Vladimar Lenin, a Russian revolutionary, reputedly said ‘There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen’. In the wake of the EU vote it does indeed feel like so much has happened since I last wrote this column (Including a famous Iceland football victory but lets put that to one side!).
I’ve just been reading that the queen has urged Britain’s political leaders to calm down in the wake of the chaos triggered by the Brexit vote. She has said that Britons ‘live and work in an increasingly demanding world’ with events and developments occurring at ‘remarkable speed’. Her message was that we should feel ‘hope and optimism’ about the next five years.
I would echo her sentiments. In the wake of the last financial crisis in 2008 I know that we sat down with many of our clients to assess the damage and work out some plan for the future. They were dark days for some but despite plunging property values and a slow down in the economy most of our clients weathered the storm and carried on. In many cases there were opportunities to re-group and strengthen their businesses. Others less fortunate we helped to re-direct and guide them through tricky times.
It’s the same now. Just like ice cream sales when it’s sunny and umbrella sales when its raining there will be winners and losers right now. Review where your business is at and try to assess whether Brexit is going to be good or bad for you. In our book ’57 Ways to Grow Your Business’ there is a chapter on SWOT. These are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It’s a great time to sit down with your team and think about these and create action points for improvement.
But the most important thing to do is, as the Queen says, keep calm!
Written by Kevin Begley for the South Warrington News.
