Six Rules of Brand Revitalization: Learn the Most Common Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, Second Edition

3. Tendency 3: The Building of Organizational Barriers and Bureaucratic Processes

In July 2015, the newly arrived chairman of Barclays Bank, John McFarlane, fired the CEO, Antony Jenkins. (Only recently, in third quarter 2015, has Barclays installed a new CEO.) Saying this move was entirely a Board decision, Mr. McFarlane was blunt in his assessment of the deterioration of the bank. And, he was even more outspoken on the bank’s entrenched management structure. In an interview with The Daily Mail, he said, “’Bureaucracy! This is the worst example of a large company I have ever been associated with. It is endemic. It is not going to be easy to deal with. Barclays has 375 management committees—and that is 370-something too many.”¹

Silos and bureaucracy ...