We were delighted to be joined by staff from Northumbria University at our on-line Secret Tower breakfast event last week, when they talked about their new leadership programme to help SMEs. It was a really interactive and interesting session as we were asked to think about the different challenges lockdown has brought and to see the common themes being highlighted.
As new Covid-related restrictions impact on organisations across the region, many companies are continuing to respond and adapt in order to simply survive. But to what extent should businesses embrace the opportunity to do things differently? Is now the time for innovation and transformational change?
Business consultant, sustainability expert and author, Gareth Kane is a member of the delivery team for the new, fully-funded Small Business Leadership Programme (SBLP) designed to help SMEs build resilience, tackle the challenges faced during and after Covid-19 and drive future productivity and growth. Gareth will introduce the themes of resilience, productivity and sustainability within his sessions.
Here he shares his thoughts on the opportunity to re-think and re-focus in more sustainable ways:
I write this as official UK statistics show that we appear to be heading fast for a second wave of the Covid-19 virus. Recent efforts to persuade citizens back to the daily commute have swiftly been thrown into reverse and everybody’s now talking about ‘the new normal’ of social distancing, working at the kitchen table and Zoom continuing for the foreseeable future.
In the background, policy wonks from across the political spectrum are talking about ‘build back better’. Why return to business as usual post-virus if we have pledged to hit ‘net zero carbon emissions by 2050’? Why not use the Covid disruption to start on some of the enormous changes required?
You can see some of this thinking emerge as practical changes on the ground with the Government providing funds and powers to Local Authorities to install ‘low traffic neighbourhood’ measures to encourage the sudden upsurge in cycling during the initial lockdown. Other major Government announcements on fossil-fuelled cars and home insulation are mooted. And in the private sector, some of my clients tell me they have no plans to return to centralised offices now they have proven that teleworking works. Some are already working on plans to rent out the space they have freed up.
History shows every major economic change has winners and losers. When the transistor came along, almost every valve manufacturer went bust, replaced by new electronics start-ups. More recently, digital technology has transformed a huge chunk of the economy, with big names like Virgin/Zavvi and Woolworths disappearing from the high street and the whole concept of buying £50-worth of CDs or DVDs on a Friday lunchbreak being usurped by streaming services. By inventing but failing to embrace digital photography, Kodak effectively destroyed its own market; by contrast Instagram created a new one.
Similarly, hitting such ambitious national carbon targets will require large-scale creative destruction. Put bluntly, we won’t achieve a low carbon economy without high-carbon businesses either transforming into low-carbon equivalents or going to the wall. Brand new opportunities are fast emerging – one of my favourite local examples is Gateshead College’s course to prepare the emergency services personnel to deal safely with electric vehicles in the event of a road traffic accident. That’s a market which simply didn’t exist 10-15 years ago, and there will be many, many more.
So, I would urge every business, large and small, to consider what the sustainability agenda means to them and now it might impact on their future success, productivity and growth. At a time of massive upheaval, it is essential to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
The Small Business Leadership Programme (SBLP) is a free, 10-week training programme for senior leaders in organisations with 5–249 employees. A range of small business experts like Gareth – including entrepreneurs, business leaders and academics from Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University – will deliver the online programme in the North East and Cumbria.
Covering a range of practical topics, including operational and finance management, innovation, strategic leadership and employee engagement, the SBLP will provide participants with an online learning community and skills that can be directly applied to their organisations.
To find out more or to sign up, visit https://smallbusinesscharter.org/small-business-leadership-programme/ or contact Sarah Stephenson: s.e.a.stephenson@northumbria.ac.uk
