I think that a statement like “The effects of the global economic slowdown are likely to be more pronounced in the Caribbean and other developing countries in 2009” is incomplete and what should be added is “if you continue to do things the same way as you did them before”. There are many developing countries in the world. The Caribbean countries, population wise are among the smallest. Why do we not think positively and build on the concept that “Small is Beautiful”. Why do we not think outside of the box, why do we not attempt to do things differently and recognise that the only way to prepare for the economic tsunami is to creatively work our way to develop one innovative enterprise after the other, using all the technological resources that are available to us in this information age.

One sure way of enhancing the probability of an individual retaining a job is to enhance productivity. The collective impact of several individuals increasing productivity will go a long way towards increasing competitiveness and economic growth for the country. One sure way of determining whether supersession is justified is to use a productivity indicator. Surely it cannot be fair to keep an individual in a position, either in the public or private sector, just because of his/her length of tenure and irrespective of his/her productivity. One sure way of increasing the net take home pay of an individual is to sign onto a performance based compensation scheme and extract maximum benefits from it by enhancing productivity.

My food for thought to the audience was: (1) A proposal of a ‘smart partnership’ between our two organisations which would redound to the benefit of Barbados; (2) Encouragement to individual members of the credit unions to prepare for a potential deleterious ripple effect from the global financial crisis, which could lead to job losses. (3) A recommendation that a high performance thrust towards enterprise development could give a measure of security which is dependent primarily on the individual’s passion, drive and diligence; and (4) The innovative CBET Shepherding Model and twin fund Seed & Venture capital concept is a way in which the challenge, associated with risk and lack of timely access to funds which accompany excursions into enterprise development, can be effectively addressed in the mutual interest of all.

A national imperative is to grow the size of the national economic cake and increase the net growth rate in order to: induce sustainable economic growth; boost energy and food security; increase foreign exchange earnings/savings; generate employment; reduce poverty; and enhance returns to individuals, commercial banks, private sector businesses, trade unions and the Diaspora. This can be achieved through a national focus on developing a family of successful high performance enterprises, one enterprise after another. Agricultural enterprises may make a significant contribution towards this growth target.

Kean informed the audience how she tapped her archives of musical knowledge to erect an inspiring musical framework, a la Johann Sebastian Bach, on which to hang the impressive periods of Hugh Springer’s exciting career at home and abroad. Eleven persons spoke after the author including Stephen, Dame Zena Daysh (95 years old and going strong - who worked together for many years at the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council with Sir Hugh), Sir Kenneth Stuart, Professor Vishnu Persaud and Ambassador Dr. Carl Roberts from Antigua. I was honoured to be asked to give the vote of thanks.

We mentioned the enabling environment and this is very important in the context of public and private partnership where the private sector does the business and the public sector provides regulatory and service functions. If we have a dynamic private sector, this is not enough, it must be complemented by a public sector which is responsive to the needs of the private sector. That is not always the case.

It was recognised that the Caribbean economies, even if taken collectively, are very small. E.F. Schumacher, author of the book “Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered” recognised that there are advantages of being small and we should exploit them. A small country can seek niche markets around the world which are compatible with our potential to supply. We do not need very much to saturate our hotel stock but, again, our marketing is not as diversified or as aggressive as it should be.

Our youth are the future. We must nurture and develop them to the fullest in order to preserve planet earth for posterity. When a country wins then the populace wins. A country wins when all its people (the politicians, the civil servants, the captains of industry and commerce, the trade unions, the institutions of learning, the church, the media and the wider NGO fraternity) all work together in harmony for the common good, and develop their spiritual, social, cultural, physical and economic agenda to serve others ahead of themselves. The collective impact of each country win then redounds to the benefit of a sustainable world.

I continued “In the context of the Caribbean, Barbados stands out both in terms of GDP per capita and Human Development Index. The other countries within Caricom, for the most part, are trailing badly both from a socio and/or an economic perspective. The disparity in the socio-economic success of our nations is too great at this time, we need to narrow it before we attempt an economic union. This Single Economy drive is being hastily driven by emotion, it is not sustainable”. Feedback and food for thought!

