Change

Growth Facilitators has always stood for progress and change. Sometimes this means departures, separations and endings, but endings are always new beginnings. In this spirit of growth, we wish to advise you of the many changes that have taken place at Growth Facilitators.

Firstly, Marguerite relocated to Canada this summer. Toronto is a plane ride away from Jamaica and the Caribbean, so she will continue to be available for your facilitation, consulting and coaching needs. Look for more of her presence in cyberspace as she builds her Free and Laughing brand!

Robert has started a new firm on July 1, 2009 and will continue to add value to your organization as needed.

Other team members are spreading their wings, doing new and exciting things – new jobs, projects, their own firms. Look for them as they soar!

We are delighted to have been facilitators of choice in the Caribbean over the past eight years, and to have added value to all spheres of society. We are specially delighted to have shared our thoughts with you on this blog and thank you for your comments!

Wishing you all the very best in the future

The Importance of Environment for a Successful Facilitation

contributed by Sharon Carruthers

The facilitator is not only responsible to ensure that the group achieves the agreed tangible outcomes. Of equal importance, the facilitator ensures that participants feel involved and engaged throughout the process, buy in to the results and are committed to implementing agreed actions – i.e. their experience during the process and how they feel at the end of the process.

Facilitators utilize many facilitation skills and techniques to encourage all group members to participate fully, remain fully engaged, collaborate, effectively deal with conflict and make meaningful decisions in an efficient and effective manner, and gain the desired results. Effective facilitators know that the environment in which the group works is very important to ensuring these results. When group members are relaxed, comfortable, energized, enjoying what they are doing, and feel safe, this stimulates creativity and teamwork, helps generate ideas and keeps participants engaged for as long as is necessary to achieve desired results.

This is why at GF we spend so much time, effort and money on creating and maintaining the right environment. It begins with the selection of the venue. We always recommend that groups come out of their normal office environment and go somewhere scenic and away from distractions. It continues with the layout of the rooms – round tables for collaboration versus classroom style, to the use of ice breakers and energizers, bright colours – (markers, coloured paper), music, table toys, prizes, fun activities and games.

In any GF workshop you will observe laughter, active engagement of all in games and other fun activities, and colours galore. In this newsletter you will see some photos of us at work in creating environments where participants are having fun while working hard.

So as you select a facilitator or seek to enhance your own facilitation skills, consider the importance of creating and maintaining the right environment to the success of the event. A successful workshop is much more than the facilitator just showing up with flipchart and markers!

Facilitation - A Powerful Tool for Group Effectiveness (contributed by Sandra Cooper, CPF)

One of the realities of organisational life is that groups are needed to do what cannot be done by individuals alone. However, working groups are not always effective. Capable, talented individuals are often frustrated by the myriad challenges unearthed when they come together to get things done, challenges such as:

Long-winded discussions without resolution
Lack of buy-in to group goals and decisions
Domineering leader or group members
Personality differences and clashes causing lack of cooperation
Members giving in to decisions without really supporting them
Decisions, actions and responsibilities not formally recorded, so members “forget” or are not clear about what was said from meeting to meeting

And the list could go on and on. A group is as complex and difficult as the sum total of the problems and people that comprise it. Without skilled leadership and good process management, groups will not be as effective as they could be. More and more organizations are recognizing this and are increasingly drawing on those with facilitation skills to help in addressing this phenomenon.

What is Facilitation?

Facilitation is a form of leading and communicating with the intent of achieving results with maximum creativity, involvement and commitment to a task. It involves the use of a rich and well-defined set of internationally recognised tools and practices that improve group effectiveness by overcoming some of the inherent difficulties of working in groups, and makes the work of the group easier (facile – to make easy), while achieving the best possible results. Let’s look at an example. Meetings are the fundamental way people get together as a group and the arena in which decisions are often made. Yet people complain of spending their lives in unproductive meetings without accomplishing any “real” work. Many organizations have learned over a long history of unproductive and contentious meetings that results don’t happen just by bringing team members together in one room. Anyone who has sat in a meeting that was dominated by one member, that never produced an action plan, that was sparsely attended, or that was punctuated by cell phones ringing every two minutes and team members running out of the room constantly, will agree that meetings need guidance and structure, ground rules, and results. Unless an organization sets out to intentionally cause productive meetings, poor meeting practices become a habit. Facilitators are needed more than ever to help organizations improve meeting productivity by providing focus and structure, managing the meeting environment, addressing disruptions, difficulties or conflict, soliciting feedback and careful recording of the output and results generated by the group.

