“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”
– 2 Corinthians 3:18
Last week, I concluded, “Let us all recognize the Barbados Enterprise Ecosystem as a powerful option for providing for our families using our God-given gifts” in the context of the Diaspora connection.
As if to emphasize the importance of this revamped Barbados government enterprise development policy direction, I received two random requests for corporate governance assistance from diverse enterprises: an established NGO and a dynamic music company, both interested in establishing their enterprises’ resilience.
Neither enterprise was familiar with Shepherding and the application of the Management of Business Systems (ManOBiz) Matrix, so I decided to share this week. The concept was last published as a column in April 2017.
Shepherding is a process that improves the chances of business success when applied to enterprise development. Shepherding increases efficiency when used in government departments by clearing obstacles along the journey. It may be argued that combining successful enterprise development and government efficiency is the key to unlocking all doors leading to sustained economic growth.
Indeed, there is an inherent corporate governance generic design that is common to the private and public sectors. This design manifests itself in the Corporate Governance system constituting the Value Proposition (“Vision”), the Investment Finance system nurtured by external influence and internal profitability (“Security”), the Marketing system (“Life”), the Operations system (“Profit Growth”), and the People Development system (“Sustainability”).
Glenn Harewood, a reader of this column, suggested (seven years ago) that “security, life, growth, sustainability” will support any enterprise only when human dimensions holistically reflect the glory of God.
In this world, it is often popular to adapt traditional solutions to problems on the grounds “Why re-invent the wheel?” However, because of a different local environment, the conventional solutions may not be a perfect fit.
The ManOBiz Matrix is a Shepherding tool that facilitates the Shepherding process. It is an innovative “homegrown” approach that may indeed be very beneficial to other small island states.
If I may draw on my personal experiences, there are at least four areas where we can apply the ManOBiz Matrix, i.e.:
- The evolution from idea to business.
- Re-engineering an existing business.
- Institutional strengthening.
- Monitoring towards sustainability.
Some individuals are natural entrepreneurs, while others are not, and they are very conscious that their own security might lie in their ability to establish their own businesses. Business ideas abound, but their level of business knowledge does not match their often very creative skills. The ManOBiz tool can efficiently take you from “idea to action plan.”
Some government departments and private businesses have not changed with the times and find themselves, at best, struggling in the information and digital age but normally operating in a very chaotic and inefficient state. The ManOBiz Shepherding tool can efficiently transform the public or private institution until it emerges from “chaos to order”.
Many businesses have made a valiant effort to do things right but often end up not doing the right things. Hence, they struggle to grow on a sustained basis. The ManOBiz Shepherding tool is a boon for the leaders of these businesses as they seek to transform to improved business health.
Those who are pleased with their growth progress may find that adopting the ManOBiz Shepherding tool increases efficiency by continually monitoring and strategically reviewing their businesses’ performance against planning targets annually. This monitoring can be done semi-automatically through the development of digital dashboards.
Let us systematically apply the ManOBiz Matrix to the private and public sectors to unlock the Divine energy and innovation inherent in our human dimensions, transforming our lives into something brighter and more beautiful.
(Dr. Basil Springer GCM is a corporate governance adviser. His email address is basilgf@marketplaceexcellence.com. His columns may be found at https://www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com).