Heads of Government agree on certain issues when they meet collectively but on their return to their respective sovereign states they make decisions which are politically expedient for their own state at that time. It is very unlikely that these decisions will all be in support of the regional integration agenda at the same time. Therein lies the stalemate, hence the frustration of the SVG participant. My question was and still is "How long is Barbados going to expend energy and resources on “E” issues within the CSME, i.e. waiting for the establishment of a supranational body, before it passes its impatience threshold and realises that this is an exercise in futility”. The Minister was politically correct in his response and advised that his government did not subscribe to the view that “every man break for himself”.

Let us do a cursory assessment of BTA’s performance based on the articulated Vision and, where appropriate, let us prescribe some Action items to effect sustained economic growth in an environmentally friendly manner. The environment to which I refer, of course, is the holisitic experience including the spiritual, social, cultural, economic as well as the physical environment. Is anyone called to account for the expenditure of BBD 90 million annually? How much is wasted? What is the growth rate which should be achieved by this annual expenditure? What growth rate has been actually achieved? This is our leading industry, we need to expand it.

We are free born but we have allowed our freedom to be compromised. To preserve our democracy, in whatever our field of endeavour, we need to pay the price of vigilance. We have not been very diligent in this respect and our freedom has been found wanting and the value of our democracy is gradually being undermined. We must be proactive; we must take preventive action and let our vigilance protect our liberty.

In the wake of this ripple effect which will influence change in business and personal lives, emerging nations like those in the Caribbean, in particular, must refocus, they must adjust their focus, they must focus their attention on things new and different. As I stated before in this column “Trading among ourselves in an expanded Caribbean market is a laudable objective. But, alas, it is not enough if we are going to increase our growth rate significantly. We must ‘leap-frog’ the expansion of the economy. This can only be done by providing services to an expanded global market. Individual countries should wriggle their way through the legs of economic giants in search of niche markets compatible with their potential to supply”. This strategic refocus is even more urgent and important in the context of last week’s happenings.

The "investment" rather than "bailout" activity I see as an emergency care service where the government is acting on behalf of the people and for the people, not only for the owners of these businesses which are in trouble. For the people because if these mega businesses are allowed to collapse then jobs will be lost (the social cost of an unemployed individual to the government is not insignificant), taxation will be reduced, the economic growth will suffer, there will be a deleterious impact on social security, net foreign exchange earnings will decline, poverty will be on the upsurge, quality of life will be reduced and the fallout from the interactions of all of the above will make life very uncomfortable indeed.

The integrated planning process in management is designed to ensure that visioning permits many people to contribute to the specific vision of an opportunity followed by a plan for its execution. Where we have fallen short is in the lack of diligence in pursuing the third component of the integrated planning process, that of monitoring progress. Any enterprise, large or small, must be continually monitored and controlled to avoid disastrous consequences.

I have been very concerned about this issue of supranational governance even in the case of the “E” of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy CSM(E). Will Caribbean governments ever give up control of sovereign power and authority, albeit limited, to a supranational body? Under the existing environment, I think not. If Norman Girvan is right about the degree of supranational governance required then, in my opinion, the EPA in its purest form would not have a chance either.

“Government therefore proposes to establish the Barbados Quick Response Revolving Seed Capital Fund and the Barbados Quick Response Venture Capital Fund. These funds are designed to meet the needs of clients that have potentially profitable and sustainable high growth business ideas but find it difficult, on a timely basis, to access all the seed and venture capital finance required to meet their needs, from traditional Venture Capital or other Private Equity financial institutions in Barbados.”

Sustainable development is a holistic concept and embraces the spiritual, social, physical, economic and cultural environments. Successful sustainable development implies a better quality of life and is a measure of happiness in nations. Happiness, of course, is the purpose of life. Our planning must be balanced with respect to each of these environmental elements – a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We must set realistic, time-specific and measurable objectives and take action to achieve them with the resources available to us.

I concluded by asking the audience not to ignore the importance of monitoring and controlling the impact of the media through surveys, visioning retreats and town hall meetings. This is an integral part of the management process and implies taking corrective action where necessary.

The Association of Caribbean Media Workers must lead the charge and aggressively and continually bring these governance issues to the fore in the media and hope that the partnership of government and the private sector responds positively as a result of the accumulation of public exposure.

In order to grow, in the face of adversity, from a personal, business or university perspective we must graduate from the AQ “faculty” with a qualification in the science of human resilience. We must escape the bridle of death and be showered by the fountain of life.