The Role of the Facilitator

The facilitator’s role is to manage the process and to remain neutral about the content of the discussion. The process is how group members work together and interact with each other and how decisions are made. Content refers to the ideas generated, the arguments proposed, the decisions made and the actions planned. The facilitator takes an active role describing, suggesting, leading and intervening so as to make it easier for the group to complete its tasks successfully. A skilled facilitator continually considers questions like: Are the objectives clear? Are they being adhered to? Is the meeting on schedule? Are people listening to one another? Who talks with whom? Is everyone contributing? Is the energy level of the group high or low? While working with a group, he of she can:

Draw out participation
Encourage dialogue among participants and different points of view
Listen actively and asks others to do the same
Record, organize and summarize input from group members
Move the group through stages of group decision making and consensus
Help the group resolve conflict in a positive and productive way
Encourage the group to evaluate its own progress and development
Protect group members and their ideas from attack or being ignored
Emphasize that the group is a reservoir of knowledge, experience, and creativity and use facilitation skills to tap this resource

Who Can Become a Facilitator?

Just about any professional in an organisation with good communication and interpersonal skills can become a facilitator. Indeed, it makes good sense for team leaders and department managers to develop facilitation skills so as to support their work group in achieving its objectives and in maximizing effectiveness. Teams that need to develop corporate strategies, make decisions, plot technical directions, plan consistent communications messages, or do any of the myriad of other organizational direction-setting activities need a discussion leader. They need a facilitator who can lead them into focused areas of discussion, can assist in recording and clarifying proposals and ideas, can diplomatically move past controversial and unproductive arguments, and can apply a structured process to getting results from meetings. Facilitation is also a skill that every consultant needs to develop, one that produces results for clients in ways that pure technical or subject-matter expertise never could.

Dynamic Facilitation Opens Doors of New Possibility

In today’s economic climate of stretched resources, uncertainty and unpredictability, can you imagine a workplace environment where there is open communication, teamwork and harmonious interpersonal relationships prevailing at all levels of the organization? Such a state of organisational utopia in not as far-fetched as it may seem, indeed, the participative nature of facilitation opens doors of new possibility as:

Employees are more motivated to support decisions made
Maximum participation and involvement increase productivity
Managers and leaders are better able to draw on those they lead as resources, an ability that is critical to organizational success
Everyone has a chance to be influential and useful, and people sense that they are an integral part of a team effort
Organizations can be flexible and produce results more quickly because people are committed to the decisions made
People realise that the responsibility for implementing decisions lies with everyone
Innovation and problem-solving skills are built
People are encouraged to think and act for the overall good of the organisation
Negative effects such as low morale, low involvement, and withholding information from others, as well as attitudes such as “It’s not my job” are less likely

There are so many events and activities that can benefit from the intervention of a skilled facilitator. These include but are not limited to Strategic Planning, Crisis Management, Creative Problem-solving, Visioning, Staff meetings, Trust Building and Team Building, Conflict Resolution and Mediation.

Facilitation and the Way Forward

In the future, as more and more organizations come to realize the importance of group productivity and effectiveness at all levels, the role of the facilitator will become increasingly important. The more there is change, the more need there will be for group communication, group involvement and group decision-making. Organizations that want to increase their overall effectiveness might consider developing a core of trained and experienced facilitators drawn from all levels of leadership and available to the organisation to lead and coach teams, design and facilitate important meetings and retreats, and widen the channels of communication and cooperation. Indeed, facilitation skills can be applied by just about anyone; in the family, in communities, in the church, in schools, in government, and in any setting where people with diverse interests, personalities and backgrounds come together to meet, discuss and decide. Facilitators and those with facilitation skills have much to contribute.


Sandra Cooper is a Certified Professional Facilitator and CEO of Partners for Change. She can be reached at sandicoo@cwjamaica.com


______________________________
References:
Rees, Frans: The Facilitator Excellence Handbook John Wiley and Sons 2005
Friedman, Rick: The IT Consultant: A Commonsense Framework for Managing The Client Relationship; Jossey Bass 2007

Prime Minister Golding misses the mark in his National Broadcast!

It is now 8:13 pm Sunday, April 5, 2009. I have just listened to Prime Minister Golding deliver an approximate 11 minute national broadcast ostensibly setting the context and preparing the nation for the 2009-2010 Budget, whose estimates of expenditure are due to be laid at Parliament’s opening on Tuesday. Mr. Golding attempted to lecture us on Macro Economics 101. He was clear that it cannot be business as usual, and we should expect some expenditure cuts. He also spoke at length on the need to implement tax reforms now. I wait with baited breath hoping that huge tax increases are not sold as tax reforms!


The most interesting part of the broadcast was the Prime Minister volunteering to reduce his salary by 15% and asking all Members of Parliaments to do so. While I laud the prime Minister for giving up a portion of his salary, I must remind everyone that salary constitutes a relatively small portion of the cost to maintain the Prime Minister and his fellow Cabinet Ministers. Other costs include entire ministries, travelling etc. Instead, Mr. Golding should have announced a reduction of 15% in the number of Cabinet Ministers and consequently Ministries. There should also be a reduction in the number of State Ministers/Parliamentary Secretaries.


