Since Savekers Limited, my 106 year old family business, went into administration in March 2009, my 3rd cousin and I have had a personal guarantee hanging over our heads. I have to say that both of us have chosen to put this to the back of our minds… until last week!
During the administration process I proactively helped the IP’s to sell the business – which we managed to do. At the time I ran up £75 of expenses which were to be covered by the administrators. 6 months on and after several chases I received a cheque. The last 6 months have also been a time for the administrators to sell our 60,000 sq ft property just on the outskirts of Birmingham City Centre. We were assured that this sale would more than likely satisfy the amount we had guaranteed to the bank.
It always amazed me that during the struggle and lack of salary that my cousin and I endured at times, the personal guarantees we were forced to accept to save the business seemed irrelevant to fellow board members, the Union and senior employees who were all aware of them.
I wrote an email on Friday to the IP’s to acknowledge receipt of the £75 only to receive this
“I’m glad you emailed, need to let you know about an offer we have had on the property. It is at the lower end of valuers estimates but we have had very little interest to date and they have recommended we accept. The offer has been forwarded to the Bank for their consideration and I am waiting to hear back from them… I just wanted to let you know that there is a strong possibility at this stage that the Bank will have a shortfall …”
And there you have it, on a Friday afternoon at 4pm the IP’s prove once again they don’t have a clue about people and how to deal with them. This is also considering that when I called them in initially, during the first meeting they told us “Don’t worry we’ll look after you”.
Personally I am ready to deal with whatever the Bank have to do – but receiving emails like the one of Friday made me so angry and yet not surprised in the slightest.
When you have an involvement with the public sector after years in the real world of business it amazes you that people spend so long without a single decision being made. If you mention targets and/or deadlines, they simply avoid the subject or waffle.
I’m sure that there’s a procrastination bubble that they all get inside for safety and don’t hear or see outside of it. Couldn’t have a cuppa once inside the bubble - no one would decide if they wanted sugar or not!
The same is true with all the magistrates … they leave rooms to ‘consider’ EVERYTHING! Committees, equally indecisive and wet. Most just discuss things, wait until next month to discuss and ponder again and then agree they’ll defer to the following month – repeat…and so on. So infuriating. Why can’t we all have more of a CAN DO attitude?
There’s been a number of reports just recently about how as a society we are returning to the basics of living and relying on core values. Obviously as a consequence of the recession we have lost all trust in the Government, banks, large corporations etc and so we need to find what, and who, we can trust.
The sale of slow cookers and sewing machines has soared as has packets of seeds for home grown produce. I heard that architects have had to redesign kitchen layouts from a straight and minimal approach to one that will accommodate family dining. This can only be good news. The return to people investing in relationships and time, things close to home rather than processions and debt is long overdue.
Personally I have enjoyed recapturing and nurturing solid relationships with “wholesome” friends, some of them had a 23year gap since last being with them and yet it hasn’t mattered one bit. As we age we all seem to learn that our real friends can be counted on one hand – but when you do recognise this and are able to turn to those friends when needed it’s a pretty great feeling. We all need to trust but it’s a two way thing and something that comes with risk, get it right and you benefit hugely whilst getting it wrong is devastating.
I think we should all take a little time to evaluate what our personal core values are and use them. What’s really important to you?
Having been a previous guest speaker at the Coutts Family Business Forum, it was rather nice being invited to sit, relax and listen to other family business owners and their stories this week. The evening was in a fabulous setting in Plumtree, Nottingham, at the Carriage Hall.
It’s always fascinating to hear the debate about whether a family business all about the ‘business’ or about protecting the ‘family’ – we certainly heard arguments on both sides and most importantly it’s what the ‘next generation’ family business owners need to understand for their own businesses.
Our guest speaker at this event was David Baldwin from Baldwins Accountants. David works closely with his father and talked openly about his vision for the family firm and it’s growth through acquisitions.
During a presentation yesterday I heard a chap say something a lot of female execs already know… a board that includes a woman (or women) will result in that organisation being on average 8% more profitable!
After a quick bit of digging round I also found confirmation (from Harvard no less) that female directors are proven to be far better at corporate governance and when a board is inclusive of women the company outperforms it’s competitors. One of the many articles can be found on the Harvard website. It’s a fact that male directors raise their game when sitting on boards with women – surely a win/win situation then? The Times also reported that women help businesses to succeed.
It makes perfect sense to diversify and at the very least have a female non executive – great governance and a better bottom line too!
I have to say, I’ve noticed a few more of my male colleagues telling me that they ought to add a female non exec recently. If you are considering this, I’d be happy to discuss non executive opportunities further – drop me a line. Coming out of recession shows we need to have trusted board members, effective and committed executives and the best possible chance of success – women can help. An article in the Telegraph also talks about women in the boardroom.
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