If more Caribbean persons attended these Smart Partnership Dialogues, if more Dialogues were held in the Caribbean, then the richer would the Caribbean be.

Last week, in discussing the role of the University of the West Indies (UW) during a symposium which was part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, I endorsed the view that UWI should significantly expand its thrust to train problem solvers. I supported the concept of the promotion of Centres of Excellence and concluded that it is through such reflection and action that thou shalt have good success.

The general opinion, at the end of the symposium, was that the debaters, panellists and the audience gave the UWI a passing grade while acknowledging that there were many areas left in which UWI could excel. The concept of Centres of Excellence was promoted - then thou shalt have good success.

What can we say about the Social Fabric in the Caribbean? Is it strong, is it weak or is it threadbare? As the book implies the pervasive market culture is eroding the civic culture underlying the social covenants in contemporary Western societies. The Caribbean has not escaped, the social fabric shows signs of weakness and, in some instances it may even be described as threadbare. To relate to a medical analogy, some have benefited from preventive care, others may still be saved by primary care and prescriptive medicine, but far too many require surgical care. There are, of course, those who have succumbed to the undertakers’ care. May they rest in peace!

Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental issues. The United Nations 2005 Outcome Document refers to the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social (including spiritual and cultural) development, and environmental protection

To be too brash in extolling the virtues of the achievements may be offensive to those receiving messages from your space; to be too silent may rob the world of information beneficial to mankind. A middle ground should be sought and I think that this is to be found, not so much in what we say as how we say it.

The day is here at last! The Executive Council of the Barbados Workers' Union, in association with Ian Randle Publishers of Jamaica, this afternoon host the launch of the book "Truly a Gentleman" at the BWU headquarters in The Sir Hugh Springer Auditorium.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), headquartered in Santiago, Chile, is one of the five regional commissions of the UN Economic and Social Council. It was created in 1948 to support Latin American Governments in the economic and social development of that region and reinforces economic relationships among the countries and with other nations of the world.

In February 1999 Lester Brown, president of the Worldwatch Institute stated: "there are growing signs that the world may be on the edge of an environmental revolution comparable to the political revolution that swept Eastern Europe. The social revolution in Eastern Europe led to a restructuring of the region's political systems. This global revolution could lead to an environmentally driven restructuring of the global economy".

The 12th full edition (the 17th including five shorter versions) of the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism - launched by Counterpart International in 2001 - attracted more than 100 reporters, editors, young people and development specialists who interacted face-to-face with representatives of the hospitality sector, civil society and government and explored the theme "Embracing the Diaspora: Connecting Communities".

When one is faced with changes which are due to the external environment, where the circumstances are beyond our control, the strategies that have to be adopted are different from a situation where the change is due to our internal environment, where the circumstances are within our control.

We have been discussing the expansion of the size of the economic cake in Barbados. This is a useful development strategy at any time but more so when we are faced with pressures from the international environment which result in high fuel and food prices and which threaten the well being of all of us but especially the more disadvantaged in the community.

The signal of climate change and the resulting deleterious impact of sea-level rise on small island states and coastal communities around the world were discussed in great detail at the 1994 United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States held in Barbados.

The traditional consulting model responds to requests to assist the enterprise at specific times in its evolution. In contrast, the CBET model inspires a smart partnership with the enterprise from business concept along the journey to sustainable business success.

In parallel with the heightened concerns of the current food and energy crisis, which may not yet have reached its zenith, there is an accompanying measure of comfort manifested by a theme of excellence that has pervaded my own recent Caribbean experiences. This is a good sign and portends pangs of hope, but alas it is not enough. We shall have to convert the vision of excellence into action.

The price increase crisis with which we are faced in Barbados, other emerging nations and indeed more pervasively throughout the world has its genesis in the rising cost of fossil fuel and rising food prices. Globally, food producing lands and forests have been converted into lands for producing fuels to partially address the fuel constraint. This has led to dwindling international reserves of cereals and grains and, together with reduced supplies of rice in Asia, has fuelled the global food crisis and is leading us down a path of poverty.

Exactly three months ago the title of my column was "Fix Food First". This was in reference to rising food prices. This title seemed appropriate then but, in this relatively short time frame, the food issue is quickly approaching a crisis proportion and it is now so urgent that I have upgraded my warning and appeal that we "Fix Food Now!"

