Tag: Jobs

Keep the Change: Mono-Industrial Economy Exhaustion

Posted on April 26, 2020 in Economics, Ethos, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

We have all seen-heard the common expressions of exhaustion:

I am sick and tired of being ‘sick and tired’.

Grow up Already, and take care of your own business.

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change; I am changing the things I cannot accept.

From the very beginning we, the movement behind the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean, set-out to correct this blatant flaw in our societal design – Page 3, Paragraph 2:

Many people love their homelands and yet still begrudgingly leave; this is due mainly to the lack of economic opportunities. The Caribbean has tried, strenuously, over the decades, to diversify their economy away from the mono-industrial trappings of tourism, and yet tourism is still the primary driver of the economy. Prudence dictates that the Caribbean nations expand and optimize their tourism products, but also look for other opportunities for economic expansion. The requisite investment of the resources (time, talent, treasuries) for this goal may be too big for any one Caribbean member-state. Rather, shifting the responsibility to a region-wide, professionally-managed, deputized technocracy will result in greater production and greater accountability. This deputized agency is the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).

Enough already! We are exhausted from all this deficiency.

Thanks to the Coronavirus – COVID-19 crisis, the world is re-thinking mono-industrial trappings. It is not good to “put all the eggs in one basket”. See this dramatization in the Appendix VIDEO below.

If you are dependent on tourism, be On Guard, with no COVID-19 vaccine or treatment, travel restrictions and social distancing will be the new normal for a long time still – maybe 18 months. This means 2022 before a return to 2019 levels of economic output.

Those dependent on tourism are hereby being forced to accept changes and make adjustments.

They are being forced to make a change, not just temporarily to get past this crisis, but rather permanent change to fix the “cracks in the foundation”. They want to Keep the Change and complete the diversification pledge.

This is also the narrative for another industry and another country, that of Saudi Arabia. Right now; their society is mono-industrial – oil – but they want to be less vulnerable to the volatility of oil prices and oil revenues. So they want to contemplate other ways to diversify their economy. They want to Keep the Change; see the Appendix below. Their ‘Will to Change’ is strong as they have been Oil Rich for a long time.

Movie Quotes: Trading Places (1983)
“The best way you hurt rich people is by turning them into poor people” – Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy)

The price of oil dropped to $11.26 a barrel (55 ga1lons) earlier this month; this was the absolute lowest in recent history. Oil revenues cratered for all such Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

How about us in the Caribbean?

While we do have some OPEC members in our region – 2 of 30 – the vast majority of the Caribbean depend on a different mono-industrial engine: tourism. Likewise, most of our countries too, have failed to deliver any diversification to the industrial offering.

The problem is the mono-industrial engine.

The solution is diversification.

How do we go about manifesting this change, Keeping this Change?

(Saudi Arabia is out of scope for the movement behind the Go Lean book).

The Go Lean book presented strategies, tactics and implementations to pursue this goal. The diversification mission was stated as follows (Page 45):

Build and foster local economic engines. This will diversify the economy, while still enhancing the tourism product, and create a perpetual eco-system for job creation. Whereas certain provisions are impractical for a small-population-market, once that market is super-sized, there must be local solutions. This is best illustrated with the regions undeniable need for food, clothing and shelter. A market-size of 42 million must foster industries on Main Street to produce and supply these basic needs. By fulfilling this mission, a strategic and defensive stance, other aspects of the economy gets the peripheral benefit: jobs, lower costs of living, control of inflation – fostering middle class prospects.

Every month, the movement behind the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean present a Teaching Series on a subject germane to Caribbean life. For this April 2020, our focus was on the impact of the Coronavirus on the economic engines in the region. There is now the need to re-focus on the changes this crisis has ushered in and to Keep the Changes that are good and may have always been needed, like industrial diversification. This is entry 5 of 5 for this series, it completes the series and encores the certainty and urgency to flex our economic muscles to “put our eggs in more than one basket”.

