There’s something almost Groundhog Day-like about the morning after an election. We wake to votes still being counted, maps being coloured in, and a familiar chorus of: “What does this mean for Westminster, the Prime Minister, and the next political contest?” In many ways, this morning was no different.
What is palpable, though, is that voters are getting impatient. They want progress, competence and confidence that the people and institutions making decisions on their behalf are thinking beyond the next news cycle.
Yet almost immediately, the conversation has turned to speculation over the future of the Prime Minister and internal party management.
In the modern world – where attention spans are shorter, and we are increasingly seeking instant gratification – there is a general acceptance that the UK’s outlook (in public life and policy decisions in particular) is too short-term. That can manifest as gradual decline and societal polarisation. Short-term thinking makes things feel urgent and absorbs attention, but rarely answers the important question: what is the long-term vision, and how are we building towards this for our future?
Energy is a striking example. In 2010, Nick Clegg argued new nuclear power would take too long (11-12 years) to come on stream. Now, 16 years later, amid instability in the Middle East and concern about energy security, many will wonder how different our position might be had we taken a longer view.
“It will take too long” is not the right response if the infrastructure in question will bring long-term financial, security, and societal benefits. Where any government focuses only on a 4-5 year (or shorter!) time horizon, genuine progress will be hard to achieve.
Time passes whether we build or not, and without the courage to take the right decisions in the long-term interests of our country, the ‘infrastructure debt’ builds up – the accumulated cost of sub-optimal, ageing infrastructure – which slows down commerce, creates security risks, and increases operational costs.
From politics to business
Businesses aren’t immune to short-term thinking either. After the initial post-pandemic recovery, business investment has remained fragile. The OBR expects it to fall as a share of GDP from 11% in 2025 to 10.5% in 2030. Investment is how organisations build the capacity and confidence to compete.
Some investors understand this and benefit from the greater returns that a longer-term outlook and a joined-up collaborative approach tend to produce. This is vital in sectors like utilities, transport and construction, and we can all see the difference in a well-run organisation versus one that is less focused on sustainable long-term strategies.
For government, failing to invest often results in policy drift, poor productivity and low growth. And for businesses, it can mean disappearing altogether. Whether that investment is through hiring or acquiring, upskilling or upgrading, or adopting the right technology, it is essential for futureproofing.
Remember Blockbuster? The once ubiquitous video rental chain passed up an opportunity to buy Netflix in 2000. When we’re too attached to today’s model, we can miss tomorrow’s customer.
Smart Boards are looking past the noise and focusing on their fundamentals – first and foremost, their customers
Change is not always comfortable, but people and organisations adapt.
There is a difference in being able to pivot and be agile, and allowing every headline to knock you off course. Tariffs, conflict, political uncertainty and regulatory change are now part of the operating environment. Instead of fixating on them – or switching approach with each new challenge – strong leaders reflect, decide what is material and keep moving forward. They may course-correct, but this is done very deliberately, and typically by a few degrees rather than a dramatic U-turn.
They stop their organisations from becoming distracted by remaining crystal clear about the purpose and strategy. There is a phase that we should always keep in mind: let’s stop admiring the problem and get on with addressing it.
This demands judgement, insight and frank discussion in the boardroom, as well as confidence in an organisation’s purpose and values. Customers must be part of this – those we serve today and will serve in the future, who may have very different needs and expectations. We cannot know every detail, but we can ask better questions now to get ahead in the future.
Are we investing in technology that will improve customer and business outcomes, or are we just following the crowd? Are we training people so they are ready to address future needs, and are we challenging ourselves on how we build for the future capabilities we will require? Are our systems helping us understand our customers and our business, using insight to support foresight to predict trends and anticipate future developments? Are we agile enough to optimise based on our foresight when we do identify them?
Our job as leaders is to serve the customers of today and tomorrow. If we fail to do that, we should not be surprised if, like Blockbuster, Kodak or Lehman Brothers, our organisations are one day spoken about in the past tense.
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