As we move through summer and wait for the recovery to take hold and the economy to begin to grow, it seems to me that most businesses are just going to have to get used to working as we do … Continue reading
The views of Terry Smith on the “occupy” movement
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 25th Annual Tacitus Lecture held by the Worshipful Company of World Traders at the Guildhall in the City of London.
I have the honour of being a Liveryman of the company and I know that this lecture is one of the annual highlights of the City calendar.
Over 600 members of the company attended the event which was certainly stimulating and controversial. as the attached press article described http://tgr.ph/zQDN0t
Mr Smith was also asked onto the BBC Radio 4 “Today” programme where he again expressed his views succinctly http://www.terrysmithblog.com/
The conclusions of the lecture many will find surprising but perhaps the solutions are in keeping with the straight talking style of Mr Smith.
The video and transcript can be found here http://www.world-traders.co.uk/tacitus2012Public/index.php
In my opinion this was one of the best lectures we have had, particularly when one looks at the calibre and reputations of former lecturers.
Data security and the “cloud”
I’m currently working on my new research project with DMH Stallard. This time we are looking into the problems manufacturing, technology and engineering business face when dealing with the avalanche of data they have to handle as the economy becomes evermore digital.
Aspects we will be looking at include but will not be exclusive to:-
- Data security-
- Levels of security to protect data whether owned by the business, customer or supplier
- How is customer confidentiality protected and how do firms safeguard IP?
- What restricted and sensitive data to firms have? eg Design data, process information, software etc
- How do companies stop data moving around to unauthorised destinations?
- Data processing-
- The storage of data- is it kept on in-house servers or stored remotely or in the “cloud” and if so where? (UK, EU,ES or other?)
- If firms are using “cloud” or intend to what are the benefits and problems they foresee or have experienced?
- Handling and processing of data.
- How are mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets used? How do they securely remotely access data?
- What disaster recovery processes are used and is data stored off-site?
- Commercial & Contractual issues
- How do firms flow down contractual terms on data handling and deal with the requirements of customers?
- Are firms compliant with the requirements of the Information Commission?
- How do they deal with employees and social media? Who owns the business contacts?
- Do they work within ITAR regulations or other national security requirements for the UK and other countries?
- Are firms subject to foreign jurisdiction on the use of data?
- If data is stored off-site who owns it and how is it recovered?
I am working with my colleague Frank Jennings who is the technology lead for the firm and has been working as part of the Cloud Industry Forum.
The two reports on IP and Ethical business which I mentioned can be found here http://bit.ly/jDTYJH & http://bit.ly/uDWmoG.
Innovation through events
I’m really pleased that over the last few months our events at Iod Surrey seem to be hitting the mark and delivering value to members.
Of particular note I was enthused that over 75 members and guests braved the traffic to attend our “Business Risk” event in Croydon recently. It was particularly gratifying that so many of the members came up to me afterwards and told me how much they had enjoyed it and perhaps more importantly how much they had learned. This mirrored the feedback I received after the “Meet the economists” event we held back in the spring at Canon UK HQ in Reigate. The good news is that will be repeated this year on March 20th.
Meeting like minded people at these events has been proven to enhance business innovation. Both listening to our speakers and then discussing and sharing opinions over a drink or coffee should make us reflect on what we are doing in our day to day operations and perhaps change the way we do things. It can even open up a business opportunity or at least create some demand that wasn’t there before.
One thing seems to remain constant in the media for as long as I can care to remember these days and that is the economic circumstances we find ourselves in. The recent IoD Surrey breakfast briefing with the Bank of England confirmed that the prospects look gloomy for the foreseeable future, particularly for those businesses reliant on trading within the UK or in the EU region. Of course certain sectors will always buck the trend or work in different economic cycles to the mainstream of the economy but for the majority of companies 2012 looks very flat indeed. Incidentally these will now continue on a quarterly basis so check out the IoD Surrey website for further information.
Of course with all the doom and gloom around one can easily forget that not all the world is in recession or “zero growth”. Countries such as Brazil and India are ploughing ahead and even China is falling back on domestic demand to sustain itself. So as always the message has to be “follow the money”. There are lots of programmes around to support businesses with exporting- not just products and widgets but also business services and UKTI is doing a great job in helping businesses venture overseas. So as we start 2012 I urge all companies not exporting to at least give it some thought and see what possibilities may be out there.
Launch of the DMH Stallard report “Ethics and Compliance, How manufacturers are embracing the challenge and reducing their risk
After six months of interviewing manufacturing and engineering businesses both large and small across the South East of England with my colleague Simon Bellm, I’m pleased that we are now publishing the DMH Stallard report on “Ethics & Compliance”.
