How much power is too much?

Watching Elon bully his way around Twitter is a spine-chilling refresher for anyone who’s ever had a boss with an ego bigger than their brain.

Of course, every bully, when confronted, says what Elon says: I’m just doing what needs to be done. I’d quote him directly, but between the mad shit he posts and parody accounts, it’s getting hard to tell if he drinks his own piss or not.

What is clear is his hold on power means he hasn’t been required to articulate a coherent business/people strategy and it shows.

Which brings me to power.

Interviewing HR directors in the Middle East is a joy. They are confident, optimistic, future-looking and strategic. They embrace new tech. They talk about 2, 3 and 5-year plans. Sure they have problems—who doesn’t?—but unlike many European HR leads, they’re not currently hacking through dense forests of redundancy plans, budget cuts and cost of living crises.

In fact, due to the makeup of their workforces (many employees depend on their jobs for visas, housing, healthcare and kids' schools) people largely do as asked. Nearly 70% of those HRSE Informa surveyed are back in the office five days a week. Unlike the 35% of lawyers reportedly still ignoring demands to go to the office more, according to research by BigHand.

That 70% score will make many other bosses very jealous: KMPG data showed 65% of global CEOs want a full return in the next three years...

But will it help them attract and keep talent? My thoughts & dog debacle on the vlog.

Next week

Next week, EITHER what is going on with the over 50s with Eleanor Mills from Noon OR implications of the 120,000 (and counting) tech redundancies.

Christine

PS. Thank you for all the great suitcase advice! Am reviewing options & will update you.

PPS. Gosh I might be right… even Elon is backtracking on the full office return!