MECHANICS, DYNAMICS & GAFFES

I popped into EIE14 this week to check out the latest offerings form Scotland's Start Up community. I had to endure a couple of after-dinner speeches before 10am which was unwelcome, even though something that Sir Brian Souter (founder of Stagecoach) said, struck a chord.

Having made a slight gaffe with a non PC and non funny joke about mental health, causing a sensitive soul to storm out, he went on to talk about the Mechanics and Dynamics of a business.

The Mechanics being the infrastructure, nuts and bolts, operations and processes of the business; Dynamics being the intangible thrust, ambition, direction and strategy of the business. He made the point that the interaction between the two is critical - it's a balancing act. It reminded me of many fundamental polarities: Yin-Yang, Light-Dark, Good-Bad, Hot-Cold, Male-Female etc. And that neither can exist without the other...