Feminine gamification viewpoint: Shock! Horror!
As a Belgian national doing business in the UK, I am totally and utterly shocked with the referendum vote. It is also the first time I have ever felt targeted and unwanted. First they take away the vote and voice for taxpayers based on passport and not residence. I also on social media received some unfavourable remarks from a few Brits. Thankfully the majority of my friends are of a global business mindset rather than local protectionist.
I am actively seeking a new location inside the EU to relocate my business to and unlike this vote I will base it on research and facts. I have started this morning by putting on hold some investments that I would have been happy to go ahead with if the vote had been different. In the last recession I had to close a business and suffered majorly from the impact, my personal fear is that this vote will trigger another one.
Voting as a mechanic is powerful. In excluding the EU passport holders from this vote even if they are living and working in the UK, I question to be fair. Especially when they were and are by EU law allowed to vote in local and EU related matters, just not this one. Propaganda won the day if you ask me. It is the same kind of exclusion politics that started world wars. It may not lead to this right now, but to expect a welcome back with open arms at EU negotiation tables is naive. The leave propaganda people have no plan and they are starkly showing that now in the news that is being revealed.
Having worked closely on projects relating to the EU, studying EU institutions and visiting them for years thanks to Rotary Youth Leadership work; it is important to be inside for you voice and vote to be heard. What was not focused on in either side of the campaign is that the European Parliament can only propose law, but it is the nationally elected representative that make the real decisions to make laws take effect. It is debated both in the European Parliament and then nationally in each country, but none of this was discussed in neither leave or remain propaganda. Instead they chose to focus on blaming immigration and money to be paid out and when scratching underneath the surface again the truth wasn’t shared.
If I am truly honest, I believe the whole referendum was set up to mask inefficiency at government level and weak leadership. Pointing the finger at the EU for decisions, is lame politics. A true politician would have been delighted to sit at the table to influence and negotiate, but British politicians then very easily hid behind the vote not having gone their way and Brussels taking a different direction. In fact for those Brits that did show at the EU table, 80% of the time they were on the side of the winning vote for EU laws. But then that wasn’t sold back nationally and locally, in my view that is a true sign of weakness in politics and leadership.
When setting up votes and polls in business gamification, think through the consequences. There always are some. What will happen to the winners and the losers. Map out the journeys clearly to give people a transparent choice. Refrain from embellishing the journeys with emotional baggage that is not related to the key issues is.
I hope something good can come out of it, although right now I don’t see what that is.
So for those of you reading this in the EU, what is the business climate in your country for tech start-ups? How is small business supported and taxed? I will be researching my options, but all local input would be greatly appreciated.
