158: Upside Down Management, Cyrus Todiwala & How to Thrive in the Virtual Workplace

None of us need reminding that the world has been turned upside down in the last 12 months or so but is it always a bad idea to flip things on their head? According to Sir John Timpson Esq it is no bad thing at all in fact, he and his team positively embrace the idea of inverting the traditional hierarchical management pyramid in order to empower, encourage and expand the ‘colleagues’ within his organisation. Sir John coined the phrase and has written about his rationale on several occasions so this week we discuss what Upside Down Management looks like in practice within the Timpson Group and consider how and why it’s good for business. You can hear him speak on the subject here, read his thoughts on the subject here and access a simplified version of the principles here. One of the principals of Upside Down Management is Trust and this also features highly in our review this week which is a book entitle How To Thrive In The Virtual Workplace by Robert Glazer and Mick Sloan. The book, in it’s own words, provides ‘’simple and effective tips for successful, productive and empowered remote work’. Glazer hasn’t simply jumped on the Covid bandwagon with this book, he has a proven track record in setting up, running and working within a significant ‘virtual’ workplace and he shares his experiences, knowledge and strategy in this guide. You can find out more about Robert and access some really interesting resources via his website robertglazer.com. And we end the podcast this week with a profile of someone who you may have recently encountered on Snack Masters the BBC show which sets two chefs head to in head in battle to recreate some of our favourite snacks. Cyrus Todiwala, OBE, DL owns and cooks at Café Saffron Namaste and is known for sourcing ingredients with care and producing food with love. He diversified during Covid19 by setting up mistertodiwalas.com and alongside his wife Pervin seeks to educate diners and cooks alike to appreciate quality, flavour and diverse cuisine. If you like what you hear then perhaps you would considering buying us a coffee (we love coffee!), or a book (we also love books!) www.buymeacoffee.com/tbcpodcast