Every Mikkle Mek a Mukkle

The Jamaican proverb "Every Mikkle Mek a Mukkle" summarizes a powerful idea that Caribbean executives would do well to contemplate.

The proverb simply means that small things count, because small things aggregate into big, important things. In other words, it's similar to the more well-known proverbs "A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step" and "Every Bit Counts."

I have observed that we have many companies in the region founded on great ideas, and possessing wonderful goals. However, when it comes to the minute details of execution, our grasp far exceeds our reach.

For example, I have stayed in many hotel-rooms across the region, but very few are able to provide the kind of details in their infrastructure that are the signatures of an excellent company. It might be the cracks along the ceiling, the uneven floor, the cement left along the grouting or the broken chair in the room.

In restaurants, it's the filthy restrooms, the scuffed walls or the beaten up menus that have twice as many items as the restaurant actually has available.

In many companies, you call to do business with them and the phone just rings and rings without an answer.

When they occur, none of these cases is a "deal-breaker" that could cause one to leave and seek lodging or a meal elsewhere.

Instead, we get used to the low standard, as our companies continue to "train" their customers to expect no better. In a prior issue of FirstCuts, I spoke about the way in which employees of companies in our region give each other "blighs" (allowances) that allow poor standards to continue, because it's simply easier to overlook seemingly small issues rather than to confront them.

I also wrote about how Caribbean managers could improve their time management skills, and how executives could work to restore promises that have been broken in the past.

While these may all seem to be small issues by themselves, the cumulative effective is tremendous.

Companies struggle for reasons that they cannot pinpoint, and are incorrect in thinking that a single bullet fired at the right spot will cure all their problems and move them to higher performance.

They are wrong.

Instead, they must learn to inspire their workers to devote themselves to individual, private, invisible excellence that may never be publicly rewarded.

An old-fashioned mechanical clock is a useful metaphor. There is no way for a clock to keep proper time if a single cog is out of alignment with the others. It might add or take away a small fraction of a second each day, but the overall effect is that it renders the clock ineffective, as reflected on its face.

The success of what shows up on the face depends on what happens with the moving parts inside, and this is what managers seem not to grasp. They allow seemingly "small things" to accumulate into big problems, and by the time the big problem is fully experienced, many simply give up.

It's up to them to lead the way, by example, and demonstrate that being professional means to tend to every task with a kind of dedication and excellence that is often missing.

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"Obeah" Economics

Here in the Caribbean, there are a number of business anomalies that I have detected that I can only attribute to our rather unique history. They have to do with practices that I see managers repeat, even when it's clear that they don't produce results.

Hiring for the Body-Count

Managers across the region make the mistake of hiring too many of the wrong employees, focusing on appearances over results and putting pride before profits.

It seems to me that too many of our companies refuse to act on the notion that a handful of skilled employees are able to outperform a much larger number of those who are unskilled. There seem to be at least two reasons why this situation persists.

The first is historical -- the economies of old were built for the most part on unskilled, unmotivated labour. A handful of mostly skilled managers from Europe had experience in agriculture, business and trade, but workforces comprising Africans, Indians and Chinese were brought in large numbers regardless of their skills, and in most cases forced to work at the point of a gun. The solution then, and now, was to throw more people
at jobs until they could be completed.

The second reason the situation persists is that companies don't understand that there is a vast difference between hiring 10 people for 100 days each, and hiring 100 people for 1 day.

The difference has to do with what is called "The Mythical Man-Month" which is a fact of knowledge work. Work that requires communication and coordination becomes more difficult when an additional person is
added because that person's relationship with every other person must now be managed. In other words, the 10th person added to a team bring with him/her 10 x 10 new communication links that must be managed, while the hundredth person added requires 100 x 100 new
links.

The increase in communication complexity grows exponentially with each person added.

A manager who decides to hire more people, rather than to obtain more skilled workers is only making things more difficult for himself.

In other words, it makes better economic sense to hire a small group of high performers to replace a larger group of low performers, even if the output of both groups is the same and the total wage bill is equal. From the manager's perspective, it's easier to manage a small group than a large one.

This fact seems to be lost on our regional companies.
Focusing on Effort vs. Deliverables

Flexi-time has been long in coming to the region, and as far as I can tell it has something to do with not being able to manage for results.

