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‘Think big’ – not exactly a new saying in the business world. It dates back to David Schwartz’s 1959 self help book, ‘The Magic of Big Thinking’. Schwartz set out to produce a guide to achieving goals by changing habits and thought processes. Expect to sell more, and you will was the attitude to take, he said.

And expecting to do more business meant putting in the work. It meant gathering information on your market and finding out what people wanted.

In 1959 of course there was no internet; the digital world did not exist.  There was a limit to the amount of data even the most dedicated business person could collect.

Fast forward to 2016 and we can collect information in such quantities that we’ve had to put a new label on the data sets that are now so enormous that ‘traditional’ data processing can’t handle  them. We call them ‘Big Data’.

These vast data sets give us the opportunity to spot trends, see patterns emerging and make better informed decisions on strategy.

‘Big Data’ is one of the themes at the Chamber’s forthcoming annual September Technology event. It’s of vital importance, because it touches on so many aspects of the future of business.  What I find interesting though is that in a very real sense it’s still hard wired into the original concept of ‘thinking big’. Get as much information as possible, do the leg work, know all you can – they’re all things that any pre digital pavement pounding salesman would say.

And now we can think bigger than we ever imagined. To turn these thoughts into business means we all have to embrace and use technology at every level of business; from the initial research to the manufacturing process, to the promotion and packaging.

In fact, as I said in this column just about a year ago, technology now is more than the future of business, it is business. We can no longer see it as an ‘add on’ or luxury. Technology is the conduit through which we design, make and deliver the goods and services that fuel the economy.

There are day to day challenges. Broadband speed is a constant problem in many areas for example. But it’s about thinking beyond that. It’s about seizing the opportunity we have to know more about our markets and customers, build dialogues with them, deliver what they want, and then remain in a relationship with them for business development.

Now that all sounds perilously close the pre digital definition of marketing. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that with all the technology at our disposal now we can do what the marketeers of the 1950s always wanted to do – Think Big. Now though we can Think Bigger than they ever imagined!

Click to find out more about our Talking Technology 2016 – Unlocking Digital Growth event in September.

Don’t panic! I’m not about to go back over the result, or implications, of the recent election result in the USA, nor am I going to take you back to BREXIT nor the recent Devolution vote. But, all these topics are uppermost in my mind as I write this column.

Let me leave aside the politics of these events. Your views on Trump and Clinton, ‘leave’ or ‘remain’, or Devolution ‘for’ or ‘against’ are not the issues here. My point is this. It’s fair to say that even passionate advocates of the winning sides in the two former of these campaigns were surprised at the outcomes. The ‘losers’ were of course shattered.

More importantly, in a way, the pollsters and media pundits were surprised. Or, to put it bluntly, in many cases they, the ‘experts’ were just plain wrong.

And that’s perhaps one of the most important lessons businesses can learn from recent events. The fact is that sometimes, despite all the planning, all the research, all the soundings you take from your market, things do not go as you thought they would.  The unexpected happens.

In theory, with our ever more sophisticated techniques of analysis and forecasting, the unexpected should happen less and less. And yet, within the same year, two massive events have delivered it. With seismic impact.

There’s another point that’s directly related to both BREXIT and the USA election. Both results have revealed, justified or not remains to be seen, a strong suspicion that the UK Government who sort of ‘lost’ and the Trump team who, well, won, don’t have a clear plan for what to do next. And that’s what’s making people lack confidence about the future.

So, if your business plan swerves off course because the unexpected happens and you do not take action, you’re going to lose the confidence of staff, customers and shareholders – which is recipe for disaster at any time, let alone in these unpredictable days.

The answer? No easy answer but what I do have is the knowledge gained from 2016, that having a plan is necessary. Having an outline at least for what you do in the event of the totally unexpected is absolutely essential.

How do you write such an emergency plan? It might be a good idea to look at your business strategy, then turn it on its head and set down the tactics you’d employ in those circumstances.

Or, look at your list of goals, and then write the plan for how you would operate if none of them came to fruition.

Interestingly of course you might just find that such an exercise produces some lateral and innovative thinking that can be fed into your planning anyway.

2016 has certainly thrown up some unexpected twists and turns, and they should make us think. Consider this piece of wisdom – ‘To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect’.

That was Oscar Wilde – in the 19th century!

Any business leader worth their salt will get their hands dirty; either literally, or metaphorically, by sometimes getting into the detail that they no longer deal with on a day to day basis to support their team. Whatever the cause it would have been worth it. But, ultimately, if they’re leaders, it’s their ability to see, understand and react to the bigger picture that they’re being trusted – and paid – for.

