Ekatalyxt Business Magazine Jan-Feb 2015

JAN-FEB 2015

Women’s Intuition a Factor in Business Success?

Leveraging Technology for Growth

Education: A Fundamental Tool for Success

Dr. Blossom O’Meally-Nelson

Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee

Dr. Winston Adams

1

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

Table of C ontents 4

Are You Too Busy for Success?

6

Education: A Fundamental Tool for Success

8

A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skillful Sailor

12

Women’s Intuition a Factor in Business Success?

16

Driving Growth Through Service to Jamaica’s Productive Sector

18

Pension Planning

19

Leveraging Technology for Growth

22

Health Tips for CEO’s and Entrepreneurs

25

Entrepreneurs Must Become Innovative and Vocal

28

From the Outside Looking in, Perspectives on Success

30

The Role of Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Logistics Hub

Winsome Minott

Dr. Winston Adams

President and Executive Chairman - University College of the Caribbean

Stefanie Thomas

Dr. Blossom O’Meally-Nelson

Contributed by Exim Bank

Contributed by Bank of Nova Scotia

Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee

Barbara Dallas

Ralston Hyman

Derefe Chevannes

Reginald Nugent

Senior Advisor Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

2

Te a m M es s ag e

Fay McIntosh Team Member

3

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

ARE YOU

TOO BUSY FOR SUCCESS?

By: Winsome Minott

S

uccess comes at a price. Is the price of success self denial, unhappiness, unhealthiness shrouded in busyness? Whether you are an entrepreneur operating in the Caribbean, in Asia, or Africa, business truths are much the same.

because of inefficiencies in my system. I am coming to accept that the inefficiencies were in the culture I created for myself and my business. I had willingly embraced same from an audit firm I had worked for in my formative business years. But was this inherited culture the best way to do business? Twenty five years later I have reviewed the cultural norms of the business and can answer No.

To have your project/company grow, the entrepreneur should focus on stakeholders and on working smart. Stakeholders include all direct and indirect persons that can influence the outcome of a project or company. Success is more likely when you are doing something you enjoy.

Over the years I have rushed through the morning papers skimming headlines, watering potted plants, and half reading emails; this list is not exhaustive.

I hit the office running, so fast I remember one day I forgot to close my car door, anxious about an assignment that was late. Days moved quickly into months and years. I am not sure of the date,

A genius can innovate, but it requires more than a product or service to ensure success. Many argue that marketing and networking are critical factors that translate genius into a product or service ready for market acceptance. It is important to note that business cultures drive organizations. In one article a writer noted that “what makes Google unique is its culture of respect. In a supportive environment, even the most timid person works with self-confidence, which is marvelous to witness.”

“

Over the years I have found myself working seven days a week, leaving work between 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and thinking that I am pulling the extra time

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

4

Whether you are an entrepreneur operating in the Caribbean, in Asia, or Africa, business truths are much the same.

”

dedicated officers, as borderline or sometimes unproductive and inadequate. The Archimedes moment hit me, we had a problem. The problem was that we had bought into a culture of “busy” versus “productive.” It was time to turn the page on an old culture.

but one day I became aware of the fact that where I was, I had not planned to be. I had embraced a culture of busyness, and as part of that culture, had entrenched rewards for persons willing to stay at the office after seven each night. Workaholics are said to be people who try to compensate for some other deficiency in their personal space. To say the least, each day I felt a sense of achievement, coupled with a sense of feeling overworked and overwhelmed by the demands of my work and home life.

Family members often poked fun at my attempts at being “Supergirl” when I added pursuing a Phd and

“

I remember one day I forgot to close my car door, anxious about an assignment that was late.

”

managing a Corporate Legal portfolio of a listed public company, to my already challenged life. Something was wrong with the equation; after six years, things began to shout back at me: not enough attention to details, not enough of you to go around. An ulcer was the first signal, it said, “change the pace or else.”

I had to listen, I had to make changes before my several projects imploded.

Taking time to review the culture necessitated a review of the performance of officers who stayed back every night. It was then I realized that officers of the company who stayed back every night were not very productive and also often complained about not having enough time in a day to complete assignments. In addition, performance reviews of several employees based on production hours after 5:00 p.m., reported the contribution made by even 5

After discussing my insight and observation with the three divisional managers, we had a mental retreat and decided to change the culture of ‘busy’ to a culture of performance and self- evaluation.

We agreed to remove success symbols associated with “Busy, Working Overtime, Busy.” We agreed to remove bonus payments for persons performing ordinary tasks in an ordinary way. Instead we agreed to compensate employees who were very productive, who challenged junior and senior staff members alike to step up to the plate of productivity and bat. We then asked each senior staff member to evaluate or rate his/her own performance on a monthly basis given stated company targets.

A friend who is a partner in a small audit firm, laughed at the proposed changes. He suggested a ‘wakeup call after this dream was over.’ He was so sure of the positive co-relation between “hours required to complete a file” and successfully completing the file. His equation read, hours worked + overtime = file completion= client satisfaction.

Our team became worried about such cynicism and so decided to investigate what experts had to say about the extra working hours. We found compelling evidence that working extra hours really added little or no value. More important, we found instances where the employee would be more likely to lose their special capacity to innovate and create due to burnout.

We were sold and so designed stickers “At Mint We Get Our Work Done Between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.” Yes we stretched the time a wee bit. We now give out sweets to efficient teams each month, and slowly the culture at Mint Management and Finance with respect to ‘busy’ versus ‘productive’ is beginning to change. We are only one month into the new programme but we are hopeful that good things are about to happen for 2015.

