John Winterson Richards

If you are an entrepreneur or a senior manager in any sector, private, public, or voluntary, one of your most important responsibilities is the design of the structure of the organisation, or the part of the organisation, you lead.

If you are a subordinate manager, executive, or employee, you are likely to be called upon to take part in restructurings fairly frequently, and unless you are able to contribute intelligently to the process, you could lose badly from it.

So it is not surprising that structure is often the subject of intense discussion within organisations, but much of that discussion is ill-informed.

Although there is a huge academic literature on organisational structures, there is general ignorance of even the most basic principles among most managers, and indeed among most management consultants.

This book was written to fill that gap. It is the very opposite of an academic text. Short, to-the-point, and practical, it can be read in the course of a single train journey, but should provide anyone involved in a restructuring with sufficient knowledge of the basic principles to make good points in discussion and, ultimately, the right decisions.

JOHN WINTERSON RICHARDS is based in Cardiff where he was born and has lived most of his life. His father, Alun Thomas Richards, was a Solicitor and Senior Partner of Gordon Williams. His mother, Patricia Winterson Richards, born Lloyd, was an antiques dealer and a pioneer of antiques fairs in Wales.

He was educated at the University of Bristol, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Law (Ll.B). He developed a particular interest in Constitutional Law and Legal Systems, which prompted him to do optional courses in Legal History, Administrative Law, and Company Law. For two years he was resident in Wills Hall. He was the actual Captain of the Bristol University Challenge team in 1985. A wholly fictionalised version of this team was the subject of the novel and film Starter for Ten. He remains involved with the University to this day, having served on a number of committees and working parties.

He went on to get a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) where his dissertation was on the integration of departments within organisational structures.

A serial entrepreneur, active in a wide range of enterprises and sectors, he held his first company directorship at 19 and founded his own management consultancy at 22.

He was very active in the prestigious Wales 2010 research project, serving on its steering committee and as co-ordinator of its Enterprise Task Force, co-writing the chapter which made important recommendations to establish an enterprise culture in Wales. Following up on those recommendations, he served as co-ordinator of the Wales Year of Enterprise Task Force. He also served as Chairman of Business Network Wales, an attempt to improve networking among small businesses.

He has served as Non-Executive Director of a number of companies including Cardiff Marketing and Cardiff City Transport Services (Cardiff Bus), and Secretary of others. Active in his community, he served on Cardiff Community Health Council and as a school governor. He was a Trustee of the Cardiff Charity for Special Relief, the Marjorie Williams Bequest, and the Cardiff Help the Aged Home Safety Appeal, of which he was Treasurer.

In 1992, his Bluffer's Guide to Small Business was first published by Ravette books. It has been in print constantly since then, going through over a dozen revisions and reprintings, and has been translated into at least eight other languages. In 2013, it was revised again and became the Bluffer's Guide to Your Own Business. His Guide to the Welsh has also been constantly in print for over twenty years, revised and reprinted many times, and translated into other languages, including Japanese and Chinese.

In 2013, he was editor of a new edition of the Bluffer's Guide to Management, having contributed to earlier editions. This was one of three of his books that were 'Amazon #1 Best Sellers' in different categories in 2014 alone.

An experienced freelance writer as well as a consultant, he has been commissioned and paid to write over 500 articles in print and online. He was a regular guest on the Mind Your Own Business podcasts and a major contributor to that website's blog.

He is the co-writer, with Andrew Harman, past Head of History at Filton High School, of The Context of Christ: the History and Politics of Judea and Rome, 100 BC - 33AD, also available on Amazon Kindle.

If you are a manager or an executive, whether in the private, public, or volunatary sector, the odds are that in the course of your career, you will take part in several restructurings. Yet there was no short, practical, easy-to-use guide to how to survive in such situations ...until now.

John Winterson Richards has a law degree from the University of Bristol, an MBA from the University of Wales Institute of Science aad Technology (UWIST), almost 30 years' experience as a management consultant, and a fascination with organisational structures.

How to Build Your Own Pyramid can be downloaded from Amazon.com for $2.99. Check the 'Contacts' tab for links to your local Amazon webpage.

John is happy to receive e-mails through [email protected] but please be patient: he makes it a point of honour to reply as soon as he can, but he can get very busy, so you might have to wait a few days for a response.

Standard consultancy fees are $400 an hour plus expenses but larger contracts may be negotiated on a fixed price basis. An introductory desk review is available for $1,000. Discounts may be negotiated by charities and voluntary organisations, or by public or private sector organisations which offer the opportunity of particularly interesting work.