Foreword
Straight talk is Doug Williamson's speciality. I have worked with nobody better at the scarce skill of having courageous conversations with managers who need to hear the unvarnished truth about their performance. Sometimes that requires a combative spirit, sometimes a soft word that “turneth away wrath.” Doug can do both, which requires him to curb his natural desire to just get on with it.
It's that practical approach I have admired and valued in the 10 years that Doug and his Beacon Group consultancy have worked with The Globe and Mail management team. Early on he deduced that we were not fans of textbook solutions, or prone to endless patience, so he adjusted his style to military-march pace. That sense of urgency and willingness ...