I would like to personally thank all of those that gave up their precious time to see us and help us create a document that should provide practical advice on the issue, arising from the great ideas and best practice that has been developed and implemented by the companies concerned.
With the ongoing activities at St Paul’s Cathedral and the unfortunate events at Olympus http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15632320 It’s undeniable that the issue of ethical business is becoming more important, both inside the Boardroom and in the eyes of the media and the public at large.
The report is especially pertinent as the nation challenges UK businesses to export outside of the EU and USA to more unfamiliar and perhaps hostile business environments.
I was delighted to be invited to the event today where the Prime Minister spoke about the need for businesses to export more to help us rebalance our economy. Speaking at the ‘Exporting for Growth’ conference in central London, David Cameron highlighted the apparent concerns about the Bribery Act but said, “now we’ve got it, let’s make an advantage of it.”
The Prime Minister continued, “Increasing the number of SMEs that sell overseas by 100,000 has the potential to add £30 billion to the UK economy.”
http://number10.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/engage/exportingforgrowth/
The Prime Minister’s comments are extremely pertinent with regard to the conclusions of the report.
A copy of the report can be downloaded here
If you have any comments on the report I would welcome them either personally or on this blog.
We are now finalising the plan for our next report which we will be announcing soon.
Patents are a Virtue
It is great to see that the DMH Stallard report concering how manufacturing companies manage their intellectual property, “Protect and prosper”, is still generating interest nearly six months after it was first published.
I was recently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal Europe on the findings of the study and the article can be found below. Also interviewed was Geoff Edwards VP of Bowers and Wilkins who had kindly helped us compile the report.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204226204576600462442044764.html
Updates on the economy in Surrey
With the economic conditions continuing to concern all it’s important that as business people we all ensure that we have the latest economic information at our finger tips, even if it seemingly changes daily.
The major worry at present concerns our worryingly low levels of growth. The new Iod Director General, Simon Walker recently unveiled IoD’s growth plan but it’s clear that some of the big steps required will probably not be taken by the Government for a variety of reasons.
In Surrey we will be focussing on the economy and striving to develop the best events for a our members to obtain vital economic intelligence. We have two key events, both free of charge, for members this autumn. Firstly involving coping with Business Risk with on October 14th in Croydon featuring IoD Chief Economist Graeme Leach.
The second is a briefing from the Bank Of England on prevailing economic conditions at Farnham on November 29th. I urge you to attend and realise the value you can get from IoD membership.
DMH Stallard “Stands Out From Other Law Firms in the South”
Great news for DMH Stallard
The firm is delighted to report that it has once again been recognised as one of the leading law firms across all its key practice areas following the publication of the latest edition of the independent legal research directory, Legal 500 2011.
How Manufacturers deal with “Compliance and Ethics”.
Over the summer months I have been working in my advisory capacity with DMH Stallard on a study into how manufacturing and engineering businesses are addressing the compliance issue, particularly regarding to ethical business. This was a follow on to the report “Protect and Prosper” we published in the Spring explaining how companies were dealing with Intellectual Property.
Initially the work was driven by interest in how firms were dealing with the new Bribery and Corruption Act, which became law in July.We were particularly interested in how companies were tackling the export agenda, especially dealing with the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India & China) and the emerging economies of the CIVETS (Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa). These countries with their unfamiliar ways of doing business create a new challenge to those familiar with exporting to Western Europe and the USA.
However, during the period in which we were conducting interviews the News International affair exploded, demonstrating that running an ethical business is not confined to financial transactions alone. Indeed the whole area of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), including environmental compliance, was clearly on the agenda.
We interviewed both large and small companies in a wide range of sectors to explore any differences in strategies and implementation that might exist. We were particularly interested in whether this was an issue just for large multi-nationals and not “on the radar” for SMEs.
By respecting the anonymity of the companies we interviewed we were given honest and candid contributions. What we found was enlightening and in some cases quite unexpected and controversial.
We believe we have created a report that is not only insightful and informative, but also will help companies find their way through the maze of compliance. Additionally in the guidance section of the report we have used best practice from the interviewees’ companies to produce a simple “to do” list which will help companies use the compliance agenda to their advantage.
The report is now in its final drafting stage and will be published in October. Copies will be available here, my LinkedIn page and on the DMH Stallard website.
New Director for Surrey based “Lean energy” Business
http://www.ecopare.co.uk/company/press/release/?id=202
Very pleased to be joining the team at Ecopare.
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