A 'thaw' point...

Scanning this morning’s papers I am sure I wasn’t the only one who despaired at the latest news headlines. Youth unemployment is up, the Bank of England is scaling back growth figures and the Greek debt crisis is still casting a gloomy shadow over our economy.

However, my despair is less driven by the headlines themselves than the seemingly endless talents of the media in their ability to seize the latest statistics and give our economy a good battering.

While I am not suggesting that news coverage shouldn’t be balanced, or encouraging people to make like David Cameron and merrily adopt a ‘can do’ attitude in the face of what is undoubtedly a tough economy, I do think that relentless press reporting of economic ‘doom and gloom’ really doesn’t do business any favours.

With the media increasingly focussed on reporting quarterly figures (which of course only give a short term snapshot of the economy), to provide yet another ‘news hook’ for a negative piece about the economy, it’s no wonder that both big and small businesses remain cautious and pessimistic about the future.

As a member of that business community (though one who is determined to remain optimistic, having survived three recessions already!) it’s almost as though people are becoming frozen in a state of inertia. Locked in ‘flight or fight’ mode, they are unable to make business decisions on a day-to-day basis or look to the future as they take the latest sound bite on the economy as gospel and let it underpin their every move.

While it would be foolish to disregard economic indicators and carry on trying to realise your business ambitions with your head in the clouds, it’s equally destructive to be governed by the highs and lows of reporting on the economy and let the resulting ‘frozen syndrome’ stifle business innovation and good old fashioned common sense.

Jo Ouston
November 2011