‘The Prime Minister should read this book.’ Anthony Hilton, London Evening Standard.
Having worked in engineering for 45 years in the UK and overseas, progressing from night shift manager to chairing 15 companies – ranging from stock market quoted, through private equity backed, to university spin offs – Tom Brown offers a unique insight into the challenges facing engineering companies post-Brexit, as well as the impact engineering has on the economy, on our exports, on people’s working lives, and on society as a whole.
Tragedy & Challenge analyses the causes of the decline in UK engineering, considering its poor leadership, the detrimental effects of government economic policy, and the destructive influence of the City including an insider’s view of fund managers, analysts, and private equity. Tom also studies some of our most successful engineering companies, and concludes that while some decline was inevitable due to global factors, the example of Germany shows it did not need to be nearly so precipitate; some responsibility lies with management and unions, but ultimately poor governments, the short-termist City, and decaying social attitudes were to blame, and now Brexit makes the prognosis even more daunting.
The book concludes with many positive proposals to address these problems, which are now attracting the attention of leading politicians.
