‘Innovate or wither and die’, report says

MORE than 40% of directors believe the business landscape will return to pre-recession normality and that their enterprises will not fundamentally change in the next five years.

A poll of 230 board members of medium-sized UK firms by business advisers BDO came as a report suggested there will instead be a long and difficult road ahead, with uncertainty continuing  until 2015.

The study by BDO and academics at the Centre for Future Studies provides a stark warning to companies that the operating environment for businesses may never return to pre-recession normality.

The report demonstrates that the world is changing, and there’s a need for businesses to reinvent themselves if they are to survive.

Jeff Jones, lead partner of BDO in Manchester and head of the firm’s Northern leadership team, said:: “Although this recession may be over – we hope – the consequences still remain.  As a result, the economic environment will remain tough for some time to come. 

“Linked to this, we are going through a period of profound societal and technological change which will mean that some business models will wither away and die, while others will thrive and grow. 

“Businesses need to think carefully about how the world is changing and reinvent themselves to make sure they survive and thrive in the new environment. ”

Ian Pearson, futurist at Futorizon and member of an expert panel advising BDO says that in some ways the recession has been”quite a healthy thing to happen”.

He explains: “It has enforced the necessity to trim an awful lot of dead wood from the economy.  The companies which are faster to modify themselves and more willing to grasp new techniques and new business models will thrive and will come out of the recession much richer than they went in.”