Updated Saturday 4th February 2012.
Company
Structure
A few shots across the bows, the odd shipwreck
and some honest appraisal of our performance in
2009
At the beginning of 2009 it became obvious that we could not keep our
Freshwater/Marine breakthrough away from the media for much longer, news of
our Neural Trigger technology had already leaked so in anticipation of the
ever increasing workload that would inevitably follow we decided to
rationalise Diobas and prepare for the future. At the time Diobas was
primarily a sole trader company, we did own Diobas Ltd having bought the
title a few years earlier to protect the name but until the previous June it
had remained dormant.
It was now time to change our whole approach and begin gearing up for a
commercial base rather than our previous priority of finishing our research
programs.
So in January 2009 we assembled what we hoped would be the ideal team.
Changing our emphasis so radically was of course never going to be easy and
there have certainly been problems and disappointments with regards to the
performance of some team members. Many of the problems were, I have to
admit, of my own making and I certainly underestimated the intensity of the
global coverage that we subsequently received when word of our new
technology hit the headlines. To be frank we were swamped with enquiries and
were not ready structurally to deal with them.
Our primary staff are as follows:
Gerry Stopps :
Commercial Director
The team we had assembled took far too long to come up to standard and
everyone felt the pressure. Our new Commercial Director, Gerry Stopps, had
all the skills he needed to excel in his new position having had an
outstanding career within the food industry but there were obstacles . . .
mainly myself as it happens.
Gerry relished the whole corporate background that had been part of his
world for many years. The structure and commonly practised management
techniques that thrived in a large corporate environment needed to be
applied to Diobas Ltd, problem was that it was an environment I detested
having been use to working in a completely different style. Added to this
was the fact that even Gerry had no idea of the unique complexities that
govern a research environment, nothing is guaranteed, nothing may work and
until the research is complete there is no product to sell let alone provide
an income. None of the usual rules of business apply to a pure research
environment, or myself for that matter.
Lists of carefully compiled and structured tasks that fill endless sheets of
A4 pages, 'post its' and diary reminders are of course important, as is
nagging me continually to have a 'daily plan' , but I'm afraid that this
approach whilst rational is often impossible to comply with even if I wanted
too.
For instance, I could arrive at the lab with every intention of doing as
asked only to be greeted with an exploding experimental pump, fish behaving
oddly, a phone call or email that took many hours to rationalise and so many
other distractions that occur on a daily basis. Even on days when everything
went according to plan I am still often completely side-tracked by suddenly
realising an answer to a problem that had been baffling me for weeks at which point I would completely forget what I was supposed
to be doing and embark on a totally different workload for the day. To a
structured corporate mind such as Gerry's this was annoying to say the least.
There was also the sheer complexity of the groundbreaking research itself of
which Gerry understood very little and, being entirely outside the accepted
aquaculture format, there were no publications or printed matter on the
various subjects for him to study, neither could he understand the frequent
conversations between myself and experts around the world that related to
marine research . . . it was a different language.
So in Gerry's defence the first eight months with Diobas was never going to
be easy, and it certainly wasn't. In fact I came very came close to
suggesting that we part company on several occasions.
Suffice to say however that now, a year into his new position, Gerry is
beginning to excel. He has become use to the way Diobas works, he has found
a way to incorporate his own skills and structured assets within the less
ordered world of ideas and intuitive solutions and, more importantly, has
almost stopped nagging.
To be frank, Gerry has become a vital part of the team and he is an
essential bridge to the commercial world that Diobas could not do without.
His appointment as Commercial Director, having completed a 1 year trial
period will be confirmed over the next few days. Congratulations.
Rob Russell : Project
Director
Robs potential appointment has not turned out so well. There have been a
whole host of reasons for this and to Robs credit he has always been willing
to take on any task but circumstances have prevented him taking an active
role. Friendship alone is not enough when the future of Diobas is concerned,
a future I will ruthlessly defend. The expenditures this year, covered in
one of the following pages, played a major part in Robs lack of input, we
simply did not have the money to really give Rob a free hand or even finance
his salary. Neither myself. Gerry or Jean our MD has taken any money this
year, everything had to be ploughed into the projects. As a result, despite
alleviating Rob of a small debt of £**k and a few bits here and there we
were unable to support him further with the result that he has had to put
his time elsewhere. With so much momentum now gained and finances, to a
large extent no longer a problem as this year progresses, it is unfortunate
that we have perhaps moved too far forward to benefit from the appointment
of Rob as a director. The time we really needed him as Project Director has
passed, we have successfully fought the battles without him. We now need
other skills to consolidate the remarkable progress we have made this year
and with so much to catch up on I do not feel that his appointment would be
right for the company at this point in time. We do of course have other
projects that are in their early stages and as time passes Rob may yet be an
option for the company but for now at least, although very sad from my
personal point of view, I will not be confirming his Directorship.
