We have succeeded in creating an entire industry around the subject of business support. Entire conferences are run by so-called experts telling others how to be experts in how to support businesses. It reminds me of the island where everyone took in everyone else’s washing to keep the economy going..At the centre of the ‘BS’ industry is a series of partially-funded, target-driven organisations along with the usual suspects... A nice long list, but do they actually help anyone?
Business support is meant to be a ‘good thing’ (like motherhood and apple pie?!):
- to help start-ups (“out of acorns grow oaks, etc etc” goes the blurb),
- to help the fast-growth businesses (“the real engine of the future etc etc”),
- to help the ailing (“to save their pain”), and
- to help the excluded (“because we have a duty to pay attention to the socially excluded”).
In reality, when people say that business support is a good thing they mean that it is good ‘politically’ (rather than good ‘economically’).
The numbers talk for themselves.
Investing in start-ups is an entire lottery – and the fact is, most fail within two years.
As for existing business… only the fast-growers really generate the jobs; so rationally you should invest in them (and not the others) if you want the biggest bang for your buck. The reality is, however, that a policy focusing on high growth businesses only would be political suicide.
And then there is the government rhetoric about creating a small business enterprise culture in the UK, free of red tape. (Oh no –I’ve just wet myself laughing!)
I am really concerned that the quality of the services that our small/growth/independent/privately owned businesses get from the ‘BS’ industry is just not good enough. And I hear too many dreadful stories.
I am concerned that bureaucracy and remoteness of some of the policy makers may be unhelpful. How many members of the cabinet and the senior levels of the DTI have run their own business and know what the issues really are?
I worry about the products and services that are made available (that seem to be more about targets and tick-boxes than helping the actual businesses themselves).
I worry about the reputation that the business support industry has acquired – and yet it has had budgets that surely would have made it doomed to succeed!
I am a great fan of doing everything we can to help people who run businesses in this country - I have worked with, and do work with some stunning Bus Support Organisations and people worth their weight in gold.
MY POINT: I am, however, desperately concerned (unhappy would not be an exaggeration) that the word on the street is ‘that despite the BS industry's best efforts… it just isn’t working well enough.’
Please can you let me know I am wrong.
Regards, Robert (playing the Devil's Advocate!).
RELEVANT BLOG LINKS
- The Truth is. no-one seems to care about BL
- Doug Richards Rips into BL
- Simplifying Business Support
PS - please be clear - this is not a pop at the people doing their best in the various organisations (at all levels) ... quite the contrary. I want to be proud of all that the BS industry has to offer to really help UK small businesses. Let's talk about it.
15 comments:
Hi Robert
What's the expectation 'in the street'? Create a bunch of funded BS for all those suffering from the recession/down turn and everything will be al right?
As with every business advice service: you can throw as much advice, help, guidance as you like to any business - if they don't pick up the wheel barrow and starts moving (i.e. implementing the advice) nothing will change (except the bill for it has to be footed by ?)
And then I won't even talk about those 'so-called' business advice centres (sometimes even businesses on their own) who hand out a leaflet as solution for any problem. Problem A = leaflet A, problem B = leaflet B etc.
It starts with expectations: what do you need, want AND are you willing to use the help offered (if you can find the correct help that suits your unique business).
Get those issues correct - from both sides - and IMHO you're half way there.
Karin H. (Keep It simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
Robert
You are saying what other people think. At least you have got the guts to lay out your opinion for all to read.
So, you are a healthy skeptic or a disillusioned optimist?
TW
I am not sure quite what I am...
I am fed up with hearing people grumbling about the various Business Support Orgnanisations (can't be much fun for them either).
I believe/know that a good business support intervention can change everything for the business owner. I wonder if the industry does enough work that is more than 'just about good enough'.
Not sure what the answer is and worry that the industry has lost the will to defend itself. Why?
Doug Richards' scathing attack
- http://robert-craven.blogspot.com/2008/05/doug-richards-rips-into-business-link.html -
gave the BLs the ideal platform to demonstrate the value for money that they were providing yet the debate fizzled out - no feeling of a need to stand up for themselves? no media interest? no decent replies? no reader interest? no interest?
Robert
Robert
Your readers/commentors are more interested in Twitter, Facebook and Jenny than business support. Or rather they are more passionate about and more prepared to comment on it.
Jenny is the one saving grace.
Twitter and FaceBook is just a marmite debate.(Both sides say "We are right; they are wrong")
TW
Dear TW
Before you (again) tar everyone with the same brush, some articles for you to see/read where IMHO most of Robert's readers are interested in re Social Media.
Read this
Another tremendous insight here
Robert, following on your post about the workshop review: do you know/feel the workshop visitors do implement or hope to implement what they've learned?
Karin H
Workshop attendees do send us quite a lot of feedback, some solicited and some unsolicited.
Follow-up research suggests that attendees see turnover/profits grow BUT this is self-selection at its best - keen people attend and maybe they would have done even better had they not attended!!!(sarcasm here)
It is difficult to attribute too much credit to one's owm contribution when there are so many variables affecting a business.
However...
In a more in depth/controlled intervention you are able to get more feedback at different levels. In short:
1 Coming out of the event: how did delegates feel? What do they hope to put into practice?
2 After 7 days: what is being put into place and anticipated benefits (measurable)? Problems...
3 After 6/12 months: What has been put in place/changed as a result of the intervention? Measure the benefit directly attributed to the intervention.
