“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” – Psalms 133:1. Agneta Winquist’s book on Wabi Sabi, which inspired this series of columns on Nature’s Wisdom, has a succinct description of five observations and corresponding lessons that we can learn from geese flying in V- shaped formation. I think these …
“The Lord will guide you continually … and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” – Isaiah 58:11 “Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the toiling work-horse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at its …
“For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 4:6 What insights can Mother Nature offer to a business? According to the C.P. …
“I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” – Psalm 32:8 Last week’s column was the start of a nine part mini-series on Biomimicry, which is spreading like wild fire these days. Biomimicry is the study of “how nature creates sustainable …
“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1 The 2016 Olympic games are upon us where 10,500 athletes from 207 countries are competing in 28 sports. One of the emotions which I experienced while watching a part of the …
“He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’.” – Matthew 18:2-3 Albert Einstein has been credited with a definition of insanity as “Doing the same things over and over again and expecting …
“Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” – Mark 4:8 Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness recently stated that “investment in the entrepreneurial spirit of Jamaicans will guarantee the country’s economic growth”. The occasion was the official opening of …
“May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love.” – Ephesians 3:17 “Each Life stands in a beam of Light which draws its energy from an infinite pool of Love”. This inspirational statement may be found in a scrolling sequence which adorns the homepage of my website – www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com. Alternatively, we …
“I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”- Revelation 3:20 God’s infinite goodness surrounds us and we are abundantly blessed. As the human mind plans, God guides our every step. What a …
“Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” – James 1:4 What is productivity? Productivity is a measure of efficiency and may be applied to any factor of production. Factors of production are the inputs that are used in the creation of goods or services to ultimately effect …
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. ” – Colossians 3:23 Whether you have a natural proclivity to be an entrepreneur, whether you leave your job and become an entrepreneur or whether you have the opportunity to carry on the family …
“He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. God loves a cheerful giver.” – II Cor. 9:6, 7. The concept of “the circular flow of money” is pivotal to the vision of business success. The continuous circular flow of blood in the body is pivotal to our vision for a …
“The LORD detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.” – Proverbs 11:1 Universal adult suffrage, used exclusively in the political context, is the right to vote in elections of a state. Prior to the mid-20th Century only wealthy male Caribbean adults were enfranchised and the rest of adults were disenfranchised. …
“Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress.” – 1 Timothy 4:15 Meditation teacher Stephan Bodian defines discipline as “the capacity to do something again and again.” Discipline then leads to joy, peace, love and clarity and ultimately to a successful life. At the end of …
“Put God in charge of your work, then what you have planned will take place.” – Proverbs 16:3. We are all familiar with the term “dashboard” in the context of an automobile or aircraft. The purpose of the dashboard is to display operational information to facilitate the operator’s decision making process through timely performance …
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” – 1 Corinthians 3:6 Professor Compton Bourne, Executive Director of Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance (CCMF), wrote an article entitled: “The Liquidity Problem in Caribbean Commercial Banks” in the CCMF’s December 2014 Newsletter: Volume 7, No. 12. In this article, …
“Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given. ” – Luke 8:18 Over the last three months another private sector concept has been added to the arsenal of Shepherding resources available to expedite enterprise development in the Caribbean and beyond. It is the Shepherding Innovative …
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” – Luke 12:32 Among the social partners, the role of government is “policy” and “service” and the role of the private sector is “investment” and “business”. There is often an abundance of investment funds in the private sector …
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” – 1 Corinthians 12:7 Sustainable economic growth is necessary for our socio-economic survival and is dependent on enterprise development and business success. In spite of this, we keep on paying little more than lip service to the low average global rate …
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10 The Rotary International (RI) organization, now in its 112th year, evolved from the world’s first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago. This club was formed by Paul P. Harris, an …
“As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.” – Corinthians 6:1 The term “marketing-mix” was first introduced by Neil Borden, the president of the American Marketing Association in 1953. It consisted of the four Ps: Product, Price, Promotion and Place which is the foundation on …
“All our steps are ordered by the Lord.” – Proverbs 20:24 The date – the third of the fourth, twenty sixteen – West Indies men’s and women’s cricket teams join the Under-19 cricket team in bringing glory to the Caribbean region. Please pause to herald the diligence of Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena; whose actions …
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” – Matthew 6:27 T.S. Elliot wrote: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” After writing this weekly business column for nearly 23 …
“Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well. And instantly the woman was made well.” – Matthew 9:22 Dr. Simon Johnson, the Central Bank of Barbados’ 2016 Distinguished Visiting Fellow, was the specially invited guest at the 3rd Caribbean Economic Forum on March 22. His presentation, which …
“Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” – Luke 8:8 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies will grow just 0.2% in 2016, according to projections unveiled by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in December 2015. According to the World Bank’s forecasts at the beginning of 2016, India will be …
“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…” – Joel 2:25 Three weeks ago I concluded: “Let us commit ourselves to the faith that is needed to achieve great results as we transition from the WICB and the WIPA to the West Indies Cricketing Trust. Let us …
