With my wife due to give birth to our first child this week, my mind has turned to the future.
What sort of world will our son grow up in?
Like any ambitious father, I want Daniel Jr to do well in life. There is a chance, however small, that he will fail to make it as a professional golfer, tennis player or England left winger, so what then?
Presumably he would want to then revert to the next best career option - a job with UKTI. But where best to work? Which countries will offer the best export opportunities for the UK economy in the longer term?
A developed market like Germany or the US? A BRIC? A CIVET? Or some other place that has great potential but is currently where the fox and the hare say goodnight (as the Germans describe the middle of nowhere).
However far we look into the future, what is clear is the UK economy needs to remain on its new trajectory, with growth built on export and foreign direct investment rather than private and public debt-fuelled consumption.
But where to export to and gain inward investment from?
The answer today remains in large part the developed markets. As we work to doubling the value of UK exports this decade (as the Prime Minister set out in the Budget), the place to begin that export journey is an established market that gives comfort and reduces risk to exporters - geographical proximity, perhaps shared language and an understandable and reliable legal structure.
UK companies currently export close to £40bn annually to Germany - double the value of exports to the BRICs combined. Just the increase in value of exports in the past year to Europe exceeds the total amount exported to India.
In terms of inward investment, 2,500 German companies employ 400,000 workers in the UK - and this won't change any time soon.
But what there isn't in the developed markets is high growth. Germany may be relatively high compared to other European markets, but this growth isn't comparable with the developing markets.
There is a battle for market share in these further-flung places, with growth rates as high as 8 or more percent there is clearly a prize to be won.
Germany, with a long and proud and impressive history of exporting from which we can learn, is currently winning that race although the UK is alive to the challenge, hence the Ministerial interest and the focus of our organisation in boosting UK companies’ reach in the region.
The future opportunities are greater there, although there is some attendant risk - hence the developing markets generally being a target once more established markets are conquered.
So what does the future hold for my son and his career opportunities? It might be that markets like Germany are yesterday’s snow (as the inhabitants of the largest economy in Europe would say) although the advantages such as proximity and the rule of law of an open market will not go away.
The developing markets will at some stage mature and their sheer size and wealth will make them hugely attractive to our exporting UK firms. And some of the risks will diminish. They may very well be where the future music is being played (another thing a German might say).
But for now, for my working life and probably a bit beyond, Germany is a fantastic export opportunity for British companies and the source of vital inward investment.