Friday, March 27, 2009

Misunderstanding the Citizens Charter Concept at PIOJ

This morning I ventured into the offices of the Planning Institute of Jamaica to conduct some research for an article. I had tried getting the information, GDP figures for Jamaica in current prices for the years 2001 – 2008, from the Ministry of Finance website and on the PIOJ website but to no avail. In fact, the Ministry of Finance’s website was much more helpful than that for PIOJ as apparently one has to subscribe to the PIOJ to download anything. I therefore walked to Oxford Road, asked to go to the Documentation Centre to do my research. The Receptionist asked if I had an appointment, to which I responded no as all I need was some data from their reports and if I was shown to the Doc. Centre I would be able to get it on my own. I was then asked to speak by telephone to someone in the Document Centre who insisted I had to first make an appointment. When I told her that as a Customer I feel totally dissatisfied she said that the PIOJ Customer Charter makes it very clear that customers are to make an appointment. When I told her that making an appointment to get information was inconvenient to customer while convenient for the PIOJ she told me I was rude at which point I hung up the phone and left the building.


The PIOJ clearly does not understand what a Customer Charter is. Ministry Paper 56/02 describes the objective of Public Sector Reform in Jamaica as The creation “of an open and impartial public sector, which puts the public’s interests first, and in which valued and respected professionals deliver high quality services efficiently and effectively”. The PIOJ’s decision to make customers make appointments goes contrary to the above definition as our interests are secondary to the PIOJ’s. In developing a Citizen’s Charter, what is required is that customers must be consulted on how best to satisfy them, then to put in place systems to deliver on that satisfaction. There must then be an agreement with the citizens interest placed first. I encourage my good friend Dr. Wesley Hughes, Director General of the PIOJ to rethink this one.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

The Value of Strategic Thinking and Decisive Action in Difficult Times

Today we are faced with a serious global economic and financial crisis that, coupled with technology making geographical boundaries virtually nonexistent, have pundits predicting that the global output will decrease for the first time since the Second World War. What exactly does this mean for individual countries, individual firms and individuals? Does this mean that every country will see output and living conditions decline? Does it mean that every firm will decline in output and profits? It was reported in the news recently that the excellent financial results posted by Supreme Ventures was an indication that many persons are turning to gambling in these difficult times and the company is taking full advantage. Sadly several countries and most companies assume that the difficult environment will automatically have a negative impact and therefore political leaders and company executives sit back and hope that the worst will not happen. It is my belief that the countries and companies that perform well despite difficulties in the environment are those who sharpen their strategy and flawlessly execute it.


Drs. Robert Kaplan and Dave Norton define strategy as an integrated set of choices that position a firm, in an industry, to earn superior returns over the long term (I might add in good and in difficult times). What is this saying? First of all, companies need to differentiate themselves from the norm in an industry to enable customers to make purchasing decisions in the companies’ favour. Secondly, companies need to be at least as efficient as other companies in delivering the differentiated value to the customers. Companies will always have choices to differentiate, however what is important is that the set of choices must be integrated and hence an organization must align itself entirely around delivering value to customers. If a supermarket decides to differentiate on selection or availability, it must excel in purchasing and inventory management to ensure that goods cover a wide spectrum and are always available. When times are difficult, the supermarket cannot cut back on its purchasing and inventory capability in order to reduce costs as it will no longer differentiate and will experience serious revenue reductions.


This strategic thinking to differentiate or to position a firm to take advantage of the opportunities created by a difficult environment is what separates a well performing company from others. However, while strategic thinking is a necessary condition for success, it certainly is not sufficient. Without taking action, strategic thinking is merely a daydream. Michael Lee Chin once said that success is 1% strategy and 99% execution. This is even more relevant in difficult times as delays in taking action can result in loss of opportunities.


