Currency union or no currency union?
That has been the dominant question on the lips of Scotland’s business community over the past days as the No campaign upped the ante in the referendum debate.
The dramatic interjection by Chancellor George Osborne, his shadow cabinet counterpart Ed Balls and the Lib Dems’ Danny Alexander ruling out a post-split currency union more than set the cat among the pigeons.
I have bemoaned the relative lack of business engagement in the referendum debate in this column before, and said the time would come when there was no option but to get involved.
Before the currency question arose, it looked as though that moment of engagement was still some way off.
But as soon as Mr Osborne’s heavily trailed speech had been delivered the floodgates of business opinion opened.
And it was obvious by the nature of the various responses given no matter what side of the political fence the contributor sat on that an extremely raw nerve had been hit.
If I have learned nothing else in the three years that I have manned The Courier’s business desk it is that uncertainty in whatever shape, manner or form it should manifest itself is wholly unwelcome in our corporate corridors of power.
For business executives tasked with making decisions about major developments, there is nothing more unnerving than not being sure of the ground on which they are about to walk.
That is why the currency union question and Scotland’s membership of the European Union in the event of a Yes vote in September are so important as they are subjects that breed that paralysing uncertainty in the corporate mind.
What if the pound should disappear from Scotland?
What if the costs of doing business in Britain should increase?
What if the barriers to trade in Europe are heightened?
What if Mr Osborne and Mr Salmond have both got it wrong?
What if? What if? What if?
All of the questions above and many, many more besides have been going round and round the heads of those trying to run a business in Scotland this week.
That is why it imperative that companies on both sides of the border ensure they are prepared whatever the Scottish people decide at the ballot box on September 18.
By having separate costed and workable business strategies in place, firms can create the certainty they crave for themselves, whatever the outcome of the vote should be.
Having a plan or in this case two and sticking to it is the sensible and pragmatic way forward in a world where the only certainty for business in the months ahead is continuing, and likely deepening, uncertainty.Suits you…The new tie-up between Scottish fancy dress costume firm Morphsuits and Marvel comics the home of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine and Captain America brought a smile to my face this week.
I mean, who would have thought spandex full-length body suits would become the next big Scottish commercial success?
I don’t think I would have picked out Morphsuits if they appeared before me in the Dragons’ Den, and I suspect I would not have been alone in that position.
But in the truest entrepreneurial tradition, the Morphsuits crew spotted a niche in the market and made it their own. You can barely go to the pub these days without bumping into a groom-to-be kitted out in one of their less than forgiving creations.
The new line of Marvel-inspired superhero suits will boost the company’s already soaring profile yet further.
You cannot fail to be impressed by the vision and drive that has gone into creating a sector-changing brand.