The Ministries would then include: 1) Office of the Prime Minister(OPM), Planning & Development; 2) Finance & Public Service; 3) Agriculture; 4) Education & Youth; 5) Labour and Social Security; 6) Health & Environment; 7) Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade; 8) National Security; 9) Justice; 10) Industry, Commerce & Tourism; 11) Transport & Works; 12) Water & Housing; 13) Energy, Telecommunications & Mining; 14) Information, Culture, Sports & Entertainment. This would mean a reduction from 16 to 14 Ministries. Tourism is added to Industry and Commerce as the Jamaica Tourist Board is the main driver of that portfolio, not the Ministry. Energy can return to Mining & Telecommunications as these were separated to find a job for Minister Derrick Smith after returning from surgery. Only two Ministers without Portfolio are needed: 1 each for OPM and Finance. As the House Speaker is a Cabinet position, this then results in 17 members of the Cabinet, down from 20, which gives us the 15% reduction.


The reduction in Ministries and Cabinet Ministers would send a strong message through the Public Sector that it is not business as usual. Mr. Golding’s idea to take a 15% cut and hope that others will follow suit will have little impact on the overall public sector expenditure. The Prime Minister has clearly missed the mark!

Letter to the Gleaner Editor

I write in response to the article published in your paper on March 19, 2009 entitled “Non-traditionals trump' established' schools - Top 28% of 'older' institutions”. This article is totally misleading and the Ministry of Education continues to pull a fast one over the general public.

The article claims that “Jonathan Grant, Old Harbour, Denbigh and Lewisville high schools had more than 70 per cent of their subject entries receiving passing grades”. When one examines the data and looks at success rate in Math and English Language it tells a different story. These are the only two compulsory subjects island wide and are therefore best used to compare school performance at CSEC. The success of a school cannot be measured by the pass rate of those who sat the exam; rather it must be of the pass rate of the entire Grade 11 cohort (total number of students in Grade 11 and therefore eligible to sit the exam) as is used in the Task Force Report on Education Reform. In the case of English Language the pass rate varied from 4% at Lewisville to 41% at Denbigh; while for Math it varied from 3% to 17%. Defining the pass rate based on the number of students who actually sat the exam is the Ministry's way of falsely claiming it has achieved anything.

Jamaica’s grades trending, but still not good enough

Selected data from the National Council on Education (NCE) in Jamaica as well as the Ministries of Education (MOE) in both Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) indicate that Jamaican students lag behind their counterparts from T&T. It is instructive to point out however that while the national results for T&T have been declining since 2001; those for Jamaica have been increasing. The significant dip in Jamaica’s performance in 2004 coincides with the very first GSAT graduates sitting the CXC exams. Attempts to get similar data for Barbados proved futile; however the World Economic Forum has ranked the Quality of Barbados’ Education System at #10 in the world compared to #88 for Jamaica and #46 for T&T.

There are many schools of thought and many methods used to compare the national student CXC performance. One is easily tempted to use the pass rate based on those who registered and sat exams, however this distorts the analysis as in many cases, particularly in Jamaica many students are deliberately not entered and are therefore eliminated from the assessment system very early. Instead, we have chosen to use the total Grade 11 cohort. Jamaica’s Grade 11 cohort was 40,690 in 2004 compared to 22,692 for T&T.

Using non-compulsory subjects such as Information Technology of Physics, again distort the results as there is a natural selection process and many students choose not to take these subjects, yet alone sit the subjects. In certain cases this makes sense as it is deemed a waste of resources entering certain students. Instead we use the results for English Language and Mathematics which are universally compulsory subjects.

While 88% of the cohort registered and sat English in T&T, only 56% did so in Jamaica. 43% of the T&T cohort was successful compared to 31% for Jamaica. While T&T’s performance has declined since 2001 (57% down to 43%); Jamaica’s performance actually increased over the same period (28% up to 31%). Jamaica’s English pass rates in Traditional, Upgraded and Technical High Schools were 64%, 14% and 23% respectively.

A similar comparison holds true for Mathematics. While 88% of the cohort registered and sat Math in T&T, only 46% did so in Jamaica. 41% of the T&T cohort was successful compared to 20% for Jamaica. While T&T’s performance has declined since 2001 (45% down to 41%); Jamaica’s performance actually increased over the same period (16% up to 20%). Breaking down Jamaica’s performance by school category, the data indicate that in both English and Math there were increases over 2001 for the Traditional and Upgraded Schools and a decline since 2001 for Technical schools. Why then are Jamaican students generally performing at a lower level than their counterparts in T&T and ostensibly even more so than those in Barbados? Let us look at Government investment in Education, national policies and other practices.


The World Economic Forum reports that Jamaica’s expenditure on education is one of its 10 best economic strengths, while the quality of its education system is among its 10 worst economic weaknesses. In fact, Jamaica’s economic spend at 5.05% of its Gross National Income (GNI) ranks #36 in the world and #4 in the Latin America region. Barbados spends 6.99% of its GNI ranking #9 in the world and #1 in the Latin American region. T&T spends a paltry 4.01% of GNI ranking #67 in the world and #13 in the Region. The fact that Jamaica’s Quality of Education ranks at #88 suggests that our return on investment leaves very much to be desired. This is quite similar to the poor return on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as during the 1990’s and early 2000’s Jamaica led the world in FDI with little conversion to GDP growth. The poor returns on FDI and Education expenditure point to inefficiencies in our public sector. We therefore turn to the Education policies in Jamaica and in T&T.

