“My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.” – Psalm 49:3
Enterprise builds the economy of a country. The Export Enterprise Builder concept must be adopted and scaled if the Caribbean is to generate foreign exchange, create jobs and strengthen resilience.
We begin by generating ideas, attracting investors to an Equity Growth Fund, and appointing Shepherds to mitigate business failure — the 3M Shepherding Model. Shepherding combines life coaching with business mentoring, monitoring and, critically, serving as collateral for investors, thereby de-risking capital.
But how do we generate ideas with the “DNA of an Elephant” — big, strong, memorable concepts that drive transformation and stimulate economic growth? The answer lies in the High Impact Growth Strategy (HIGS) Workshop.
The HIGS workshop tool, developed under my watch, is both innovative and interactive. From a blank sheet of paper, it produces several sustainable new ideas in just two days, guided by skilled facilitators and a balanced mix of stakeholders. Its strength lies in its versatility — it can be applied across any industry.
A snapshot of the HIGS process: Facilitators work from a structured manual while a local coordinating committee submits a proposal for review. Six teams each develop a new idea and prepare a Business Opportunity Profile (BOP). Over two consecutive days, 60 participants representing a cross-section of interests are invited, with a minimum of 48 expected, divided into six roundtables. Full participation is required throughout.
Under facilitator guidance, each table nurtures an idea and develops its BOP. Participants sign off on six initial profiles, with a guarantee of equitable financial reward for their intellectual property upon development and sale of the full action plan. Some participants may go on to become entrepreneurs.
HIGS Ideation Workshops are inherently forward-looking. Participants learn to continually generate new ideas or refine existing ones, linking Caribbean supply and brand opportunities with global niche market demand — and converting them into commercial realities and economic growth.
The Barbados sargassum seaweed project, highlighted in Barbados Today, is a strong example of a “DNA of an Elephant” initiative. Local innovators are already harvesting sargassum for fertilizers and biogas. With an abundant and continuous supply from the sargassum sea, the transformation is already underway.
Dr. Basil Springer GCM is a corporate governance adviser. He can be reached at basilgf@marketplaceexcellence.com. His columns may be found at www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com .