Welcome to AFR BOSS

MARCH issue out now!

AFR BOSS was a stripling newbie in March 2000. Readers asked then - as they do now - why name it BOSS? It's so hierarchical, it smacks of the things we want to see change about the rigidities of corporate life. Yes, we talk to the boss - and our conversations with leaders at all levels of the organisation help us learn from each other.

But there's another meaning. At a time when the onus is on each of us to step up in the world of work and take responsibility for our own careers, the message holds true: you're the boss - of your own career, your world of work. It's about you taking charge and using your own power to effect change.

Founding editor Helen Trinca noted at the time that BOSS was to be an independently minded magazine - cutting through the mass of management coverage and providing readers with rigorous material to help them manage and lead. That reasoning still grounds our award-winning journalism and photography. The BOSS team looks forward to all the changes the next 10 hold, as we reflect on the past 10.

TEAM BOSS

Ollie Towning, art director

NO SUIT NEEDED. It's all about the look. Although the suit is often seen as the mark of power visually, the trend in BOSS lately has been to strip back the suit to create a relaxed, humanised and more approachable person.

Louie Douvis, photographer

Rely on your instincts and keep experimenting - it's a good philosophy for coming up with new ideas in photography and life in general.

Rose-Anne Manns, chief subeditor

I used to think capitalism and socialism were mutually exclusive. I've been heartened to see a breed of businesspeople embrace the idea that social benefit can co-exist with the profit motive.

Cassie Griffin, web producer

Business has transformed its attitudes about how the internet is used. It is tantalising to think what lies ahead.

Haki Crisden, subeditor

Coming from the United States, I note that the Australian workplace only appears to be more casual than the one I knew.

Jessica Gardner, editorial assistant

As a young journalist, I am often pigeonholed as being "so gen Y", but I won't be surprised when the generation Y approach to work and leadership becomes the norm.

Catherine Fox, deputy editor

I wish we had another word for management because it doesn't cover the fascinating stuff about behaviour, emotion, philosophy, power and neuroscience that I have discovered working here. At BOSS, we say this isn't just about the way we do our jobs - it's about life.

Narelle Hooper, editor

I marvel at how many leaders achieve all they do and stay sane and grounded. Words and symbols are important signposts in the development of our thinking. I now have a personal ban on the phrase "soft skills". The numbers - they're the easy things. The people behind the numbers, that's the really hard part.

Fiona Smith, AFR Workspace

The evolution of a more humane, people-centric workplace was merely set back by the GFC. The talent shortage means we will continue to progress away from those industrial-age organisational structures, which no longer fit.

Narelle Hooper
Editor

We value your feedback boss@afr.com.au