“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” – Proverbs 11:14 On November 30, 1966, the Union Jack was lowered and the Barbados flag raised at the Garrison Savannah. I was a student in London at that time and have no vivid memories of what …
“To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” – Romans 8:6 I promised two weeks ago to embark systematically on “the management and enterprise development” series of columns to address the specific needs of start-up and evolving businesses. After an interlude …
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 In any organization, it is necessary to have a strong corporate governance structure. It is not sufficient for sustainable business success, however, the organization must also be strong in the business systems of finance, marketing, people …
“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” – John 15:4 Last week I shared with readers some facts and some of my experiences with the service organization, Rotary International. I …
“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” – Matthew 18:4-5 The chronological sequence of the themes of my columns at the turn of the year is (1) “May The Power of the P’s – Public-Private Partnership – Profit, …
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” – John 1:5 As a senior practitioner in the business consulting field, one of my most gratifying experiences is the shepherding of young entrepreneurs. Many of them are full of ideas and innovations, willing to work hard to generate business growth …
“See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!” – 2 Corinthians 6:2 Each one of us has been granted, by divine edict, a major time resource of 24 hours per day. Some of us may be affected by a spiritual belief system and/or by mental and physical disabilities that …
“For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:13 Many years ago, the late Trinidadian economist Dr. Trevor Farrell made the following statement: “Within reason, it does not matter at what level a country sets its exchange rate, …
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”- Romans 12:11 My new year started with a bang. Many independent and innovative ideas, initiatives, interventions and projects have fed my passion for sustainable business success in the Caribbean. Maybe it is a divine plan to share my knowledge and experience in …
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” – Colossians 3:16 The group at a small New Year’s eve dinner party which I attended lamented the disappearance of basic manners among …
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 David L. Washington published a paperback in 2012 entitled “The Power of the P’s”. It states that “From Prayer to Potential to Progress … there are countless words with the letter …
“The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.” – Psalm 18:28 I very much appreciate those readers who took the time to respond to last week’s column entitled “Love is the Answer”. I shall share with you the following 11 written responses, some of them very brief but each one was instructive to me for …
“God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” – 1 John 4:16 I think that it is reasonable to state that: “A critical mass of people in the world strive for a sound foundation, internal and external protection, a vibrant life for the mind, body and …
“Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.” – 1 Corinthians 12: 14 The human body is made up of several systems which epitomize its foundation, protection, life, growth and sustainability. This constitutes the whole. In each system there are many parts. When all the parts fulfill their purposes and …
“Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, and shall be quiet without fear of evil.” – Proverbs 1:33. Last week I participated in a very interesting regional meeting of the minds in Trinidad, the specific objective of which was to craft a solution to the problem of successfully matching existing and augmented services from …
“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” – 1 Peter 4:10 Two weeks ago in my column of November 9 entitled “Agricultural Innovations”, I promised to reflect, in my next column, on interesting small economy innovations from the Caribbean Pacific Agri-Food …
“Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” – Psalm 84:3 Last week I promised to share interesting small economy innovations from the Caribbean Pacific Agri-Food Forum which took placed in …
“Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory.” – 1 Chronicles 4:10 It was very gratifying to receive supporting responses to my recent column entitled “Agriculture is Vital”, which highlighted the responsibilities to: feed the people nutritiously; use all our natural resources (land and marine); collaborate and grow more food at the …
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7 I share with you a simple exchange when a visitor unexpectedly came for breakfast last week: Me: “A piece of pawpaw?” Visitor: “Yes thank you!” Me: “Eggs, what style?” Visitor: “Scrambled please, I shall have two!” …
“I will take sickness away from among you.” – Exodus 23:25 The triple bottom line, also referred to as the three pillars of sustainability, measures the holistic performance of a corporation over time. It is an accounting framework with three parts: social, environmental and financial, also referred to as the three Ps: people, planet and …
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” – Romans 12:12 Last week, I was privileged to meet Trinidadian Vaneisa Baksh, a renowned writer on the game of cricket. The occasion was a meeting of the publishing sub-committee of the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Committee Ltd. (SFWMC) in Trinidad. The draft mission of …
“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence” – Galatians 5:13 In Trinidad, early last week, I was viewing and listening to a post budget panel discussion. It was clear that the country has suffered a significant reduction in export earnings due to …
“Wisdom is supreme – so get wisdom.” – Proverbs 4:7 Once again, I join my fellow Trustees of the Graham Gooding Trust Fund in commemorating the late E.G.B. Gooding (1915-1987) who was born in Britain of Barbadian parents and was educated at Harrison College and Cambridge University. He was a botanist, agriculturalist, food technologist …
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.”- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 The human body consists of 12 systems – www.innerbody.com. The skeleton (1) and the muscles (2) constitute the Core of the human body. The skin/hair/nails (3) protect the core from the external elements and, internally, the immune system (4a) detects and protects against …
“And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.” – James 3:18 In last week’s column we beseeched the social partners to unite under the leadership of the new Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Now, we wish that the youthful energy in the new Cabinet of the twin island …
“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1 The day after the Trinidad and Tobago general election, which was on Monday, September 7, two colleagues said to me, quite independently, that they observed a different atmosphere in the country as …