A manager who places an ad in the paper in order to fill a vacancy will only fill it with a full-time employee, and won't consider an employee who is willing to work for 4 days at 10 hours each, or even a part-time arrangement with someone who is highly skilled.

The reasons could be varied, but I imagine that the overriding cause has something to do with a fear of doing something unconventional, and perhaps "getting in trouble" with her own boss. Although it might make economic sense, company politics sometimes turn common-sense upside down.

The most unfortunate consequence of these decisions is that employees quickly learn that management is more interested in appearances than actual results. "Looking good," and the avoidance of "looking bad"
seem to be the most powerful motivators of all.

Pride vs. Profits

It's an interesting phenomena -- retailers across the region never seem to have sales the way their counterparts in the US and other developed countries do.

The problem seems to be one of pride.

The thinking goes like this: "I paid $X for this item and there is no way I am going to sell it for less than $Y." This thinking prevails even then the item has been gathering dust on the shelf for months.

It's a simple mistake in business economics -- it's better to have $2.00 in pocket now than it is to pay to carry an item on the shelf for several months that may not sell.

The mistake is an easy one to correct in practice.

However, the feeling of failure that comes from discounting the item is often too much to bear, along with any embarrassment and loss of face that might come from admitting that a mistake was made. Instead, it seems that many retailers just keep the item on the shelf, act as if everything is OK, and their employees comply by
keeping their mouths shut.

After all, for most of us, it's easier to lose money than it is to lose respect. Unfortunately, retailers usually don't have someone in their face telling them that their pride is costing the company too much money!

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Outfoxing them with the Basics

I have a new theory when it comes to Caribbean companies that are fighting hard against local or regional competition.

The winners will be the ones who are able to answer their phones.

What I mean is simply the following: Caribbean companies that get the basics right have an advantage over all the others.

Let's pick an example that we can all perhaps relate to -- the banking sector. From my observation, there is not a single regional bank that currently stands out from the others in terms of properly executing what I consider to be basic banking functions.

The advertisements and promotions claim otherwise, of course.

However, the reality is that doing simple deposits, withdrawals, payments of credit cards, customer service agents that offer basic courtesies, wiring, computing interest and fees, ... these are what I consider to be some of the essentials of basic banking. Our banks have a hard time executing them consistently.

Get someone good, or someone that you know, to help you on the inside and you might "get through" quickly.
Get someone who is untrained and unprofessional, and you are in for a difficult time.

But this is not a situation that only our banks find themselves in.

Industries all across the region have the same problem of being unable to execute the basic functions of business.

What are some of the things that our companies are struggling to do?

- update their website. 16 year old bloggers are able to do this, so why can't a 2000 person company?
- answer the phones. All the time. Offer voicemail outside of business hours
- return calls and emails
- show up at meetings
- take action on promises
- when plans change, communicate with those involved
- train everyone who might answer the phone on behalf of the company to pretend that they care, even a little bit
- keep their places of business clean. Soap, water and paint are not that hard to get
- ask "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
- let me know about new products and services when they become available
- act as if they are interested in doing business when a willing customer calls

I believe that a company that does ALL of these basics has a good chance of dominating their industry. In Jamaica, I am convinced that Digicel has come to dominate the mobile phone industry simply because their competition failed to do the basics for many years. It leads me to think that many companies in the region are
vulnerable, but just don't realize it.

I think that what amazes me most is that there are regional CEO's and other executives who are just as inept at the basics of business as entry-level employees.

What they do in common (and what saves them in a jam) is their ability to talk themselves out of a jam when they need to. They over-use their ability to think quickly on their feet, to make jokes and to sound intelligent to cover up their miscues. Too often, we give the a bligh, and accept the "sweet talk" as an acceptable
substitute for results.

Sadly, it results in a mediocrity that only persists.

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Building Bridges for Business

It struck me recently that it is quite difficult for a Jamaican who has never lived abroad to understand the economic potential in Jamaican culture and our island's beauty.

Also, it is just as hard for a Jamaican living abroad who retains no ties back home whatsoever to take advantage of the benefits they have of being Jamaican.

Enter the Jamaican who chooses to live in both worlds -- the larger world outside Jamaica and a life in Jamaica. They are a unique resource, in that they understand two worlds that are quite unique, and an understanding of both worlds makes them quite valuable.