I personally will always value Rob as a friend. He is free thinking,
imaginative, resourceful and a genuinely nice person so this has not been an
easy decision and it is one that has been taken from the point of view of
Diobas Ltd, not my own.
Jean Marriot : Accounts and Research Monitoring
I doubt I could ever convey to the reader or anyone else just how priceless
Jeans confidence, support and behind the scene skills have been to the
successes we have achieved in 2009. To have allowed Diobas to embark on such
a challenging year with seemingly impossible targets is enough to illustrate
her commitment to Diobas, both personally and financially, and to its
projects and all that the company stands for. We could quite easily have
backed away from expanding the company and taken a good income from the
research we had completed instead of which Jean helped the company push
forward into projects that had no guarantee of success, in fact the reverse
was more likely. So critical did the situation become that Jean could have
lost everything, yet still her belief in the moral and financial targets we
were aiming for was enough for her to remain committed.
If anyone deserves to sit back and take a deep breath at the end of 2009 it
is Jean.
Without her input Diobas Ltd would have been another statistic on the
failed company lists. The installations now either taking place or at the
planning stage worldwide and the revolutionary technology that will change
aquaculture forever are a direct result of Jeans input.
On behalf of Diobas Ltd and it's many license holders, both existing and
future, Thank You.
Gill Colwill : Accounts and
Logistics
Gill joined us after many years as a successful wife and mother. Not the
usual contents for a CV agreed but talents which none the less are more than
worthy in themselves. It has been difficult for Gill to balance the family
needs as well as re-enter the workplace especially given that she had no
idea just how challenging the year would be. Despite this Gill has earned a
significant place within the Diobas structure. Totally trustworthy, able to
cope under difficult circumstances and, above all else, confident that we
can solve any problems we are faced with without panicking Gill has been
confirmed of her role in this coming year. If we could find another dozen
more like her then 2010 could run itself.
Gill is capable, efficient and a valuable asset to Diobas. An asset which as
the year progresses will be invaluable.
Second Mouse Media : Film and
Production Company
I have to say that there have been a few rocks on the road with regards to
producing the 2009 TV & Video series. As with most other demons that have
reared their ugly heads over the last 12 months I guess that many were due
to my own inadequacies. Having a camera shoved in your face all the time was
perhaps more difficult to handle than I expected. The appointment of Mike
Keen as an addition to the Angling team probably didn't help and Mike did in
fact resign during the Texas trip, second in the series, due to being unable
to handle the pressure.
Getting results on camera and justifying all the associated
expenditure without feeling the pressure is certainly not easy and I for one
do not blame him for throwing in the towel.
Stepping up from being a successful Match fisherman to a Specimen Angler was
never going to be easy for him as it is a completely different field of
expertise. The crew of Second Mouse had to deal with this as well as produce
footage of a high enough standard that it would support both a TV and video
series. Being their first assignment as a new company and reliant on Diobas
for an income did not make life any easier for them. Unfamiliar with new
camera equipment, software and new computers plus the move into new offices
and the realities of running a business, having come straight from
university, in a very competitive and somewhat ruthless field was perhaps a
little too much to ask, yet they have coped well and matured both as adults
and film makers as the year progressed.
The result is taking shape as the series is edited and it will certainly
surprise many people. Of course in hindsight things could have been
improved, techniques changed etc etc but there is no substitute for
experience and having completed trips to three continents in very
challenging conditions the results are better than we could have expected.
The series is now being edited and will be ready for release in March 2010.
Details of the content are elsewhere on the site but suffice to say Don't
miss it, it is a series that would not suit the faint hearted, tackle tarts
or the various manufacturers that assume respect that has not been earned .
. . because they do not get it.
In summary have I enjoyed working with Second Mouse
Media ?
No not really
Would Diobas Ltd recommend them to other potential
clients ?
Most certainly
I personally wish them well in the future and, in the unlikely event that we
will bow to pressure and film another series I would not hesitate to offer
them the contract.
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The final part of
this report is now live which,
together with an honest appraisal of my own performance,
includes a personal
summary of the interaction we have had with the
Government, fish suppliers and Supermarket
chains plus details of our plans for 2010.
It makes interesting reading !
