“Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!” – 1 Samuel 25:6 Mens sana in corpore sano is a famous Latin quotation, literally translated as “A healthy mind in a healthy body” but often interpreted as “A sound mind in a …

“Aram did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise” – Ezekiel 27:16 At present, there is a large economic divide between Barbados and First World countries, but this gap can be effectively reduced if we diligently pursue successful business …

“On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made” – 1 Corinthians 16:2 The savings principle in the above text has far reaching benefits in accumulating …

“Then the LORD said: I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you” – Exodus 34:10. Last week Chairman …

“Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge” – Proverbs 23:12: Brian Lara has now retired and as I have said repeatedly this now provides an opportunity for the West Indies team to begin the reconstruction process. It has nothing to do with Brian Lara’s record and entertainment value as one …

“Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge” – Proverbs 23:12: Whether it is service through a life of public speaking or the regional air carrier LIAT, the key to success is discipline. A well disciplined individual exemplifies the best in character, pattern of behaviour, spiritual strength, moral development and mental …

“Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” – 2 Chronicles 1:10 Two weeks ago I was invited to attend a two day regional forum on reinventing Government in the Caribbean mounted by the United Nations Development Programme, the Caribbean Centre …

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” – Galatians 6:9 Last week, I addressed the question “Can the West Indies cricket team management motivate each player to achieve a batting average during the UK tour which is 10%, …

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” – Galatians 6:9 Two weeks ago, I advised that, in the context of a WI cricket captain, the inner or personal qualities of an individual that constitute effective leadership include humility, …

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” – Colossians 4:5-6. Last week, I had a meeting with a UN consultant from Mauritius who is new to the …

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you… Romans 12: 3. Leadership is a key resource which must be effectively utilized …

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” – 2 Corinthians 9:12 Well the Barbados leg of CWC 2007 has arrived. Everybody has come to the party. We must express thanks to God. Ten days ago the Central …

“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you” Job 22:21 Last week I promised to continue the focus on Barbados by looking at a comparison between Barbados and Singapore and to propose some ways in which opportunities and synergies could accrue, learning from the Singapore experience. …

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good and his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” – Psalm 100: 4-5. In last week’s column, I proposed the challenge “How can we strive for global …

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good and his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” – Psalm 100: 4-5. We hear tell that Barbados is aspiring to be a first world Nation. How …

“I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly” – John 10:10 Last Sunday my son Bevan and I, basking in the euphoria that is Dubai, continued our travels to Singapore. We were confirmed in Business on Emirates for the Dubai to Singapore leg (seven hours flying). We stopped in Colombo, …

“I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly” – John 10:10 When I checked in at the Air Jamaica counter in Barbados heading for New York, a week ago last Saturday, I was blessed to be upgraded to Executive Business Class, the airline’s recently rebranded product. The check-in service was …

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” – 1 Peter 5:6 We are confronted on a day to day basis with what we perceive to be one problem or another. Many get consumed with the negative emotion of worry to the extent that they cannot see …

“Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure” 2 Corinthians 13:11. As a management consultant, a strategy consultant, a change-engine consultant, one is indeed an advisor to business about efficient management …

“May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose” – Psalm 20:4 We are now into the seventh week of the year; 42 days have gone galloping by. What are we doing this year that is different from last year in our quest for “Happiness – a way of mind and …

“Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come” – Daniel 10:14 The Future Centre, under the aegis of Counterpart Caribbean, is being developed as an exhibition site to stimulate awareness of the need for holistic sustainable development …

“I am not telling you this because I need anything. I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. I know how to live when I am poor, and how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in …

“The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and …

January 17, 2007 EDWARD HARRIS AT LARGE WILL VISAS REQUIREMENT AFFECT VISITOR ARRIVALS FOR CRICKET WORLD CUP 2007? Dr. Basil Springer writing in the Barbados Advocate Business Monday, dateline 8/1/07 was very critical about the impact of the Visa requirement for visitors from certain countries seeking to attend the ICC CWC 2007 games and he …

“Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously” – 2 Corinthians 9:6 This weekend, we in Barbados celebrate the birthday of the late Rt. Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, national hero, acclaimed as the father of Barbados’ Independence. It is on occasions like …

“This is the day the Lord hath made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it” – Psalm 118:24 Many of us are still recovering from the Christmas celebrations which extend seamlessly into the New Year. It was a period of gift giving, reflection and thanksgiving for the past year, assessment of the present and …

“Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding” – Proverbs 3:13 In September 2000, in this column, I said that we are now in an information age where knowledge, including information, complements money, materials and manpower to become the fourth factor of production. In fact, we are forced to continually move along the …

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” – Isaiah 9:6. Michael Rappaport (Business Editor, Daily Bulletin, Ontario, California), in September 2006, reported on a conversation with Ira …

“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth” – Genesis 9:16 The Bellairs Research Institute, McGill University, Barbados Field Study (BFS) Semester programme is a holistic, international, hands-on, in-the-field experience. According to www.mcgill.ca, the programme …

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” – Philippians 2:3-4. The Foreword of the 2006 UNDP Human Development Report (HDR) states “Human development is first and foremost …

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” – Proverbs 29:18 Over the past week we reflected on and celebrated the achievements of Barbados over the first forty years as an Independent Nation. We were treated to a captivating play “The Redemption of Sister Dinah” put …

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth” – 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Congratulations brethren on the fortieth anniversary of our political independence. On November 30, 1966 the Union Jack was lowered …

“Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off” – Proverbs 24:14 Last week, I listened to a Sanjay Manjrekar compered discussion on the Internet. The question was asked of the panel – who, in the …

“In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.” – Job 39:24 After an interlude to reflect on my Tobago intervention on Service Excellence, I now return to conclude the series of exciting experiences, this time in the areas of Renewable Energy, Low Waste Lifestyles à la Japanese …

“A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it” – Proverbs 22:3 I was invited by the Division of Tourism & Transportation in Tobago to be the guest speaker, last Thursday, at their Tourism Week Awards Ceremony at the Tobago Hilton. Many categories of service provider were …

“In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.” – Job 39:24 Last week I began to recall exciting experiences which serve to motivate me on a weekly basis. I got as far as recounting the CMEx IX in St .Lucia, about which raving reviews continue to be …

“In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.” – Job 39:24 In my last two columns, I reviewed the progress of our Nation over the last 60 years and looked at the opportunities for growing the economy. The prospective economic sectors for the future, sustainable development generally, …

“Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be” – Job 8:7 Last week I reviewed our progress over the last 60 years. What are the opportunities for growing the economy? We often talk about the services economy of the future. Well, the future is here and now. We must focus on the …

“Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be” – Job 8:7 Barbados, a relatively small island with a population of 270,000 and a paucity of natural resources, has had a proud run of success over the last 60 years as it evolved from a colony, through adult sufferage, internal self government to …

“…and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts…” – Exodus 31:3 Man is a creature of his environment. In the thrust for sustainable development, one is continually influenced by cultural, social, physical and economic factors that tend to mold you into a shape, …

“Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!” 1 Samuel 25:6 According to www.bidc.org, the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC), now 50 years old, is the industrial development agency of the Barbados Government. It has special responsibility for promoting and …

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” – Proverbs 24:16 Last Tuesday it was reported on the West Indies Cricket Board web site, after Game One of the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur, that “It was a heartbreaking end after Chanderpaul blistered the Aussie …

“Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!” 1 Samuel 25:6 There is a generic vision that fits any country in the world. This vision is holistic sustainability in the context of the spiritual, economic, social, cultural and physical environments. As …

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” – Proverbs 29:18 The Jamaica Information Service reported on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 that Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce, Senator Kern Spencer, has said that Jamaicans needed to explore all the …

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God” Romans 3:19 The CBET Enterprise Development activity brings me into contact weekly with younger entrepreneurs across a wide spectrum of business activity. It …

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) I have had occasion recently to interact professionally with the relatively new CEO at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, Mr. Winston Collymore, a Barbadian. He brings substantial top level leadership and management experience in health, and the public …

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” – Genesis 8:22 I understood from a news clip last Friday night on CBC TV that the Prime Minister of Barbados was encouraging the private sector to be more creative about engaging in businesses …

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” – Hebrews 10:24 Trinidad and Tobago’s business conglomerate, Ansa McAl Group, in the last year, announced its first Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence. The Awards Programme is this year divided into three categories: Arts and Letters; Science …

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much” – Mark 12:41 I was on an early flight from Barbados to Trinidad last Friday with stops in St. Vincent and Grenada. On the first leg of the journey it …

“Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!” 1 Samuel 25:6 About six months ago, in this column, the penultimate paragraph was: “What is the purpose of life? In my ‘book’, it is to create happiness and avoid pain for oneself …