This will give you the much sought after Return on Investment.
I have recently been involved in a multi-million pound training programme and ROI was at the centre of the whole process. I am delighted to say that the company saw their investment achieve an ROI (net profit) in the region of 145% after their first 12 months. It isn't always too easy to measure that precisely.
Robert
Here we are again Karin.
"most of Robert's readers are interested in re Social Media," I'm not sure that this comment resembles the reality, at all.
Seth Godin, yes his earlier books were fun to read, and there were a few pearls of wisdom, but most of it is typical American hyperbole.
Seth Godin is in an entirely different market, in an entirely different culture. This is the same culture that has an obsession with filling in the gaps, whether those gaps are spaces on one's wall between pictures, breaks/breathers in conversation, or time to sit and meditate.
To be quiet, to an American, is to be morbidly uncomfortable. Hence the preponderence of such intrusive "platforms" as Twitter - internal dialogue inappropriately made external
To use such platforms is to assume that all of your potential decision makers do as you, sit there and Twitter all day. This may be so with certain buying groups, but not with anyone who buys goods/services critical to their organisation.
Better to go back to basics and focus on what gets results.
Can we stop this mentioning of Social platforms now, and keep it to the proper threads?
SW
Robert,
from attending various of your workshops, the one thing that IMHO always stood out was the 'commitment card' attendees were asked to fill in, besides taking the workbook back home.
Indeed, around 7 days later the card would arrive to remind everyone of the commitment written down - good incentive and check on what has been done so far.
Twice it happened this was also followed up by a phone call: again, not leaving the attendees resting on their laurels which happen so often after other workshops.
I know it isn't always easy to attribute which ROI resulted from what element, but am positive attending your workshops always gives a proper and practical incentive to really implement the advice - freely - given.
Karin H
To try to answer both comments above:
1) Robert's events are terrific
2) BL's reputation varies - it is people like Robert that give the BL credibility. Unfortunately there are not enough Robert-quality people in the world, not enough top calibre people.
Jim
from a BL
RE EVENTS, KPIs ETC
As discussed previously, there are many soft and hard KPI's that can be ascribed to any intervention.
The same is true for running a seminar (or consultant/advisor intervention):
- short-term/long-term KPIs
- individual delegate/community KPIs
- lead sponsor and co-sponsor KPIs
- individual sponsor employees KPIs
- speaker's KPIs
Once this is in place we can answer the question (for each party):
Did they get value for money? It is hard to spend money without attributing an ROI to the activity.
===================================
RE BL
On the subject of BL - you have no idea how messed up some BLs are. Of course we can't say this in public. The glory of working for a Government organisation. Yes we all do some stunning work, and I can't deny that there is too much paperwork.
BL also has KPIs. Maybe the numerous agendas mean there will always be compromise and mediocrity with flashes of sheer brilliance from dedicated individuals. Just like the NHS.
John
from a BL in the South
You are right, No body cares.
Bonnie F
RE EVENTS, KPIs ETC
As discussed previously, there are many soft and hard KPI's that can be ascribed to any intervention.
The same is true for running a seminar (or consultant/advisor intervention):
- short-term/long-term KPIs
- individual delegate/community KPIs
- lead sponsor and co-sponsor KPIs
- individual sponsor employees KPIs
- speaker's KPIs
Once this is in place we can answer the question (for each party):
Did they get value for money? It is hard to spend money without attributing an ROI to the activity.
===================================
RE BL
On the subject of BL - you have no idea how messed up some BLs are. Of course we can't say this in public. The glory of working for a Government organisation. Yes we all do some stunning work, and I can't deny that there is too much paperwork.
BL also has KPIs. Maybe the numerous agendas mean there will always be compromise and mediocrity with flashes of sheer brilliance from dedicated individuals. Just like the NHS.
John
from a BL in the South
Robert,
from attending various of your workshops, the one thing that IMHO always stood out was the 'commitment card' attendees were asked to fill in, besides taking the workbook back home.
Indeed, around 7 days later the card would arrive to remind everyone of the commitment written down - good incentive and check on what has been done so far.
Twice it happened this was also followed up by a phone call: again, not leaving the attendees resting on their laurels which happen so often after other workshops.
I know it isn't always easy to attribute which ROI resulted from what element, but am positive attending your workshops always gives a proper and practical incentive to really implement the advice - freely - given.
Karin H
Here we are again Karin.
"most of Robert's readers are interested in re Social Media," I'm not sure that this comment resembles the reality, at all.
Seth Godin, yes his earlier books were fun to read, and there were a few pearls of wisdom, but most of it is typical American hyperbole.
Seth Godin is in an entirely different market, in an entirely different culture. This is the same culture that has an obsession with filling in the gaps, whether those gaps are spaces on one's wall between pictures, breaks/breathers in conversation, or time to sit and meditate.
To be quiet, to an American, is to be morbidly uncomfortable. Hence the preponderence of such intrusive "platforms" as Twitter - internal dialogue inappropriately made external
To use such platforms is to assume that all of your potential decision makers do as you, sit there and Twitter all day. This may be so with certain buying groups, but not with anyone who buys goods/services critical to their organisation.
Better to go back to basics and focus on what gets results.
Can we stop this mentioning of Social platforms now, and keep it to the proper threads?
SW
Robert
You are saying what other people think. At least you have got the guts to lay out your opinion for all to read.
So, you are a healthy skeptic or a disillusioned optimist?
TW
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