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Im sure Paddy failed because he wasn't allowed to change the culture. Ive ran into that before, and was actually re-contracted to come back to a company that I left and do it again after they went right back to their old methods.
but things got worse under Paddy. Cars weren't even ready, parts weren't made or ordered. And why are you excusing him when it's obviously Frank's culture? Claire is still only deputy TP, there is Frank still TP and probably overseeing the Technical Department, i read he was getting involved in last year's car, appointing Mike Coughlan who was the same but worse apparently with the old fashioned autocratic style, and bringing back Patrick Head who was exactly the same
That's my point, exactly.
No matter who they hire, they will never be successful if the fixer isnt allowed to change the root causes of their issues.
Im sure Paddy failed because he wasn't allowed to change the culture. Ive ran into that before, and was actually re-contracted to come back to a company that I left and do it again after they went right back to their old methods.
but things got worse under Paddy. Cars weren't even ready, parts weren't made or ordered. And why are you excusing him when it's obviously Frank's culture? Claire is still only deputy TP, there is Frank still TP and probably overseeing the Technical Department, i read he was getting involved in last year's car, appointing Mike Coughlan who was the same but worse apparently with the old fashioned autocratic style, and bringing back Patrick Head who was exactly the same
Well, that's what happens when leadership is disputed.
Paddy will be trying to make changes, the people who don't like those changes are going behind his back to Claire or Frank to fight their case and then Paddy is having to argue the decision he made instead of running the team.
Im sure Paddy failed because he wasn't allowed to change the culture. Ive ran into that before, and was actually re-contracted to come back to a company that I left and do it again after they went right back to their old methods.
but things got worse under Paddy. Cars weren't even ready, parts weren't made or ordered. And why are you excusing him when it's obviously Frank's culture? Claire is still only deputy TP, there is Frank still TP and probably overseeing the Technical Department, i read he was getting involved in last year's car, appointing Mike Coughlan who was the same but worse apparently with the old fashioned autocratic style, and bringing back Patrick Head who was exactly the same
Well, that's what happens when leadership is disputed.
Paddy will be trying to make changes, the people who don't like those changes are going behind his back to Claire or Frank to fight their case and then Paddy is having to argue the decision he made instead of running the team.
but things got worse under Paddy. Cars weren't even ready, parts weren't made or ordered. And why are you excusing him when it's obviously Frank's culture? Claire is still only deputy TP, there is Frank still TP and probably overseeing the Technical Department, i read he was getting involved in last year's car, appointing Mike Coughlan who was the same but worse apparently with the old fashioned autocratic style, and bringing back Patrick Head who was exactly the same
That's my point, exactly.
No matter who they hire, they will never be successful if the fixer isnt allowed to change the root causes of their issues.
yes, my point of view is just that i include Claire in not having the control she needs. But hopefully she's getting more as time goes on
Back to the topic. I think they want to stick to their own manufacture in as wide a spectrum as they possibly can due to several reasons.
Surely the Williams gearbox business can be reployed to win contracts away from XTrac, Hewland and Sadev in other categories?
You don't have to shut the division down, instead make Williams the premier name in Indycar gearboxes, in LMP2 gearboxes, in WRC gearboxes, in Formula Ford gearboxes... all these things.
For example the 4-speed H-pattern Hewland box used in Formula Ford is not a spec part, and is one of the most expensive parts of a Formula Ford... If Williams could develop a cheaper and better 4-speed racing gearbox for Formula Ford, that would be a strong market with hundreds of Formula Fords being raced globally.
Back to the topic. I think they want to stick to their own manufacture in as wide a spectrum as they possibly can due to several reasons.
Surely the Williams gearbox business can be reployed to win contracts away from XTrac, Hewland and Sadev in other categories?
You don't have to shut the division down, instead make Williams the premier name in Indycar gearboxes, in LMP2 gearboxes, in WRC gearboxes, in Formula Ford gearboxes... all these things.
For example the 4-speed H-pattern Hewland box used in Formula Ford is not a spec part, and is one of the most expensive parts of a Formula Ford... If Williams could develop a cheaper and better 4-speed racing gearbox for Formula Ford, that would be a strong market with hundreds of Formula Fords being raced globally.
See, this is how you would repurpose talent. Can make money from sunk cost. Win, win.
And Claire (fine lady, btw) has had 8 years... Anyone with a different last name would have been fired long ago.
And more money doesn't equal success, just ask Toyota. It takes leadership earning the trust and respect from its team members, people development, work atmosphere, positive encouragement, and a servant leader mentally.
Employees always over deliver in those situations.
If hired today, I could do it in 2 years. Ive done it successfully for the last 16 years in many other types of businesses, and I can tell you from experience, that no matter the industry, leadership is what leads to excellence, not budgets.
So in 2017 were you posting "no no don't appoint Paddy he'll be a disaster"?
Im sure Paddy failed because he wasn't allowed to change the culture. Ive ran into that before, and was actually re-contracted to come back to a company that I left and do it again after they went right back to their old methods.
Sure, about as likely a story as the Earth being flat.
So in 2017 were you posting "no no don't appoint Paddy he'll be a disaster"?
Im sure Paddy failed because he wasn't allowed to change the culture. Ive ran into that before, and was actually re-contracted to come back to a company that I left and do it again after they went right back to their old methods.
Sure, about as likely a story as the Earth being flat.
Do you have a personal experience that contradicts my statement, or are you just speculating?
Williams doesn't WANT to change. That's their #1 problem.
Williams doesn't WANT to change. That's their #1 problem.
The question is whether "Williams" is Claire or just Frank. Listening to her in the booth on Friday I'm pretty sure she wants change and she's working on it
She might have started out with Frank's style but i think she's learning
Williams doesn't WANT to change. That's their #1 problem.
