The REAL reason these men had to go ...

I do a lot of work with lawyers. They're quite a conservative bunch, always checking their facts, weighing up judgements, identifying risks and all sorts of boring stuff like that. Obsessed with detail, driven by a desire to make sure things are right and proper. (There is a reason, I can see now, why I never became a lawyer myself).

Still, you have to hand it to them, people are prepared to pay for their services. Particularly when they are handling a risky issue and want to avoid a costly mistake. Like buying a house, negotiating a divorce, buying a company or, for instance, dismissing an employee.

So I'm fascinated by this new phenomenon of big organisations commissioning lawyers to undertake what I can only presume to be extensive and expensive investigations, only to find the subjects of those investigations turn round and say

"Nope. Not me. You got your facts all wrong, I know better, stuff you and your detailed inquiry."

Tony Danker, Dominic Raab and Richard Sharp had the confidence/audacity/arrogance/pick your own adjective to rebut the finds of, respectively, Fox Williams LLP, Adam Tolley KC and Adam Heppinstall KC. Thousands (probably) of billable hours tossed away.

Except, of course, that they weren't tossed away and the would be tossers had to go.

The Truth

Ok, I admit. What I am about to write is not the truth. I am not a lawyer and I have access to precisely NONE of the facts. So this is an opinion.

Having waded through all the analysis about whether Dominic Raab was really only found guilty on two counts of bullying, Richard Sharp was only potentially, possibly, co-incidentally, inadvertently, mistakenly, unintentionally guilty of an unmeant, hypothetical conflict of interest and Tony Danker was perfectly justified in inviting people for one to one dinner dates, I have my own conclusion.

They weren't very good at their jobs. And the selection process is, in large part, to blame.

My evidence

OK, not evidence as such, but logic. Hear me out.

Who the heck chose Tony Danker for the job as Head of the CBI. This holder of this post is supposed to represent the views and interests of the vast majority of British business and he thinks it's totally acceptable to take a bunch of staff to LuckyVoice Karaoke in Soho after the Christmas party. He also has time to faff around following people's personal accounts on Instagram and (this I think is where he showed the greatest lack of judgement) thinks it's a good move to go on the Today programme to justify some of the very actions that got him sacked.

When you're in a hole and the organisation you represent is in an even bigger hole, you don't go on Today to make sure the hole turns into a crevasse the size of the Khumbu Icefall.

What about Dominic Raab. This is the man who was failed to return from his holiday in Crete, despite being foreign secretary, at the time of the disastrous evacuation from Afghanistan. (Which he then rebutted by saying he definitely wasn't swimming on his lilo because the sea was closed ....).

He also resigned as Brexit secretary over a deal he himself had helped negotiate and admitted he'd never bothered to read the Good Friday agreement, which has proved somewhat problematic in actually "getting Brexit done". And as Justice Secretary the time before this one he presided over a terrible increase in backlogs in the courts and failed to resolve the barristers' strikes. Perhaps this is why he feels free to ignore those KC findings.

Richard Sharp? Well, on this one I have absolutely zero evidence because I can find zero examples of anything he's done in the job. But I can also find zero justification from anything in his background that suggests he is the right man to lead one of the most - if not the most - culturally important institutions in the country. He's a very wealthy banker as far as I can tell. Who happens to know Boris and helped Boris get access to a measly ￡800,000.

Oh, wait, I've just looked it up and he was Chair of the Royal Academy of the Arts from 207 to 2012. Best man for the job then? Nope, doesn't swing it for me.

The Selection Process

The selection process for Richard appears to have been that he told Boris he fancied the job and Boris said go for it. No idea about the others but you'd have thought that before Dominic was offered back his old job as Justice secretary someone would have asked him to explain the successes he'd had last time round.

You have to say it appears to be about who you know rather than the ability to succeed in a rigorous selection process.

I work in recruitment (at the Reignite Academy ) we find jobs for lawyers (mostly women) who have had career breaks and who don't seem to know enough people in the right places and who, as a consequence, have to go through an EXTREMELY rigorous selection process. Especially when some hiring managers turn their noses up at a "career break" or a woman who's date of graduation clearly puts her over 40. Or even 50.

On reflection, even though the process can be frustrating, long and stressful it does seem to provide results which last. The right woman/man gets the job, the job gets done without too much fuss and everyone is happy.

Good News on the Horizon

That's enough moaning. Thought I might share some good news with you. In the real world that is not Westminster or the BBC, I'm seeing some uptick in recruitment activity. And this time, it' not a mad dash to recruit as many people as possible, just because everyone else is doing the same (which was the state of legal recruitment until this time last year).

I'm finding that employers with sound businesses or solid business propositions are being thoughtful and deliberate about where to recruit and the people they want to fill those positions.

They value people with some life experience, who have worked through economic crises, who have judgement, perspective, patience and wisdom. As well as a smattering of technical skills, obviously.

The Hard Business of Soft Skills

Just read that penultimate line again. And add to it leadership, negotiation, team building, resilience, adaptability, problem solving, creativity, communication. These, my friends are what are commonly known as "soft skills".

And let me tell you, they are a lot harder to learn than how to code. (Although, to be fair, I've never learnt how to code, so this is another "opinion" dressed up as a fact. Sue me).

Now, I'm not saying you have to be a mother and over 40 to have acquired those soft skills but it doesn't half help.

Which is perhaps why we're feeling a lot more positive about the business than we were back in February. Just shows, if you're a purpose led business, you have to have faith, stick to your knitting and plough on.

I'm not excited about The Coronation. Think they've misread the room. Suspect the pomp & ceremony bit could/should have been buried with the late Queen.

I am excited about. Getting back on my bike. My friend Erin and I had a trial run yesterday. My chain came off twice, her Garmin died after 30 minutes, her Strava measured the distance she travelled from her kitchen to the front door and we didn't break any records but it's a start.

I'm listening to: The Reunion on BBC Radio 4 with Kirsty Walk. A group of people intimately involved in a moment of modern history come together years later to discuss. Couldn't be more diverse. One episode is about Grange Hill, another about Abu Ghraib. I listened to the one about the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Made me wistful for all the positivity and hope we had back in 2012.

I'm reading: Birnham Wood by Eleanor Catton. Started it a while ago, put it down, lost it, found it again. On it.

I'm watching: Succession. Finally. Was saving it for best but then my husband decided he wanted to watch it too. Which is a bit annoying because he seems to think it's real. Keeps commenting on how awful Kendall is etc etc, have to remind him it's fiction. And then once we've watched it to see what happens, we have to watch it again to listen to the dialogue once more. Though I do quite enjoy that. And if you're a total nerd (I am) you can listen to the HBO succession podcast (I do).