For example, is Trench Town a special resource? Only a few Jamaicans living on the island would agree, but this happens to be the place that I was was asked about the most frequently when I lived in the U.S. Could it be turned into a kind of meccas for lovers of reggae music and Bob Marley?

We are gifted with one of the prettiest countries in the world, yet much of our country remains hidden from tourists the world over who would be stunned at the places that don't make it to the brochures, some of which don't even have names. We Jamaicans take the mountains, valleys, waterfalls, fruits, birds, sun -- all for granted. And because we can't see those things with "outsider eyes" we don't think deeply enough about how to share them with the world.

It's not an overstatement to state that we Jamaicans who go abroad truly discover the beauty of our country when we get off the plane in Miami, New York or Toronto. All of a sudden a naseberry, a quiet beach and a walk in the mountains in the morning become luxury items.

Enjoying them becomes a matter of working very, very hard, saving a lot of money, and spending it on the little 2 weeks "dem give us" each year that we use to travel home to try to take everything in at once.

Jamaicans who can see both worlds can see opportunities that are invisible to others. This speaks to new ventures that are just waiting to be started, and those of us who are business-minded could do no worse than to take the bull by the horns, and launch them.

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Recession and Productivity

Talk of a recession in the U.S. is now fully underway.

In the Caribbean, we have just begun to talk about the fact that when a recession hits the U.S., the after-effects are felt here. As if the increase in oil prices were not enough, we can also expect to see a drop in tourist visits and a decrease in average tourist spending. This affects our bottom-line in Jamaica and other countries in the region that are dependent on the tourist industry as the biggest earner of foreign exchange.

If a recession is to come to the region, then we can expect to see redundancies as companies cut their payrolls to keep their costs in line with a reduction in business.

It's a good time for employees to start to think about a strategy to make themselves invaluable to their employers. An employee would do well to find ways to do more with less, as the chances are good that their managers are going to be turning to them to ask them to do just that.

If a redundancy is announced, it's likely that the least productive employees are the ones that are at the greatest risk. In turn, the most productive ones will be assuming the workload of those that are laid off.

While most managers won't give their employees anything new to deal with the extra load, the smart ones will start now to give them tools, training and alternatives that help them get the job done.

For example, elance, the outsourcing service, offers an excellent value for money, and now would be a good time to get used to using the service. Also, Framework's NewHabits-NewGoals productivity programme would be an alternative for professionals looking to boost their ability to deal with more each day.

It also might be a good time to buy that extra memory for the laptop, or to set up work-at-home arrangements wherever possible -- all in favour of boosting productivity.

The current estimates say that a recession won't be felt here in the region until 9-12 months from now, so there is still ample time to prepare.

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Opening a Business in Jamaica

I can finally say that I have made it through a critical process -- that of opening up, and registering a business in Jamaica.

The entire process was a daunting one, and I can understand why they say that we have one of the most inefficient tax systems in the world. I have been putting off this post, because I needed to recover a bit from the whole thing so that I could write with some perspective.

The first step is to register the company, and that took several months due to a variety of glitches, some caused by me and the way in which I was trying to set things up. I eventually settled on creating a company that is entirely owned by a U.S. company that I own.

The paperwork was fairly straight-forward, and I used a local company called Profits and Dividends to get this step done. The end-result of this activity (which cost some US$700 or so) was to receive the Registration papers for the company and a company stamp.

In essence this was the simplest step.

The next steps were all necessary in order to have even a single employee. They need to be done with some precision, due to the fact that they all involve travel around Kingston from one office to another, and it's quite easy to get turned back from the office in order to retrieve a single paper that was forgotten. As my wife said, just bring everything that you think might be needed with you in a briefcase .

1. The first stop was the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) office in New Kingston, at 18 Ripon Road, off Oxford Road.
   
   You need to bring all your company registration documents plus a full copy. Also have a personal Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) and driver's licence handy for each of the steps. Fill out the NIS form for the business, and for all the employees in the business if they have never been registered.
   
   Get the slip, and the letter that indicate that you are registered.
   
   
2. Visit the Tax Office some time between the 3rd and 25th of the month to avoid the end of month rush. Sign up for a Business TRN. Bring a copy of the registration. The wait for this to be completed is about 5 minutes.
   
