of the railway ‘managers’ had been promoted “simply because they looked the part”, “have been “yes-men” to their superiors”, and “never take a decision for which, if it fails, they can be held to account”. The railways were later privatised.

What is the lesson for managers here?

An organisation with 22,000 employees, even with the direction of the Minister could not compel its employees to care enough for its customers to find something as big as a tractor. Clearly, not only did the employees not care, but management was also either ineffective, incompetent or had no authority or a combination of all of the above. This is also a great example of how sadly how poor culture ‘kills’ an organistion, in this case corporate culture! It can be defined as ‘how we do things around here’, and it is intangible but can be ‘felt’.

Successful organisations need clear goals. Management not only needs to be responsible, but held accountable and have the authority to act.

@thenetworkofconsultingprofessionals

An ongoing mystery….what can an early Australian explorer teach us about being a manager?

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”Leichhardt, his men, their animals and mountains of equipment seem to have vanished without trace.”

John Bailey – Leichhart’s biographer

Who was Ludwig Leichhart?

Leichhart was a German born scientist and explorer who lived in colonial Australia in the 19th Century. In 1848 he set off from a sheep station in south-east Queensland with seven men, 20 mules, 40 bullocks and seven spare horses to cross Australia from east to west. He was never seen again.  Only one piece of equipment has ever been found and authenticated. A brass plate stamped with ‘Ludwig Leichhardt 1848′ that was originally attached to a rifle butt was found in a tree trunk. Countless expeditions have failed to find any trace of the expedition. It remains one of the most intriguing and unresolved mysteries of early Australian exploration.

Previous blogs published on this website about early Australian explorers in 1860s, Burke and Wills and John McDouall Stuart have examined the issues of leadership and management. However, Leichhardt was an enigma, an outsider and not British. This contrasted to other explorers at the time who were primarily from the British military.

Before his ill-fated final 1848 journey, Leichhart led an expedition in 1845-46 that took over 12 months travelling 4,800 kilometres, from south-east Queensland to Port Essington in the Northern Territory. At the time, the expedition was the longest colonial land exploration journey in Australia. This was a trek of about 3,000 miles through largely uncharted territory. Imagine the grit and determination it took to navigate, survive, and map such a vast and challenging landscape! It was a remarkable feat that greatly contributed to our understanding of Australia’s geography and natural history.

When Leichhart returned to Sydney by boat in 1846, he was awarded The Royal Geographical Society Patron’s Medal and hailed as the ‘Prince of Explorers’. His detailed maps and records, his assessments of good pastoral country, and botanical collections were widely acclaimed at the time. In contrast to other early European explorers, none of his expedition team members on his Port Essington expedition suffered from scurvy. They supplemented their diet with native greens and fruits.

Despite his recognition and success, today Leichhardt is primarily remembered for his mysterious disappearance. Furthermore, his reputation remains tainted. There are many theories. Did he die of thirst in the desert? Was his party massacred by Aboriginals? Were they washed away in a flash flood? Was he killed by mutineering companions, who in turn perished?

There’s nothing like failure, perceived or otherwise, or mystery to ruin a reputation.

Are there any lessons for managers here?

Here are three to consider:

  1. Pushing the boundaries. Leichhardt pushed into unknown territories and was prepared to do things differently than other explorers at the time. As a scientist, he challenged the orthodoxy of the time, an approach business managers should consider.
  2. The importance of thorough preparation and having a contingency plan. This was certainly the case in his expedition to Port Essington. Living off the land where possible and ensuring his team did not get scurvy.
  3. However, his final, ill-fated journey also serves as a cautionary tale. It underscores the need for careful planning and risk management. Venturing into the unknown is essential for growth and discovery, but so is recognising and preparing for potential dangers. The mystery of his disappearance also highlights the importance of communication and contingency planning – knowing when and how to keep stakeholders informed is crucial in any endeavor.

Can you think of other lessons?

@thenetworkofconsultingprofessionals