Quick Response Seed funding is required for the leg of the journey from business concept to the completion of the business plan. This process gives the conditions under which the business is viable as well as the investment capital required for its implementation. Quick Response Venture capital funding is required as the primus inter pares among potential investors.

The CEO of the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation, according to a report in the Barbados Business Authority of Monday March 24 2008, said that "Small entrepreneurs in need of sizeable start-up capital should either willingly share business ideas with investors or take a longer route to raising funds".

In 1977, I made what some thought was the brave step of abandoning the security of University tenure, as a Biometrician, and establishing a business on my own. For me it was what I wanted to do next and I prepared myself as best as I could for it. After four courses at the Barbados Institute of Management & Productivity and two courses under the Certified General Accountants? programme, I was ready to embark on my business career. My nine years? previous working experience was in Statistical, Information and Computing Systems, albeit applied to agriculture, and it seemed sensible to build on this base and offer my services as a consultant in this sector. Not surprisingly the registered business name under which I plied my trade was SINCOS Consultants.

As a country revisits its Vision and moves from the Vision to the Action, one must take stock of the status quo. We must understand our history, focus on the vision and devise strategies to follow that beacon which will illuminate the path on the journey towards the vision to which we aspire. We must know the condition of our flocks, so that when the hay is gathered in the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. We must diversify our products and services and move towards mobilising our knowledge resources and adding as much value locally to our indigenous resources. We must pursue economic development strategies which develop new enterprises - one business at a time.

No matter whether a country is small or large, whether it is developed or emerging, whether it is resource rich or resource poor, there will always be a challenge to determine the best policy for economic development at any given time. There will be obvious traditional areas of competitive advantage and there will be creative areas of opportunity but whatever the status an innovative policy approach, a sharp vision and an eye for partnership will all stand us in good stead.

The Caribbean Community consists of an archipelago of islands and a couple of mainland territories all of which share a British Colonial past. It is a region with only six million people but must be the one with the highest number of sovereign countries per capita in the world.

At a recent seminar at UWI, I was reminded of an analysis done by the late Honourable Professor Oliver Headley to the effect that the solar energy collectively incident on each square metre of Barbados in a single day, if efficiently converted, was equivalent to the energy required to meet the Barbados electricity demand for an entire year. An opportunity waiting to happen!

It is quite amazing how Barbados and other small island states, very often appeal for help from industrialised developed countries, on the grounds that we are not blessed with natural resources. This has often resulted in an ephemeral mendicant approach to life in contrast to a persistent industrious approach where one makes the best use of the resources that we do have.

We have been reflecting on the value of the social partnership philosophy as an essential component of effective governance, where the social partners benefit from the synergies of interaction for the good of the Nation. When the Nation does well we all do well.

On the one hand, the government has a responsibility through the Cabinet, the House of Assembly and the Senate, to refine the legal framework which underpins the governance system of the country. On the other hand, the management of this governance process must be effectively undertaken to ensure that we all stay on the track as the train of success propels us forward.

It was reported that Barbados was hit by a political tsunami, but as the dust has settled around Barbados, the reality is that the DLP has been returned to power.

Our people are our most important asset. Our country needs its people to be healthy, productive and to exhibit high levels of productivity. Our health care practitioners advise us that we need balanced nutrition (food), exercise and peace of mind. If we fail to address this, then medical practitioners, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and undertakers get involved. They all have a role to play, but at the appropriate time. Do not let us overburden them.

Over the last two weeks this column has focused on the people's manifesto, which states what the people's needs are. People were deemed to be our most important asset and we concluded that agriculture is paramount and we are best advised to "grow what we eat and eat what we grow". Other needs relate to education, housing, health, energy, transportation and other service functions which are most efficiently provided centrally by Government, with support from the Private Sector.

In an emerging nation such as Barbados, people are our most important asset and we must develop them to the fullest especially if we want not only to lead the developing world, as far as the human development index is concerned, but also want to be among the top nations in the world. People need a balanced nutritional diet, as well as exercise and peace of mind, to perform optimally and develop the country. Nutrition comes primarily from food. This means that agriculture is paramount and we are best advised to "grow what we eat and eat what we grow" and focus on food security in these times of uncertainty and rising transport costs.