Sometimes the worst thing you can have in business or politics is a great reputation. People who admire what you have done before assume you can do it again, the media flock around you, competing for the opportunity to spin your virtues and abilities. Eventually the harsh grip of reality pulls the hero down. The problem is revealed as intractable, the media turn like a pack of hounds and what was once portrayed as bold and imaginative is proclaimed as naive and reckless.
Sport often throws up extreme examples of such things - Jose Mourinho at Manchester United is a great example. Hopes dashed, a reputation undone.
People who run companies successfully for a sustained period generally tend not to be parachuted in from another planet wearing their underpants outside their trousers but, more often than not, have either started the business or risen through its ranks. They understand the company, its people, customers and markets deeply. They have a clear vision but take people with them and, generally, few outside their company and industry have heard of them.
This is why Boris Johnson and his new Secretary of State, Alister Jack, have a great opportunity.
Boris Johnson is perfectly positioned in Scotland. We all know (don’t we?) that he is a fool, a buffoon, a liar, a toff, a liability, dangerous, a kind of Kim Jong-un with a slightly better hairstyle. We know all this not because we have met him or actually listened to the (remarkably good) speech he made when he became Prime Minister but because Nicola and the Scottish media assure us that it is so.
In fact Boris Johnson is smart and also highly committed to the Union because he fundamentally believes in Britishness. He has correctly identified that the UK is in a mess, the agreement hammered out by Mrs May is a non-runner and we need to bring this hopeless Brexit process to a conclusion quickly. I didn’t want Brexit, most of Scotland didn’t either, but we need to get an answer. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal it will be difficult but it will not be a catastrophe. The best chance to get a better deal from the EU is to confront them not with a bluff but with the real option of leaving without a deal. This is not a reckless course, it is a necessary one. If Boris pulls it off and then engages on an optimistic domestic agenda, including policies designed to bring the UK back together, the only way is up - even in Scotland.
For Alister Jack the position is perhaps even better. Nobody has heard of him. What this means is that instead of spending years trying to pop up on TV, attending useless conferences or currying favour with those who consider themselves opinion formers , he has actually got on with building, from scratch, a number of successful businesses. He is a genuine entrepreneur who gets things done and Boris Johnson has recognised that. The political opposition and media try to undermine him by pointing out things he said years ago which are inconsistent with his position now - is that not true of all of us? Worse , they smear him by pretending that holding shares in Jardine Matheson, a highly reputable company listed on the London Stock Exchange but which happens to be registered in Bermuda rather than risk political interference by staying in its home base of Hong Kong, is in some way dodgy, it isn’t and to pretend it is reflects badly on those who make that claim.
So Mr Useless Johnson and Mr Unknown Jack - go for it and, best of luck.
Pinstripe is a senior member of Scotland's financial services community.
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