I admit politics has been quite tedious in the last three years. It’s all been about that one THING. That THING that divides us, that focuses our attention, our passion and our hate. We don’t agree what that THING is, how long it will take to get it, or whether it will be any good for us in the short or long term.
Quite frankly if I’d put forward a proposal in business to do a THING like this with the same level of data to back it up as the politicians have then I’d probably have been ignored. I saw a video yesterday by Deborah Meaden, one of the UK’s Dragons in Dragon’s Den, saying she would be “out” if the THING was a pitch on the TV show.
It’s the lack of any economic assessment that gets me. There are no published reports that detail how the economy will change as a result of the THING. No SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and no logical comparison of options.
Ironically, it’s Boris Johnson’s idea of writing two pieces, FOR and AGAINST the THING that actually strikes a chord with me. Do the analysis and make the decision. Make a plan. Right or wrong.
But it’s the way in which the analysis was presented to the people is what annoys me. I frequently watch documentaries which purport to tell me the science behind an invention or a discovery, but which dumb it down so much, and repeat the headline points after each advert break; we never actually get to the detail. It’s as if the program makers think we’re too stupid to understand it all. It’s looking to be the same way with politics. They keep telling us the FEATURES not the BENEFITS, just like any bad salesman does.
So 52% of people made a decision in 2016 that was ill informed and dangerous. The campaign that campaigned for LEAVE was been found guilty of breaking electoral law. Yet those that want to leave say we must respect the vote and deliver the THING.
Back in the boardroom, if I was still advocating for the THING after I’d been shown to have broken the law and dumbed down all the facts, I wouldn’t just have been ignored, I’d have been fired.
Which brings us to today’s election. We, the board members, must decide if the people behind this are an asset to our company or a liability: “Should I stay or should I go?” to quote one of Boris Johnson’s “favourite” bands.
I’ve worked for firms who have done the wrong thing. Nokia’s wrong decision cost me my job and the company everything. If we vote Boris Johnson back in office and he “Get’s Brexit Done” then it’s doing to be déjà-vu for me, all over again.