When our owners took over the club and installed a new board and CEO (Ganaye Gauthier) they said they would not throw excessive cash to achieve instant success. Their strategy was to progressively and prudently invest in young talent with a view to continuous and progressive long term improvement. By keeping the process under constant review and rectifying any interim issues, like some of your investments being ineffective you should achieve the require continuous improvement. The management process is called 'Kaizen' and we enjoyed relative success whilst we had Gauthier at the helm. Since his departure it would appear that the owners/ board have dispatched Kaizen to the dustbin.
Sorry but I don't see the ownership of Barnsley FC at any point having adopted a kaizen approach to the club. Things have not improved in numerous areas for years and they would have if a kaizen approach was utilised. I don't even think one has been adopted with regards the playing staff, I've seen nothing to suggest small changes made regularly to benefit the team.
Researched and wrote on kaizen in my final dissertation for my Engineering management degree, with that in mind and in some agreement with your post, mainly the bit regarding kaizen as a process and not our board though, these owners have properly chalked fook to it imho if that indeed was the process aim!
Your long standing criticism of a man who died whilst at the helm of our club is shabby to say the least. Though not atypical.
Having worked with the Japanese organisations Kumagai, Nishimatsu, Aoki and Tobishima, and studied 'Kaizen' as part of my master's in management, it became apparent at the outset from what Conway and the others were saying that their 'strategy for success' would be based on Kaizen. I also worked with Chinese and Korean contractors and Kaizen is also their style, so it is no surprise that with us having Chinese owners they should adopt the same. Football is a very dynamic business and subject to change. Players get injured, poor acquisitions (players & coaches) may not perform, the coaches tactics may not work, so it is imperative the process is kept under constant review and the shortcomings addressed. The real issue is that the board have failed to implement their own plan by not addressing the shortcomings that seemed apparent to everyone except themselves. Speaking with someone at the club in the summer he said the players, coaches, medical staff, academy and all the administration staff were in his words a "Happy Ship": But, there was a yawning gap between 'us' and the top management, being exclusive, and we are not included. This may well explain , that if club staff were not to be included why should the supporters be included, hence the lack of communication from the top.
He was certainly appointed on PC's watch, but I've always assumed he was the preferred placeman of the new regime - hence his progression to Nice. Didn't Maurice Watkins depart shortly after his arrival?
Kaizen as a solution is perfectly reasonable however the major flaw is it has no recognition about the differing measures of success what is success? promotion.. avoiding relegation... making players perform above their abilities... selling players at a profit... the owners and the supporters have differing measures of success and therefore any outcome for one whilst having a knock on effect for the other could be seen as opposing?
Why would potential owners have any say in who to appoint as CEO anyway? That makes no sense whatsoever.
I think Conway's idea of success when he said early on that they were seeking "the top flight" which I assume was the Prem, but not immediate, which begs the question when?
Yes, I see how they waxed lyrically from the off and it could be said their outspoken initial narratives and intentions on purchase of our club indeed looked at first inspection, to hold similarities to the kaizen model however they have created their own massive shortcomings from their own transfer debacle last summer. They have been found out to be nothing more than cheapskate businessmen utilising our club for low risk profits, much like OGC Nice and probably akin to whatever other seemingly profitable pies they have their scheming fingers into. It is time they sold us on imho as they have alienated themselves from the clubs supporters and trust by their actions and silence.