The full catalog for this month’s series is listed as follows:

  1. Keep the Change – Lower Carbon Consumption abating Climate Change
  2. Keep the Change – Working From Home & the Call Center Model
  3. Keep the Change – Schools – Primary to Tertiary – making e-Learning work
  4. Keep the Change – Basic Needs: Cannot just consume; we must produce as well
  5. Keep the Change – Mono-Industrial Economy: ‘All eggs in 1 basket’

Don’t get it twisted, this Coronavirus-COVID-19 threat means death and devastation for many people and it has devastated the economic engines of most countries. There are no Ands, Ifs or Buts; we are not immune here in the Caribbean. We must abide by best-practices or suffer the consequences. Crises bring challenges, challenges bring changes. Some good, some bad and some ugly.

Yes, we can … Keep the Changes for the good benefits. We have always needed to pursue a diversification of our industrial footprint, to accomplish this finally would be good. This diversification goal was previously identified, qualified and proposed with different Industrial Reboot solutions, spread across 2 years. See this chronological list of previous submissions:

  1. Industrial Reboots – Ferries 101 – Published June 27, 2017
  2. Industrial Reboots – Prisons 101 – Published October 4, 2017
  3. Industrial Reboots – Pipeline 101 – Published October 5, 2017
  4. Industrial Reboots – Frozen Foods 101 – Published October 6, 2017
  5. Industrial Reboots – Commercial Gigs 101 – Published February 8, 2018
  6. Industrial Reboots – Call Centers 101 – Published July 2, 2018
  7. Industrial Reboots – Prefab Housing 101 – Published July 14, 2018
  8. Industrial Reboots – Trauma 101 – Published July 18, 2018
  9. Industrial Reboots – Auto-making 101 – Published July 19, 2018
  10. Industrial Reboots – Shipbuilding 101 – Published July 20, 2018
  11. Industrial Reboots – Fisheries 101 – Published July 23, 2018
  12. Industrial Reboots – Lottery 101 – Published July 24, 2018
  13. Industrial Reboots – Culture 101 – Published July 25, 2018
  14. Industrial Reboots – Tourism 2.0 – Published July 27, 2018
  15. Industrial Reboots – Cruise Tourism 2.0 – Published July 27, 2018
  16. Industrial Reboots – Reinsurance Sidecars 101 – Published October 2, 2018
  17. Industrial Reboots – Navy Piers 101 – Published October 9, 2018
  18. Industrial Reboots – Payment Cards 101 – Published October 11, 2018
  19. Industrial Reboots – Medical Schools 101 – Published March 1, 2019
  20. Industrial Reboots – Amusements Parks 101 – Published May 8, 2019

In summary, our Caribbean region needs a diversified industrial landscape to improve our economics, security and governance. This is why we must Keep the Change. emanating from this Coronavirus-COVID-19 crisis.

If the only positive thing that comes from this crisis is a diversified economy, then that would be a good benefit from a bad sacrifice, a good return on a huge investment.

The sacrifices would not have been in vain.

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste!

We hereby urge all Caribbean stakeholders to work to reform and transform our homeland. We urge you to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap to reboot the industrial landscape. This is how we will make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 13):

  1. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv.  Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

——————-

Appendix VIDEO – Idioms – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – https://youtu.be/EFkSIuNTdXc

Posted December 2, 2016

Sprachenzentrum Hochschule Nordhausen

——————-

Appendix – A new direction for the Saudi Arabian economy
Sub-title: As Saudi Arabia moves to diversify its economy away from oil, its private sector is beginning to truly thrive

Saudi Arabia finds itself at a significant economic crossroads. Home to the second-largest oil reserves in the world, the kingdom’s economy has been largely defined by the crude industry since drillers first struck oil in Dammam in March 1938. The discovery marked a watershed moment in the nation’s history, sparking an economic boom and propelling Saudi Arabia towards becoming one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Today, the nation is recognised as a global economic powerhouse, sitting among the G20 countries and boasting one of the highest GDPs in the Middle East.

