Monday, August 10, 2015

Horses for courses?

What do we make of the demise of Kids Company?  It's clear that Camila Batmanghelidjh, its founder is a charismatic character, and I have no reason to doubt that she sincerely wanted to do the best she could for disadvantaged kids, and I equally have no doubt that she now feels devastated that those children now find themselves cast adrift.  She is on record as blaming "rumour-mongering civil servants and ill-spirited ministers" for the collapse and even sees herself as the victim of a smear campaign by the government and the media.  The lady doth protest too much, methinks?  Doubtless all will be revealed in due course, but at first blush there is a feeling that the organisation was run as a one-man (or rather, woman) band, and instead of using her undoubted talents simply to fund-raise and be the charity's public face, Ms Batmanghelidjh interfered in areas outside her expertise, and in particular the financial side of things - which is basically where it all went pear-shaped.  And the moral is - stick to what you know, and appoint other experts to deal with what you don't.

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