Malcolm Allan: Restructured - but not out in the cold

It's a sign of the times. Malcolm has just been restructured out of his senior management role at a leading print and marketing services provider. Only weeks ago he was skiing oversees, now back in the market. He is using the opportunity to use his trademark determination and focus on the bright side to create a happy ending.

Here is a bit more about what drives Malcolm to remain positive - against the odds and use a major life event like this to his advantage.

Hometown

I really have two home towns. Edinburgh is where I spent most of my childhood however I was still a teenager when I moved to NZ and I now look at Whangarei as my hometown.

Hobbies

I love my sport and actively compete in a number of them. At the moment squash, golf, mountain biking and skiing are my main vices, however at this time of the year I spend as much time on the water as possible - fishing, diving and waterskiing.

We had a work team in an indoor cricket tournament over winter, and it was fun getting back into that after a few years off.

I also have a passion for music and movies and have spent a number of years building up my home theatre.

My Companies & other Roles

I have just spent 14 months as Managing Director of PMP New Zealand. It has been an interesting time to start a new role with all of the issues around the global credit crunch and the recession in NZ. You have to change your view a little and be a little less gung ho and more measured in your approach. You still want growth and to set big goals, however you also need to manage the risk more carefully.

Unfortunately, my role has just been disestablished along with a couple of other senior roles in Australia. It is quite frustrating when you have a vision and you are tracking so well on a path to have it taken away before you complete your goal. I guess it is a sign of the times when it comes to pure cost saving.

My Favourite Time of the day is...

The end of the work day moving into the evening is probably my favourite time. Hopefully I feel like I have achieved something in the work environment during the day and am about to spend some time with family or playing some sort of sport (or both together if I am lucky).

I really enjoy...

Seeing people around me in the work environment succeed and celebrate those successes. Setting a goal or challenge and beating it. My son's cheeky grin when something has gone well. My partner Jo's face light up when I make it home at a reasonable time. (Now less of a problem!) Hitting that perfect golf shot. But most of all - fresh powder with no tracks, the sun coming up and a really steep slope.

List a few of your recent accomplishments that you are proud of:

* Last year was a tough year, however I was really proud of how our Management Team came together and worked all for one. Everyone was there for each other and worked selflessly for the good of all.

* Seeing the buy in and take up from all of our colleagues when we launched our Vision, Mission & Values was very rewarding.

* Moving one of our loss making businesses into the black. Achieving a number of the goals that we had set ourselves during the year was gratifying, along with those business as usual successes such as coveted contracts, market share growth and recognition from the industry for excellence in pride in Print.

* The accomplishment that really stands out for me in recent times was a world first, when we were able to bring Radio, TV, internet and Newspapers together into a single offering to provide outstanding content for America's Cup watchers but also a memorable and value adding campaign for our advertising client.

* I also got a big kick out of being the first to launch music videos online in NZ. 

I am busy at the moment doing:

Right now I am starting to talk with Search companies to help me find a new challenge. I am networking furiously to try and uncover opportunities as I believe that there are a lot out there, you just have to work hard to find them.

I'm also using the time to get really fit again and I will do some voluntary work for a few businesses that I know that would like a hand but can't afford big costs. I will also pick up the work that I use to do for Business Mentors NZ. 

What drove you to become involved in Media & PMP?

* I had always loved Radio as a kid and really enjoyed the excitement and opportunity that the internet brought to us. I enjoy music, movies, concerts and technology so I guess there was a natural fit. I have also always had a passion for marketing and enjoy coming up with Advertising solutions. This was a natural fit with Media.

* PMP is an extension of that and it also provided me with a great opportunity, a challenge and importantly a wide mix of businesses as I can easily get bored with just doing the same thing all of the time.

My big hairy audacious goal this year is to:

It's less of a BHAG and more of a necessity and that is to put myself back into another role in a new organisation where I can energise people to achieve lofty goals and follow a vision.

My secret for getting things done is to:

Keep well organised and plan ahead. Everything is in Outlook and I live off my Blackberry and Ipaq. It drives my partner crazy.

What would do if you were not ...

Marine biology has always interested me. So spending my time in the Bahamas diving and studying sea life has always been a bit of a dream. More realistically, some sort of sports or entertainment management.

What do you do to cope with stress?

Sport is a big outlet for me, but fundamentally it is finding time to do the things that you enjoy and to relax - you need to be able to switch off. Family time is also very important.

How many hours do you work each week?

Too many generally. Some weeks are far worse than others when you have deadlines and major projects. It doesn't help when your colleagues in Australia are 2 hours behind you.

What do you do when things aren't going your way?

Stop, analyse the situation and set a new plan.

What is the hardest lesson you've had to learn in life?

* Nothing happens unless you work very hard at it, especially with relationships.

* Moving half across the world as a teenager was also a pretty good lesson in life.

Do you have any school/study qualifications?

Yep. I completed my O grades back in Scotland (similar to Sixth Form Cert) and my Bursary here in NZ. I then went on to Auckland University to gain a B.Com majoring in Marketing.

What are the three most important personal qualities you've had to develop to become a leader?

Empathy, passion & vision

Have you ever been scared to .........? What did you do about it?

I have always found that the best thing to do is grit your teeth, put your biggest smile on and just jump right in.

The Parting Shot:

My soap box at the moment is about self fulfilling prophecy. While we have to stay mindful of world and local events that have affected us all recently, however if we keep preaching doom and gloom then we will talk ourselves into failing. We are likely to change consumer behaviour not report on it if we keep talking everything down. Stay positive and keep doing what you know is right and we will succeed.

- Dwayne Alexander