The 2004 Task Force Report on Education Reform in Jamaica and the 2008 National Report on the Development of Education in Trinidad & Tobago indicate several commonalities between the policies of the two countries.

1. The Jamaica 2030 Vision and the T&T Vision 2020 are the respective national contexts

2. Both countries agree that the education systems must be student-centred, with full access and full stakeholder participation.

3. Jamaica stresses autonomy and authority at the school level while T&T’s Report focuses on school-based management.

4. The respective Ministry will focus on policy and Quality Management; while in Jamaica Regional Education Authorities (REA’s) are to provide support to schools.

5. Jamaica’s Task Force Report indicates a shift from funding institutions to funding students.

We were unable to gather the relevant information on how effective T&T has been in implementing its Education policy and will therefore limit the review to Jamaica.


To implement the Task Force Report, both transformational and improvement initiatives need to be addressed. Transformational activities require minimal resources along with national and political will, paradigm shifts and tough decision-taking. Improvement initiatives on the other hand require lots of resources but have very little impact on the education outcomes without any transformation.

The paradigm shift, political will and tough decision-making required to make the Jamaican Education System student-centred, to give individual schools the required authority and autonomy and to hold everyone in the system accountable for performance have not occurred. To be fair, the former and current administrations have made concerted efforts to improve stakeholder involvement and this should continue. However, while significant resources have been spent in restructuring the MOE and establishing supporting institutions such as the National Education Inspectorate, there has been little change in the management of the education delivery. The attempt by the MOE to decentralize and delegate authority to the Regional Authorities was not the intention of the Task Force Report and will not result in Education Transformation. The fact is that while changes are required at the Ministry, transformation needs to occur at the school level.

Jamaica’s poor education performance combined with the fact that Jamaica ranks high on education expenditure is an indication of an inefficient public sector supporting the education system. Secondly, the lack of political/national will, paradigm shifts and tough decision-taking by successive administrations to effectively implement the transformational initiatives outlined by the National Task Force on Education Reform in Jamaica have resulted in dismal CXC performances.

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.

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.

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.

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/

Cell phone etiquette

This is a photo of a gentleman who was seated at the head table at a function I attended yesterday. Guess what he is doing?

Yes, believe it or not, he was having a conversation on his cell phone!

I continue to be amazed at the way we use cell phones. For some reason, it is imperative that a cell phone is answered. No matter where the cell phone rings – workshops, meetings, weddings, funerals - it MUST be answered! My children will mindlessly ignore the ringing of the home phone, but will track me down wherever I am in the house or garden to insist that I answer my cell phone - NOW! It is so funny to observe people - answering just to say “Call you back”; ducking beneath tables and under tablecloths; cupping hands over the phone while talking in a mumbled whisper - that is quite loud. Don’t we know that voicemail exists? Don’t we know that the missed call shows up on the screen? When I ignore my cell phone, someone will invariably say to me in near panic “Aren’t you going to answer your phone”? And when I indicate not, they stare at me as if I am mad! On occasion, I have said to people “You don’t have to answer the phone you know” and have received the most dumbfounded looks – as if I was suggesting that God doesn’t exist, or the world isn’t round, or some such fundamental underpinning of humanity.

Then there are Blackberrys. I was amused to sit beside a woman at a classical music concert on Sunday who was checking and sending e-mail throughout. As was one of the performers, as he sat in the choral pew! And I can’t believe that people are at Carnival in Trinidad, in the middle of Panorama (steelband competition, which is just rapturous), posting to their Facebook account via Blackberry “Enjoying Panorama, think band #8 should win”!

Cell phones have driven us insane. So caught up in the technology are we that we are not even aware of how we are behaving. I have seen some crazy people in the supermarket talking to themselves – loudly – until I realised that they were using the Bluetooth technology. Speaking of loudly – notice how loud we speak on the cell phone? Does it occur to us that everyone around us is hearing our conversation? Or are we thinking that because we are speaking into the speaker, then only the person on the other end can hear?

Of course, I am guilty of all of the above. But the gentleman yesterday, who believe it or not was representing a Minister of Government at the function, made me stop and think about how I use my cell phone. I hope you do too. The next time your cell phone rings – think before you answer.

Minister Holness need to give principals authority

Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, has instructed all schools to cap auxiliary fees in the face of difficult economic times. The Minister is once again showing his misunderstanding of the fundamentals of education transformation. The transfer of authority and autonomy from the Ministry to the schools is one of the hallmarks of the transformation process. Currently, the Ministry only contributes to teachers' salary, while school fees, auxiliary fees and fundraisers attempt to close the funding gap.

While schools need Ministry approval for school fees, there is no such requirement for auxiliary fees. In fact, auxiliary fees are not mandatory and in some cases are discouraged by the Ministry. It is at the school level where the decisions are made to set the level of auxiliary fees and which child/parent to target as they know best who can pay and who cannot pay. It is therefore ridiculous for the Minister to now undelegate the authority that schools have successfully exercised over the years. In fact, by taking no responsibility for the running of the schools and trying to take authority for setting auxiliary fees, shows a total misalignment between authority and accountability. The Minister needs to rethink this one and allow the school leadership to run the schools.

