The CBI’s director-general has urged businesses to take a longer-term approach in the current difficult market conditions.
In his New Year message, Richard Lambert said that in the coming months there would be “important choices” to be made between the need to conserve resources over the short term and the opportunity to build up a stronger position to benefit from the recovery when it comes.
“I’ve visited companies in the past few weeks that have chosen to cut back their output in the face of falling demand, but to retain their labour force and take the opportunity to step up their training and development programme. Their view is that investment in human capital today will pay dividends tomorrow.
“And there are other reasons for taking the longer view. As one CBI member wrote to me last week: ‘Business leaders must retain their own sense of perspective, and ensure that they encourage their firms not to become completely defensive – and lose sight of how to push forward issues where their judgment tells them to do so’.”
But Mr Lambert admitted that for some companies the short-term battle for survival was all that mattered.
He said a painful recession would test public support for the market economy and for robust competition policies. But he urged regulators and businesses to work together to develop evidence-based analysis and pro-growth regulatory policies.
