Michelle Rodger: Quit moaning and transform your business

Published on Saturday 7 November 2009 16:37

Although Scotland is home to high calibre individuals, we need more

WHEN Sir Alan Sugar said the "moaners" in business deserve to go bust, there was an instant outcry. Labour's business tsar was lambasted by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which called for his resignation and urged Gordon Brown to appoint someone with more empathy with the small business sector.

But was what Sir Alan said so wrong? I mean, who in the business community didn't think he had a point?

The tide is turning; there is a growing and increasingly vociferous frustration at those moaners who blame the recession for poor business performance and the inability to secure a loan. And despite what the FSB may think, empathy won't help. Straight talking, la Sir Alan, and decisive action are essential.

How far have we come since Robert the Bruce and his wee eight-legged inspiration? Not very, it has to be said. We do moan. We don't try, try and try again, we ask the public sector and banks for help and, when we don't get it, we sit back, accept it as fate and complain.

It's not our fault. It's the recession; it's public-sector cost cutting or banks asking for too much in the way of information or security. And it's nothing to do with the fact that our business plan doesn't stack up, or that our sales forecasting is Disney-esque, or that our cash flow has more troughs than peaks. We don't examine the business to ensure it has a strong enough unique selling point or customer proposition to drive the success we desire. Sometimes it's just our fault for not being smart enough, for not trying harder or aiming high enough.

Which brings us to Scottish ambition, or the lack of it. Ambition to build global businesses of scale in Scotland was at the heart of the GlobalScot conference held in Glasgow last week. More than 300 GlobalScots came together to discuss how to give Scottish business a leg-up.

Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic (it doesn't get much more ambitious than space travel, does it?), summed it up when he said that Scots' reputation for prudence and canniness doesn't sit with risk and ambition for start-ups or growing businesses.

But that shouldn't prevent business owners from having global aspirations and tapping the GlobalScot network.

Among negative comments about lack of risk capital and limited lending by the banks, Sir Tom Hunter followed Sir Alan's lead when he insisted businesses should be more tenacious and "just do it". This prompted a round of applause.

GlobalScot highlighted some inspirational examples of individuals taking the Nike approach and just doing it. But we definitely need more of them.

Iain McDougall is a Saltire Fellow. The Fellowship is a 12-month programme designed to fast-track gifted and ambitious business-minded individuals and create an alumni network to help to shape Scotland's economic future.

McDougall gave up a very successful career and left his wife and three young children at home to travel to Babson College in Boston for four months. The Scot saw first-hand the benefits of positivity and ambition in America and insists that a similar attitude is vital over here. After the conference, he said: "Business could do a lot better if we were more positive in our outlook and much more ambitious in our goals. We just say, oh, we can't do this or that and give in, rather than taking the American approach and moving on up the growth curve to the next big thing."

Kirsty McKinnon believes the tide is turning as we have just pushed ourselves to the end of negativity. The best time to shine, says McKinnon, is in the darkness. "Dynamism and enthusiasm is sorely required," says McKinnon, the entrepreneur and speaker behind coaching business Excelr8. "We've been reading from a negative, needy, excuse-filled script, we need to write a script of opportunity. Then we'll see the difference in our businesses."

Crawford Gillies, who took over as chairman of Scottish Enterprise earlier this year, says he is excited by the ambition and vision of many companies across Scotland, but more are required. Strong, confident leaders are also needed. He said: "Although we are home to a number of these high-calibre individuals, we need more."

Initiatives such as the Saltire Foundation, TalentScotland and the GlobalScot network are crucial if Scotland's companies are to be transformed into global businesses of scale, but the key lies with our business leaders. Optimism and ambition can be infectious, let's hope they all catch a dose.