KiteBlue

A policy-maker's guide to mid-sized business

2011-11-17T21:39:49+00:00

Mid-size business is going to be big news over the next few weeks, led by its (widely expected) coverage as a significant plank of Chancellor Osborne's November 29 Growth Review. I was asked (in my capacity as co-founder of M Institute) to present to an audience of policy-makers at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Here's a note on my presentation.

The mid-sized bandwagon rolls on as UK Growth Review focuses on medium enterprise

2011-08-31T12:54:39+01:00

It looks like medium enterprise, the long-hidden secret of economic growth in western economies, is not going to be hidden any more. In fact, it is going to come leaping out into the open, particularly once the UK government announces its Growth Review in the autumn, which focuses on the opportunities in the medium business segment. Thanks in part to its inclusion in the Growth Review, medium enterprise is suddenly hot property among all the agencies that want to influence policy thinking in the UK. Who does not want to know best, and to be seen to know best, when the policy-makers ask for help. So the medium enterprise contagion is spreading. And that is a good thing, from my perspective. In fact, as I reflect on all the newbies jumping on to what has essentially been our very own bandwagon, I can quote Mr James Brown directly and say, "I feel good." When we set up M Institute (my colleague Paul Druckman is co-founder), we did so because we felt that the power, stability and growth that medium enterprises bring to an economy are largely hidden because people failed to distinguish medium business from SMEs. Now that everybody else is getting involved, we can feel vindicated. But, and there's a big but here, I would like to reiterate what we have learned over the last five years or so of delving into medium enterprise because we see some common errors being made in people's understanding of midsized business. Some of the home truths about medium enterprise are easily missed, especially to people coming in from the cold. So, for the benefit of all, here are some things that we recommend all the new players in medium business pay attention to.

Stern wants sterner action on climate change

2011-07-21T11:50:30+01:00

Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Review, says his views on climate change have intensifiedover the five years since the publication of his impactful study. In an interview with Technology Review, Stern lays out some key thoughts that every person concerned about the impact of climate change on business needs to take account of:

Integrated reporting: panacea or placebo?

2011-06-27T11:46:30+01:00

Today's corporate reporting model looks broken. It is dominated by a compliance mindset, particularly in America, with an inordinate focus on technical things, not strategy. It is so separated from internal reporting that boards are unable to engage with it for their own work. And the accompanying governance model is more about lists and tick-boxes. So what happens next? Paul Druckman, the author of this diagnosis of the ills of corporate reporting, was speaking at the DVFA's Integrated Reporting convention in Frankfurt, which brought together corporate reporters, auditors and investment professionals for an appraisal of where Integrated Reporting (IR) has got to. Paul, a partner at Fronesys (disclosure: I am a partner at Fronesys), is perfectly placed to map the future of IR in his role as co-chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC), which brings together some of the world's leading organisations in an effort to blend financial and non-financial reporting into an integrated whole.

SAP's rather good, rather disappointing, sustainability report

2011-03-30T17:41:14+01:00

There is much to appreciate in the efforts that software author SAP is making when it comes to sustainability, and its recently published Sustainability Report 2010 justifies that appreciation. It shows a software company seeking to improve its own performance in a number of dimensions beyond pure economic reporting, while recognising the lever effect it plays in helping its customers achieve their sustainability goals. But it also shows up limitations in SAP's own thinking when it comes to sustainability.

Growth planning: there's plenty of confusion among policy-makers

2011-03-16T23:38:02+00:00

Ever wondered how governments come up with policies on growth? Well, on March 14th, I got some insight on how this is done. The UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, or BIS for short (nee BERR, even more nee DTI, if you have not been keeping up with the changing alphabet soup), invited a mix of policy-makers, academics and industry players to listen to some long-range views on growth policy. Long range? There were no announcements regarding policy, just an exchange of views on issues that might impact growth policy in the future. Did I learn anything? Was I encouraged? Will UK growth policies change the growth opportunities for medium business in this country? In short: yes, no and probably not. In that order.