Company directors, modern warfare and the ostrich mentality

This week I happen to be appearing in (and assistant directing) an epic WW1 play by the great Joan Littlewood called Oh What a Lovely War at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton (sponsored by Paris Smith LLP and in support of the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal - more details here if you're interested: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/southampton-operatic-society/). The show itself has been with us since 1963 and in many ways is more relevant to our modern times - 55 years on - than it was even then. An interesting fact about the show, given it shaped much of our view of the Great War, is that it also inspired a great deal of other poignant comedy writing, such as Blackadder Goes Forth, hence the picture of Baldrick and one of my favourite lines from that series.

My point about it, though, is that - as well as honouring the sacrifices of so many in this centenary year - the show shines a light on some key truths about economic and political conflict, which could benefit a huge section of modern society. Such messages are sometimes not that easy to hear, but if heeded they help to put world events like G7 / G8 tensions in their proper historical context and could inform much better decision making and help avoid a repetition of past disasters.

Of course, as with all hard truths, human nature seeks to distance us from them, hence getting a decent sized audience to see a show like Oh What A Lovely War is about as easy as pinning a medal on a shadow. We are not at the point of having to give tickets away but seriously, if you are genuinely interested let me know as at the time of writing I have 6 tickets left in comp allocation for Saturday night (23 June), so let me know and I'll get you in to experience this treat for yourself!

Since my day job (which would of course be acting if I could have made it pay!) is that of a corporate restructuring and insolvency solicitor, naturally I draw parallels between my stage life and my legal career. Time and again I see company directors turning their minds away from the difficult truths about their companies, the inadequacies of their own management style, the prospect of this or that difficult contracting party ever paying them what they need to meet next month's payroll. It is a lot easier to behave like an ostrich and come out only when the threat has (hopefully) gone away.

Of course the best medicine for this is a short, sharp shock. In my area, this often takes the form of a winding up petition being served on the company. If we believed anything we read in the press, we might even conclude that my beloved Aston Villa FC came close to being served recently, although I was relieved to see that Tony Xia had come up with the funds.

Sometimes these things are genuinely unavoidable but 9 times out of 10 there really was no need for companies to come to such a pass. Effective contingency and cashflow planning, effective risk management on larger contracts, and general good behaviour in commercial dealings could probably have prevented it. Where directors need help, that help is available. Seeking early advice from a licensed insolvency practitioner long before things get that bad maximises the options for resolving such problems even before they manifest themselves. Far from an admission of defeat, consulting an insolvency practitioner about the greatest range of options is evidence of nothing more than good financial planning and responsible director behaviour.

To any company director reading this post, my simple message is to keep your head well out of the sand, face down any difficulties you see coming down the road, and bring on board the best advice you can. To continue the Oh What A Lovely War analogy, use the experience (which IPs of course have in spades) of the past, where things have perhaps gone very wrong for someone else, and adjust your behaviour accordingly.

I hope to see a few of my contacts at the Nuffield later in the week. My apologies to those of my contacts I shall obviously not see at the Paris Smith 200 year celebrations on Thursday, but I am sure you will all have a cracking evening!