While oil has brought Saudi Arabia great wealth and prosperity, we know one thing for certain – it won’t last forever. Crude is a finite resource and, although there is much debate surrounding the extent of the nation’s vast oil reserves, some estimates predict that supplies will last just 70 more years. This looming time limit – coupled with a global push to create a greener future – has seen Saudi Arabia begin to craft its vision for a post-oil era.

In 2016, Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the ambitious Vision 2030, a far-reaching reform plan that aims to diversify the economy away from oil, bolstering the private sector and improving employment opportunities for young people. The plan seeks to create a thriving economy where non-oil sectors such as tourism, manufacturing and renewable energy can drive growth, and entrepreneurial activities are encouraged. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a main focus for Vision 2030, with the project seeking to increase the contribution of SMEs to the Saudi Arabian GDP from 20 to 35 percent over the next decade. As the government forges ahead with its diversification drive, Saudi businesses must develop in line with these exciting transformations. A new economic ecosystem is emerging in Saudi Arabia and opportunities are plentiful for those businesses that contribute to its creation.

Burgeoning businesses
With Saudi Arabia ramping up its economic transformation plan, the nation’s private sector is truly coming into its own, and non-oil industries are beginning to drive growth. One such industry is the Saudi insurance market, which has shown great promise in recent years, emerging as one of the largest insurance sectors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Since first opening its doors to customers in 1986, the Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya) has grown into one of the nation’s foremost insurance providers, offering more than 60 insurance products – including medical, motor, fire, property, engineering, casualty, marine, energy and aviation insurance – in order to protect Saudi citizens from all manner of risk.

See the full article here: https://www.worldfinance.com/featured/a-new-direction-for-the-saudi-arabian-economy published October 3, 2019 retrieved April 26, 2020.

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Keep the Change: Working From Home

Posted on April 23, 2020 in Economics, Ethos, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

In case you missed it:

After advocating for the Caribbean Diaspora to repatriate back to their ancestral homelands, this writer returned back to the Bahamas in August 2019.

Psst…here’s the not-so-secret revelation:

“I kept my US-based job and simply Work from Home (WFH)”.

Welcome to the modern world …

… while WFH was a minority model operating in a majority world, something is happening in 2020: Coronavirus – COVID-19.

Now many-most White Collar workers have been working from home. It’s been part of the shelter-in-place/lockdown protocols. The majority of people in society have avoided gathering and all but essential contact for people – other than their immediate household – in order to “flatten the curve”.

It has worked!

Though infection rates has progressively risen, it has been far less dire than what was possible or feared. Consider the Bahamas for example, they only have 70 ventilators in the whole country to service 350,000 people; but their infection rates hasn’t exceeded more than 50 by April 2020. The same patterns have materialized in many countries that complied – early – with these protocols. (Italy on the other hand, overwhelmed their hospitals, ICU’s and ventilators at the peak of their crisis).

Public Health Lessons learned!

Change was mandated: many Blue Collar staffers were laid-off or furloughed from their jobs – other than the “essential” workers – during the shelter-in-place periods; unemployment rates soared. But for the White Collar staff, they were able to shift to the Work From Home model…and productivity and incomes were sustained.

Let’s summarize: schools were shuttered; day care facilities closed; e-Learning schemes deployed, and in-the-office jobs suspended, so home became the workplace, class room and college campus and yet many companies found that their White Collar staff still delivered. Think Accounting, Payroll-Human Resources, Information Technology, Collections, and Telephone-based Customer Service continued unabated; even governments and back-office banking (Commercial, Trust, Investment) continued unimpeded. See this portrayal in the follow news article – VIDEO:

Title: As coronavirus forces millions to work remotely, the US economy may have reached a ‘tipping point’ in favor of working from home
By: Lindsey Jacobson

KEY POINTS

  • Companies are enabling remote work to keep business running while helping employees follow social distancing guidelines.
  • A typical company saves about $11,000 per half-time telecommuter per year, according to Global Workplace Analytics.
  • As companies adapt to their remote work structures, the coronavirus pandemic is having a lasting impact on how work is conducted.