Mints for anyone? The divisional managers ask each Monday morning, knowing that Friday is coming and efficiency will be rewarded by sweets, as well as token cash payments. And yes the extra cash is taxed. Look out for part 2 of: “Are You Too Busy for Success?” In part 2 we discuss why we can’t hire you if you have no desire for R&R or reject our new self-evaluation test. eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

EDUCATION A FUNDAMENTAL TOOL FOR SUCCESS

By: Dr. Winston Adams

It is widely recognized and accepted that a high quality education equips students with the foundational knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to function optimally in society in general and within the current global economic environment in particular. Critically, such an educational experience will also prepare participants for lifelong learning.

The global environment for education is changing. The way persons learn, teachers teach, and the manner in which research is done have been changed irrevocably by massive advances in information and communications technology (ICT).

These advances hold great potential not only for accelerating learning or teaching but also for improving the management of education systems. They are also transforming the world of work and the kinds of jobs

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

that will be available in the future.

Tom Peters in his book “The Pursuit of Wow” declares that “the difference between great and average or lousy in any job is, mostly, having the imagination and the zeal to re-create yourself daily”. Education becomes a tool for success when an individual is able to apply the requisite knowledge and skills not only to personal development but also to economic development.

The market for tertiary education in Jamaica and the region is very large and growing partly as a result of the significant expansion of the private sector, which has created a need for more trained and skilled personnel, and provided a major stimulus for professionals to advance their management and business skills. Studies have shown that Jamaicans are continuously

6

JAMAICANS ARE CONTINUOUSLY SEEKING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THEIR MARKETABILITY, EARNING POTENTIAL AND SOCIAL POSITION

seeking educational opportunities to improve their marketability, earning potential and social position.

Elizabeth M. King, Director of Education, The World Bank, in January 2011 spoke on the core ideas of the World Bank’s Education Strategy: invest early, invest smartly and invest in learning for all. Learning for all is foundational and means ensuring that all persons, and not just the most privileged or gifted, acquire the knowledge and skills that they need.

Major challenges of access remain for disadvantaged populations at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Thus, governments and critical stakeholders must re-double their efforts to lower the barriers that keep people from attaining levels of quality education and training.

THE REASON FOR THE NEED TO PROVIDE MASS ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION (AT ALL LEVELS) IS NOT ONLY IN THE EXISTENCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY, BUT ALSO FOR DEMOGRAPHIC REASONS.

EDUCATION IS FUNDAMENTAL TO DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH The human mind makes possible all development achievements, from health advances and agricultural innovations to efficient public administration and private sector growth.

For countries to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of the human mind. And there is no better tool for doing so than education. Education is the business not only of government and aid agencies but also of industry and the commercial sector—both as providers of educational services and as users of the skills that education systems produce.

Evidence tells us that the private sector can successfully collaborate with the government to both improve the relevance of education services and expand access to those services. Because growth, development, and poverty reduction depend on the knowledge and skills that people acquire, not the number of years that they sit in a classroom, we must refocus our call to action from Education for All to Learning for All.

To achieve learning for all, we need to go beyond providing more and better educational inputs and towards i mprov i ng e du c at i on s y s t e ms .

THE ROLE OF A KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY In order for countries to have a truly world-class education system, colleges and universities must be globally engaged and prepare students to be citizens of a multicultural community both at home and in a globalized world. With the rise of the new knowledge societies, knowledge cities have been emerging as centers for creating that critical mass of educational services that will attract significant numbers of students and bridge the gap between industry and education in such a way so as to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship and promote economic growth. The University College of the Caribbean, for instance, embraces this paradigm by having a multi-dimensional, comprehensive strategy that includes internationalization at home and engagement with global issues and partners.

7

Society is changing. Economic activity is becoming ever more knowledge based – success is achieved through selling high value services, rather than physical goods. These trends demand a more highly skilled workforce. Furthermore, the reason for the need to provide mass access to quality education (at all levels) is not only in the existence of the knowledge economy, but also for demographic reasons.

The development of critical knowledge and skills also contributes to an individual’s ability to have a healthy and educated family and engage positively in civic life. At the societal level, recent research shows that the level of skills in a workforce—as measured by performance on student assessments— predicts economic growth rates far better than average schooling levels.

Nothing short of an educational revolution will be adequate. It is Jamaica’s and indeed the world’s last chance to secure sustainable development and by extension, success. A major key to this success story is the creative injection of a more entrepreneurial approach while cultivating a deep academic culture. This can be achieved through a Public Private Partnership Program as was recently introduced in Jamaica.

The emphasis on Wealth Creation - which in today’s world no longer depends on significant amounts of capital, an abundance of cheap labour or readily available raw materials. Skilled human capital will outlast any other natural resource. It is the foundation of sustained wealth as the assimilation and production of knowledge is central to closing the gap between the developed and developing world. eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

A SMOOTH SEA NEVER MADE A SKILLFUL SAILOR “Business insight from Sailing 101” By: Stefanie S. Thomas

Things are not always what they seem

W

hen looking out at the ocean from a distance and seeing the sails of dinghies and yachts flying high, robust against a steady wind, there is the tendency to think that things are all smooth sailing.

Many times the sailors onboard are busy calculating the direction of the wind, how close they are to shore, navigating choppy waters and worried about staying afloat.

see general signs of prosperity. Take the case of Mac’s Chop House, a former ‘highbrow’ restaurant in Kingston, Jamaica. It was one of the most sought-after reservations, always in the news and winning awards.

However, not knowing the internal business struggles meant that we were not privy to the headache and heartache of business tunately, it could not manage the changing tides and eventually had to shut its doors.

