Is this your company?

The third Albion Growth Report, designed to shed light on the factors that both create and impede growth among over 1,000 UK SMEs, highlights significant regional differences in tackling the productivity gap: 54 per cent of business owners in the South West said they will increase productivity over the next two years followed by 52 per cent of those in Yorkshire, London and South East. The least confident regions are the North West, East Midlands and West Midlands with only 46 per cent expecting further improvements.

According to the Report, the most common measures taken by firms to boost productivity have been better processes, (30 per cent), technology (24 per cent ), training (18 per cent) and flexible working hours (12 per cent).

When asked how the Government can help SMEs to increase productivity, 42 per cent said that investment in fixed line broadband would deliver the biggest benefits, followed by roads (31 per cent) and affordable housing (25 per cent).

Its not rocket science, is it?  So, why don't more firms invest in such factors?  And who doesn't the government do what these SMES ask?

The World Productivity Congress is proving to be very interesting.

Just before the event I read an article by Robert Gordon about the state of US productivity, the gist of which was that the major innovations of the period 1870-1970 fuelled productivity growth but now we have 'used them up' and productivity is stagnating, compounded by the fact that we are incurring extra costs coping with the negative (environmental) effects of those innovation.

At this event we hear lots of papers extolling the virtues of Big Data in terms of creating Smart Cities, new forms of healthcare, competitive advantage - and so on.

Will this be reflected in the economic and productivity figures of the next few years - or decades?

We have to hope so - or our children and grandchildren are in for a long period of slow growth or stagnation.

Of course you might only care about how your own business is going to survive and grow - and you probably don't have access to 'big data'.  But you do have access to data - about your own business' performance - and hopefully about your competitors - and the market generally. You need to use this 'small data' to chart a way through the rough seas ahead.  Forget the long-term picture for the company.  Where are you going in the next 2-5 years?  Is that a safe place?

Keep learning

I am in Halifax (Nova Scotia) for the World Productivity Congress (being held in partnership with the Big Data Conference). This gives me 2 (well, at least 2) opportunities.

Firstly, I can meet up with old friends and contacts and find out about developments in the field of productivity across the globe.  This is always interesting and useful.

Secondly, I get to hear about developments in Big Data and reflect upon how they impact on productivity.

I have my own ideas, of course, but essentially I am here to learn.

After all, if we stop learning we might as well give up ... and anyway our businesses will decline.

We have to learn ... and apply what we learn in our own context.

Core Values

The World Confederation of Productivity Science promotes the concept of SEE - Social, Environmental & Economic Productivities - suggesting that long-term business sustainability and success comes from  addressing all three.  Some have claimed that this is another 'take' on the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) but the WCPS ' view is that CSR is an add-on to a business, often for promotional reasons, whereas SEE is part of basic business fabric and must be treated as such.  There is a business case for addressing SEE - not a PR case.

The Volkswagen case has reinforced this belief.  Volkswagen was regarded as a leader in CSR - but it clearly wasn't part of core business strategy or core values.They didn't look a† environmental issues as a fundamental core of strategy - just something it was nice to brag about. And they completely forgot about that 'commitment' when tough business decisions needed to be taken.

Do you know what your core values are?  The values that shape every decision you make and every action you take.  Do your employees know they must NEVER transgress these values?  Ifv so, you should be safe from a VW-type scandal.

Read this blog - but only this one

I was browsing some 'productivity blogs' earlier this week - I use the inverted commas because many of them use the word 'hack - or lifehacks - only using the word 'productivity in the strapline or description.

One of them offered to remind me when to breathe to maintain my zen-like state - but I've been breathing quite successfully for many years so declined the advice.  If you read all of these blogs and tried to follow their advice, you would waste a lot of time... so read this blog and learn about real-world, real-life productivity as it affects organisations, nations and societies.

I don't say you won't waste time - but it should be more interesting and more rewarding. The rest will, at best, only entertain you.