With the U.S. government declaring a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, companies are enabling work-from-home structures to keep business running and help employees follow social distancing guidelines. However, working remotely has been on the rise for a while.

“The coronavirus is going to be a tipping point. We plodded along at about 10% growth a year for the last 10 years, but I foresee that this is going to really accelerate the trend,” Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, told CNBC.

Gallup’s State of the American Workplace 2017 study found that 43% of employees work remotely with some frequency. Research indicates that in a five-day workweek, working remotely for two to three days is the most productive. That gives the employee two to three days of meetings, collaboration and interaction, with the opportunity to just focus on the work for the other half of the week.

Remote work seems like a logical precaution for many companies that employ people in the digital economy. However, not all Americans have access to the internet at home, and many work in industries that require in-person work.

According to the Pew Research Center, roughly three-quarters of American adults have broadband internet service at home. However, the study found that racial minorities, older adults, rural residents and people with lower levels of education and income are less likely to have broadband service at home. In addition, 1 in 5 American adults access the internet only through their smartphone and do not have traditional broadband access.

Full-time employees are four times more likely to have remote work options than part-time employees. A typical remote worker is college-educated, at least 45 years old and earns an annual salary of $58,000 while working for a company with more than 100 employees, according to Global Workplace Analytics.

New York, California and other states have enacted strict policies for people to remain at home during the coronavirus pandemic, which could change the future of work.

“I don’t think we’ll go back to the same way we used to operate,” Jennifer Christie, chief HR officer at Twitter, told CNBC. “I really don’t.”

Source: Posted March 23, 2020; retrieved April 23, 2020 from: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/what-coronavirus-means-for-the-future-of-work-from-home.html

————

VIDEO – With Coronavirus forcing millions to work from home, how productive can the US be while working remotely?  –  https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/03/23/what-coronavirus-means-for-the-future-of-work-from-home.html

Now for the corporate realizations and lessons-learned: perhaps businesses can accomplish Work from Home just as successfully as Work from the Office.

Keep the Change …

This is the theme of the April 2020 Teaching Series from the movement behind the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean. This publication serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). Every month, we presents a collection of blog-commentaries on a consistent subject germane to Caribbean life; this month we cannot ignore the actuality of this Coronavirus crisis. There have been changes to the workplace; some of which might be good; some benevolent consequences are emerging from this. This WFH discussion is entry 2-of-5 for this Keep the Change series. There are other benefits that are also submitted for consideration; the full month’s series are cataloged as follows:

  1. Keep the Change – Lower Carbon Consumption abating Climate Change
  2. Keep the Change – Working From Home & the Call Center Model
  3. Keep the Change – Schools – Primary to Tertiary – making e-Learning work
  4. Keep the Change – Basic Needs: Cannot just consume; we must produce as well
  5. Keep the Change – Mono-Industrial Economy: ‘All eggs in 1 basket’

Yes indeed, there are no Ands, Ifs or Buts …

… regarding COVID-19 – people are dying; patients are suffering; economies are faltering. Many jobs are essential and must persist in the workplace – public safety, food supply chain, etc. – but many jobs too can survive the WFH shift.

This is the business model for the Go Lean roadmap; while the rest of the world wrestle with the choices of which jobs to bring back to the workplace versus which jobs to allow to WFH, the Caribbean Union Trade Federation wants to present the proposals to bring those WFH jobs here. So maybe now, our Caribbean citizens can find new economic opportunities abroad without actually going abroad or abandoning the homeland.

Yes, we can … Keep the Change.