In business there is a tendency to assume all is well with a business or product if we

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

8

Attention to boring details is important to business success

Guidance from a more established structure helps

To get even the smallest sailboats, for example a dinghy, ready to set sail, takes considerable preparation time. First, the dinghy has to be removed from its safely allocated storage space. This usually involves placing the dinghy on a trolley, which is then pulled by a tractor or rolled by the crew to the launching location. The boat must be

In many cases a motorized rib is called in to help get dinghy (non-motorized) sailboats out to sea.

This helps the sailboats navigate the often-busy exit channels that have specifically allocated igate when depending only on wind currents.

The same can be said of micro-enterprises and some small businesses and brands that need incubator-like facilities such as Katalyxt to get them to a position where they can rely on navigating the business tides in their own jet stream.

and floatation devices. In addition, there must be quick internal system checks to determine whether rudders are functional, and to ensure that all systems are in working order, given that the boat was in storage. Sometimes rain water is in the dinghy, and the bung must be removed to let the water out. The crew has to pay attention to the rules of sailing that have been established for the protection of life and property. These include not launching your boat on land, or in water that is too shallow – this prevents getting holes in the boat. These considerations and preparations have to be made every time you take a boat out to sea.

“

Maintaining a successful business takes daily preparation and application of disciplined principles.

All hands and heads working together enables success In sailing, one person’s actions can cause the dinghy to capsize. If the person who is controlling the sails makes a strategic decision without acknowledging and getting agreement from the crew, there may be disaster, as the crew will not be able to anticipate and counterbalance the effect of a swinging sail, and this can lead to an unstable ride, a contusion as the boom connects with heads, or, worse, a completely capsized boat!

”

Maintaining a successful business takes daily preparation and application of disciplined principles. This includes ensuring that you are adequately stocked with the right merchandise to sell to your customers or to use in the manufacture of your product. It also includes maintaining good customer relationships, keeping your facilities clean, ensuring that records are up-to-date and within the guidelines generally set up to protect property, and, last but not least, how to finance the aforementioned activities; must be given priority.

In business, if strategic partners have divergent visions for their teams, the business can suffer from the ills of mixed messages and can create confusion in building the business culture of that organization. This is common in businesses where the two primary shareholders were once married and after divorce are unable to work together.

Having started the business as 50:50 partners, for the business going forward, thereby leaving the business incapacitated, which often leads to its eventual failure if no compromise is obtained.

“

If strategic partners have divergent visions for their teams, it can create confusion in building the business culture of that organization.

9

”

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

Dead spots do not mean dead-ends There will be times when you are headto-wind or in a dead spot and your boat is going nowhere. The best you can do at this point is ride the waves and get to know your mates on the boat a little better until you can catch the direction of the wind. This can be frustrating if there is a destination in mind.

Since the elements are not in your control, you have to watch and wait.

employment bill through its Houses of Parliament, knowing that the final legislation may or may not alter how they approach their business model. This may take years, and it is an election year, so the results might be dramatically affected.

Business must continue, and thrive. In the meantime it will be business as usual.

The outcome is completely out of the control of the individual business person.

There are many points in the life of a business when there are factors that cannot be predicted such as when watching the passage of a relevant bill through par-

These are just a few of the lessons I learned from sailing and in my follow-up article or on the blog I will share others. Have sports impacted your view on business? If you have more to add to this conversation please email your comments to katalyxt@gmail.com.

businesses are anticipating the potential of changing laws with the passage of the small business, enterprise and

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

10

11

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

Women’s Intuition a Factor in Business Success?

By: Dr. Blossom O’Meally-Nelson

The dialogue continues. ‘Women in business’ is still on the agenda as worthy of study and analysis. In western societies despite all the efforts at promoting equality between women and men, the fact that women continue to own businesses at an increasing rate is still seen as something out of the ordinary.

The stereotypical role of women as homemakers which has been held as the norm over centuries, is one that is hard to break and yet it begs the question, is this really so? Have women been only home makers all these years or have they been important contributors to the economies in which they raise families and fulfill their home- making role?

I am of the view that women are intuitively business oriented and that their very make-up puts them at a distinct advantage as business owners. I am also of the view that women throughout history have been exercising their business acumen sometimes overtly and at other times in cunning ways in order to build an economic base for themselves and their families. eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

Let us take Jamaica as an example. For over four hundred years women have played a significant role in economic development, not only as field slaves or house slaves, common labourers and low level employees, but also as entrepreneurs operating in the informal economy. During the period of slavery, they worked their own plots and sold produce at Saturday markets thereby creating their own capital.

Rural women in particular have been the mainstay of peasant farming. They survived on the ‘thread bag economy’. Although in most cases they were illiterate, they were able to do the proper costing, make change and keep accounts. The thread bag and the deep apron pocket are symbols of the commercial activity that kept rural economies alive and paid for schooling of successive generations of children seeking to emerge from poverty. These women not only managed the means of production, including the animals but provided labour and capital. They also did the storage, marketing

12

“

For over four hundred years role in economic development.

and packaging as well as the selling. All this was done while raising families and providing leadership in churches and the community at large.

”

range of sectors, the development of indigenous beauty products, agricultural marketing, the insurance industr y,

By the twentieth century, ‘higglers’ as these women were known rode in the backs of trucks and slept on the floor of the Coronation Market for nights on end in order to send their children to school. Many of these children have held key positions in Jamaica.