That strategic ability means they can see the strengths and weaknesses of the operation. They can grasp the size, shape and impact of competitive activity. They can motivate their team. They can frame the best direction to take for the future. And they can make things happen.

To do all of that our business leaders must, inevitably, be in touch with the social and political landscape of our region. It’s they therefore who actually know where roads need widening, railways need improving and that any broadband or mobile black spot is not just a debating point with a provider, it’s a potential lost sale to a customer.

It would seem to make sense then, wouldn’t it, to tap into that knowledge more effectively when it comes to leading the region forward? To use the knowledge, born of real commercial need and honed by leadership experience, to drive our region into the fast lane.

What I am saying, is that the region’s future prosperity relies on its commerce, and that it would therefore make sense for leaders of that commerce to be recognized as influential in policy making, because they are hard wired into what’s really needed. There seems to be a misguided view from some, that the business community should leave the decision-making related to running Norfolk purely to elected members. They seem to have missed the point as to how the economy actually works.

We also need our local MPs to regain their tenacity and strength as a united lobbying unit working for Norfolk. I realize how difficult it is now many of them are Ministers, and in other key roles, but the business community needs them to work with us to reposition Norfolkin Westminster as a can-do County, a position which, because of the current devolution situation I believe has been weakened.

Norfolk will not grow and thrive unless all parties recognize the contribution each community brings. I believe that 2017 is the time to regroup and to work through our differences – to celebrate the great place Norfolk is to work, live and play! We have an event with all our MPs in February which is a great place to start. Let’s ensure that Team Norfolk really shows what we can achieve. I call on Norfolk’s business leaders to work with us to make this happen.

Our organisation, the Department for International Trade, has complied some statistics on the international trade of goods (not services) from the East of England.  

Click here for the report

If you wish to contact me regarding these please feel free.

Leszek Wysocki | International Trade Adviser (pronounce Leshek Vissotski) | East of England

Department for International Trade | Felaw Maltings | South Kiln | 42 Felaw Street | Ipswich | IP2 8SQ

Mob: +44 (0)7717 290 319 | Email and Skype: [email protected]

Helpline: 01707 398398 [email protected]

Last month I made the point that Norfolk’s reputation is, and will be, defined by talented business leaders. I also wrote about the virtuous circle of great talent and great businesses attracting more of the same into Norfolk being a dangerous metaphor because going around in circles, no matter how virtuous, was not a recipe for innovation. It’s striking out and going forward that makes businesses grow, develop and diversify.

It’s always been necessary to do that of course; without new products, new markets and indeed new processes, the entire economy slows down and businesses wither. But now, in the 21st century, it goes deeper. Changing, or adapting, what you produce, or how you produce it, may no longer be enough. Now it’s about changing the culture of companies.

At one level the necessary cultural changes are hard wired into the technology. Any business that doesn’t buy into the revolution in technology will be left behind. It’s as brutally simple as that.

But, it won’t be left behind solely in terms of sales and profits. It will fall behind because unless it’s seen to be engaged with technology and actively adopting new ideas and solutions, it will fail to attract those talented business people that businesses, and Norfolk, wants and needs.

On another level there are equally important issues that are directly related to a culture. Young people, the seed-corn for our tomorrows’ talent, now have different views. The company car, the perks, the amount of holiday time – they  may come lower down their expectations from an  employer than wanting to know about the company’s environmental policies, and their views on diversity in the workplace.

Talented business leaders must adapt their thinking to ensure that they are creating the companies that will attract and retain tomorrow’s leaders. That too, is as brutally simple as that.

They need to accept that even the furious pace of today’s technological revolution isn’t the end game; it will carry on, with the younger generation soon grasping and employing technological developments that even the savviest management of today haven’t yet imagined.

There will be new markets, and new ways of reaching them. New production techniques and demands for products and services not yet conceived. It’s true that there will be constants, never changing aspects of commerce that the best of the new generations will be receptive in learning from the best of the current leaders who will selflessly impart them, but it’s the ability to recognize the need for change, and the inevitability of it that will move us forward. 

All of that can be achieved only if the future of companies is now recalibrated to see change as a positive, driving force and current managers are equipped with the skills to meet these challenges and make changes.

Implementing cultural change, in all its meanings and implications, will be the hallmark of talented business leadership; the kind of business leadership that will sustain the potential of our county.