You have to be in it to win it!

With just over a week to go until the deadline for our 2013 Inspiring Hertfordshire awards, we are getting very excited about discovering some new centres of business excellence, outstanding individuals and showcasing some amazing talent in the County!

For some experienced award winners, it isn’t just about delegating the task of completing of a form, and hope and see, it’s part of a strategic journey to showcase the organisation as an excellent employer, and or outstanding company to do business with, or to gain recognition for outstanding performance and achievement. This not only gains a huge amount of publicity, leading to new business opportunities but also plays a significant role in attracting the cream of talent, and boost confidence and morale internally. For SME’s that may find they really haven’t got the time, we learnt from finalists last year in the same position who claimed by investing time into the business, to analyse where it had come from, what it had achieved this year, and more importantly the vision for the future, was worth every penny in time.

What was evident was the consistent approach across all the finalists and winners in how outwardly facing they were in the local community, with board level commitment to engaging with the local community, building local relationships with schools, and local charities, and embedding a culture that fosters supporting local prosperity. Whatever category the finalists and winners entered there was a clear vision for growth in this area, they weren’t merely reacting to local opportunities but had a clear business plan and strategic objectives for raising customer excellence, or growing International trade , and even a KPI for winning awards.

If you haven’t yet downloaded your entry form, there’s still time, www.hertschamber.com and we are delighted to have the support from leading businesses across the county as 2013 sponsors and judges;

Server Choice, Smart source, Ashridge, Goldsmith Centre, Breeze and Wyle’s UH , Exemplas, Simply health, Aldwyk Housing, and Cllr Sharon Taylor, Locality budget and Stevenage Borough Council, and Dacorum ‘Look No Further’ sponsoring our new Tourism Award.

I hope 2013 will be an Inspirational year for Hertfordshire businesses and hope we will have the opportunity to showcase many of you at our awards dinner on the 16th May, at Porsche Hatfield, and wish you further success in the Comets’ own Hertfordshire Business Awards launched later this year.

Father Christmas?? No, I dont think so either...

Economic growth, the ‘holy grail’ how, or who, will make it happen? Government, the Banks, perhaps it will be Father Christmas? No I don’t think so either. Certainly the Government and Banks have an important part to play and, depending on their actions, they are likely to have an effect, whether it be positive or negative remains to be seen but, at the end of the day, there can be little doubt that it is only businesses and their customers who will turn the economy around.


Depending on your point of view one might argue that we should welcome Government initiatives such as those designed to remove red tape, reduce onerous planning conditions and to enable small businesses that are struggling to obtain finance from an increasingly risk averse banking sector. Though, it will take time for benefits to become apparent every little helps. Red tape impacts disproportionately on small growing businesses and many are deterred from expansion as a result of concerns, real and imagined, with the planning system. I am also very aware of the Banks claims to ‘have plenty of money and are eager to lend’ but in truth I have seen no evidence to suggest that such claims are being translated into action.

Those of us who are a bit longer in the tooth will remember the days when banking was about locally based people who understood local businesses and were prepared to manage risk not, as seems to be the case today, to eradicate it entirely. Time will tell if the Governments initiative makes a difference but, whatever the merits, I suspect that very few people are expecting the ‘complete’ solution.

In the past the answer was easy, throw more public money at it, sadly there isn’t much left. Nonetheless, there appears to be some being made available to parts of the country where unemployment and other issues remain a consistent problem no matter how much money is lavished upon them. This might make some social sense but in reality it is highly questionable as to whether the impact is anything other than short term. Perhaps it is time to take a different approach, how about reducing the amount of money being poured into these areas, where without incentives businesses are reluctant to locate, to create jobs that have all the sustainability of a chocolate teapot. Instead, what about investing it in areas that are able to produce long term benefits that are likely to be economically sustainable for some time to come?

Where should the Government invest our money? Where it will have most effect of course? How about places like Hertfordshire? Places where businesses want to be; places where good long term jobs can be created; places which have the communication and transport links that are essential to success in the global economy. Taking funding, as we have historically done, from areas that are generally successful and pumping it into areas with a track record of failure might deliver short term social benefits but in the long run, from a business perspective, makes no sense at all.