Yes, the ‘market woman’ is the icon of female entrepreneurship in Jamaica and it is fitting that although she has been immortalized in art and sculpture there should be some formal tribute to her through a physical monument that is well placed as a reminder of the strength of the Jamaican woman.

It is interesting to trace the evolution of the rural higgler to her urban descendants in the ICIs, their bold culture and their aggressive entrepreneurship.

They have set the pace for men, some of whom have followed them into this field and many also work with them as their ‘loader boys’. The ICIs have contributed to the vibrancy of the real estate market and have kept airlines flying until the Chinese invaded our markets. It will be interesting to see their next re-incarnation as they seek to construct a response to this new trading dynamic.

distribution, technology, health services, finance and the professions.

Women come to business with certain intuitive skills.

They have a natural tenacity, the will to protect and nurture even the smallest business idea. Women will build their businesses patiently, brick by brick, with no overwhelming need to be overly competitive or to feed their egos with ostentatious business success. Just as with the family,

Female owned micro enterprises have made their mark in the craft industries and the traditional bakeries and eateries, gizadas, coconut drops, asham, blue drawers. Women plaited straw to make baskets, bags and place mats, they organized themselves into cottage industries employing young women and girls, they taught them the indigenous crafts that are the signature pieces of the Jamaican craft industry.

Women’s contribution to economic growth covers a

“

The current approach to training and coaching of women in business fails to effectively take into account their history and these intuitive skills.

13

” eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

a woman’s intuition allows her to build her core team and to build loyalty among employees, she will lead by example and work side by side with employees at all levels if necessary.

“

Women come to business with certain intuitive skills. They have a natural tenacity, the will to protect and nurture even the smallest business idea.

”

Taking responsibility is a core indicator of women’s intuition. Without this willingness to take responsibility the human race would have difficulty surviving.

She brings to the field of business the same instincts that make her strive for the survival of her young.

Women do not shy away from facing up to their

ful’ businesswomen. We need to consider that with this approach we may lose more than we gain. There is urgent need for commitment to a more explorative and enquiring approach to determine the impact of women’s intuition on their business decisions and practices.

An understanding of the psychological processes involved in women fulfilling their multiple roles in the family, in the society and in business is of key importance. Some value must be placed on the ‘softer’ factors like, tenacity, perseverance, collaboration, cooperation and innovation.

We need much more research and anecdotal evidence to understand for example – what goes into a woman’s decision making process. How does she negotiate? What are her mental processes here and what are the real dynamics involved in a woman’s innate power to achieve her goals. What gives a woman satisfaction as an entrepreneur? How does she cope with failure? How does she cope with success?

It may go against conventional ‘male’ thinking but I believe that there is more to be gained in maximizing the differences between the psyche and skills of men and women than in minimizing them. The aim must be to maximize women’s natural intuitive skills not only to create better businesses but to enable them to create a better world.

responsibilities, they will accept blame, perhaps too much so.

Women intuitively seek justice, they do not like unfairness and will commit to a cause even to their own detriment. They will stick to the task and see a process through if it means that truth will be discovered and justice will be done.

The typical approach of women to their business and indeed to life is aptly expressed in the following quotation: “LIKE THE SPIDER THERE ARE THOSE OF US WHO REFUSE TO STOP SPINNING… OUR ROPE THOUGH PERHAPS FRAIL, CAN STILL BE SPUN WITH OPTIMISM, CURIOSITY, WONDER, LOVE AND THE SINCERE DESIRE TO SHARE A TRIP TO THE STARS” - Leo Buscaglia.

The current approach to training and coaching of women in business fails to effectively take into account their history and these intuitive skills. The focus is more on women becoming like men, something that they are not.

There is no one-size-fits-all in business training.

Using the standard indicators for business success to train women is perhaps doing them a great disservice. Objective indicators of business success are to a large extent sterile and devoid of the human factor, we need to think carefully about what we want women to become as we make demands of them to be ‘successeKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

14

15

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

Driving Growth through Service to Jamaica’s Productive Sector The EXIM Bank in its 28 year history has stayed true to its mandate of stimulating, enabling and facilitating entrepreneurial activities across all major sectors of the economy, both in the traditional and non-traditional sectors. Delivering value and surpassing expectations by facilitating and promoting increased productivity, local and international competitiveness, remain the Bank’s goal and commitment to its clients and stakeholders.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

With the introduction of a more highly targeted and refocused SME Strategy, the Bank has been intensifying support to this sector through customized loan financing and a suite of value-added products and services aimed at leveling the playing field to make working capital more accessible, serviceable and affordable to more of Jamaica’s SME’s. Through this intense drive to boost the impact of SME’s and their contribution to Jamaica’s Gross Domestic

16

Product (GDP), aided by an expanded marketing promotional thrust, the Bank is looking to increase the percentage of total loans to the SME sector this financial year by more than the almost 20% increase it recorded last year.

Another important element of the SME Strategy now being pursued is a deliberate effort to bring greater equilibrium and balance between banking and entrepreneurship.

According to EXIM Bank’s Managing Director, Mrs. Lisa Bell, “We believe this is vital in the process of accelerating Jamaica’s economic recovery and development. This strategy must be supported by the adopting

17

of a more flexible approach which utilizes a more diversified loan portfolio, a restructuring of our collateral regime, allowing for the use of a mix of traditional and non-traditional collateral; the lobbying for funding from partner agencies to assist in risk sharing, and a move towards faster processing of loans and other business transactions for our SME’s”.

