Hibernation: or why we should all become economic tortoises.
There was a lot of gloom yesterday in the news and the analysis of George Osborne’s autumn statement today is not much better. So, did all the dark predictions make you feel like burying your head in the sand? Is it time to hibernate whilst the economic winter tightens its grip?
Let’s compare facts. Animals of all kinds simply switch off and go to sleep when the going gets tough in the winter. If you’ve been watching BBC1 and Frozen Planet then you know what female Polar bears do. If you can recall your formative years watching Blue Peter then you know what tortoises do in winter.
We have a tortoise. Right now it is in the fridge at a steady 4C, tucked up tightly in a cardboard box. So why don’t we do that? OK, we might not be able to go to sleep, but we could simply take things steady for a while and do the bare (or even bear) minimum to get by. This would not just save money and be good for morale; it also ticks all the green boxes that George Osborne might have ignored. Think of the energy saved by simply doing less stuff.
Frank & Brown is hunkering down for winter. Clients are tightly managed. Stores and provisions are stocked. Morale is good. Costs are pared to the bone and energy tightly managed. The shed we work in might be like a fridge, but we not going to become tortoises completely. To survive the winter tortoises need a constant temperature – severe fluctuations kill them. It’s the same with any business, especially small ones.
That’s why economic tortoises are so exposed to the wild changes in data and predictions revealed yesterday by the OBR, vaguely recognised by George Osborne, debated by Ed Balls and analysed by Robert Peston. I want the government to issue all of us with some economic hibernation guidelines now. Because, I am not sure if I fancy roaming the economic arctic wastes like male Polar Bears are obliged to – especially since this particular economic winter might be set for long time yet.
Tags: economic, George Osborne, Hibernation, tortoises