The other essential part of the equation requires encouraging customers to spend money, raising the taxes of those who are able to do so won’t achieve this nor will maintaining some of the other barriers that discourage them from doing so. Half hearted efforts to ignite the housing market for instance will not work if, in this part of the world at least, stamp duty remains at current levels. Why move from one asset that is not accruing in value to another when the cost of doing so is added to by high levels of indirect taxation.

Clearly the Government is not in a position to start flinging cash, nor can it afford to choke off regular income lines, but surely with a little imagination there are actions that could be taken to encourage consumer spending without adding further pressure on the National Debt.

The removal of stamp duty; extending the National Insurance holiday on small businesses taking on new staff to include this part of the country; using some of the enormous amounts of business rates that are collected here and spent elsewhere to accelerate business growth and encourage research and investment in areas that are able to sustain it; might provide fertile ground in the search for solutions. Clearly the decisions of Government are difficult and challenging but to paraphrase what a wise man once said ‘if you keep doing the same things expecting different results you are likely to be very disappointed’. Actually he said that this was a definition of madness but you know what I mean.

I hope we continue the glow of optimism that was created by the Olympics, if we replicate that in the economy we will surely see the benefits feeding through into productivity and job creation

As the old song goes ‘the party’s over’ but, ‘is it time to call it a day’? Apart from the curmudgeonly few, most of us will have viewed the Olympics and the Paralympics as inspirational events demonstrating the very best in human endeavour and a magnificent illustration of just what can be achieved with goodwill, ingenuity and a massive amount of hard work. Of course the athletes were the stars of the show but it was a show that, in the words of Lord Coe, was ‘made in Britain’.


Prior to the event, if one was to believe a fraction of the publicity being purveyed by the doom mongers the whole thing was going to be a disaster riddled with incompetence and scarred by bad planning. According to the more dire predictions we were on target to produce an occasion that would live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons. I daresay they are lining up as we speak to undermine the legacy too.

We have learnt many things from the Games. We have learnt that the British public will turn out with enthusiasm to support something that is run according to the highest professional standards. We have learnt that individuals can, in the face of tremendous odds, rise to all sorts of challenges. We have learnt that as a country we can do great things. We have learnt that, when all is said and done, we Brits really do enjoy success whilst simultaneously being able to apply perspective when things don’t work out quite as we would have hoped. The trick going forward will be to apply these lessons.

Business people have, of course, always known that if you create what people want and it is of good quality and sold at the right price people will buy it? Business people face challenges everyday but the vast majority have developed the ability to resist and overcome them come what may. Great things? Business people have been doing them for years providing jobs and income for themselves, their families and their employees. No one ever succeeded in business without understanding the need for a good product, tremendous effort and the requirement for somewhat more than their fair share of resilience. Most have developed a good understanding of success and failure and found a way of living with both.

The Olympics may not have been great for everybody but as a nation I believe we gained a variety of benefits, probably some of which we are yet to be identified. Legacy? I really hope that we build on the success of our athletes and support them and those who aspire to emulate them. I hope too that we recognise the importance of our business folk and the herculean effort many have put into overcoming tremendous odds. Finally, I hope we continue the glow of optimism that was created, if we can replicate that in the economy we will surely to see the benefits feeding through into productivity and job creation.

The Government didnt cause the current problems but as they are in the driving seat they need to do something about it...

As yet more statistics hit the street proclaiming further economic gloom and doom some of us, me included, are inclined to scratch around for straws of comfort rather than to simply accept the implications of the evidence that some would say is staring us in the face. Burying our heads in the sand? Maybe, but on the other hand what’s to be gained from burying our heads in our hands? In any case, is relying upon these traditional indicators of financial health helpful?


In recent years, largely as a result of incredible technological changes, the world has moved on at a pace that few would have thought possible ten years ago. It was only 15 years or so ago that email was regarded with suspicion, that websites were rare in the extreme and that social media was not even a twinkle in some ‘techies’ eye. As the use of technology has become more widespread customer practice and demand has changed dramatically.

