Positively Sad?

As a positivist I found this a challenge to write.

It was sparked by a blog I spotted claiming to have identified the ‘saddest words and phrases in the English Language’. Examples included ‘Forlorn’, ‘heart-broken’, ‘too late’ and the exquisite example from the late Carrie Fisher: ‘what party?’

It got me thinking: I wonder which words and phrases are the saddest in British industry?

I’ve come up with a few but if you can add to the list, or improve on it, please let me know.

My list is:

‘Used to be’ Britain used to be at the forefront of global manufacturing, leading the world in aviation, automotive, steel, ship building and railways.

In 1952 manufacturing produced a third of national output, employed 40% of the workforce and made up a quarter of world manufacturing outputs. Today manufacturing in the UK accounts for 11% of GDP, employs 8% of the workforce and sells 2% of the world’s manufacturing exports. But it’s not all bad: according to the Oxford Royale Academy, the UK leads the world in music, TV, medical research, financial services, aerospace technology, creative industries, education, AI, electronic systems and literature

‘Almost’ We almost hit target, almost achieved 100%, almost won the tender. Whoever won an award for ‘almost’?

‘If only’ There’s nothing worse than knowing what to do, not doing it and then suffering the consequences. ‘If only’! Planning, diligence and shared responsibility are my counters to that

‘Missed Deadline’ Simply inexcusable

‘R&D’ According to Wikipedia, the UK ranks 8th in the world in terms of expenditure on R&D. This from the union that invented the jet engine, tarmacadam, the telephone and the world-wide web! On the plus side, according to the Cambridge Network, the number of patent applications filed with the European Patents Office by the UK in 2017 showed an increase of 2.4% which is on a par with the EU28 average of 2.6%

‘Brexit’ Where do I start? Businesses in turmoil on both sides of the Channel and beyond; politicians bickering and jockeying for position; the housing market buffeted by a storm of indecision and sterling taking a severe beating. Only the news media seems to be benefiting from the hours and hours of material generated by Brexit

So that’s my ‘Sad UK Industry Words and Phrases’ list – well at least the start of it.

Can you add to it? Can you improve on it? Better still are you able to come up with a list of Positive UK Industry Words and Phrases? It’s a good idea if we all try. Who knows, it might even make the News!