Accountability in West Indies cricket??? Howzat!

The recent cricket debacle in Antigua where a test match had to be suspended after bowling of only 10 balls is like a microcosm of the West Indies.

Here we have a great brand – West Indies Cricket – built on the backs of raw talent honed by the players themselves, despite, not because of the support and intervention of the official ruling body. The brand is not just about the players – it is the entire experience of cricket in the West Indies – the colour, the passion, the dancing and noise of the spectators; the entertaining characters like Gypsy; the party atmosphere interspersed with the concentrated attention of those who take the game seriously and can summon at a moment’s notice every statistic and event relevant to a particular moment in the game; the radio commentary which is an art in an of itself, narrative of each play interspersed with descriptions of the atmosphere, the breathtaking scenery that is the backdrop of each sun-nestled cricket ground in the West Indies and our history in this glorious game; the food, the beer, the rum, the pounding music – reggae, and soca and every rhythm in between. It is a compelling brand that rivets cricket fans throughout the world and causes many to travel to the West Indies just for the experience

One would think that with such a brand, there would be some strategy to build on and sustain it to the benefit and glory of the peoples of the region. Oh no …. it is taken for granted, those who build and are a part of the brand disrespected and sidelined, as peripheral to the business of cricket. The players hardly seem to have a voice. When they try to be heard they are disciplined, like some little recalcitrant schoolboys who don’t know their place. In the Cricket World Cup two years ago, our music was banned from the grounds, the game sterilised to resemble some disinfected version of something that the world actually loves – all in the name of someone’s idea of what “world class” and “first world” is. Truth is, West Indies cricket IS world class – but not because of the powers that be.

Nowhere was this more evident than in Antigua. Yet again, the West Indies Cricket Board messed up big time. And yet again, they see no reason to accept full responsibility and remove themselves. They lack vision. They are totally incompetent. They are out of touch with the world. They are disrespectful and arrogant. In Japan, were they samurai, they would long ago have put the sword through their stomachs. I suspect that even if they did it now, it would have little effect for they are gutless, spineless has-beens.

How different is this to other spheres of West Indian life? Not much. In everything for which we are known – music, sports, rum, beer – it is officialdom that tears down in its quest for control. No accountability. No acceptance of responsibility – just glorying in results that are not of their own doing, and boldly, arrogantly seeking to blame others when things go wrong.
Yes, what happened in Antigua is a shame – but why are we surprised? It happens every day. Life in the tropics ….

The Arcade Photographer

Last week I had to take my children to get their passports renewed. Trying to be as efficient as possible, I had their photographs taken at the pharmacy in Manor Park, which offers 1-hour service. To say the least, the photographs were typical of passport photos – fit only for strangers such as Immigration and Customs officials to view in order to ascertain that these are my precious children standing in front of them.

On Thursday afternoon, we wandered through the application process at the Passport office, each step carefully choreographed by some unseen bureaucratic hand to make sure that it did not go too easily – lest we wonder what in the world the government is coming to! We finally presented our applications only to be told that Shane’s photograph had a “shadow” and had to be redone. Again, mindful of being as efficient as possible, and determined to complete the process that day, Shane and I headed next door to retake the photograph at the vendor’s arcade.

What a pleasant surprise! The photographer operates in a tiny cubicle, and is a master of efficiency. A number of passport applicants were there on the same mission. The photographer’s assistant offered us seats and had us enter the cubicle in an orderly fashion. I watched the photographer prepare the other subjects – he patted and wiped their faces, tidied their hair, gently positioned their heads and then took the photo. It struck me how different this was to the “photographer” at the pharmacy who had just asked Victoria and Shane to perch on the stool, snapped the photograph and that was it! The arcade photographer took pride and care in his work. And it showed, for the resulting photograph was MUCH better – one that I would be happy to share, and that truly represents my handsome son. AND, it was ready in less than 10 minutes!

It was a joy to watch the photographer do his job. It is obvious that this man is serious about his profession. Perhaps no-one cares about how a passport photo looks – but this photographer did! How wonderful a world it would be if we all approached our work like this arcade photographer!

From now on, whenever I need passport or visa photographs I will be going to the arcade photographer – and I recommend that you do too!

Poor Leadership and Accountability in West Indies Cricket

Following a fantastic victory by the West Indies at Sabina Park last week, the ugly side of our regional parochialism reared its head at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Knowing very well that the stadium was not match ready, rather than doing what was best for cricket and the region, local politicians supported by inept West Indies Board leadership insisted that the match be played in the island. After less than 10 minutes, the scheduled 5-day game was abandoned due to poor playing conditions of the ground. Former player and now commentator Michael Holding and veteran broadcaster Tony Cozier weighed in on the issue.

