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Bernard Ginns: An industry giant worthy of recognition for his work
AFTER a difficult year for most businesses, it was good to celebrate some of the region's success stories at the annual Variety Club Yorkshire Business Awards, which is supported by the Yorkshire Post and Hitchenor Wakeford.
It was a great privilege to hear from Sir Gordon Linacre, the past president of Yorkshire Post Newspapers, who is still sprightly at 89. The veteran World War Two bomber pilot, journalist and businessman spoke to the audience of leading business figures after receiving his lifetime achievement award.
He said: "It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and here I am being flattered by the sorts of people that I spent a lifetime trying to imitate.
"The icing on the gingerbread for me was this occasion came about involving two organisations – my beloved Yorkshire Post and the Variety Club. I have long known about that brand of brigands, the most successful extractors of brass from the creators of wealth who then give it to the most deserving people of all in our society.
"I am enormously grateful to be thought an achiever among you bustling brand of new achievers who are the future of Britain."
Congratulations to Sir Gordon and to all the winners. Keep up the good work.
How has Copenhagen been for you? For me, it has provided a great deal of background noise and not a lot else. Similarly, I suspect many Yorkshire businesses will have been too busy concentrating on short-term concerns like cash flow to pay much attention to long-term issues like climate change.
I do know that some of the region's companies will have been following the talks very closely and it is these businesses that will be well worth watching in the coming years.
Here's why. The view on the streets is that we're set for a double-dip recession as the real budget that follows the general election will likely contain some very harsh medicine after years of irresponsible and reckless spending behaviour by businesses and consumers.
Combine this with the withdrawal of hundreds of billions of pounds of policy stimulus packages and it becomes clear we are heading for another sticky patch.
There will be pockets of significant growth though and one area I expect to see lots of green shoots is in the environmental technology and the future energy sectors. We've already reported how a new nuclear research centre, backed by 25m of public money, is set to be built near Rotherham, while Rolls-Royce has agreed to build a new civil nuclear manufacturing facility in South Yorkshire. These could put the region at the centre of Britain's drive for nuclear power.
There are lots of much smaller environmental technology companies working in exciting new fields such as carbon capture, wind energy and hydropower and that could grow to be the big players of tomorrow. We will be highlighting and championing the work of these companies in the Yorkshire Post Environment Awards 2010.
If you are working in one of these companies and would like to share your stories with a wider market then I invite you to enter the awards. It is important that we promote these emerging sectors as they represent a great opportunity for Yorkshire and the UK as a whole. They will be the future wealth generators and employers. Spread the word. The closing date for entries is Christ-mas Eve. For all the details, visit www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/environment
A regular reader from Sheffield has a telling story of how history turns full circle. I'll share it with you. Andy Hanselman said: "I was talking to my mum last month and she was reminiscing about the good old times. She spoke of a time when the country was at war, unemployment was at incredibly high levels, the incoming Prime Minister was an Eton-educated Oxford graduate, ballroom dancing was one of the most popular pastimes of the people and Vera Lynn was number one in the hit parade."
Welcome to 2009. Vera Lynn has just made number one again. And things don't seem to have changed that much elsewhere either.
According to Mr Hanselman, who runs a consultancy at Sheffield Technology Parks, technology, globalisation, tough economic conditions all create both threats and opportunities for us all.
"The challenge as ever is to deal with those and compete in the best way we can," he said.
My advice is to study the lessons of the past. Look at what worked and what didn't. In the words of George Washington, if we don't learn from our history, we're doomed to repeat it.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -5 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