Was it only a few years ago that people maintained that internet sales wouldn’t take off claiming that before purchasing buyers would need to be able to touch and feel whatever it was they were buying. Nowadays we can reflect, not only upon how wrong they were, but also upon the wider impact of the online revolution. One could write volumes on the subject; demands for greater convenience, lower prices, that most white goods are now regarded as being disposable to name only a few of the outcomes.

Simultaneously attitudes have changed in other areas. Remember the heady days when our houses earned more than we did and, for those who had any, cash deposited in the bank grew in value with little or no effort. Those were the days when, if servicing debt became difficult, we just borrowed more; happy days, when water was cheaper than milk and diesel was cheaper than petrol. Weren’t those the days too when the experts decided that it would be more cost effective to send manufacturing processes to parts of the world where they could be carried out more cheaply while we would thrive on ‘high value’ processes alone.. What crazy times they were.

My point? Well we can bemoan rises in public borrowing, widening of the balance of payments, reduced standards in education, the wrong type of leaves on the line, and any other thing that takes your fancy, but the fact is that, unless somebody is prepared to do something as a result, such indicators are of little more than academic interest. In any case, given the way the world has changed in recent years, I would question whether the traditional indicators are as pertinent as they were in the past. The one thing I am sure of is that the time for simply sitting with our heads in our hands has long passed we need action, energy and direction leading to growth in the economy. This government didn’t cause the current problems but as they are in the driving seat they need to get on and do something about it.

The 2012 Olympics has proved that we really are ‘Great’ Britain; what we need now is to act as though we really believe it

That we live in an age of innovation is surely beyond doubt but whether we have a sense of the importance of our nations contribution or whether we have successfully adapted to the changes that have resulted, is debatable. In the politically correct world in which we live it has become unfashionable to shout about our strengths but the truth is we have a history of leading the world and, contrary to the opinion of some, we still do play a leading role.


Those of us that are of a certain age will have been brought up to regard the Industrial Revolution, which spanned the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as the defining period in the development of our modern world economy and whilst people today will, rightly, point to the fact that their peers have taken the technologies of that age to higher, and previously unimaginable, new levels it was the great British engineers of the time such as Brunel, Faraday, Babbage and Stephenson, and the visionary entrepreneurs that supported them, who led the way. Others have learnt to develop their work but it is they who laid the foundations that underpin much of that which we take for granted today.

Future generations brought up on the achievements of the likes of Zuckerberg, Gates and Jobs will probably claim that it is their achievements which are of greater importance, conveniently overlooking the fact that without the invention of the British Tim Berners Lee their products would simply not have existed, .

Actually the debate as to who is the most important, whilst interesting, is arguably fairly pointless as it ignores the fact that a great many people and organisations, working in fields such as medicine, aeronautics, electronics, bio and life sciences across the globe, have made sensational contributions to our modern world. My point is that we often forget that we are a creative nation that has much to offer, a nation that should be enormously proud of its achievements. I strongly believe that if we were to spend more time focusing on the positive we would be more likely to be successful than if, as a nation, we continue to focus on our default position of leaning toward the negative.

Clearly we face challenges, the rest of the world does too, but there is evidence to suggest that we have struggled more than most to come to terms with the demands of such a rapidly changing world. Recognition of the issues is an important starting point. Gaining an understanding of the impact is essential and a good deal more productive than navel gazing. As soon as we have recognised, and fully understood all the implications, the sooner we will be better equipped to react to the resultant range of complex issues that need addressing.

One only needs to consider the future skills people will require to understand just how complex the issues are. Arguably the range of skills required to sustain the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries were, except at the highest level of management, limited and that essentially all that was required were large numbers of people capable of repeating a limited number of easily taught skills, as a consequence, the need to educate or develop a skilled workforce was not the important priority it is today; neither were numerous social considerations that we now regard to be our basic human right.

Nobody can imagine that for a well developed nation adapting to all this change will be straightforward. Indeed, the period following the Industrial Revolution was strewn with political mistakes that had an adverse social and economic impact on a vast number of people and they had none of the challenges presented by a modern democracy. With goodwill and a positive approach we will overcome these challenges.

