In Praise of Dictatorships

Bear with me on this one!??My last piece, on Buzzwords (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/words-make-me-shudder-bruce-a-j-mclauchlan-frsph/), was pretty safe.??There wasn’t much to disagree with; even the guilty probably did not spot themselves being discussed within it.??But this one might raise the odd eyebrow or two, so I’d better explain carefully!

The focus of this piece is on short-termism; actions and decisions for short-term gain, but which are unsustainable or cause longer-term problems.

And yet the way that democracies, and indeed corporations, are set up encourages this.

Here’s how I see it.??In the UK, as in many other democracies, one party can hold power for a maximum of five years, before they must call a General Election.??And five years is not long for the juggernaut that is an entire country.??So, the term of office often looks something like this: years one and two, spend all the time blaming the previous government for everything (except any good news, of course, they will claim that as theirs!) and undoing most of their policies.??Years three and four, start introducing stuff that will show benefit, particularly short-term benefits.??Year five, entirely focussed on vote-winning tactics such as tax cuts, which, again, may not be – will not be – sustainable in the long-term.

If you look at British Prime Ministers since 1721, The average term in office is 3.9 years, with only 22 Prime Ministers (of 77) serving more than five years.??Looking at more recent history, in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries, and 60% have served for less than five years.??So, no real incentive to do anything that is of long-term benefit, unless it has short-term impact too.

Naturally, it is not just the Prime Minister that is newly in office, all the other departmental heads will be new too: Treasury, Foreign Office, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence, Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Education, etc., etc.??Each of those will be very, very, tempted to adopt a similar 2|2|1 approach to their period in office – especially if they wish to rise to more senior postings.??

Short-termism is a great way to make a name for yourself.??But so often that is engendered through unsustainable activity, that makes the individual look good, but which is not in the Country’s, or indeed the people’s, interest in the longer term.

By way of further proof, look at periods when we have had one leader for a longer than normal period of time.??Such as Thatcher’s Britain (1979-90), much as I strongly disagree with many of her policies, she did take the country on a journey to betterment – even if at devastating human cost.??And if you add the John Major-led period to that (1990-97), you have nearly 18 years of [Conservative] consistency, during which much was achieved.??Labour, too, can claim the same, with Tony Blair’s ten years (1997-2007).

How much more, then, might have been achieved if there was a dictator at the helm, with a lifetime to achieve his/her vision?

Particularly, if contrast them with the short-termers, such as Anthony Eden (1955-57); who presided over the Suez Crisis.??Look also at Stanley Baldwin (1923-29; 1935-37), who had eight years in total, albeit split into two periods; he achieved far more during his first, lengthy, period in office than he did in the second.

And before they start pointing fingers at government, the same can be said of large corporations, too, especially in areas such as FMCG.??The career pathways of their executives are such that they will typically hold a post for two years before a move up the ladder.??Thus, this actively encourages short term actions, which may boost profits, or make savings, in the short run, but which are unsustainable in the long run.??That creates no problem for them, as they have moved on; it leaves their successor to pick up the pieces.

I worked once for an amazing Company, whose sellers also had to operate the contracts that they sold.??They may not have sold quite as many, but their long-term retention rate was phenomenal! They sold for the long term, not the short term that is actively encouraged through sales targets and bonuses. ?

So, there we have it.??Vive la dictature!

Care to – Dare to – make a comment?