   
3. Once completed, stay at the Tax Office to register for General Consumption Tax (GCT) payments.
   
   
4. If a Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC) is needed, then a visit to National Housing Trust (NHT) and the Tax Office are needed. These are used to clear items from customs and are good for six months.

What makes the process difficult is the movement back and forth during working hours from one office to another. I haven't actually paid payroll taxes yet, so that will be another bit of excitement, to be sure.

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Unreturned Calls

One thing I have noticed about doing business in Jamaica is that professionals seem much less likely to return phone calls than in the U.S.

I have decided that this largely comes from a lack of competence, rather than an intention to do malice or harm. How can I tell?

Well, it seems that it shows itself when the person is finally met face-to-face, at which point profuse apologies are made. There are just many more people who are incapable of handling the volume of stuff they have coming at them, and the skills they are using are just not adequate.

In general, the productivity of the average professional is lower than that of their counterpart in the U.S. It isn't even the case that people work harder in the U.S. -- although they do work longer hours in general. I attribute the difference to a lack of role models to demonstrate good habits more than anything else.

I really do believe it just comes down to a skill difference, and that can easily be overcome with the right training, coaching and mentoring.

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Creating the Customer Experience Is Easy

Meeting customer needs is hard, compared to creating a particular customer experience.

Unfortunately, human nature is such that when customer needs are met, but the experience is one that is negative, what is remembered is only the experience. Emotion trumps reason every single time.

In fact, a skilled listener can tell a customer no, and still leave them with an experience that is positive, warm and caring.

Here in the Caribbean, this is a rare skill.

In fact, there seem to be many more who meet the customer's need, but leave a negative experience -- and this I have seen across the region, with some countries much worse than others.

At the same time, it seems that the company that is able to provide a good customer experience should do well, and it's not because our local service is so bad region-wide.

Instead, the reason is that we take service personally. After a positive interaction, we talk about "how nice that lady was". After a poor experience, we talk about "disrespect".

In other parts of the world, they talk about the service that the company provides, but here it's about the individual and what they did to us that was good or bad.

It's personal.

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Substituting Being Smart for Being Organized

Here in the Caribbean, smart professionals sometimes get quite lazy.

They have quick minds which they use to run rings around people who are not quite as sharp as they are, don't know how to hold them to account, and are unable to see behind their lack of organizational skills.

They are used to dealing with people who aren't quite as smart as they are, and are able to get away with procrastination, arriving late at meeting and being sloppy with their commitments because they are able to "make up for it in the end" with a blast of concentrated effort.

The only time they run into trouble is when they come upon others who are either as smart as they are, or more organized than they are, or demonstrate a willingness to hold them to account for their promises. Then, the game is up, and if they don't "up their game" to the next level, they are likely to fail, or be fired or be sidelined.

This laziness results in lower standards, failed objectives and a general sloppiness that pervades corporate Jamaica, and businesses across the region.

I compare this with my experience in some of the best corporations in the world. The difference is not merely one of size, but it starts with the choices that are made by one smart person, compared to another.

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Creating a Signature Experience

I recently read an article in the Harvard Business Review that spoke to the idea of "Creating a Signature Experience" for employees.

The idea is simple -- what do employees experience as they work within the company?

I have worked as a consultant to several, and can think of a few examples of companies that left me with strong impressions. A few were so "strong" I have vowed never to do business with them again -- this as a paid contractor.

For employees, some companies create the experience of chaos. Others are stingy. Some are challenging, with high standards. In others, anything goes.

I don't think that any one experience is necessarily better than another, but I do get the impression that few companies actually give much thought to the experience they are creating for their employees.

This is too bad, as a good reputation leads to good people being hired, and vice versa. Also, some business results are better achieved by certain corporate cultures than others. For example, a culture of accountability is always a good thing -- never bad.

Companies need to define the experience and its various drivers if they are serious about the destination they are headed in.

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The Advantage of Being in Jamaica

One of the advantages I have of living in Jamaica is that it has helped me to see what is often accepted as a normal business practice in North America from a very different perspective.

One simple example is a question that we used to ask each other in the U.S. workplace -- "Are you keeping busy?"

Now, from a Jamaican perspective, this question looks like a strange one. Why should someone's goal be to keep busy? What is the purpose?

Will we all be happier when we are busy all the time?

