IN FOCUS will give our readers a chance to get to know a little bit more about who our consultants are and what makes them tick. First up is one of TMS’s most respected and likeable consultants, Senior Consultant, Malcolm Lawson.
1. I came to work at TMS because… the work and the working conditions greatly appealed to me. There was, and is, a wonderful mix of excitement, challenge, stress, joy and success – what more do you want from work?
2. In my work I am passionate about… developing the people around me both professionally and personally as well as helping organisations improve their operational and financial performance whilst remaining a good employer and corporate citizen.
3. What I enjoy most about TMS… are the people. My colleagues are professional, personable and an absolute joy to work with.
4. My first job was… mowing lawns. As a young child I had a solid work ethic instilled in me and being entrepreneurial, saw a great opportunity to use my father’s mower, and fuel which he initially paid for, to make some money. It didn’t take me long to find out and experience the benefits and costs of subcontracting – I learnt a lot about business management and finance very quickly.
5. The person I most admire professionally is… one of my former regional managers at Caltex. He had a great business mind, was politically very astute and had high standards. He was hard, but scrupulously fair and he always managed to bring out the best in people.
6. The book that has had the biggest influence on my career is… The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It highlighted the need to have a purpose and to keep the end objective in sight when planning – subtly aligning tactics with strategy.
7. If I wasn’t a consultant I would be… spending more time trading on the stock market, which I’ve done quite successfully in the past.
8. The best piece of advice I have ever been given is… ‘shut up and listen’. Life, including business, is built on relationships, and genuine relationships can’t be developed if you don’t know the other person. Listen to other people and you just might learn something – about them, and about yourself.
9. The thing that makes me most happy outside work is… spending time with my wife, children and grandchildren
