02-17-2011, 02:30 AM
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McLaren Fanatic
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The philosophies of Ron
Nothing directly related to the F1 here, but I found his thoughts conveyed in this piece quite interesting and felt many others might benefit from reading it. 
Quote:
The F1 supremo on why winning is everything - the rest is losing, filtering advice and putting the company first
Few F1 principals and their teams can have been as closely identified as McLaren and Ron Dennis, CBE. Born in 1947 in Woking, where the team is still based, Dennis began working for Cooper Formula One in 1966. In 1980, he took over the ailing McLaren team and together with designer John Barnard, he launched a revolutionary new carbon composite chassis that made the F1 team competitive once again.
By 1984, with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost at the wheel, McLaren won both constructor’s and driver’s championships. Since then the team has won 12 driver’s championships and eight constructor’s titles. Dennis stepped down as team chief in 2009 to concentrate on the launch of the new MP4-12C sports car at McLaren Automotive.
He is separated from wife Lisa, with whom he has three children.
There’s more than one route to the top.
I come from a pretty humble background and started work at 18 so I’m living proof it’s not only educated people who can excel. Given that these days it’s no longer possible to build our economy on natural resources, we have to rely on brainpower. If you’re intelligent, committed and bring energy you can always achieve, whatever your background.
Advice is fine. But filter it.
You receive plenty in life but you need to recognise the stuff of value. There were a few conversations which burnt themselves into my mind early on, including one with the driver Roy Salvadori about principles and sportsmanship. In some respects, because they came from him rather than my parents they had more impact.
I’m just a chapter in the book – not the book.
If you really want to excel and drive a company forward you should realise that you’re just part of the story. (Team founder) Bruce McLaren wrote the beginning and I’m aware the story is going to continue after I’m gone. I want other people to come in and write their own chapters.
When you gamble you have to accept the consequences.
When I started in F1, I continually gambled everything I had and leveraged every penny I could – but there isn’t an entrepreneur on the planet who can guarantee success. Life is all about risk assessment. The question is: does it move you on or is it just going to delay you?
Winning is everything – the rest is just losing.
McLaren and Ferrari are the only survivors from the Sixties still in F1 and that’s down to determination and total belief in our capabilities. We’ve won one in four of every GP since 1966 and had a driver on the podium in over half of them. Success built our brand around the world better than anything.
F1 is for gladiators.
The drivers are the combatants and although we now make incredibly safe cars people can lose their lives out there. Everything cascades from out there. Everyone has to feel happy with their share of the success cake and feel that they contribute to it.
Buy into the vision.
If you’ve worked here for three months and you don’t bleed McLaren then you’re in the wrong company. If you want to work here you have to be prepared to identify totally with our values and understand that good isn’t good enough. We take ownership of every piece of equipment, your desk and your environment because when we come to work we want to excel. I love what I do, I’m passionate about it and I want to see that same passion in my employees.
You can’t manage the unmanageable.
When you have guys who are ultra-competitive, friction is inevitable. In the past I’ve dealt with people who think the world revolves around them and if issues between individuals can’t be resolved easily then you have to bang heads together. People have to remember that they may be highly paid but they are team employees. There’s a point where you can accept selfishness but if it can’t be resolved that’s when someone has to go. It’s not an issue with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. They understand they have to beat everyone else – and then worry about each other.
Put the company first.
The truth is still to come out about the so-called Spygate affair (allegations that the McLaren F1 team was passed confidential technical information from Ferrari) and it won’t for some time. I sympathise with senior executives who have seen their careers badly scarred or even wrecked by things that they had no real responsibility for. I had to do the best I could for the company – even if it reflected badly on me. For McLaren to be attacked so aggressively and with such an inconsistent approach was painful but you have to put the business first. I feel I did the right thing but to the detriment of my reputation.
Let people do their job.
I’m the executive chairman of the group but if I delegate a role, I’ll step away and let that person get on with it. At worst I might offer an opinion but I don’t use my position to change decisions.
You can’t beat experience.
In Japan a system exists whereby after they retire senior staff are available to operational management to tap into their wisdom. I hope my opinion will always have value.
I’m not retiring for the sake of it.
What I do doesn’t feel like work because I love it, but I’ve modified my day and I have broader interests that I manage. I come in a bit later though I still work late. But I don’t want to be seen as a block to ambitious people.
The easiest thing is simply to sign a cheque – but often it’s better to give people your time.
It’s the most valuable commodity I have.
Source: DailyMail.co.uk
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>8^)
ER
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