This is not a new discussion for the Go Lean movement. We had long contemplated jobs in the Caribbean homeland that could in-source for clients who are physically in other jurisdictions. In fact, the movement identified these prominent industries:

  • Call Centers – Title Industrial Reboot – Call Centers 101
    Industries that depended on phone calls … now have to reboot their industrial landscape and business model. This is bad! This is good! As it opens the opportunity for jobs in the Call Center industry.
    With modern Internet Communications Technology (ICT) – think Voice-over-IP – a phone call can originate or terminate around the globe, but feel/sound like it is next door. The premise of this business model for the Caribbean is simple: Why not make those calls / answer the phone here in the Caribbean?
    Jobs are at stake.
    … there could be this many jobs:
    Direct and indirect jobs at physical and virtual call centers: 12,000
  • Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
    Contact Centers today do more than just phone calls, but rather business process outsourcing (BPO), including email, IM, web chat, social media and work flow processing on behalf of 3rd party clients.
    …
    Direct and indirect jobs at physical and virtual call centers: 12,000.
    …
    In addition to these industry jobs; there is also the reality of indirect jobs – unrelated service and attendant functions – at a 3.75 multiplier rate would add another 45,000 jobs.
  • Offshore Banking
    This refers to banks located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction (or tax haven) that provides financial and legal advantages – a mainstay in Antigua, Bahamas, Bermuda and Caymans. These advantages typically include: greater privacy, little or no taxation, easy access to deposits, and protection against local, political, or financial instability. … Legally, offshore activities do not prevent assets from being subject to personal income taxes on interest income, often times it is the privacy feature that skirts tax computation and collection.
  • Graphic Design and Animation
    A round of new jobs are to be found in the executions for this digital world; this is becoming a new playground. This is a glimpse of industrial growth for the 21st Century; this is the sphere of Internet & Communications Technologies (ICT). …
    The Go Lean [book] … makes the claim that innovation and economic growth can result from a progressive community ethos. The book defines this “community ethos” as the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of society; dominant assumptions of a people or period. The book thereafter recommends the ethos of Fostering Genius (Page 27), so as to not only consume this industry’s product offering, but facilitating development and production. The skills to participate in the art and science of this development may not apply to just everyone; it may be limited to a “gifted few”, a “talented tenth”.
    This is why all the other attendant functions must also be facilitated to engage this activity, such as Helping Entrepreneurship (Page 28), Promoting Intellectual Property (Page 29), Impacting Research and Development or R&D (Page 30) and Bridging the Digital Divide (Page 31).
  • e—Government
    e-Government 1.0 refers to just the facilitation of government services via some electronic mode, the first attempt to embrace an online presence and processing; 2.0 refers to the quest for greater citizen participation in the governing/policy-making process, “putting government in the hands of citizens”.[54] This 3.0 brand however, refers to the penultimate e-Delivery, processing and optimization of ICT (Internet & Communications Technologies) among all the different roles and responsibilities. …
    … we must explore the viability and feasibility of e-Government schemes in the new Caribbean, as rebooting the governing engines is part-and-parcel of the Go Lean roadmap.
    Go Lean Book (Page 51):
     The CU’s delivery of ICT [(Internet & Communications Technologies)] systems, e-Government, contact center and in-source services (i.e. property tax systems [and www.myCaribbean.gov]) can put the burden on systems continuity at the federal level and not the member-states. (This is the model of Canada with the federal delivery of provincial systems and services – some Provincial / Territorial presence / governance is completely “virtual”).

The points of reforming and transforming the Caribbean eco-systems so that WFH could thrive have been further elaborated upon in many previous blog-commentaries; consider this sample:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=18749 Learning from Another ‘Great Place to Work’: Mercedes-Benz
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14954 Overseas Workers – Not the Panacea
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11184 JPMorganChase spent $10 billion in 1 year on ‘Fintech’ & Call Centers
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9839 Alibaba Cloud stretches global reach with four new facilities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2126 Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1698 STEM Jobs – ideal for WFH – Are Filling Slowly

So this writer “talked the talk and walked the walk”.

Don’t just do what I say; do what I do.

We have stood on the rooftops and on the steeples and told the Caribbean world that these islands and coastal states are the greatest address on the planet and all efforts should be made to Stay Home or Return Home.