The 2012 Olympics has proved conclusively that we really are ‘Great’ Britain; what we need now is to act as though we really believe it. We must set aside our faux modesty and our inclination as a nation to talk ourselves down and move forward in a positive fashion. We have much to be proud of, the self flagellation must stop, we need to begin acting as though we really do believe it. After all, we can’t blame the rest of world for not treating us seriously if we fail to do so ourselves.

Blame can wait... what we need are solutions that work.

If one were to listen to the Banks you would be hard pressed to understand why so many businesses are complaining about their reluctance to support them and, that if they do, are only willing to do so on the most penal terms. ‘We have money and we want to lend’ is the oft repeated dictum but the reality on the ground seems to be very different.
In today’s reality those deemed to be worthy of support either don’t need it or, as is the case with a growing number of businesses, don’t want it. On the other hand those who do require their support are disqualified simply because they do. Lewis Carroll would have been proud of the situation we have created and would, perhaps, have nominated the Queen of Hearts as the next Governor of the Bank of England.

In today’s world the first thing one seems to be required to do is to determine ‘who is to blame’. The Banks for creating the mess in the first place? Is it the government for lacking in leadership? Is it the economic incompetence of the previous government? Perhaps, it is The Bank of England and the regulatory authorities? The press and a variety of economic commentators for persistently, and consistently, undermining confidence? Possibly, even, the reluctance of businesses that can invest in the future simply stockpiling cash while they sit on their hands waiting for someone else to blink? I think I can save a great deal of time, to a lesser or greater extent it is all these although, actually, blame can wait. What we need are solutions that work.

Given the recent banking crisis few, if any, would argue for an unregulated orgy of lending but what is required is a source of lending that can be accessed by growing small and medium sized business that doesn’t attract penal rates of interest or the need to put forward their ‘first born’ by way of guarantee. We also need a process in which decision making is transparent, fair and timely. Too many businesses are being required to go through opaque drawn out processes costing them time and money before being told that they have been successful, or worse, unsuccessful.

Whilst I do not share the more extreme views of the ‘doom and gloom brigade’ I strongly believe that the economy needs an injection of growth. There are a number of measures that can be taken but one must be to deliver more financial support for small and medium sized businesses. Delivered with care encouraging sensible lending to this sector will enable it to flourish whilst simultaneously delivering the economic growth we need. The government, the regulators and the banks were quick enough to get round the table when the latter needed support it is about time they sat down and sorted things for the rest of us.

Business people ask for little other than to be able to operate on ‘a level playing field’

Over the years I have noticed an increase in the impact of holidays, sporting events and other national celebrations on doing business in the UK. Come Easter it seems as though someone has fired a gun and then, as a nation, we metaphorically prepare to pack our buckets and spades. This year, though, we are experiencing the phenomena ‘with bells on’. An additional bank holiday, the Euros, the Olympics followed by the Paralympics added to the usual menu of Wimbledon, the ever growing number of cricket matches and so on.


What the impact of all this is depends very largely upon who you ask. The more optimistic will argue that all this activity encourages people to stay at home and spend their money here rather than on one of the Costas or some Greek Island. At the other extreme those with a somewhat curmudgeonly disposition might argue that all this jollity is more likely to result in hell and damnation raining down upon us all. If you work for Transport for London I guess it’s an opportunity to threaten strike action unless their employer’s handover payments additional to already agreed overtime rates.

For most employers the only choice is to manage the impact as best they can within the confines of the already penal legislation governing employment. No one seems to be too concerned as to how all this affects them and now, joy of joys, we find that they are also required to compensate staff struck down by disease or injury, whatever the cause, whilst they are on holiday. Goodness knows what those dear people in Brussels will think up next.

Actually I enjoy all these supporting occasions as much as the next man, and it was a delight to take part in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, but I do strongly believe that we need to consider the impact of all this on small businesses in particular. Business people, and I don’t mean the greedy few that are regularly featured by the national press as being representative of the business community, ask for little other than to be able to operate on ‘a level playing field’.

Our competitors in other parts of the world look upon our employment laws with incredulity, the Americans simply do not comprehend how businesses on ‘this side of the pond’ can afford to allow such generous holiday entitlements. Nonetheless I am not arguing that entitlements be reduced, just that the employers obligation to compensate staff for being sick whilst on holiday be wiped from the legislation. It is, frankly, nonsense.