Mickey Mouse part of Griggs' working cast of thousands Russel Griggs

Published on Saturday 10 November 2007 00:34

HOW many former directors of Scottish Enterprise can boast Mickey Mouse as one of their former colleagues?

Probably not many - except for Professor Russel Griggs. But as an erstwhile colleague of Professor Griggs during his time in charge of the Scottish Pavilion at Disney's Epcot Theme Park, Mickey joins a cast of thousands.

To list all of Griggs' past and current achievements would take up more space than we have, but his wife Elizabeth's claim that he has found the eighth day in the week is an understatement.

In addition to what is perhaps currently his main passion - his involvement in regulation reform as the CBI's representative on and chairman of the Scottish Government's Regulatory Review Group - he sits on the board of Aberdeen-based engineering services group Imes and chairs the Institute of Occupational Medicine and A4e Scotland.

He carries out his own private business consultancy work, is a member of the CBI's national SME Council, where he is set to become chair in January - and, closer to his Sanquhar home, he chairs the Advisory Board of Crichton University Campus.

And all this after having retired from his full-time job as executive director of Scottish Enterprise seven years ago.

But Griggs, who grew up in a tenement flat in Edinburgh's Newington district, is not under any illusions that he has actually retired. He admits: "I gave up my day job. Now I only have about 16 day jobs.

"If I won the lottery and could afford my own desert island or place in the Rockies, maybe I would retire fully. But no, I think I'd always want something to stimulate me.

"I do things now that I want to do. If it isn't something I really feel passionate about, I have the choice not to do it. That's the difference."

He adds: "I think more and more companies are now employing people on the board who they want and need - and now people are as fit and healthy later in life as when they're younger. I don't think age matters - you can be old and experienced or young and experienced."

And Griggs' experience, regardless of his age, has stood him in good stead to push forward the issues that matter to him.

Due to become the first Scottish chair of the SME council in "a long time" in January, Griggs is keen to put Scotland's business viewpoint across to the rest of the UK. He says: " I don't think English businesses understand how much of our business regulation is devolved - but we spend a lot of time discussing purely English issues."

Meanwhile, in his post as chair of the Regulatory Review Committee, he is keen to continue his drive to encourage civil servants to work more closely with small businesses and work out how legislation really affects them.

His committee is due to submit a report in the spring advising the Scottish Government on what they could do to help businesses deal with regulation.

He says: "If you think that legislation is the product of government, we are trying to make sure they understand the market and that they do the proper research into it.

"Then later, they also need to go back into the market and do some consumer counselling."

"It is about business having regulation where they understand what the intention was. Our objective is to make sure the "how" reflects what the "what" was in the first place. Often when you have a grand idea, by the time it gets down to the delivery, the grand idea often isn't reflected any more."

Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland, says: "Russel is a very, very capable individual. On his knowledge of the economy and regulation, Russel really is a top-flight expert on all of these matters. While he is very passionate about matters such as regulation, he does not let that affect his objectivity and that is what makes him great."

He adds: "I am a great believer that if you've got something that needs doing, you should give it to a busy person, and Russel certainly qualifies for that."

But for Imes Group chairman and chief executive Melfort Campbell, who has worked with him for around 20 years, Griggs' busy life is often a point of contention.

"He's not always on time for meetings, that's for sure," laughs the former CBI chairman. But his admiration for Griggs is clear. "It must have been 1988 when he first marched into my office and started helping me," he says. "He has both the knowledge and know-how that someone like me recognises, but he is also able to get involved in the system, which is a big bonus in his work on regulation."

Pre-retirement, one of Griggs' most memorable jobs is still working with Disney to lead the construction of the Scottish Pavilion at the Epcot Theme Park in Florida while a director at Scottish Enterprise. In addition to the project, he also had responsibility for Scotland the Brand and the Scottish Science Trust.

But it wasn't the chance to hang out with Mickey and his friends which motivated him to take on the challenge.

He says: "What pleased me most about it was that it offered the opportunity to around 18 young Scottish graduates to go and spend a year with their peers from all over the world and from what I heard they found it a great experience." Having worked in Boston for two years as well as his stint at the Disney theme park, Griggs is keen to compare differences between enterprise both sides of the Atlantic.

He explains: "What American businesses believe that we don't is that doing things wrong is a sign of learning, not a failure.

"If you've failed in business once there, you're much more likely to get funding the second time round."

"Also you're the best at what you are, rather than what other people want you to do. If you're a world-class waitress, that is as good as being a world-class lawyer. You are revered for being good at what you do."

He adds: "I think most Europeans find working in America quite peaceful. Most Americans worry about different things than we do."

And not feeling too pushed for time by any of his official positions, and his two chief hobbies - tending his half-acre garden and spending time with 15-month-old grandson, Thomas- he manages to squeeze in a few hours every three months to be psychoanalysed for a study into the habits of businessmen and women.

The investigation, led by Edinburgh recruitment consultantcy Finlayson Wagner Black, hired psychologists to quiz around a dozen non-executive directors every three months for the past three years and is due to report its findings in the new year.

"There's a lot of us out there in the world doing this [holding various non-exec posts] and what was interesting about this study was that we are all very different human beings, but we all do it in a very similar way," Griggs observes. "I think the results will be quite interesting reading."

An insight into the professional mind of Russel Griggs? Interesting reading indeed.

RED-TAPE BUSTER

RUSSEL Griggs' red tape-busting instincts are widely shared by Scotland's business community.

Former RBS head Sir George Mathewson, now chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, is the latest high-profile businessman to insist that red tape was hobbling Scotland's economy.

How then to deal with it? Enterprise minister Jim Mather's rejection of the "one in, one out" policy for business regulation was supported by business organisations concerned that "innocuous" laws would be replaced by more "onerous" ones.

Professor Griggs' team hopes to bring civil servants and businesses closer together in a bid to bring regulation back to being something businesses can understand and relate to.

He says: "What we need is much more of a partnership between businesses and government. While the government might say 'tax is great', businesses will say 'we hate regulation'. But when you ask them what specific things they would change, they find it very difficult to articulate it."