Recognizing the increasing need to envelope and embrace fledgling entrepreneurs who are on the cusp of growth, the Bank continues to work steadfastly to create a space for this group to access capital to take their businesses to the next level.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

I

f you dream of enjoying a fulfilling retirement lifestyle in the future, you need to commit today to the process of preparing for this important goal. The most recent statistics have placed the pension coverage in the private sector at between 7% and 15%. Many persons, especially the self-employed, are delaying saving for retirement and many people only plan as far as their employer facilitated pension schemes.

With life expectancies on the rise and people spending more years in retirement the need for adequate retirement savings is more important than ever. It’s never too late to start saving, let us show you how it can be possible.

If you want the freedom to pursue your retirement dreams, you can put the odds of success in your favour by being disciplined now. With commitment and sound advice from financial partners like Scotiabank, you can meet the challenges ahead.

So what to do?

Increasingly financial advisors recommend you start saving for retirement the moment you start working, for those of us who haven’t been that prudent, getting started can be daunting.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

Here are some baseline recommendations to get started: 1) Determine how you want to live in your retirement, how you save will determine your lifestyle later on. Setting a target, and working out how much you need to save is critical.

2)

Decide when you want to retire. This goal will likely shift, but it still needs to be set now.

3)

Plan for health care, and health-related emergencies – rainy days come as a part of life.

4)

Save up to 20% of your income. Start with what you can afford and work towards this goal

5)

Once you have started saving, always look for opportunities to increase the amount over time.

If you get a bonus or salary increase, try to match it with a similar increase in your savings.

At S c o t i a b a n k , w e k n o w this can be daunting, and we have developed a product to help you get started.

ScotiaBRIDGE:

Is an Approved Retirement Scheme (ARS), a vehicle for accumulating funds for retirement.

18

This plan enables individuals to make tax-deductible contributions during their working years, and those contributions are invested in trust until retirement.

What tax benefits are offered by ScotiaBRIDGE? Contributions of up to 20% of your annual income are tax-deductible, and all the earnings on your investment during accumulation are tax-free.

To become a ScotiaBRIDGE plan member, you must not be an active member of an Approved Superannuation Fund or another Approved Retirement Scheme. However if you are self-employed or an employee of a company that does not offer a Pension Plan, and you are between the ages of 18 - 68 as well as being a Jamaican resident, you are eligible to become a ScotiaBRIDGE plan member.

For more information, give us a call, at 1 888 4726842 or step into one of our branches and a Scotia Insurance representative will help you ‘Discover what’s Possible’ and prepare you for the retirement you deserve.

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR GROWTH By: Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee

19

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

E

veryone knows technology adds value to any business, established or emerging.

Greater efficiencies in production, communication, and enhanced creativity are examples of the contributions made by technology. But technology is not the only factor that is necessary to attain growth within a business.

Technology represents a significant investment on the part of any business owner, and, like any other investment, must be properly evaluated on a cost-benefit basis, both from a tangible and intangible perspective.

Technology is only as good as its application, and it falls on the people who are involved, from initial conceptualization, set-up, through to operation, to ensure a successful application. And that’s key – too many times people (business owners) forget that it is the people (employees, customers, and the community) who are the critical factor in the equation that can make or break any technology solution intended to drive a business forward.

“

than foisting a shiny tool on a company that needs something grimy, whether because of cost considerations, or simply the nature of the business, both on the part of the company and the client.

After 10 years of running a geo-technology company, with mean employee age in the mid-20s, I can assure you that we’ve faced more than our fair share of challenges as it relates to leveraging

Technology represents a sigpart of any business owner.

”

That’s a lot of people to consider, and in (so far) a non-A.I. world, that also means a lot of moving parts.

It begins with the conceptualization and the vision.

What is it you want to do with your business; where do you want to go? What do you want technology to make better: the product or service delivery? What are you willing to spend? What is your timeline for returns on your investment? What is that return going to look like?

Technology can do three main things for your business: increase revenues and profits, reduce costs, and increase compliance for business operations. But all that means nothing without having the right people in place to ensure that you realize real gains from your investment. That is the last part of the people equation – having the right people. These can range from the contractor and supplier, to your internal staffers (not just the Chief Information Officer). These active technologists (as opposed to conventional users), the ones who supposedly know better, should operate with the best interests of the business first, rather

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

technology to grow the business. Unlike businesses that specialize in clothing, food, health, agriculture, and other fields (all users of technology in one form or another), technology companies are themselves businesses, and have the same basic requirements as any other business. However, while other sectors may manage their operations, generate products and interface with customers using technology, in the tech sector, technology is the product. And the product isn’t just nuts, bolts and silicon chips. It’s also about service delivery to customers – a quality deliverable that improves their business or daily lives.

‘Scope creep’ is a nightmare for any purveyor of technology services, when clients endlessly change the scope of a project without expecting any variation in

20

the original contract. On paper, the lesson would be to ensure that the service contract is very clear on the deliverables and output of a particular project. However, a good working relationship with a client makes this less arduous and more amicable. Again, good customer service, born from good people skills, is key.

So the lesson (and it is singular) here is to understand the people dynamic of your business.

“

Technology can do three main things for your business: increase revenues and profits, reduce costs, and increase compliance for business operations.

”

21

Technology is always around us, as ubiquitous as it is perpetual henceforth. It is the reality of the age we currently live in. Having the right attitude, as a business CEO, is only one part of the equation. Assembling the right team and the right technology solution (in that order) is critically important. Delivering quality products to clients is also important, but no less important is the customer service and support to these clients.

