I was fortunate enough to visit Churchill’s War Rooms in London. What was incredible was how much effort they put in to know exactly where all their troops were, where the enemy were, and how they could best engage them to create a winning result – should sound familiar with both franchisors and franchisees – or am I dreaming.
Inside Churchill’s war rooms
In very tight conditions, under tons of concrete for protection, plans like the D-Day invasion were hatched and put into action. Working in cramped conditions, with no technology as we now know it, what did they do that is still relevant in the franchise world today?
- Mapping and information (data)
This was the extreme form of manual mapping, unlike what we see in the digital universe, but it worked. Pins and pieces of paper kept track of the army, air force and the shipping around the world.
In today’s world this can be done (and should be done) using digital mapping and current data. With the 2021 census readily available (http://www.abs.gov.au/census ) we can see fine details of any area / suburb, postcode or smaller.
If we are making major site decisions, surely this information should be taken into account. Other uses should be to understand any area for Local Area Marketing, and if you are doing a very simple version of territory planning, at least it will be more useful to know basic populations than just putting lines on a map.
- Use up to date information
Churchill’s war rooms were being fed data as close to real time as was possible, through a variety of sources from spies to coast watch people and also all sorts of commanders in the field. This was a real life and death situation, so the freshness of the data was critical.
In our world, it often amazes me on how many decisions are made on old data. I am not saying it has to be updated minute by minute, but we still know companies using Census 2016, because they do not want to pay to upgrade it to Census 2021. If you are trying to make data based decisions (and tell your franchisees that is what you do), you need relatively fresh information. The cost of a bad decision, made due to old data will be huge compared to the costs of keeping this information relatively fresh in whatever systems you use.
- Security of knowledge
Security was paramount in those days. Whilst far different from today, with world-wide digital networks, Churchill’s wartime England was seen as paranoid.
Naturally we do not want to telegraph our business intentions, so we should have confidentiality in many of the things we do.
Today’s biggest issue is more about hacking and losing information, or having your systems compromised with viruses or worms. Only about seventy kilometres away was Bletchley Park where they cracked the Enigma codes, and they say 10,000 people worked there, of which 75% were women. The first computer is attributed to Alan Turing and Bletchley Park, and experts say their contribution shortened WW2 by around 2 years. (Watch the film The Imitation Game).
The bombe – considered the world’s first computer
Keeping on top of technology is always a challenge, but it is far cheaper today than even 10 or 20 years ago, and the software and hardware available today means that you should have information based decisions, not your wet finger in the air.
- Security of Property
Whilst we are hopefully not seeing bombs being lobbed at our Head Office, that was a very realistic problem during WW2 in London. Tons of concrete was placed above the war rooms, hopefully to make them almost impervious to a direct hit.
Our security these days is both physical and digital, and needs to be addressed in all levels of business.
- Leadership and longevity
Churchill probably did his greatest work during the war as a most inspirational leader when England was on its knees.
Churchill was 65 when he first became Prime Minister of England in1940, and went on to serve as PM (in 2 separate governments) till 1955 (aged 80). His manners were gruff, and he insisted on 2 full meals a day – even whilst visiting troops at the front, and normally washed down with wine or whisky.
Whilst I do not plan to work until I am 80 years old, I think there is some value in experience over youth in some forms of leadership. I am not saying the old Autocrats should come back (like we had when I worked in an oil company), but rather experience can lead to confidence in quick decision making, which is then reflected through the organisation.
Experience often tells us what has worked in the past, and gives confidence in the future, and possibly limits some over-confidence coming into play. I am always astounded at companies shoving their very effective, experienced staff out the door the day they turn 60, only suffer what is often a very expensive corporate amnesia problem, where simple processes can often be discarded or simply overlooked.
I recall a case when I worked at a major oil company, where our Administration Manager was retired, only to be back working 2 months later, for 3 days a week and being paid exactly the same. He commented to me the best part was Senior Managers now listened to him (and if they didn’t he was going to walk away)!
Summary
There are many things that were done in wartime England, especially around places like Churchill’s War Rooms and Bletchley Park that are the forerunners of the things we do today. These can be seen as examples or lessons, and hopefully we can still learn from them.
By Peter Buckingham CFE
Peter Buckingham is the Managing Director of Spectrum Analysis Australia Pty Ltd, a demographic, mapping, franchise network planning and statistical analysis consultancy. Peter is the Go To person as to how and where to establish sites and territories in Australia. To contact Peter email peterb@spectrumanalysis.com.au or visit www.spectrumanalysis.com.au