I’m not anti-fat people. Let’s get that clear from the off. However, when I listen to large folk talking about ‘new diets’, ‘going to the gym’ and ‘personal trainers’, that starts to get under my skin. If you don’t like being overweight, eat healthily and do some exercise. It’s not difficult.

I’m not anti-fat people. Let’s get that clear from the off. However, when I listen to
large folk talking about ‘new diets’, ‘going to the gym’ and ‘personal trainers’, that starts to get under my skin. If you don’t like being overweight, eat healthily and do some exercise. It’s not difficult.

Banks and financial institutions are now bleating on about a fitness regime after a decade of gluttony of a different kind. Extremely clever people took on debts they didn’t fully understand and found themselves lumbered with high-risk dross. Moreover, assets became as inflated as the bonuses used to incentivise eager investment bankers. Inevitably, it all went pear-shaped.

Unlike those who fail to lose weight, the banks will be fine (they always are – remember Enron and Parmalat?), but it’s going to be a period of slim pickings for the rest of us as other factors come into play.

Fuel prices have gone up by 20 per cent, food prices by seven or eight per cent and energy by 14 per cent. All this and a prime minister who seems about as convincing in the role of number-one as Steve McClaren did when he took over the England job from Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Stick or bust?

For growing businesses, it’s going to be an especially lean time. If you’ve spent the past couple of years investing in growth then 2008 may be transforming into the stuff of nightmares as inflation keeps rising. For many of you, the sensible option will be to take cover, tighten up expenditure and go on the defensive.

Others will be slapping on the camo-paint and practising their war cry. Perhaps they’ve been through a recession and know the best form of defence is attack. Maybe they’re just fresh out of boot-camp: gung-ho and desperate to prove themselves when the bullets start flying. They’ll be invigorated by the fear in the air, sensing a real opportunity to go for it.

After all, if you can’t take advantage of your competitors’ weaknesses now, then you probably never will.