Listening and responding to them is important as well, and technology, through various social media platforms, facilitates this well. Nothing beats good word-of-mouth in growing a business, and technology provides the medium by which this good word can be amplified and accelerated across your market. But without the right people delivering the right product and/or service, everything would be for naught. And it wouldn’t be technology’s fault.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

HEALTH TIPS for CEOs and Entrepreneurs

By: Barbara Dallas

E

ntrepreneurs and CEOs are purpose driven individuals, devoting almost all waking moments to their businesses; striving for improved efficiencies, innovating, and challenging their teams to become more profitable. Planning is an important tool.

“An entrepreneur who fails to plan, plans to fail.”

Staying healthy should be a top priority for all entrepreneurs and CEOs. Here are a few health tips that busy entrepreneurs and CEOs may wish to include in their lifestyle.

1

5

2 3 4

Annual Physical Examination Have an annual physical examination.

This should be done to put your mind at ease that your health is good or to alert you of potential health problems.

Stress Management Stress management is important, taking a break of 30-45 minutes is necessary no matter how busy you may be. Use this time to eat, take a walk or listen to music. This will improve your concentration and energy level.

6

Exercise Exercise has a positive effect on the body and mind. Stand while you work or walk and talk with a hand phone rather than remaining seated. Endorphins are released when you exercise.

It helps to reduce stress and improves sleep so make this a part of your daily schedule. A minimum of 30 minutes exercise each day is recommended.

We should remember that our bodies are mostly water. It makes sense to input the gas that keeps us going. Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day, your body and brain needs it to function properly. Your body is between 55- 60% water and the brain 70 -78%. Do not run on low or empty, fill up with H2O and stay healthy. So here I go “my eighth glass of water before going to bed.”

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

22

Taking Vitamins Taking vitamins and magnesium supplements will help you to relax after a stressful day. Get your Vitamin D level checked and take necessary supplements if the level is low. Low Vitamin D can eventually lead to serious health problems.

Take time away from technology CEOs and managers are often controlled by that ping from a phone, computer or some other electronic gadget. Please, pretty please, turn off your cell phones, computers and tablets for at least one hour each day. Make an effort to talk with friends and family, have a real conversation, enjoy life without a tweet, without a video update or without responding to an e-mail.

7

Adequate Sleep Adequate sleep is essential to having a healthy lifestyle. Many CEOs and Managers are so keyed up about work they often carry the keys home and to bed. Don’t be that CEO whose partner complains on the road, “I wish I had someone to love me.”

Know that basic cognitive functions such as memory and attention span and general performance will improve when you are getting between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Don’t be a victim, note weight gain, irritability, carbohydrate cravings, inability to focus and widespread inflammation has been associated with sleep deprivation

...YOUR SUCCESS

Mint Management and Finance Services Ltd mintfin@gmail.com 876-926-6034 23

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

24

By: Ralston Hyman

“

There are still opportunities to produce goods and services for the export market once products/ service offerings are competitive.

”

H

arvard University’s professor Joseph Schumpeter and New York University’s William Baumol argued that the entrepreneur, the risk taker and the promoters are the dynamic actors in a capitalist system because through a process of innovation and creative destruction they produce and distribute new goods and services, while creating employment and generating tax revenues.

Innovation and creating destruction are however facilitated by investments in research/ development, science and technology, as well as market intelligence and penetration. This therefore means that entrepreneurs must have access to capital.

25

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

Improving the business environment and facilitating entrepreneurship through the provision of greater access to capital and capacity building at the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) is one of the measures being pursued by the current administration to improve access to capital and the managerial capacity of micro, small and medium size enterprises.

Investments in training is also of paramount importance to an improvement in the productivity levels of an enterprise, so micro, small, and medium sized enterprises must invest more in the training of key management personnel and staff if they hope to improve profitability on a sustainable basis.

The country’s macro-economic strategy of fiscal consolidation-or cut backs in government spending must match revenue flows. This is having a negative impact on the domestic component of aggregate demand or

The response from many of these enterprises has however been lukewarm despite constant complaints made by the said entrepreneurs about the lack of access to capital. Entrepreneurs must stop complaining and make a serious effort to access these facilities in order to improve the viability and sustainability of their businesses.

Jamaica’s trade with the USA January-July US$M

Imports 1, 283.20

Exports 352.60

Trade deficit 930.60

Local entrepreneurs are also negatively affected by the high cost of energy which is currently running at between (US)38 and 42 cents per kilowatt hour. Investors therefore need to invest more money into energy conservation and renewable energy in order to reduce the cost of production and so enhance their competitiveness in both the domestic and export markets.

total spending. In order to improve the viability of their businesses, local entrepreneurs will have to invest more in export promotions, marketing and production.

They must also take the long view and realize that although the upfront costs associated with renewable energy are relatively high entrepreneurs will reap significant savings which will flow straight to their bottom lines in the future.

There are still opportunities to produce goods and services for the export market, if products/service offerings are competitive.

The American economy, which is the locomotive of the global economy is valued at about US$18 trillion but Jamaica’s exports to that market were valued at only US$352.6 million during the first 7 months of this year, while imports were valued at $1.3 billion. The trade deficit with the world’s biggest economy was therefore US$930.6 million during the period under review.

This means that there is significant room for local entrepreneurs to produce more goods and services to substitute for the massive imports from that country.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

26

There is also scope for a ‘big jump’ in exports since the value of exports during the period under review was 3 times below the value on imports.

Many micro, small and medium sized enterprises find it difficult to access financing from commercial banks. Access is needed to buy new equipment to retool operations. The banks contend that many of these institutions have no managerial capacity and are therefore trying to help these enterprises develop this capacity through the provision

Entrepreneurs must make their voices heard The high crime rate is a major disincentive to businesses; entrepreneurs must also invest in security systems in order to supplement the poor national security system which is under funded and under manned, as well as immobile.