Is the whole point of work... to find more stuff to work on?

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The Kinds of Business I am Not In

There is a temptation in business to try to build the company around whatever seems to be hot at the moment.

The logic taught in MBA schools is as follows:

1. Do market research- Figure out what people want by asking them what their needs are
2. Start a Business - Find a way to provide it to them at a price that can make a big profit

The logic seems to make sense, and it has created a generation of what one might call "profit chasers." People start companies in order to make as much money as they can as quickly as they can, and they are particularly susceptible to the latest offers that come along.

On the other hand, there is a new and growing school of thought that this thinking is limited. Instead, the new thinking is as follows:

1. Follow your passions and interests until you become an expert
2. Find ways of packaging and selling your expertise to those who appreciate what you have to offer
3. Continue to innovate and expand your offerings, always paying attention to where your interests are taking you

I have become a firm believer in this new approach to business, which I will call Business 2.0. I started a company in the Business 1.0 model that didn't work -- a t-shirt company that just seemed like a good idea that would make money. Instead, it lost it (even while teaching me some stern lessons about running a company).

Living in the Business 1.0 world is cold and hard. People take jobs for companies they don't like, doing things they don't care for, earning enough to pay their bills at the end of the month. This is as good as it gets. In Business 1.0, people give as little as they can, while trying to get as much as they can in return -- what economists call "maximizing their utility." In this particular world, it always makes sense to pursue to highest paying job, no matter what.

In the Business 2.0 world, however, the single-minded pursuit of profit and tangible gain is set aside to some degree for other commitments, such as personal fulfillment and making a difference. There is a commitment to learn, expand and grow, while taking care of one's psychological and emotional needs along the way.

I observed an interesting contrast between these two models recently in two web sites that focus on methods of making profits through blogging.

One, problogger.net, is clearly Business 1.0 while the second, stevepavlina.com is clearly following the alternate model. While one model is not necessarily better than the other, I will say that the second is more likely to do a couple of things that i personally like:

1. Business 2.0 is more likely to lead to a fulfilled life -- it passes the deathbed test because it is asking the question "what is my life for" at each step of the way.
2. Business 2.0 is more likely to produce well-managed companies that are strong on innovation simply because one is likely to find more innovation by people who love what they are doing, than by people who are "paid to do a job" and are focused on "doing what they need to do."

I guess that my point here is that each of us has a choice in life, regardless of what we might argue to ourselves and others. I do know what many people complain that they have no choice, and they are more likely to bake what Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, calls "a bitter bread."

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Building an Environment that is Open for Business

Now that we are ten days away from election day, I am remembering an article (http://urlcut.com/dchuck) that Delroy Chuck wrote about creating an environment in Jamaica that is business-friendly.

Beyond the politics of what he has to say, there is a truthful point. I recently opened a business here in Jamaica, and I finally received the legal papers in August 2007 after waiting from December, 2006.

In an earlier post entitled "The Thwarting of the Creative Class", I shared some research that showed that Jamaica's ranking among countries in terms of how easy it is to do business is terribly low, even after years of efforts to make things easier.

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Opposable Thinking

As I wrote the last post, it occurred to me that it was connected to a prior post I made on the Opposable Mind.

In that post, I made reference to another article that made the point that breakthrough thinking came from an ability to hold two opposite concepts in the mind at the same time.

Now, I wonder if success as an entrepreneur has something to do with an ability to hold multiple accountabilities within a single human being -- a little bit like the opposable mind, except there are more than two opposing concepts at play, and more like 5-10 different accountabilities.

This idea seemed to resonate with me, and may explain why so few are cut out to run their own business. One of the most difficult disciplines to learn as a new business owner is that one may move from one accountability and skill-set to another in a matter of moments.

Also, a good business owner knows that their company is only as strong as its weakest accountability. If, in the case of a solo professional, their accounting is in poor shape then that is the weakest link, and the link most likely to cause the company to fail. If the company is not run in a systematic way, then that in turn is the weakest link that will cause things to fall apart.

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What is a Chamber? Or a Business Club?

From Wikipedia:

A Chamber of Commerce (also referred to in some circles as a Board of Trade, though this phrase is not commonly used in the United States) is a form of business network. The primary goal of a chamber is to improve the business climate in a locality, typically through business networking, lobbying, and common projects and a selection of business services.