Holding had this to say:

Michael Holding has slammed the lack of responsibility in West Indies cricket as the region comes to terms with yesterday's sensational abandonment of the second Test against England at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua. The match lasted a mere 10 balls, owing to an outfield deluged in sand, and an unsurprised Holding was quick to point the finger at the WICB.


"We have seen things like this happen in the Caribbean before. Whenever we have things like this happening, like in 1998 when the Test match was abandoned [at Sabina Park], there were no repercussions," Holding said in an audio interview with Cricinfo. "And I suspect there will be no repercussions either. No one will lose their jobs; no one will be asked to resign. If you ask the people responsible whether they will resign, they'll just say 'but why? Why should we resign?' So it will happen again. Once you have no repercussions, you will always have repeats.


"It will hit home for the next two weeks. But after two weeks, everyone will move on. That is the way things operate around here when people have no repercussions, when people don't suffer for their mistakes or their incompetence. If you don't suffer for your incompetence, everything moves on. Whenever anything goes wrong, no one suffers."


Tony Cozier had this to say:

Yesterday's fiasco presented the latest, most dramatic explanation for the sudden decline of West Indies cricket, from its unprecedented excellence of the 1980s to the mediocrity of the past two decades. It was yet another example of the politics and the mismanagement that has undermined a game that once elevated this small, impoverished and otherwise insignificant part of the world from third to first world status.


Its timing is most inopportune, coming immediately after the West Indies' most significant victory in years. The passionate public, so disenchanted with prolonged failure, was energised again by the result in the first Test and, more especially, the manner of it.


In less than a week, the euphoria of Sabina Park has been doused. It should not have come to this. There had been repeated problems with the outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium since it was one of the expensive new stadiums constructed around the Caribbean for the 2007 World Cup.


It was sited, against repeated advice from locals, in a basin near a well-known water course. As everywhere else, an elaborate draining system was installed yet, as forecast, water from overnight rain collected on parts of the outfield and disrupted two matches. It meant remedial work had to be done on the offending areas.
Without any trial, a Test against Australia was again assigned to the ground last season. Once more, parts of the outfield became a bog, and almost a full day's play was lost, all told in a drawn match, in spite of hot, sunny weather.


The warning signals were not heeded by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Politics kicked in and it assigned the England Test on the say-so of the government-appointed stadium committee, the Antigua Cricket Association and, ultimately, the Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA), the WICB's relevant member board, that all would be right on the day.


As usual, the buck for this embarrassment will be passed around, but there is only one place for it to stop, at the WICB headquarters just a few miles down the road towards St John's, and the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) which will now be reactivated to ease the shame.

Government must align the 2009-2010 Budget to the 2030 Vision

Sometime in April, the annual budget debate will commence with Governor General presenting the throne speech outlining Government’s plans for 2009-2010. Finance Minister Audley Shaw will then table the 2009-2010 estimates of expenditure and the plan to finance this expenditure. The Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, Opposition Finance spokesperson as well as other selected spokespersons on both sides of the House of Representatives will weigh in on the budget debate. Eventually a vote will be taken to accept or reject the Government’s budget. Over the last few years, there have been criticisms that budgets were not credible and many are warning Minister Shaw and Prime Minister Golding to ensure the 2009-2010 budget is credible. But what is meant by a credible budget?

By credible we mean that all assumptions are grounded in reality and that all conclusions based on the assumptions are reasonable. A budget, first and foremost, projects the financial outflows a government need to meet its operational, capital and strategic expenditures to deliver on its mandate. Additionally it projects the inflows required to cover the outflows and includes revenues, taxes, grants and loan inflows. Better put, a budget is the quantification of a 1-year operational plan, which itself is derived from the strategic plan. The Strategic Plan is a framework that translates strategy into operational objectives and initiatives which drive both behaviour and performance. The strategy, which is really an integrated set of choices, is designed essentially to close a long term performance gap – difference between the Vision and the current reality. There must therefore be a line of sight between the Government’s budget and the 2030 Vision for Jamaica.

The minimum criteria for a credible budget should therefore be:

1. The 2030 Vision must be used as the main context

2. There ought to be at least 3-4 overarching performance metrics and targets for the 2030 Vision such as: GDP/capita; poverty rate; murder rate; and % Grade 11 cohort achieving 5 CXC subjects including Math and English. There should also be 2012 and 2010 targets for each metric.

3. The articulated current reality relative to the vision and consequently the performance gaps to be closed over the next year, 3 years and 21 years (to 2030).

4. A critical external (to Jamaica and to the Government) analysis of those key factors which will either enable or hinder the Government from achieving the Vision and performance targets

5. A critical review of Government capability, highlighting the strengths and the weaknesses that can either support or detract from achieving the performance targets

6. The strategic options facing the Government along with the key external or internal factors identified above that will be addressed by each option. This must be accompanied by a discussion of the options and justification, including assumptions, for the option(s) chosen.

7. The key success factors for the chosen strategic options(s) that will enable achievement of the over arching performance targets.

8. The transformation and reorganization of Government required to deliver on the key success factors. Included will be changes to structure, day to day operations and financial requirements.

