Sorry Boris, I got you wrong. My reflection on this week.
Richard Hall MSc, BA(Hons), CMgr MCMI, FRSA
Product design consultancy founder I Innovation I Leadership I Mentor I Consultant
Sat at home with a cup of coffee I’m reflecting on this week. As a business owner, a team to support and their mouths to feed I’ve been through the same rollercoaster of emotions as any business leader, small or large, new start up or established. We are all in the same boat. All of us are affected.
That said we are a service industry (product design consultancy) and so our risk and exposure is less than others. Earlier in the week we took the decision to work from home. Fortunately with the technology out there it has also allowed us to have ‘face-to-face’ updates with each other using Zoom. It has also pushed us to adopting other formats such as Skype and GoTo for meetings with clients. With these we can share files, show designs, discuss CAD and have meaningful dialogue. It does make me question why we didn't adopt this before now. I think that this is one good thing which has come out of it and I am pleased to say that it has not affected how we work functionally and operationally.
Although these are challenging times I do feel very sorry for industries and business owners who are customer facing; the shops, retail and independents. Being in these industries it is hard at the best of times and CV19 has brought it to a new level. Sat here I wonder how village, town and city centres are going to look once all of this is out of the way. It is going to purge what we had and I feel that there are going to be some serious casualties with these customer facing businesses that will not be able to bounce back.
The closure of schools has been an unprecedented move but the logical thing to do. I have three children (17, 15 and 13). My middle daughter had been working incredibly hard to achieve the best GCSE results possible. Within days her world was turned upside down. Imminent school closure, exams cancelled, no comprehension of how the grades would be marked, no time to say a proper goodbye to the teachers and peers and the worry about whether she would be able to do the ‘A’ levels she wants to do is traumatic.
More recently the forced closure of pubs, nightclubs, cinemas and restaurants is another level that no-one considered possible a few weeks ago when all of this kicked in. This is in part to the complete disregard of a small minority who just did not get how serious all of this is. This is the bad side of human nature. People just thinking for themselves with a complete disregard of others. A client said to me the other day “as long as they don’t close the pubs I’ll be alright”. We joked about it, it’s no joke now. Quite unbelievable.
We all watched with sheer amazement the daily updates from Government this week and the measures that are going to be taken. The rollercoaster of announcements becoming ever more serious and impactful. All of us are left in a bit of a state and today it’s allowed me to reflect on this.
The NHS, what can I say. It makes me truly proud to live in this country. I am currently studying a part-time MSc and many of my fellow cohort are NHS senior management. I’ve been watching our MSc What’s App light up with all the messages of working double shifts, going back on the wards and not taking any breaks. In-between the emoji's I can see the sheer commitment of our NHS to serving our community; truly humbling.
The recent call to action for more ventilators has brought the manufacturing community together with a sense of can-do, will-do attitude. Hopefully this will bring UK manufacturing back on the map when all of this has calmed down.
With Brexit (if you can remember that far back) Boris forced matters through with his management style, upsetting lots of people and putting noses out of joint. With CV19 what I have come to realise that Mr Johnson is actually a guy with big balls. I do question if any other leaders would have taken these decisive measures so quickly. What I do have to say is that I completely endorse everything the UK Government has done. Yes this is a complete disaster to many businesses and families, financially and emotionally. However the measures that have put in place are quite extraordinary. Tax relief, mortgage payment holiday and business loans to mention a few. Without these a lot if us would in very serious trouble. Sure the implication is that it has undone the so-called austerity measures put in place by the previous Tory Government, but safeguarding jobs for when we come out of this is key. These fiscal measures are going to set the whole Country back but it must be done.
We all wait with eager anticipated of how these announcements of support will be structured so that business owners and families can access financial support, relief and levies and how quickly they will kick in. Writing this has allowed me to form an opinion on UK Government and its leadership, particularly after many years of complete inadequacies and incompetence shown by politicians over Brexit.
What I can say is that the response by the UK Government and has been exceptional to say the least. They have taken tough and decisive measures. They have taken the lead and acted when it is needed. Support measures are starting to be put in place.
Now, we all have an impression of Boris. Bumbling along, crazy hair style, bit of a joker, maybe not connecting with the public and inappropriate comments in the past which have got him into trouble. When Boris came to power I just thought it was a career move and in it just for himself. Maybe a bit shallow and not able to make big decisions, perhaps unable to lead and show conviction when it mattered. How wrong was I.
I have to say publicly and with complete conviction, sorry Boris I got you wrong.
Skilled Market Access Professional: RWE, SLR, HEOR.
4yI do not think Boris is the one calling the shots here Richard. Me and my father discussed evidence from this article 3 weeks ago. He was too slow to act. As for Dominic Cummings, if he never shows his face in public again that will be a fitting end to his career. I would imagine there is data from China that says similar In the fullness of time we will start to know who knew what and when. I do not want to elaborate on that as now is the time to pull together. One think is clear to me though, Jeremy Corbyn knew the general risks we were exposing ourselves to. People in positions of power either put their fingers in their ears or worse stuck their tongue out at him. https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m1165
Barrister
4yIt is our duty as well as in our interest to support the government of the day in its efforts to confront the Corvid-19 menace and I do. I might add that I would have supported a Corbyn administration in the same way and to the same extent in the same circumstances. I agree with the public health and economic measures that have been taken though I would observe that similar measures have been adopted by other governments elsewhere and in some cases they have been more effective. I also think that most of those measures would have been taken by Corbyn or any other Prime Minister. However, this is not a time for carping but for cooperation I shall reserve judgment on the performance of this government and this Prime Minister until they can be seen in perspective.
Head of Oral Biology; Head of the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Theme; Impact Lead; Academic Co- Founder Mimetrik Ltd.; Academic Co-Founder/Director HYFACOL Ltd.
4ySorry to disagree but too little and far too late. Frontline NHS staff are wearing inadequate PPE treating patients whose Coronavirus status they don’t know because there aren’t enough testing kits. ‘Lambs to the slaughter’. The wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time. The Chancellor has looked more ‘PM‘ like than the manboy currently occupying the role.
IVD Regulatory Consultant | Visiting Professor
4yI agree Richard. Whilst I shudder to think of the debt that my children will inherit, I am impressed at the speed, scale and fairness of commitment that the Johnson government have responded with. I am hopeful that this ambitious response will protect lives and position the UK economy and people in pole position once CV19 has past... I can’t imagine previous cabinets acting with such confidence. I never thought I would say this but “thank you Boris!”.