There is at the moment a self-fulfilling prophecy playing out. Bad news is greeted with pundit after pundit layering on lots of bad punditry. That affects confidence.
You can see it on the high street, and we can see it in the business-to-business arena as well. Businesses are putting off purchasing decisions because they think we’re all going to hell in a handcart.
Well, we’re not. It’s tough out there, we all know that, but it’s important to retain a sense of perspective.
In this climate we feel a huge responsibility to report the truth, but also to give something more. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the business community in Yorkshire and take seriously our partnership with you all. It’s not enough to wallow, what everyone is looking for right now is a bit of advice, a warm word of encouragement and a bit of intelligence that can lead to better decisions than the instinctive one to cut and cull.
And that’s our pledge to you. We will seek out the businesses that have done well and share their wisdom. We will pick over the rescues, the turnarounds and the phoenix deals, and see whether there’s anything that a wider world can learn from.
That’s why we’re so pleased to be involved in the Yorkshire International Business Convention again. We had a good chat to organiser Mike Firth about his plans for a “can-do” convention this year, which sounds just the ticket.
At our finance director round table we had the bizarre spectacle of young FDs talking about meeting customers and networking. Brilliant, bring it on, the better the quality and depth of people prepared to scrum down and learn from each other, the better placed we’ll all be.
Take the metals business. South Yorkshire is well known as the birthplace of stainless steel. And as Julie Hayes’ penetrating cover story demonstrates, the whole metals industry in Yorkshire is dynamic, forward thinking and innovative.
There’s a lot that many of you can learn from their incredible journey. I hope you enjoy what we’ve put together for you.
Michael Taylor, acting editor
Also in: March 2009
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Opportunists
When their ideas fell on deaf ears, a trio of innovators jumped ship from their jobs and set up Martek Marine.
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Steeling itself for the future
With the increase in new metals, steelmakers are having to bite back.