Q: What is a Business Club?

A: Pretty much whatever it wants to be, I guess!

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My Vision of a Trini-Jam Chamber/BizClub

What would a Trinidadian-Jamaican Chamber of Commerce, or a TriniJam BizClub actually accomplish?

After the doubles and jerk-chicken are over, and the reggae and soca music has stopped, and the wining and dubbing is finished... what else would happen?

I originally thought of the idea when I did a couple of research projects in Jamaica that included multiple interviews with Trinidadians. A former Managing Director first put the idea in my head, saying that he would love to be able to learn from the other Trinis that were coming to lead companies in Jamaica for the first time. He said that there was much that they could learn from each other, and that had me think that there was not only a lot they could learn from each other, but also a lot they could teach Jamaicans about doing business in Trinidad.

Since then, and recently, the public row over the LNG issues and the trade gap between the two countries has resulted in a war of words, in which Dawn Rich's column in the Sunday Gleaner represents perhaps the most extreme opinion.

Maybe the Chamber/Club, with a chapter in Kingston and another in Port of Spain, could be a place where:

• Trinidadian - Jamaican business relationships are fostered on an individual level
• the ins and outs of doing business in each country are shared
• business-people working away from their home country can find help in assimilating to their new surroundings
• the culture, laws and practices of each country can be frankly discussed, compared and understood
• innovative business ideas can be shared
• success can be celebrated
• myths can be addressed and dismantled
• equality of opportunity can be balanced between the two countries
• the goals of CARICOM can be furthered
• our companies, employees and people can benefit from our willingness to cooperate

A Chamber/Club with these goals is obviously not for everyone.

For one, it will take a certain willingness and awareness of the big picture -- that we are all bound to each other, and are all one.

While it may be interesting to, at one level, to compete with each other in business, a short-term focus on my company's success over yours is ridiculous for this small a region. It is much better for us to cooperate in expanding the pie, than it is for us to fight over the crumbs.

While I wouldn't recommend that in the Chamber/Club each company gives away its trade secrets to its competitors, such an organization would benefit those members that have an interest in putting cooperation first.

So, that Trini-Jam "whatever it is" would be a place for Trinidadian and Jamaican businesspeople to cooperate for the greater good of our countries, companies, employees and people.

P.S. If you want to join the mailing list for the most recent information on this topic, add your name by sending email to fwc-triniexec@aweber.com. You will automatically receive a copy of our report "The Trinidadian Executive in Jamaica," plus be added to a mailing list of those are interested in business-people with an interest in Trinidad and Jamaica.

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Response to the Trini-Jam Chamber Idea

I promised to update anyone who might be interested in the response received to the idea of a Trinidadian-Jamaican Chamber of Commerce.

It has been good, by my estimation, given that I asked for people who would be interested in putting some of their own time and effort into the formation of such a body. In short, there are enough people responding both in Jamaica and Trinidad to have at least a meeting in each country.

I am thinking of an initial meeting here in Kingston in the May time-frame (well after Jamaican carnival,) and at the moment am wondering what an agenda might look like.

Also, I am wondering if the word "Chamber" is just too heavy a word for what I have in mind. Here in the Caribbean, words like "Chamber" and, say, "Legislative" have a rather musty, old-man feel to them.

Instead, should it something more informal and energetic like a "Trini-Jam BizClub?" Here is an example of the New Zealand Business Club.

Hmmm -- send me your comments, or add them to this post below.

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An Open Letter to Trinidadian and Jamaican Businesspeople

Written to the recipients of the report: "The Trinidadian Executive in Jamaica."

As a recipient of our recent report "The Trinidadian Executive in Jamaica" I can imagine that the current volley of words flowing back and forth between Trinidad and Jamaica has caught your attention.

If so, I would like to you to consider taking time out of your busy schedule to put some muscle behind the formation of a Trinidadian-Jamaican ("Trini-Jam") Chamber of Commerce.

Clearly, the growing environment of distrust and harsh words is bad for business on both sides of the Caribbean. No-one is winning, and the upset words being spoken in public are going to be harder and harder for those speaking them to take them back. Unchecked, this probably can and will grow worse.

