Time for a Huddle?

Published: 16th February 2016 | Issue 36

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Growing up on a farm, as I did, one became quickly attuned to the subtle signs and signals from Mother Nature that trouble was afoot. Our dairy herd huddling together for example was a sure sign of an impending storm.

A As an instinctive survival strategy it’s actually a pretty sound one. Panic and ‘run for cover’ under the trees, and you could soon find yourself alone and being zapped by lightening! Not easy to survive, indeed I lost a very good friend that way.

As the most sapient creature on this Earth, we humans huddle too. What sets us apart however is our ability to act with judgement - precisely why we are called Homo sapiens. So is a storm coming? And should we ‘huddle’?

As a trade association Chief Executive, I’m in the business of huddling. But huddling for a purpose. China, the ‘engine room’ of the global economy, is for the first time in a generation, having a significant splutter and a cough. The ripple effect on other developing countries has been enormous, the impact far reaching. When such economies struggle too, the market for our goods starts to diminish. Then there are the woes of the British steel industry...

Add to this the rehabilitation of Iran, with its monumental reserves suddenly coming onto an already depressed and oversupplied oil market, and the future doesn’t look quite so certain as it once did. Sub- $30 barrel oil is here – but for how long? I’ve already heard respected analysts in the news predicting eventual stratospheric prices once again, once all the producers have cut back to the bone and demand outstrips the ability to supply again. In the meantime the cuts will stifle investment – which brings its own efficiencies – and cull expertise that’s already in short supply. Result: the initiation of another ‘boom/ bust’ cycle. A crazy way to do business!

So why huddle? Firstly, a trade association like BVAA can provide the fora necessary for our 200+ members to exchange views on the challenges our industry faces.

Secondly, our collective ability to ‘act with judgement’ can address the issues, lobby the necessary parties, get the actions taken.

Together we can plan, prepare and deliver the services necessary to help survive the storm. And provide the tools and events to showcase the members’ talents and products.

We can collectively engage the right advisors, commission reports and analyses, prepare standards and guidelines that would be beyond the scope of us all as individuals. We can also see off the more preposterous demands that emerge in such times. The ‘grey beards’ in a collective can also offer the wisdom of experience, having experienced the vagaries of business cycles before.

Standing together as one in a time of uncertainty is certainly reassuring, but thanks to the networking opportunities, it may well also lead to doing business together, as is frequently described in this journal.

I very much hope you enjoy this special issue, which contains our ‘Annual Review’ which features a snapshot of our activity over the last year, and also a copy of our latest DVD – enjoy!

Telephone:	01295 221270
Email:	enquiry@bvaa.org.uk
Website:	www.bvaa.org.uk
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