9. The estimates of expenditure required to transform, reorganize and operate the Government to deliver on the key success factors

10. The financing plan, including timing of inflows, required to meet the Government’s operational, capital and strategic expenses to deliver on its mandate.

In the typical Private Sector Company, the CFO presents the budget to the Board of Directors for approval. If Board members deem the budget not credible, they will reject it and the CFO has to wheel and come again. This is because Board members act on behalf of shareholders and take decisions in their interest. In the case of Governments however, Members of Parliament tend to act not in the interest of the citizens, but rather in the interest of the party and vote accordingly. Hence the chance of a budget not being credible is fairly high. It is therefore the duty of the media, financial analysts and the general public to weigh in on this most important cog in our wheel of governance and democracy.

Accountability in Schools - Gleaner Editor's Forum

Growth Facilitator, Robert, was a guest on the Jamaica Gleaner Editor's Forum (http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090210/news/news1.html) which discussed accountability in schools

Here's a little of what Robert had to say:

The attempt to develop a pay-for-performance system is a necessary but insufficient condition to ensure accountability which will drive performance at all levels of the system. What is really needed is that each and everyone must first infuse a culture of accountability in all they do. This can only be done by renewing of minds and must be initia-ted by leadership.

The main synonym for accountability is answerabilty. What I interpret from this is answerability, first of all for the authority provided and answerabilty to those who provide the authority.

At the level of the student, parents invest in children and give them authority to learn, use school facilities, etc and, therefore, students are answerable to the investment made in them.
At the national level, citizens invest authority through the elected representatives, to the minister of education, permanent secretary, chief education officer and other managers for the performance of the overall education system in Jamaica and, therefore, these elected and appointed officials need to be held accountable.

Innovation in airport restrooms

In the past ten days I have passed through four different airports and numerous rest rooms. In each restroom I have been faced with a conundrum of massive and time-consuming proportion – where is the toilet flusher?

Days gone by it was simple – there was a little handle on the side of the tank (there was a tank!) usually on the left side, which you pushed down at the appropriate time. Now, there are buttons, handles, levers, foot pedals placed at seemingly the most inconspicuous and irrational places. Or sometimes nothing at all – for now someone had the bright idea to use sensors, which have the maddening habit of going off at all sorts of times during your "process". A trip to a public restroom is nowadays akin to solving a mindquest puzzle – sure to keep the brain nimble for years to come!

This got me wondering about how organizations go about innovation. Did any of us complain bitterly about the good old flush handles? Did we clamour vociferously for a new and improved toilet flusher? Did the toilet manufacturers or restroom designers do a survey that said overwhelmingly that we wanted new and improved flush mechanisms? I think not. Yet every new toilet has some new and improved way to flush. Why the changes? Why the constant improvements?

One answer could be that companies are not clear on why they are innovating as they don't really know their customer. How many companies really take the time to know their customers - who they are, their needs, wants and desires (and the differences between them), their habits, their usage patterns, their idiosyncracies? This is where innovation ought to begin for innovation ought to benefit to the customer in terms of their experience. Innovation for innovation sake, while balm to the corporate ego, is the bane of customers and users.

It is important that companies make sure that they are not designing their equivalent of the next new and improved flush mechanism, but that in innovating, they are keeping the true needs of their customers foremost.

Time Out – what we can learn from Sports

All this evening I took a personal Time-Out and engrossed myself with the Superbowl Final. Now, I am certainly not a fan of “football” and I do not claim to know any of the rules of play very well. But I decided to watch as a personal Time-Out, since I enjoy any sport/entertainment at this level and I like to see breaking news in the making!

I was so excited to watch the youngest Coach ever in NFL, the longest intercept ever in NFL history (100 yards end to end), the 71 year old Offensive Specialist (forgive me if I am incorrect with the titles) still very active and effective on the sideline, the nail-biting seconds running out on the clock.

And then I took note of the official Time-Outs that each team has. This is when the teams re-group to focus on strategy (usually when they are down, but it can be whenever the Coach thinks it is necessary)….they simply stop play officially to review amongst themselves what is working and what is not and to decide in minutes what next to do, with seconds on the clock. The various initiatives have been worked out beforehand – the specialists have them on charts and even the captain (I guess – I confess I am a soccer fan) has them on his arm-band. These Time-Outs are essential to the outcome of the game – to whether they win or lose.

The whole process brought new meaning for me to our strategy meetings, which I sometimes take for granted and feel get in the way of my daily agenda of “Things To Do”. If we do not simply STOP and review, we may continue to do the activities that we are accustomed to doing with the same results. The strategy meeting/planning ensures that we stop and assess where we are, where we want to go and how we are going to get there. We MAY be doing the right things, but then, perhaps ??? we are not! We must look at the score (measures/metrics) in the immediate moment and decide what will be effective to get what we want. And so we may need to do somethings differently.

So Time-Outs are ESSENTIAL – personally, professionally and organizationally. We individually need to appreciate the value of this assessment. Simple – maybe….effective – definitely.

