Michael Portillo says STICK TOGETHER at annual conference

Gill's visit to the Business Southampton Conference 2009 By Gill Gould, Carswell Gould's Managing Partner

Introduction On the day that Southampton Football Club received the bad news that it would be relegated, there was some positivity inside St Mary's Stadium as more than 200 of the city's top business leaders met for the Business Southampton conference 2009. Business Southampton is an organisation which brings companies together to improve Southampton and promote it as a top destination to work and live in.

As Carswell Gould is a founding champion of Business Southampton, Ed and I went along to the conference to hear what had been happening in the last year and what would be happening in the future.

Speakers and panel members included: The Rt Hon Michael Portillo Sally Lynskey, Chief Executive of Business Southampton Malcolm Le Bas, Chairman of Business Southampton Sean Muskett, Head of Organisational Development, Skandia Chris Buckley, Group Planning Director, Lawton Communications Group Ian Murray, Editor in Chief, Newsquest Hampshire Will Fisher, Associate Director, Investment Management, Smith & Williamson Caroline Armitage, Partner, Thomas Eggar Dawn Baxendale, Assistant Chief Executive, Economic Development, Southampton City Council Lee Peck compere for the day

Main themes: The conference was very straight-talking and didn't gloss over the recession. We were told that yes, things are bad at the moment and they're not going to get better straight away. However, the conference was extremely positive as it focused on the solutions, rather than the problems of the downturn. The main solutions aired were businesses sticking together to promote the city, encouraging businesses to work with schools to improve education and encouraging tourism and investment from overseas.

Survival depends on sticking together Michael Portillo gave a fantastic speech as the keynote speaker and told us that in order for businesses in Southampton to survive the downturn, we must unite. He is absolutely right and this is why we were one of the first firms to join Business Southampton as a founding champion. Mr Portillo said that: "We must put on a united front to get through these difficult times and to have an organisation such as Business Southampton in the bad times is an advantage." I couldn't agree more and I was happy to hear Sally Lynksey's announcement that Business Southampton is set to expand over the next 12 months. This can only create a more powerful organisation for the united voice of business, with greater influence for City Champions which is exactly what we need during these difficult times.

Let's start talking to Southampton's business leaders of tomorrow Michael Portillo made an excellent point when he said that businesses must strive to improve education. The youngsters of today are the business leaders of tomorrow and if we are to create a sustainable vision of Southampton's future, we've got to make sure these youngsters have the best possible education and are inspired to do their best. This is why we work with Southampton Solent University to teach its marketing students and offer as much work experience as we can, bringing forward the designers, marketeers and creative minds of the future. Business Southampton's Adopt a School programme is bang-on as it links businesses up with schools to inspire the young people to enter the business world.

Could we be the UK's answer to Bilbao? Michael Portillo urged Southampton to echo the example of Spain's Bilbao and build a world-class iconic building on the waterfront. He pointed out how Southampton has so many great attributes such as a young and vibrant culture with the two universities, a superb marine heritage and a top port. He is spot on. All of these factors make the city a top destination to visit and this could be built upon if an iconic building were erected on the waterfront to bring in tourists, new businesses and overseas investment. With cuts in the public sector looking likely after the Budget I hope that the city council will bear this in mind and continue to keep Southampton clean, tidy and looking attractive so that we can market Southampton as a top place to live, work and visit.

Conclusion I was glad that Business Southampton and all the speakers at the conference were bold enough to address the downturn realistically and not gloss over the problems that businesses are facing at the moment. But what was even more refreshing was that like Carswell Gould's ROI campaign, it was the solutions that were the focus, not the problems. Southampton Businesses need to put on a united front and by supporting one another during the good and the hard times, we can show the rest of Britain, and the world, that Southampton is the best place to live, work and invest your money.