VIEWPOINT | PPC104 AUGUST 2021

I write this while we’re still heading with great hope and anticipation towards the lifting of lockdown.

Hopefully, soon pubs and restaurants will ease restrictions, companies will start to bring employees back to the office, people will travel and look forward to actual summer holidays - at home or abroad.

The gloom and the costs of the pandemic are slowly giving way to optimism about economic growth.

During the pandemic, many of us lost loved ones, friends, acquaintances and colleagues. Some also lost their livelihood, their job, their business.

Many more will have experienced disruption to contracts and customers. The pandemic will likely continue to impact many lives for a long time to come.

Many of us clung to the hope that the world we found ourselves in would pass and better times were to come.

We might hope that our businesses survive the pandemic. Or hope that the government leaves our toolkit alone. Or hope that our people and professionalism improve to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

However, hope is not a strategy.
Hope doesn’t maintain our health or wellbeing.
Hope doesn’t put shoes on our kids’ feet or food on our tables.
Hope doesn’t bring new business to our door.
Hope doesn’t mean our customers are satisfied with our service.

For some, there is no doubt that they are helped by the psychological mindset that comes with hope. For others, the mindset that comes with faith helps. Having a positive mindset can make a lot of difference to whatever situation we find ourselves in.

However, sitting around thinking about how things could be better is not going to change anything.

While hope is not a strategy in and of itself, no doubt having a hopeful mindset helps. Hope gives us the encouragement that things will be better. Hope helps us cope with what we find ourselves in now.

But hope on its own can stagnate.

Hope is the companion of effort. Together, hope and effort are the catalysts of success.

From a business perspective, as your Association, we’re here to support you on your journey.

Whether you’re one of our many new members just starting on a journey; if you’re growing and diversifying; even if you’re winding down - we’re here for you.

Likewise, if you’re fed up with hoping for changes in the sector, why not volunteer some of your effort? BPCA is brimming with working groups, committees and passionate individuals wanting to make a change - but there’s plenty of work to go around.

We can share your hope, whatever it is you want to achieve (assuming you’ve got the effort to match your ambitions).
HOPE to hear from you soon!

Ian Andrew
BPCA Chief Executive
ian@bpca.org.uk