If I were ever to leave the entrepreneurial way and re-enter corporate life, Johann Redelinghuys is the man I’d ask to help open the right doors. Johann, an industrial psychologist and partner at Heidrick & Struggles, is the country’s top “headhunter”. We’ve known each other for a long time. So when he invited us to overnight at De Hoek, we were delighted. The occasion was the latest in a series he has designed called “Conversations with…”. Guest of honour was Russell Loubser, one of the futures markets pioneers who left his directorship at RMB to transform the JSE from a club into a major institution. My column for the Financial Mail this week drew on what Russell shared with us. – AH
By Alec Hogg*
Financial journalists engage a lot with corporate leaders. Most are forgotten as their lives move past those 15 minutes of limelight. Only a handful stay in contact books after they’ve retired. Russell Loubser is one.
The former CEO of the JSE is an exception in this world of people pleasers. Loubser has always called it as he sees it, never shirking from controversy. An upbringing in dusty Mafikeng played its part. So, too, self-assurance that comes from a good qualification, in his case as a chartered accountant.
But the biggest influence, surely, was his early achievement of financial independence. The result of discipline, effort and focus often inbred in ambitious young men from small towns.
The hidden benefit of financial freedom rarely gets due recognition.
One of my mentors, former ABSA chairman Danie Cronje, called it F-You money. Cronje says having it meant he could say no to those who paid his salary. It helped him make correct calls when someone needing the pay might not have.
Loubser remains a personification of this.
Far too many non-executive board directors do it for the money. They nod sagely at the right times at meetings, ask why the fee wasn’t paid quicker and make sure it keeps coming by staying out of trouble .
A year ago, the former JSE chief very publicly stepped off the board of South African Airways. Reason: it had become impossible to fulfil his fiduciary duties as the sole shareholder (DPE) was starving the airline of capital and showed no interest in fixing the problem. To their credit, seven other members of the 14 person board, including chairman Cheryl Carolus, followed Loubser’s lead. Shamefully, the other half didn’t.
Since leaving SAA’s board, Loubser has kept a low profile. So I was delighted to touch base again last week when he shared something he’s been thinking a lot about lately. The constant dropping of standards. A malady that Allan Pullinger, chief executive of RMB described as “Drift”. It’s what happens when you forget to watch. The slow movement away from a place you wanted to be, to an unintended destination.
Drift happens all the time in business. Failure to address sloppy service guarantees it will become standard. Like the proverbial frog in water slowly brought to boil, such things don’t get noticed until it’s too late.
Everywhere in South Africa, Loubser maintains, we’re suffering from Drift. Those who should be ringing warning bells seem to have stopped paying attention.
So as we Drift, the previously unacceptable turns into the new normal. Incompetence becomes standard. We stop trying to improve. Like the national reaction to being usurped by Mauritius in the WEF’s Competitiveness Table. Instead of being spurred into action, we’re rationalising that second in Africa isn’t bad. Huh?
Everyday examples abound. Next time you walk down a Johannesburg street, look up at the street lights. Cable breaks or other faults are no longer addressed at source. It’s much easier to string another overhead cable. Creating a Third World spaghetti effect so common few of us notice anymore.
When returning to the big city last year I was horrified at how many drivers jabber away on their cell phones. It’s become endemic. So even I’ve stopped grumbling. What scares me now is the growing number of fellow road users who are text messaging while speeding down the highway. What comes next – gaming while driving?
South Africa’s unemployment has Drifted because of a collective inability to challenge destructive laws. A glance at the deteriorating labour:capital ratio tells everything we need to know. Yet we persist.
Evil flourishes when good men stand by and do nothing. Drift happens simply when we stop paying attention. Both lead to the same conclusion. Thanks for the reminder, Russell.
* Alec Hogg is a writer and broadcaster who founded Moneyweb. He now runs biznewz.com. This column appeared first in the Financial Mail.
