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A Secret that Few Business Planners Know…

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“It was not reason that besieged Troy; it was not reason that sent forth the Saracen from the desert to conquer the world; that inspired the crusades; that instituted the monastic orders; it was not reason that produced the Jesuits; above all, it was not reason that created the French Revolution. Man is only great when he acts from the passions; never irresistible but when he appeals to the imagination.”

Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister and Novelist, 1804-1881

Nor is it reason, logic and a good business plan that helps a business succeed.

So spend less time developing the business plan and more time developing the vision, passion and skills.

It’s passion, energy, commitment and often a lot of luck that makes a business thrive.

With thanks to Andy Maslen for the quote!

What would I do with £13.6m?

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£13.6 million is (I believe) the project costs to build a new southern entrance to Leeds station.  It will mean that residents in the Granary wharf developments  and visitors to the Mint Hotel will have several hundred metres shaved off their walk to the station – and they will be able to avoid the recently refurbished (£4.6m) Neville St – which is already leaking again!  It is yet another investment to attract the creative classes to Leeds so that the rest of us can benefit from the trickle down effect of their fabulous wealth creation.  Sounds like a plan?

I would invest in informal education and development by providing 20 street based, person centred coaches, supported by area panels acting as a ‘social brain’ to help coaches when they find clients who are really stuck in their pursuit of progress.

20 coaches would enable us to say that the City of Leeds provides, to anyone who wants it, access to a free, person centred coach to help them make progress on their agenda.  We would develop a culture of active citizenship rather than passive acceptance and blame.

Social panels would be made up of local volunteers, service providers and others with an interest in the area.  Panels would meet monthly to review the coach’s progress and provide support on some of their most intractable cases.

Costs to start and run such a service in the first three years would be in the region of £4m.  Running costs for each subsequent year would be in the region of £1.2m.

I would expect such a service to provide meaningful support to well over 4000 Leeds people per year, providing significant gains in economic and social wellbeing for the majority of them.

It would also enable Leeds to promote itself as something truly unique – the person centred city.

We would gather incredible intelligence from across the city on the real barriers that hold people back, and service provider agencies might learn to respond to these rather than the dictats of the bureaucrats and their targets.

This IS doable.  Very doable.

And after running the service for 5 years I would still have £7 million in the bank!

What would you do with £13.6m to make Leeds a city to be proud of?

Getting your voice heard: How to influence policies that affect you and your community

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23rd February 2010, 10.00am-3.00pm, Leeds

An informal and practical event for small groups and grassroots organisations in West Yorkshire.

Primarily aimed at BME, Refugee, Rural and Faith groups, though all other groups are welcome to join.

The event aims to help groups understand the importance of policy and the effect that it can have on organisations and communities. It will include practical workshops on influencing policy to improve the communities in which they live.

Organised by : BME VCS Regional Programme, Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Forum Ltd, Leeds BME Network, WYLDA (RISS project), LASSN

If you are interested please use the comments form to express interest.