West Midlands bosses should be leading from the front, John Rider, regional chairman of the Institute of Directors, has warned.

But, he cautioned, too few were trusted by their staff.

His comments came in the latest edition of the Institute's magazine in which Mr Rider laid out his blueprint to help companies cope with an economy which was "not a pretty picture".

Were the Government aware, he questioned, how tough life was "north of Watford".

The recovery was taking longer than first thought and it was time for business owners to re-evaluate.

Mr Rider told industrialists: "Focus on leadership - love, value and involve your people. A recent survey revealed only four out of ten managers are really trusted by their workforce."

And he asked his members: "Which camp are you in?"

Mr Rider went on: "Make time for reflection - slow down and give yourself an opportunity (with your teams) to think about what your organisation does and whether it is fit for the future.

"Analyse your position. Do you really understand your markets, your competitors, your strengths and weaknesses? Opportunities will present themselves - are you able to take advantage if a rival founders?

"Think the unthinkable - be prepared to make fundamental changes. Differentiate or die. You must focus on what will make a difference.

"Develop your plans and concentrate on implementation. You can have the best strategy in the world but if you don't make it happen, you will fail."

Mr Rider issued the survival call whilst offering a worrying assessment of the West Midlands economy.

He said: "Job losses still feature heavily in the daily news, while energy prices are rocketing. Inflation looks set to rise again and there appears little justification to increase interest rates - at least for this year.

"Bombardier, the last British-based train maker, lost out to Siemens of Germany for a

Thameslink contract and announced 1,400 jobs losses. A combination of European procurement rules and the relative high cost of money, even with interest rates at 0.5 per cent, are being blamed.

"Many retailers are now struggling and some big names are going under as household incomes are squeezed and spending slows.

"Leading commentators are downgrading their forecasts and there is talk of our economy perhaps sliding into recession again.

"There is no doubt that London and most of the South East are in a different world to the citizens 'north of Watford' as their local economy continues to prosper. I wonder whether the message about just how tough it is for the West Midlands has really registered with the Coalition."

Thank goodness, said Mr Rider, that at least some West Midlands manufacturers, like Jaguar Land Rover, were "really doing well". Supply chain companies too were benefiting from JLR's success.

However what was previously considered 'normal' was in flux and a "new realism" was required.

"This is not a party political issue - everyone must pull together," urged Mr Rider.