The political environment is also becoming unstable due to the impact of the fiscal consolidation on the country’s human, social and physical capital. These things have a negative impact on investor confidence and make it difficult to start-up and operate a business profitably. However, investors will have to keep focused and remain steadfast despite the odds.

of technical assistance in conjunction with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

We would therefore advise micro, small and medium sized entrepreneurs to take advantage of the technical assistance being provided by the commercial banks and the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) in order to improve their capacity to qualify for the funding needed to improve their operations.

“

Local entrepreneurs are negatively affected by the high cost of energy which is currently running at between US38 and 42 cents per kilowatt hour.

” 27

The current impasse over the imprudent expenditure of $260 million by the DBJ and the National Housing Trust (NHT), as well as the politicking surrounding it are temporary confidence eroding distractions. The entrepreneur will have to take the longer view which is what Schumpeterian investors are supposed to do.

These distractions will eventually go away but entrepreneurs must also make their voices heard on these matters since they are taxpayers and when these dollars are wasted on imprudent investments it makes life harder for entrepreneurs because the cut backs on spending on the country’s social, human and physical capital reduces the marginal productivity of the entrepreneur’s scarce and expensive capital. Entrepreneurs must therefore play a greater role in the public debate on governance since bad governance has a deleterious effect on their ability to successfully start-up and operate a business. This is why Schumpeter, the great economist referred to them as the dynamic actors in a capitalist system.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

“From the outside looking in, perspectives on success”

WORLD PERSPECTIVE VS YARD PERSPECTIVE By: Derefe Chevannes

T

here are certain core fundamentals about success that never change: perseverance, attitude, and vision. These traits are timeless because they are true across continents, and across cultures. In this sense, success is what we’ve always imagined it to be: never giving up, always keeping at it no matter how daunting the effort; the weight of the world may be on your shoulders, but there’s an inexplicable spring in your step that makes you unstoppable.

Knowing how to dream is important. Know what you want; know how to get it, no matter what others declare your “chances” to be. Yet, while success is undoubtedly a universal language, it has many different its people. Knowing these cultural short-hands can make the difference between success and failure.

“

“We likkle but we tallawah”, we often say, but we are also a “likkle” stubborn too, should we dare concede it.

”

LINKING UP WITH YARDIES Jamaica’s business space can be likened to a ladder of success. If you don’t know anyone higher up on the rungs of climb. In Jamaica, you learn to network and create a web of connections. “We likkle but we tallawah”, we often say, but we are also a “likkle” stubborn too, should we dare concede it. We value personal relationships. How could we not? We are social people; we love interactions! We are the country of “No problem mon”, which explains why our little rock was ranked the 6th happiest place on earth (2014) by the Travel Channel. Success in Jamaica is local and it is communal. Building “links” is thought to be half the battle. Learning how to communicate with this ‘unseen hand’ guiding business relationships is a craft of tremendous currency.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

28

Steve Jobs argued, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” This perseverance, particularly true of the American way, is sculpted by a dogged individualism. Here, it’s not so much who you know, but what you can do. Of course, this isn’t always true. There are other factors that impact success in any arena—race, class, resources, gender are role players. But, for the most part, these are to dig in, and “persevere” to climb one more rung.

The accent of Jamaican success is one of breadth too. Too many of us rely on becoming job seekers, and not job creators. We have a culture of dependency. We write letters to the editor, we call radio stations, we block the streets, we blame parliament, but we fail to do for ourselves what clearly others cannot or will not do for us. While there is virtue and legitimacy in all of these well-intended activities, we create problems when we use them as crutches to climb each rung on the road to success.

In spite of this, if we were to listen intently, there are whispers of self-reliance. The handcart man, the banana woman, and Gleaner man have found work reproach. The truth is, many of us have a deep pool of talent, more than we envision, but we choose to

LESSONS BORROWED glean from both perspectives. This rugged individualism of the internal marketplace may work well for some people. Indeed, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, each built a very successful enterprise on individual effort. Jamaican entrepreneurs borrow from this perspective. In Jamaica, sometimes we just need to not allow our need for “links” to shackle us.

Yet, there is something about our close-knitted cultural rapport that is a Jamaican treasure. Given how necessary ingredient to forge relationships to brainstorm and generate bright ideas. From the outside looking in, success is a mishmash of individualism and community, and knowing where in the sand to draw those lines. In the end, success speaks many languages, and in Jamaica it has its own twang.

SIPPING GLOBAL COCKTAILS International business minglers would tell you that becoming successful is all about being a go-getter.

Entrepreneurs should not wait on others to forge their paths to success. On the global stage, drinking cocktails with international players demands a sort of individualism on which to predicate success. The late

29

From the outside looking in, success is a mishmash of individualism and community, and knowing where in the sand to draw those lines.

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

The Role of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Logistics Hub Initiative By: Reginald Nugent, Senior Advisor Ministry of Industry Investment & Commerce

must reorganize “ Businesses their business plans to take advantage of export markets utilizing the logistics hub as a platform.

”

T

he role that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) will play in Jamaica’s economic growth agenda remains one of the central issues in the discussions regarding the strategy to build-out the environment to support a logistics-centered economy. Jamaica’s future economic prospects and the viability of this strategy must be seen against the backdrop of the restructuring and transformation of the global economy over several years. This last 30 years has been marked by an accelerated pace of economic globalization supported by the rapid advances and technological revolution. Globalization has created new markets as new geographic sectors of the globe were drawn into a dynamic and competitive world economy.