In summarizing, companies, and countries, must always think strategically and act accordingly. In difficult times there is a natural tendency to throw the strategic thinking out the window and cut back indiscriminately to survive. However, in difficult times there are always opportunities and companies must strategize ways to exploit these opportunities by differentiating themselves in order to grow or maintain revenue in a declining market. Companies must be cognizant of the internal processes that drive differentiation and ensure that these processes are never compromised when deciding to cut back on expenditure. More importantly however is to act swiftly and decisively once the strategy decision has been taken.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Council of Presidents lack Strategic Thinking

There was great publicity recently over the “historic” meeting of the 21 Council of (Industry Association) Presidents to discuss the solutions to the global economic and financial crisis facing us. According to the newspaper reports the meeting highlighted several solutions, however there were no details on what the solutions were.


Speaking on the HOT 102 Breakfast Club programme this morning, March 10, 2009, Financial Analyst Ralston Hyman said when he spoke to the PSOJ President he was told that the main topics were Currency Board vs. Dollarization. Mr. Hyman concluded that the meeting of the Council of Presidents was a grand waste of time. He contended that the value of a country’s currency is a reflection of the strength of the economy; therefore however we decide to manage the currency (dollarization, Currency Board, Central Bank); the fact is we need to significantly increase economic performance and this is where the Council of Presidents should focus their attention. This reminded me of the debates during the Partnership for Progress a few years ago where there was no Vision, no strategy and no structure and it is déjà vu all over. My conclusion, if Mr. Hyman is correct, is that the Council of Presidents lack Strategic thinking.


If the Council of Presidents really wants to make a difference I recommend they contract Growth Facilitators to facilitate them through a strategic thinking process, which will not simply result in a cacophony of ideas, but rather a coherent, vision-driven strategy to navigate Jamaica through the difficult times.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Giving Forward

Photo: Members of the Growth Facilitators team (Sharon, Marguerite, Robert, Ulla) with Principal of Ascot High School, the President and Vice President of SET at Ascot and Kevin Wallen, founder of SET

Growth Facilitators was recently recognised for our contribution to an amazing not-for-profit organization in Jamaica, Students Expressing Truth (SET). SET was started by a young man named Kevin Wallen, who on returning to his home country Jamaica after spending his formative years in Canada, asked himself what he could do to make a difference. He found his answer in the prison system and has worked there tirelessly and selflessly over the past 10 years.

The SET Vision is to be an instrument for transformation of those enslaved by physical walls and those enslaved without them.

The mission of S.E.T is to empower individuals and groups in prisons, schools, communities, business and government to realize and create opportunities for their own lives by facilitating self-awareness, marketability and cohesiveness in response to their needs.

SET has achieved amazing results in terms of recidivism – NO graduate of SET has returned to the prison system – as well as in the personal growth, development and transformation of its students. It is a joy to see how young men and women (mostly the former) are able to turn their lives around, and come to view their incarceration as ironically, the best thing that ever happened to them!

The Growth Facilitators team believes in our responsibility to contribute ot the betterment of our society. We are very conscious of the importance of giving back the gifts we have been blessed with. Indeed, we see it as "giving forward", as our gifts are carefully targeted to move the organizations to which we give, to greater and greater heights. We are very clear to ourselves that we give in the area of education, and we give that with which we have been abundantly blessed – our facilitation and strategic planning skills.

Growth Facilitators has supported SET over the past 4 years in a number of ways. Part proceeds from our executive conference on Cyberstrategy in 2005 built the computer lab at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre. Our partner, Robert, has adopted SET through his Kiwanis Club and regularly supports the inmates, or students, in practical ways. Most recently, we facilitated a one-day Vision to Action workshop with the SET team out of which emerged a 3 year Strategic Plan.

As our team members sat at the function to launch SET at the Ascot High School last week, we felt pride in knowing that the gift of our talent has been multiplied. Our interaction with students in the Correctional Services and at Ascot affirms our belief that an investment in human potential yields infinite returns.

We also felt deeply grateful for the gifts we have received through SET. We have gotten to know some amazing people. We have gained knowledge and sensitivity to the plight of inmates in the Correctional Services System, and those who will probably end up there without an intervention like SET. But most of all, we have experienced the joy of giving of ourselves. Thank you SET!

To learn more about SET, visit http://set-foundation.org/