The question is whether "Williams" is Claire or just Frank. Listening to her in the booth on Friday I'm pretty sure she wants change and she's working on it
She might have started out with Frank's style but i think she's learning
Having 8 years with no results would get any other team principal fired. After watching Drive to Survive, it's pretty obvious that she has zero vision. It also seems like Frank doesn't always agree with her, and you can see what that does to her emotionally.
I feel sorry for her, and Williams in general. There are a lot of people that work there that have mortgages, college kids, car payments and other life commitments. They deserve leadership that will repay their work and loyalty.
I'm sure they came to work everyday last year expecting the team may shut down at any moment. That's not an environment that produces high performance from your team.
Having 8 years with no results would get any other team principal fired. After watching Drive to Survive, it's pretty obvious that she has zero vision. It also seems like Frank doesn't always agree with her, and you can see what that does to her emotionally.
I feel sorry for her, and Williams in general. There are a lot of people that work there that have mortgages, college kids, car payments and other life commitments. They deserve leadership that will repay their work and loyalty.
I'm sure they came to work everyday last year expecting the team may shut down at any moment. That's not an environment that produces high performance from your team.
Franz has been there for 14 years, and Claire's won more recently than him. I haven't seen Drive to Survive but that doesn't convince me, I saw her on Friday and she certainly doesn't need your pity. lol. or emoting about the staff either, they're there because they're choosing to be there, being in an independent garagiste team that doesn't have tobacco or a billionaire behind it. They're hanging on for the redistribution, then let's see. I can't help noticing you're presenting her as emotional, which tbh puts a doubt in my mind especially as you seem to be claiming you could do it better
Having 8 years with no results would get any other team principal fired. After watching Drive to Survive, it's pretty obvious that she has zero vision. It also seems like Frank doesn't always agree with her, and you can see what that does to her emotionally.
I feel sorry for her, and Williams in general. There are a lot of people that work there that have mortgages, college kids, car payments and other life commitments. They deserve leadership that will repay their work and loyalty.
I'm sure they came to work everyday last year expecting the team may shut down at any moment. That's not an environment that produces high performance from your team.
Franz has been there for 14 years, and Claire's won more recently than him. I haven't seen Drive to Survive but that doesn't convince me, I saw her on Friday and she certainly doesn't need your pity. lol. or emoting about the staff either, they're there because they're choosing to be there, being in an independent garagiste team that doesn't have tobacco or a billionaire behind it. They're hanging on for the redistribution, then let's see. I can't help noticing you're presenting her as emotional, which tbh puts a doubt in my mind especially as you seem to be claiming you could do it better
I doubt I could do it better, honestly.
The problems seem to be inherent until the power structure completely changes.
And she IS emotional. Maybe watching the show to see her behind the scenes would give you a different perspective. She pretends to be happy, confident and in charge.
The problems seem to be inherent until the power structure completely changes.
And she IS emotional. Maybe watching the show to see her behind the scenes would give you a different perspective. She pretends to be happy, confident and in charge.
It's obvious that it's all bullshit.
well if i ever get to see the drama that is Drive to Survive i'll see. Meanwhile i'm waiting to see how it develops. i mean i do think it'd be good if they sold, and yes a new age regime could come in a la Toto and Christian, like McLaren had to, but if not I think Claire can do it. She came across well on Sky and there's nothing wrong with being emotional, it's healthy and can be constructive and good for communication, it's a word that gets used about women by macho men who think boys mustn't cry
and the mistakes like Mike Coughlan are just as likely to be Frank. I'd like to see Patrick disappear again too, great tho he was as well in his day. they've got a technical department that seems to be working again, and last year's fiasco is behind them, so i'm giving them this year and next with an open mind
Having just watched the drive to survive episode, it actually underlines how wrong I was to support Paddy as much as I did.
Like many die hard Williams fans, I've seen and read a lot of published material on the Williams team in the past few decades. One thing that the episode does underline is that Claire genuinely cares about her staff, and her team. I've seen this and read about it before, but the multiple times shown in the episode shows her genuine feeling for team members.
Is she the right person to lead Williams back to the front? I don't know, but I don't doubt that she really cares about everyone who works at Williams, and of that is the culture that she presents, the blame game might be coming from elsewhere.
Well before Paddy and Williams we must remember that Pat Symonds designed and oversaw 2 of Williams most successful cars in the past decade. Those 2 cars more often than not were the only ones really challenging the mighty Mercs. Claire was behind that. She also landed the Martini deal. She somehow also landed the Rockit deal when there was no way we earned a title sponsor. She has done more than many here and on other forums give her credit for.
I always thought that it was very strange how quickly Pat Symonds wanted out of Williams as soon as the Lowe announcment was made, also interesting that Toto and Mercedes were strangely very happy to let Paddy go at the end of 2016, and how SNR Stroll who had huge admiration for Paddy still hasn't signed up his buddy... Also it was very telling that during Paddy's leadership at Williams there were murmurs of the blame game culture (anyone hear of that during Pat Symonds time?). The 2017 car that started so well simply got worse and worse, granted partially due to correlation issues I'm sure, but again it was a good baseline car apart from it's obvious weakness.
Please understand I'm not blaming everything on Lowe, and I'm certainly not exonerating Claire, but we can see Williams history during the Hybrid era and no one in their right mind can lump all the criticism squally on Claire.
Being a leadership consultant myself, I know that leaders who won't recognise their part in a circumstance are not part of the team. They are always the ones who want the accolades when things are going well, but palm off responsibility when things heads south.
What I have unfortunately seen in this mess, is that Claire accepts that she is part of the failure and Paddy didn't.