Thoughts on Entrepreneurship in Jamaica

I grew up in a family business in Jamaica, studied business, taught Entrepreneurship to MBA students at the Mona School of Business, and continue to start and run entrepreneurial ventures. Here are some of my thoughts on entrepreneurship in Jamaica.

Jamaica is one of 43 countries studied in the 2008 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. The report can be downloaded at:
http://gemconsortium.org/download/1233413864484/GEM_Global_08.pdf

This report is useful in identifying the factors that influence entrepreneurial activity. I have watched it emerge over the past 10 years and used it extensively in my course preparation and delivery. I commend it to anyone who would like an understanding of entrepreneurship not just in Jamaica, but globally. Remember that it is a relatively new field of study.

As illustrated in the report, Jamaica actually has a high level of entrepreneurial activity – take a look of any lane in Jamaica and you will see a plethora of business activity. The challenge is that this activity is defined as necessity-forced entrepreneurial activity rather than opportunity driven. The former is about being pushed into entrepreneurial activity because one has no option ("cyan do nuh betta") whilst the latter is motivated by pull factors – identification of an opportunity, desire to increase independence and income levels. Most entrepreneurial activity in Jamaica is focused on job replacement. It is presented this way by government agencies, and support programs are designed around getting people who can’t get a job to start their own business. It is a dangerous road to tread in my opinion, as we set up people with very little education and experience for failure.

Opportunity entrepreneurship is driven by the identification of a viable business opportunity and tends to be pursued by those with higher levels of education. This is where rapid growth businesses emerge. It is the opportunity entrepreneurship that we need to encourage. But this is where we find much frustration and discouragement.

Here are some thoughts from my own experience.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are serious deficiencies in our education system that inhibit entrepreneurship. While I acknowledge the importance of the sciences, entrepreneurship is essentially a creative act. Therefore, education that is exclusively or heavily science-driven gives short shrift to the development of right-brained thinking that is essential to identify new ideas and convert them to opportunities and then new and growing ventures. In our British-based system the underpinning of which was the development of cogs in the industrial wheel, the curriculum still focuses on rote learning, multiple-choice exam formats, and regurgitation of the “right” answer. In entrepreneurship, there is no “right” answer.

In Jamaica, the arts are viewed as subjects to be pursued by those who are not smart enough to do the sciences. I insisted that my daughter, who is sitting the GCE examinations in June, do Art and Design Studies in addition to Chemistry and Biology. This was viewed askance by many but to my mind, it was non-negotiable as I consider that I am raising my children to compete and thrive in a new and different world – one where creativity and adaptability are critical.

I have had students in my MBA class cry “living eye-water” when given an assignment to identify and develop new business ideas. They insisted that they were not creative and just couldn’t do it! I also taught a group of students who were doing a joint MBA/MIS degree. The best business ideas actually came from them – but many couldn’t express them coherently, and were unable to expand the concept from product or service to business opportunity with high growth potential. These were the “bright” students at high school who excelled at the sciences, yet who were unable to expand their thinking beyond the limits of their technological know-how, much less to expand and present their business idea.

It is my firm and impassioned belief that our education system in Jamaica needs to be overhauled. It remains elitist, but even the elite are not receiving a relevant education any more. Frankly, most “graduates” i.e. young people who have warmed seats for 15 or so years and have been shunted from grade to grade, are barely literate. They are bright. They want to excel. They want to make good in life. Yet the system is failing them. Layering business courses on such a base will do very little to stimulate the type of entrepreneurship that will contribute significantly to the growth of the Jamaican economy.

There are two other serious impediments to entrepreneurship in Jamaica which I would like to mention – monetary policy and government bureaucracy.

The prolonged period high interest rate policy which was intended to "protect" the Jamaican dollar has failed miserably. The Jamaican dollar has continued its slide. It is more lucrative, and indeed the rational thing, to invest in Jamaican government paper which is risk-free or low risk and requires very little effort. If you have capital, it is unattractive to go into an entrepreneurial venture. Allied to this is a very, very common misperception held by senior people in finance that equity is cheaper than debt. Thus their argument is that when debt is expensive, due to higher interest rates, then entrepreneurs should look to equity for their financing. Debt, no matter how expensive will always be cheaper than equity – equity only provides a short term cash flow benefit. Thus, in a high interest rate scenario, businesses are unable to access financing to start, grow and expand. It is my belief that the Jamaican dollar is undefendable. We don’t have the economic base to support it, and are simply throwing “good money after bad” to delay, but not halt, the slide.

The government bureaucracy is convoluted, unnecessary, and I swear, designed to keep people down. The default response is "NO". Businesspeople spend endless resources of time and money just to traverse the maze. It is difficult to pay your taxes. It is difficult to get permits and licenses if they are necessary. It is difficult to clear goods. It is difficult to do everything. When you come to Kingston you will see an army of motorcycle bearers buzzing around town all day long. Much of their job is about wading through the swamp of bureaucracy, trying to get papers shunted from one office to another in order for business to go on.

That’s it from me for now. I am off to continue growing businesses, and helping others to grow theirs – regardless.