A winning strategy

Nice to see that Dr Cable and his ministerial colleagues are avid WM readers. No sooner had our September front cover demanding an industrial strategy hit the newsstands than the government was pledging to develop said blueprint. Top marks to Vince and his cohort for getting off the fence. While the actual content so far is more filler then thriller, we can all cheer an ideological shift away from laissez-faire politics towards manufacturing. We must now work with Westminster on developing some cast iron goals for this grand industrial vision – whether that's increasing gross manufacture by the 20% needed to close our national trade deficit or taking the UK from ninth to fifth largest manufacturing nation by output by 2020. Our industrial strategy must be inclusive. The good news doesn't begin and end with automotive and aerospace giants. Makers of battery separators, MRI scanner magnets and gas sensors topped the bill at last month's Best Factory Awards. Largely anonymous to the man on the street, they don't just survive in the UK, they soar – they are knocking the socks off foreign rivals because they have clear strategies, outstanding processes and a commitment to empowering and inspiring their people to deliver. Let's take a leaf out of their book. Goal-setting is not done by diktat. The government has to get out and mix with frontline manufacturers to create a credible vision. A 120-page consultation and a couple of lineside photo opportunities just won't cut it. If this is going to work then grassroots factory operators need to feel like trusted partners – ministers could do worse than sit in on a factory strategy day to see how it's done. Just look at how Aimia Foods secured buy-in from workers to deliver its dream of becoming Britain's Best Factory. Aimia is not alone: we are a sector packed with over-achievers capable of making mincemeat out of the most daunting corporate visions. We won't duck this challenge.