When times were good, businesses were too busy keeping their eyes on the balance sheets to take a good long look at clients and make value judgements about them.
People were lending against assets they had little understanding of and borrowing without really asking where the next job was coming from.
I regularly came across people willing to lend money for construction machinery on the strength of a hire company’s balance sheet. “Isn’t that a bit like buying a car without first kicking its tyres?” I asked. “Errm, well, yes,” came the reply.
There is a lot of talk in this issue about getting back to basics, and that means taking a good look at the people you’re doing business with.
Talking to the winners of the 42 Under 42 awards, I don’t think I have heard a more enthusiastic case for UK business in a while. Whereas the rest of the country is mired in doom and gloom, the event attracted a real pioneering, entrepreneurial spirit.
It was heartening to hear a couple of people comment that they didn’t let the recession of the early 1990s stop them from setting up their businesses. So focused were they on their goals, they say they didn’t even notice there was a recession going on. Their desire to achieve pushed them beyond all expectations and allowed them to rise above the pessimism and negative language of the time.
The most optimistic story came from the chap on the cover – Sir Jimmy Savile. It was a real pleasure to hear from a Leeds miner who allowed his dreams to take him to the very heights and made him an instantly recognisable figure in public life. And when he talks about Yorkshire industry, it is with an optimism and belief that it, too, can succeed.
At 82, Sir Jimmy has lived through a few recessions and is in a good position to talk about the business successes he has seen. He said Jim'll Fix It was originally aimed at adults, but was hijacked by the young and elderly “because these people had time to dream”.
Time and time again, stories come out of this issue about people achieving their goals against the odds. Let’s hope business can once again be about people, and their dreams.
Richard Stirling , editor
Also in: June 2009
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Will Jim Fix it for Leeds?
Without a large arena to attract the numbers, do conference and exhibition venues in Leeds suffer from a Cinderella syndrome? Richard Stirling reports.
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Digitally Remastered
Big plans are afoot that will create super-fast broadband in the South Yorkshire region. Julie Hayes asks how this project will create opportunities for local businesses.