My Day With The Boss
You know, when I moved to Inverness, I never imagined that the boss would follow me here. I don't mean my immediate boss, or even the two bosses above that, but the big boss. The Director General of the 大象传媒, Mark Thompson.
Yet this very morning who should turn up at our office on Culduthel Road but the man himself. The first time any DG had been to Inverness*, in fact. He'd flown in from Stornoway where he'd been on a similar flesh-pressing, fact-gathering mission with my colleagues in the 大象传媒's gaelic services.
Well, I didn't know where to put myself - literally. Should I sit casually in my office until reception called up to say that he had arrived? (Too laid-back.) Or should I hang about at the front door waiting to help him with his luggage as het got out of the taxi? (Too eager.) I decided on a compromise and waited for him inside the building, at the reception desk, but didn't try to grab the bags out of hand. I guided him upstairs, offered him a cup of tea and let him wander into one of the production offices to chat with the team
Later he had a meeting with all the staff and, later still, I joined him for lunch in a local hotel where we met representatives of various cultural organisations in the Highlands. Some criticised the changes we'd made on 大象传媒 Radio Scotland, others said they enjoyed the programmes. I was keeping a mental tally on both so I could work out if I'd be out of a job before they served the coffee.
Mark is clearly a very good listener and, in both meetings, responded openly and honestly to a wide range of questions. He was quizzed about the salaries paid to
top television personalities, about the 大象传媒's response to devolved government in Scotland and, at a more detailed level, about the 大象传媒's procurement policies when it came to booking taxis and ordering sandwiches for meetings.
He left with a promise to return to Inverness next year when the 大象传媒 building here has been refurbished.
Next time I might wait for him in the car park.
*POSTSCRIPT
In the interests of accuracy my current boss Maggie Cunningham has e-mailed me to say that two former D.Gs (Alasdair Milne and John Birt) visted Inverness during their time in the job. So that's me told.