The characteristic feature of this world economy is the existence of global value and supply chains that serve as the fulcrum of a modern industrial production and trading system on a global scale. The emergence of global value

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

across the globe with modern methods of production being adopted to enable large-scale production and the realization of huge economies of scale, especially in the newly industrialized economies of China, Korea, India, Russia, South Africa, and Southeast Asia. What has emerged from this global restructuring process is the geographic dispersion of competitive capabilities, within particular industries and product sectors, such that it makes economic sense for different stages of a production cycle to be distributed across geographic regions based on the extent of the competitive capabilities that can be realized in those different regions. A value chain is represented by the full range of value-added activities through which a product or a service passes from its conception to market. The range of activities includes design, production, marketing, distribution among different enterprises; they can be contained within a single geographical location or spread over wider areas.

30

This is the reality that forms the starting point for any serious assessment of the future of the SMEs in Jamaica in the context of a growth agenda that seeks to position the Jamaican economy as a logistics-centered one. The growth strategy is predicated on the opportunity to drive exports by taking advantage of a developed logistics infrastructure and a competitive business environment. The domestic market does not have the capacity to absorb the

posits the SMEs as having a central role to play in order for the initiative to be successful. However, much of the discussions regarding the Logistics Hub Initiative have been centered on the opportunities that will be available for SMEs. This is quite natural since the logistics initiative has been viewed largely in terms of the build-out of the physical infrastructure requiring large-scale investments that only the foreign investors and large domestic businesses have the capacity to undertake. Given this perspective, what place will the SMEs occupy in the logistics-centered economy? This question still remains and is foremost in the minds of stakeholders from the SME community. The quick answer is that SMEs are expected to play a central role in the success of the logistics hub initiative and the country’s broader economic growth strategy

and competitive SME sector. It therefore means that if the SME sector is to achieve measureable growth, businesses must reorganize their business plans to take advantage of export markets utilizing the logistics hub as a platform.

While globalization has produced many opportunities for SMEs, there are huge hurdles to be addressed if they

The long-term viability of the SMEs depends on the degree to which they are able to develop a globally competitive platform to successfully access global markets. This calls for the implementation of an effective SME capacity-building effort that ensures that businesses within this sector will be able to deliver products and services to meet global

must respond effectively in order to take advantage of the opportunities that are being created by global integration.

unable to build the capacity and realize sustained competitive advantages over the long-run. Firms must be able to respond to market opportunities and organize themselves as necessary in order to operate on a commercially viable basis. This effort involves comprehensive upgrading of a range of management practices to improve business operations and get SMEs more competitive, with the capacity to engage in linkages with large global enterprises.

SME sector forms the “ The backbone of Jamaica’s economy and is a dynamic force for private sector growth and expansion.

SMEs and the Special Economic Zones

”

This necessitates heightened global competition and radical restructuring of production networks and value-chains into a seamless global system that can drive investments and industry. Today, some 80 percent of world trade is conducted through networks of global value chains.

These value chains are comprised of several numbers of SMEs that are dispersed across the globe. In global value chains, SMEs are often suppliers providing intermediate inputs such as components and parts, and act as subcontractors several levels down from the ultimate buyer.

Integral to the logistics hub initiative is the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) regime that will govern the operations of the SEZs, the industrial infrastructure that will accommodate large-scale global enterprises that will serve as anchors for the SMEs. The transition from the free zone regime to a modern Special Economic Zones (SEZs) regime represents a significant step towards

SMEs and the Logistics Hub Initiative?

The SME sector forms the backbone of Jamaica’s economy and is a dynamic force for private sector growth and expansion. The logistics hub initiative as elaborated by the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC)

31

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

transforming the country’s industrial infrastructure to support large-scale investments critical to driving the economic growth agenda. Moreover, the upgrading of free zones to SEZs is a move towards conformance under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules; middle-income countries such as Jamaica are required to bring its free zone regimes into compliance with the WTO Agreement on [Export] Subsidies and Countervailing Measures by 2015.

“

SMEs will have the opportunity to function as suppliers to larger global companies as well as suppliers to several downstream entities. Some of the potential sectors include agro-processing, electronics and handicraft sectors that offer greater opportunities for capturing a larger role in global value chains. Further research and analyses must be conducted to identify potential opportunities to integrate domestic SMEs into global value chains. Of course it is very

Strengthening sector institutions to provide training and advisory services Developing linkages for small businesses to promote SMEs access to information, technology, raw materials and markets -

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

�

Providing technical and soft skill capacity building solutions Providing comprehensive management support to small businesses and entrepreneurs to identify and implement effective growth strategies to increase competitiveness and overcome impediments to investments.

through programmes that provide training and technical assistance on qualification and certification processes.

Some of the programmes and initiatives that are required to strengthen SMEs include:

Research and analyses must be conducted to identify potential opportunities to integrate domestic SMEs into global value chains.

Conclusion Integrating SMEs into global value and supply-chains is indispensable to the sustained growth and development of the sector over the long-term. The critical chalthat focuses on standards development to enable SMEs accessing global supply-chains. In this regard, the global logistics hub initiative will provide a strategic platform for ensuring that the SMEs are effectively positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that will result from the initiatives will be carried out to facilitate the development of strategic partnerships and collaborative arrangements between SMEs and the large-scale enterprises that will be setting up in the special economic zones (SEZs).

32

33

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

PUBLISHED BY

www.katalyxt.info www.infokat.net Facebook.com/katalyxt Twitter@katalyxtja

Graphics Kayon Curvin

eKatalyxt | Jan-Feb 2015

34