Thought of the Day: Technocracy can work

"Yes Minister!" was a classic BBC production that showed how people at all levels of Government work against each other and for themselves for their own benefit only.  It was a really funny show in that typically droll British way that gave a disturbingly depressing view of the inner-workings of those that are supposed to represent society, while making fun of it.

The main characters in the show were the Minister, his Chief-of-Staff and his secretary.  Every episode presented a new government crisis in which the Minister sought advice from the Chief-of-Staff who inevitably manipulated the situation for their own survival and benefit, and very little else.

In this way, "Yes Minister!" is a great example of almost any dysfunctional organisation & how it works against its stated goals & as apt a reference to the latest debacle to impact the Melbourne Football Club as any.

Also, it had great caricatures.

The Melbourne Football Club has won 1 game from 10 games this year, with that solitary victory being over a team of teenagers that hasn't won a game.  That the victory was only assured in the last quarter of the game is often not mentioned due to the lack of meaning in that game.

Aside from the poor performances on the field, Melbourne has suffered in almost every known way, and even created tragic new ways (President Jim Stynes passed away from Cancer after reuniting and inspiring the club after their last descent into disarray.

Other calamities have included choosing a sponsor who turned out to be a narcissistic sociopath who had to be fired (leaving a financial black hole), firing then re-hiring their underperforming CEO only to fire him again (with his pay out leaving another financial black hole), losing games intentionally to acquire high draft picks only for those players to leave or never develop and so forth.

So little seems to be going right at Melbourne that the fans should probably be grateful that the team turns out in matching uniforms.

Or maybe not

Now into their second CEO and third senior coach in 2 seasons with an underperforming playing group and financial insecurity, some serious questions surely must be asked of the Board.  Having avoided these questions thus far, it seems that Sir Humphrey may have been on their side so far, but surely the time for a commission has come.

A quick comparison of the Melbourne Board against arguably the most successful club of modern times, Geelong, shows some startling results - see the table below:

Melbourne Board Member & Title	Overview	Geelong Board Member & Title	Overview
Don McLardy, President	Top bloke who took the job when Jim Stynes asked him to, successful history in community and club support and fundraising, strong football associations	Colin Carter, President	15+ years experience on the board, 15 years experience on the AFL commission, experience developing and managing significant sporting events
Guy Jalland, Vice President	The first of the Vice Presidents, has extensive experience in the media industry - specifically in legal and executive positions	Gareth Andrews, Vice President	Past player with 45 years experience in the game, also significant club management and media experience
Peter Spargo, Vice President	aka. VEEP2, experience in football administration and running petrol stations, not saying he is on the board due to sponsorship - but its a possibility	Craig Drummond	Extensive experience in managing strategic financial groups, good understanding of what creates & underpins success
Geoff Freeman	An insurance broker	Bob Gartland	Active member of Geelong Football Club and local community for over 35 years, understands the local fans and market
Stuart Grimshaw	Represented New Zealand in Hockey at Olympic level (seriously), extensive experience in Banking and Finance	Alistair Hamblin	Finance guru who has seen the Cats grow and develop financially since 2004
Karen Hayes	CEO for Guide Dogs Australia, plenty of corporate governance experience	Hugh Seward	Club doctor for 25 years, the AFLs go-to man on sports science
Greg Healy	Past player and captain of the club, his heart beats true	Diana Taylor	A sports consultant with extensive experience in football development
Russell Howcroft	The advertising guy you may remember from "Gruen Transfer", CEO of Channel 10
David Thurin	Develops retirement communities and has experience in medicine
John Trotter	Oddly the last man named, 35 years experience in football administration & strong professional experience in risk management

Not only does Melbourne have 10 people on its board, not many of them seem to have strong footballing experience.  While there is little doubt they have been successful in their own fields and are great supporters of the club, the current structure and make-up clearly isn't one that helps create success.

Further, a quick view at the Board of the Hawthorn Football club (who have had no shortage of success in the last 5 years) shows that they only have 6 members on the Board, which goes to show that strength of numbers does not necessarily eventuate in success.  How Melbourne expects to be successful with ten unqualified people doing the job of six is telling to their psyche, perhaps a culture of finger pointing has developed.

Rather than continue to turn-over the coach / CEO / playing list, perhaps its time an eye was cast over the resemblance of the board to the characters of Yes Minister and less fingers were pointed at one another, but rather at the door.