Garth Lawrence

Role: Engineer, Father of Neil Lawrence
Period: 1943-2013

Summary

Garth Lawrence appears in The Atomic Human as the father of author Neil Lawrence. He is described as an engineer who ran “large-scale engineering projects that had budgets of tens of millions of dollars.” His management style emphasized meticulous planning and preparation.

Beyond his professional work, Garth would get involved in local societies, from choral societies to residents’ groups, applying his planning skills to help run these organizations better. He is characterized as having strong personal values, including “a deep concern for the underdog” - traits he shared with his son Mark despite their contrasting approaches to work.

In the book, Garth serves as an example of the planning approach to challenges in life, contrasting with his son Mark’s improvisational style. His methodical approach is compared to McLaren’s Formula One team, illustrating how different organizational and personal styles can be effective in different contexts.

The author uses Garth’s careful planning approach to demonstrate that while meticulous organization works well in low-uncertainty situations, diverse approaches are needed because “we are also uncertain about how much uncertainty we will face.”