Brown's big problem

Sky News reports that Gordon Brown won't delegate his authority to anyone during his holiday.

It's not a case of "won't". Brown's problem is that he can't delegate.

David Hencke's article at the time of Brown's first anniversary described his ridiculous pursuit of minutiae, harrying minions at 6am. We have seen his hurried and chaotic appearance at PMQs.

And now he can't delegate any power/authority while on his hols.

It really is a classic case of a manager who doesn't know how to delegate. It's the type of case study you get to examine when you are on a business studies course.

There is a phrase "stick to the knitting", which refers to managers/companies needing to stick to what they are good at.

But "sticking to the knitting" can easily go over the line into managers concentrating too much on the fine crochet work of their business, looking at the quality of the weave through a microscope, while they lose sight of the essential big picture. They lose the "helicopter view".

That is where we are with Brown. Frankly, he couldn't manage a large organisation to save his life. It is debatable as to whether he will make a decent manager while he still has a ....hole in his mouth.