We came home, by executing the strategies of Working From Home. While this was always our plan, we knew that it would be a “Hard Sell” to the Caribbean mentality; this was not the “community ethos”; see the prescription from Page 212 of the Go Lean book:

10 Ways to Promote Contact Centers  # 8: Promote Work-at-Home Options
The CU needs to conduct a public relations campaign to promote the benefits of tele-commuting and minimize any negative stigma associated with head of households working from home. This reflects the realities of media portrayals affecting the choice of careers in prior decades. For example, the 1984 movie Revenge of the Nerds is credited for dissuading young girls from pursuing careers in Science, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). [18].

Now the whole world is considering – in response to the COVID-19 crisis – the merits and benefits of WFH. To this change, we say:

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste! Let’s Keep the Change …

… and encourage more people to pursue these strategies, tactics and implementation.

Economics in the homeland are inadequate? We hear you; we see you; we’ll bring more jobs back here!

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap. This is how we will make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 14):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv.  Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

xxvii. Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Forging Change – Labor’s Cautionary Tale

Posted on January 31, 2020 in Economics, Ethos, Industries, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Forging Change by doubling-down on the Labor Movement – that sounds so 1930’s, 1940’s, 1950’s or maybe even 1960’s. This cannot be how the stewards of the Caribbean plan to Forge Change in 2020’s.

Those times – 50 years ago and beyond – have past; now we must be concerned with Best Practices. The full history of the Labor Movement gives us lessons in the Art and Science of Forging Change … and also the Cautionary Tale of the backlash of Going too Far, Too Fast.

Yet still, there have been many social revolutions that have spurned from Labor Movements, around the world and here in the Caribbean. This has always been a model for Forging Change. In fact, the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean highlighted how the Labor Movement Forged Change in 2009 in the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. See the highlights from the book here (Page 17):

In January/February 2009, an umbrella group of approximately fifty labor unions and other associations called for a €200 ($260 USD) monthly pay increase for Guadeloupe and Martinique’s low income workers. The protesters had proposed that authorities “lower business taxes as a top up to company finances” to pay for the €200 pay raises. Employers and business leaders in Guadeloupe had said that they could not afford the salary increase. The strike lasted 44 days, during the high season, and escalated to “the verge of revolt”, finally ending with an accord in March 2009 in which the French government agreed to raise the salaries of the lowest paid by the requested €200 and granted the petitioners top 20 demands. Tourism suffered greatly during this time and affected the 2010 tourist season as well; the islands were believed to have lost millions of dollars in tourism revenues due to cancelled vacations and closed hotels. The strikes exposed deep ethnic, racial, and class tensions and disparities – discord – within the French Caribbean territories.

This was not the only time that the Labor Movement Forged Change in the Caribbean; though not mentioned in the Go Lean book, these incidences are of high notoriety:

  • British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–39 – Various starting points for the cycle of disturbances have been proposed: the February 1934 labour agitation in British Honduras [today’s Belize] (which ended in a riot in September)[1] the May–July 1934 sugar estate disturbance on Trinidad (which broke out on several estates in the central sugar belt, involving over 15,000 Indian estate labourers)[2] and the January 1935 Saint Kitts sugar strike.[3]
    In any event, after St Kitts (which turned into a general strike of agricultural labourers) came a March strike in Trinidad’s oilfields and a hunger march to Port of Spain.
    In Jamaica labour protests broke out in May on the island’s north coast. Rioting among banana workers in the town of Oracabessa was succeeded by a strike of dockworkers in Falmouth which ended in violence.
    In September and October there were riots on various sugar estates in British Guiana [today’s Guyana]; there had been strikes the previous September on five sugar estates on the west coast of Demerara.
    In October rioting also took place on St Vincent in Kingstown and Camden Park. The year ended with a November strike of coal workers in St Lucia.
    After a relatively tranquil year in 1936, there was widespread unrest in Trinidad (extraordinary because blacks and Indians cooperated in working-class activities)[4] and Barbados in June 1937 and in Jamaica in May–June 1938.
    The 1937-38 disturbances were of greater magnitude than the 1934-35 ones, which had been more localized. In Trinidad, for example, the protest began in the oilfields but eventually spread to the sugar belt and the towns. In Barbados the disorders which started in Bridgetown spread to the rural areas. In Jamaica most areas of the island experienced serious strikes and disturbances. At least two ending points have also been suggested: the Jamaican cane-cutters’ strike of 1938[5] or the major February 1939 strike at the Plantation Leonora in British Guiana, which led to further disturbances.[6]
  • Bahamas: Burma Road Labor Riots – June 1st, 1942, the Burma Road Riots was a short-lived impulsive outburst by a group of disgruntled laborers. “In those days it was illegal for workers to ‘combine’ or unionize against their employer”. So this riot was the first sign of a popular movement in the Bahamas that led to long overdue reforms, and eventually, Majority Rule.

