We’re all doing a lot of planning at the moment, in our case thinking of internationalisation and how to persuade more firms of the benefits of going global. UKTI has its Take it to the World campaign and we’re certainly seeing more firms coming to us for guidance and help, which is great.
I once worked for a company that had a mantra: “Double in three, treble in five.” That’s the kind of ambitious and dramatic change in performance I think we need and the country needs too. Of course, the trick is to do that with no increase in costs. I think it means we have to embrace fully the benefits of globalisation, and I thought it would be good to be reminded of why an open trading economy is good for us all. Apologies if this story is plagiarised but I like it.
If you pick up a child’s toy sold in a store for £10, see ‘Made in China’ printed on it and despair with the cry: “We’re all going to hell in a handcart,” think again. If we break down that £10, £5 will be made by the British retailer (employing large numbers of people), £1 will have been spent on British professional services, £1 on logistics to get the toy to the store and £2 on British design, marketing and creative talent. The Chinese manufacturer will get £1.
When times are hard it’s easy to retreat into a shell to focus purely on the domestic market and not invest in international marketing. But at this time of business planning we need to look beyond the horizon, not just at the next year, we need to take a strategic look at the next three to five years. When we do so we absolutely have to remember that globalisation is good for us all. There is growth out there, British firms have to go out and grab it with both hands.