Sometimes it is the parallels between business and politics which are interesting and sometimes it is the differences.
Some of the differences are amusing. Former leaders of large companies tend to have sufficient taste and common sense not to make fools of themselves and their former colleagues by appearing in or presenting low grade television programmes. How swiftly Kezia Dugdale’s thin veil of credibility has vanished. How remarkable has been Alex Salmond’s fall from would be leader of an Independent Scotland to an embarrassingly out of touch wanderer in the wilderness.
The contrast of these two with the new leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, Richard Leonard, is remarkable. I’m sure I will hate most of his policies but for now I forgive that in admiration of that he says what he actually believes. Good start Mr Leonard.
The real difference though is that people in business have a relatively clear agenda - make or do something which people want and will pay for, create a team of people who will provide it efficiently, make a profit. This clarity and focus means you have a decent chance of success.
In contrast, what Philip Hammond has demonstrated in the recent Budget is just why politicians so often fail. Their ambitions are huge but in reality they are like a modern airline pilot, they can sound good on the intercom or turn up the cabin heating but the computer is actually flying the plane and they are in most cases a bit of a spare part. What are Mr Hammond’s objectives? The answer is many, too many. His room for manoeuvre is limited and he resorts to a stream of gimmicks to please or placate sections of the populace.
In Scotland, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay will shortly have to play the same game. A well flagged but misguided increase in income tax rates will steal the headlines but there will be a stream of other initiatives designed to demonstrate action and purpose. In fact what they will show is lack of focus and confusion of purpose. This isn’t new, I read the SNP’s manifesto for the last Scottish parliamentary elections - an absurd and long list of promises aimed at special interest groups.
What Mr Mackay and the whole SNP Government should learn from business is that in order to succeed they need a real sense of mission - and that mission is not independence. Instead of driving people apart it should be about drawing the different interests in Scotland together - because the overwhelming sense I get from almost every Scot I meet is that they want Scotland and all its people to succeed - there really is a foundation on which to build.
In order to galvanise broad support you need to present an agenda people can believe in and which focuses on the real issues and , critically, only on the key issues. Governments perform best when they try to do less rather than more but do it well.
Health is a classic example. The overwhelming emphasis is on throwing more resource at fixing problems. This will never work, the demand for medical services, especially in an ageing population, is infinite. We cannot pay for it and we should recognise the foolishness of trying. Policy should be aimed less at managing diabetes and more at addressing the lifestyles which cause that disease - a courageous Government would do that.
There is hope, to its great credit and against determined opposition, the Scottish Government has persisted with its policy to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol. Implementing this one policy will do more good for Scotland than any Budget could ever do.
Pinstripe is a senior member of Scotland's financial services community.
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