Civil Disobedience was effective then and can be effective again … now. The key has always been: Collective Bargaining.

The workers ‘combined’ or unionized and as a result “set-off the dominoes for change”. This aligns to the Art and Science of Forging Change.

This is the conclusion of this series of ‘teaching commentaries’ by the movement behind the 2013 book Go Lean … Caribbean. This January 2020 focus is about more than just the Art and Science of Forging Change in society, but also on how to ensure the change is permanent by neutralizing the resultant backlash. This is entry 4 of 4 for this series, which details the Community Ethos that is first needed to ensure that the societal change is palatable. Otherwise there is the pejorative declaration:

Keep the Change!

The first submission in this series stressed that change must Build-up to a Momentum; this allows for evolutionary change and not just revolutionary change. This means affecting the heart … or as the Go Lean book states (Page 20) affecting the Community Ethos:

The fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions of a people or period.

Other Forging Change considerations are presented in this series; see the full series catalog here:

  1. Forging Change – By Building Momentum
  2. Forging Change – Opposition Research: Special Interest
  3. Forging Change – Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
  4. Forging Change – Labor Movement Cautionary Tale – Backlash: Going too far

Beyond these, we see that the thought of Forging Change had been a common theme for the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean for more than 5 years. See the full catalog here of the previous 13 blog-commentaries – before this series – that detailed approaches for Forging Change (in reverse chronological order):

  1. Forging Change – ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ (July 9, 2019)
  2. Forging Change – Corporate Vigilantism (March 29, 2018)
  3. Forging Change – Soft Power (February 21, 2018)
  4. Forging Change – Collective Bargaining (April 27, 2017)
  5. Forging Change – Addicted to Home (April 14, 2017)
  6. Forging Change – Arts & Artists (December 1, 2016)
  7. Forging Change – Panem et Circenses (November 15, 2016)
  8. Forging Change – Herd Mentality (October 11, 2016)
  9. Forging Change – ‘Something To Lose’ (November 18, 2015)
  10. Forging Change – ‘Food’ for Thought (April 29, 2015)
  11. Forging Change – Music Moves People (December 30, 2014)
  12. Forging Change – The Sales Process (December 22, 2014)
  13. Forging Change – The Fun Theory (September 9, 2014)

As related in the foregoing, what was so powerful for Labor Movements is the strategy of Collective Bargaining…or else! No doubt, there is the need for more Collective Bargaining today and always, as related in a previous blog-commentary from April 28, 2017:

There is the need to Forge Change in the Caribbean; the same as there was the need to Forge Change in 1960’s America. Consuming cruises is just one of the challenges that we have to contend with in our region. This is reflective of the disrespect that exists in our society. We have dysfunctions in our economics, security and governing engines. We are 2nd class citizens on the world stage! We have the greatest address on the planet – demonstrated in that 80 million tourists consume our marketplace every year, 10 million via cruises – and yet our own people have to break down the doors to get out to find the respectful life that they need, want and deserve in foreign countries.

What is the Cautionary Tale that we must all learn from the historicity of Labor Unions? “Going Too Far Too Fast”; this why evolutionary change is preferred. The Cautionary Tale of Unions is depicted here, in this Economics Journal, as the final consequence:

Title: What’s the point of unions [anymore]?