I don't know about you, but I believe that we, Trinidadians and Jamaicans, can all do much more, and probably should have done much more a long time ago to help create stronger and more lasting bridges between businessmen in both countries.

I suspect that you know what I am talking about. You know Trinidadian and Jamaican businesspeople who have never visited the other island saying things that you know are sheer nonsense, and come from a simple lack of experience. You may have heard talk about people being "backward," and other talk of "Tricky-dadians."

What it will take to reverse the current slide into something none of us can afford is simple -- it will take you and I. We are ones to be proactive, and to forge an environment of trust, partnership and prosperity.

Let us:

• meet to get a Trinidadian-Jamaican Chamber off the ground, with a chapter in Kingston and another in Port of Spain


• pass this email on to others who have a vested interest in Trinidadian-Jamaican business relations
  


• start to convince our colleagues in the two countries to get on planes, attend trade shows, take vacations -- whatever they need to do to start to become familiar with our countries

First step: send me an email to francis@fwconsulting.com letting me know that you are interested in participating (i.e. with some of your personal time) in the formation of a Trinidadian-Jamaican Chamber. I will schedule a face-to-face meeting once we have 5-8 who are interested here in Kingston.

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Turnover Documents and Small Biz Owners

As a former President of my high school's student council (Wolmers) I remember reading the organization's constitution -- with all the awe that a 16 year-old can muster. Part of my job (as
defined in the document) was to amend it and make it current -- it was my first attempt to write a "turnover document."

When I was appointed to a different position -- Head-Boy -- the following year, I was acutely aware that there was no document whatsoever that described the job, and all I had was the imperfect memory of my predecessors to try to follow. When I was about to graduate I panicked -- and only made up for it by taking a very long walk with my successor around the school. In
an hour or so I did my best to pass on the experience of some 255+ Head-Boys that the school had had up until that point.

I suspect that my 18 year old mind did more to scare my 17 year old successor than anything else.

Yet, I am sure that my experience is close to what happens when executives turn accountabilities over to managers without doing the tedious work of systematizing their functions, and undergoing the painstaking coaching required to turn them over in phases. The result is a sharp loss of trust that is rarely replaced, because few executives realize that the source of the managers failure (and success) is actually in themselves, and not in the manager.

What does all this talk about turnover documents have to do with small business owners?

Simply put, even small business owners must work ON their companies, as well as IN them. In other words, they must work on the structure of their companies as much as those professionals who work in the largest multinationals.

Why so?

For example, I am having a challenge converting this issue of FirstCuts into html, and placing it on my blog. I do not know html very well, yet each month I have to determine why the html in Blogger (the blog host) works differently than every other place.

While I may or may not ever hire an IT specialist, I am suffering because I didn't capture the procedures I used back in February, and now that I need them in March I am having to reinvent the wheel.

Secondly, in my opinion, the difference between a small, casual company and a small, serious company is the degree of infrastructure the owner has created to run the company on a consistent basis, whether there are ten people or just one person on the payroll. Only hobbyists can afford to run their company casually, and without infrastructure -- and even hobbyists can make money.

However, at the end of their careers, hobbyists have little to show for their efforts other than a company that supported them at a casual level. Their company cannot be bought, sold or merged because its success is reliant on the personality of the owner, rather than the infrastructure they created to keep the entity viable.

These are the two reasons I can think of -- if you'd like to add your own, please do so in the comments below.

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Dem Too Tief

It is a frequent cry in the commerce of the Caribbean. When confronted with what seems to be an unreasonable price, my people claim that the person selling it is a thief.

What is this all about?

Is this just a matter of ignorance about capitalist economics? Do we not understand and appreciate that profits are important for shareholders to continue to create companies, and jobs?

Perhaps we do not understand the principles of supply and demand economics. We are free to buy or to not buy. When we do not buy en masse, the prices adjust themselves to meet the demand of the market.

Maybe the problem lies someplace else entirely. This could be just a matter of "workplace emotional maturity," in which a deeply held feeling is expressed loudly, but inaccurately.

It could be that "Dem too tief" is an expression of hurt (turned into an attack) in which the underlying sentiment is really something like "I am hurt because it seems to me that you care more about taking my money, than giving me real value, and that would mean that you do not care about me as a person, but only the money in my pocket. When I have this thought, I feel devalued and less than human, and the best I can cry out is 'Dem too tief.'"

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