Talking heads: Gillian Wilmot Managing director, Royal Mail

Talking heads: Gillian Wilmot Managing director, Royal Mail
From THE GUARDIAN, March 17th, 2001

What was your first career aspiration?
To go into marketing.
What has been your best moment in management?
Launching the Next Directory.
And your greatest mistake?
Not resisting command and control management styles earlier in my
career. How would you describe your management style?
‘Work hard – play hard.”Enjoy work and achieve results.
Which deal would you most like to have done?
Owning some of the brands I’ve successfully launched and relaunched.
What do you find most annoying in your staff?
Assuming that the boss is always right!
Does your organisation have a glass ceiling?
My appointment is proof that it doesn’t.
What management wisdom is most overrated?
‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
What is the biggest challenge facing Royal Mail in the new
millennium? Becoming a truly commercial and innovative organisation.
What single lesson would you pass on to budding managers?
Create a vision and persevere, persevere, persevere, until you
achieve it. Which management guru do you believe in?
I prefer top flight business schools such as INSEAD and great books
such as Even More Offensive Marketing, by Hugh Davidson. Who is your management hero?
Sir John Harvey-Jones – down to earth and a great character.
Who is your favourite politician?
Nancy Astor.
If you could change one aspect of British business, what would it
be? Risk assessment – doing nothing is often the riskiest strategy.
Do you have a view on the British membership of the EMU?
No comment.
What phrase or saying do you most overuse?
‘Yes, it can be done.’
Apart from quality time with your family, what else makes you
happiest in life? Achieving results and confounding the sceptics.
What annoys you most?
Negative people.
How do you relax?
Sports, books and socialising with family and friends.
What was your last cultural experience?
The Brit Awards!
What is your favourite city?
New York.
Do you have a favourite web site?
Ft.com
What is your greatest regret?
Not doing law as a first degree.
What is your biggest fear?
Failure. I can’t and won’t accept it.
What would you really like to have been?
I love my job, but I would also have enjoyed being a barrister in
commercial law.
Copyright 2001 The Guardian.
Source: World Reporter (Trade Mark) – FT McCarthy.THE GUARDIAN, 17th March 2001