Unions are associations that allow workers to approach their employers not as individuals, but as a more powerful collective. This power makes unions pretty controversial; some people think they’re necessary for keeping employers in check, but others think they’re too powerful and hurt the economy.

While some economists think that wages are mostly determined by how productive a worker will be in a given job, others think it has more to do with the bargaining power of each side. Workers generally want higher wages and better working conditions. Employers on the other hand usually want to keep costs down. Wages, and working conditions in this theory are determined by how much power each side has to make the other give in to their demands.

Employers are in a pretty powerful position because they can hire and fire people. When there are tons of jobs to go around this is less of an advantage, because fired workers can just get jobs somewhere else. But when there’s high unemployment, being fired can be a really serious problem for workers. Unemployment gives employers some leeway in deciding how much to pay workers; if one person won’t accept a lower wage, someone else probably will.

One way workers limit this power is by organizing into unions which allow workers to speak out together and bargain collectively with employers. Within a union workers can vote to stop working in order to put economic pressure on the business (called going on strike). The idea is that it would be very costly for a business to fire or discipline all the workers at the same time, so they’ll hopefully agree to compromise and raise wages instead.

Historically unions have been really important for creating a lot of things we see as basic working rights in rich countries, like safe workplaces, 8 hour workdays, weekends, and the end of child labor. Unions and collective bargaining have played a big role in the creation of middle class jobs in most well-off countries.

But unions also draw a lot of criticism. A lot of people agree with the basic premise of unions, but think in practice that they have gone too far. In many rich countries, the decline of manufacturing has been blamed on unions that wanted to keep wages high, even when competition increased from overseas. Some people say that unions make it harder to fire bad workers, which hurts employers, customers and other employees. Public sector unions create even more debate, as wage increases for government workers can mean higher taxes for everyone else.

Some economists also argue that when unions win wage increases, they actually create bigger problems for unemployed people, who are willing to work for lower wages than the high wages negotiated by the union. That’s called the insider outsider problem, because the insiders (workers with jobs) create a bigger problem for outsiders (people who want jobs). Other economists don’t think this effect is actually that big in practice, and is outweighed by the extra economic activity created by giving workers more money to spend in the local economy.

Source: Economy – Ecnmy.org – Making economics less confusing – retrieved January 31, 2020 from; https://www.ecnmy.org/learn/your-livelihood/wages/whats-point-of-unions/

As related in this foregoing article, when Labor Unions win wage increases, they actually create bigger problems in society, so there is the need to be aware and be On Guard for the negative consequences of “Going Too Far Too Fast”. The employer must never be viewed as the enemy, but rather a partner in the stewardship of the region’s economic engines. However, there are enemies, adversaries and organized opposition – think Globalization, Technology, Crony-Capitalists or Plutocrats – for the progress our Caribbean general society must make. We must all be aware of these pressures.

See a related VIDEO here … from an American perspective, yet still relevant for the Caribbean:

VIDEO – Robert Reich: Why Unions Matter to You – https://youtu.be/402m57yFjTM

Robert Reich
Robert Reich [(former Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton)] explains why labor unions impact the middle class and raise wages.

Watch More: Why Right to Work is Wrong ►► https://youtu.be/WqjdsfMPl_A

The Go Lean book addressed this! In fact, within the 370 pages of the Go Lean book, many details are provided on how to reform and transform the economic engines of Caribbean society with the cooperation and partnership of Labor Unions and other stakeholders advocating for workers. The book features the new community ethos (attitudes and values) that must be adopted; plus the executions of new strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to Forge Change among workers (Blue Collar and skilled professionals) to work in harmony with market demands to elevate the Caribbean homeland. In fact, this actual advocacy on Page 164, in the Go Lean book, contains specific plans, excerpts and headlines; it is hereby entitled:

10 Ways to Impact Labor Unions

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market initiative: Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).
This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, expanding to an economy of 30 member-states of 42 million people. The CU is a reboot of the economic engines of the region resulting in the creation of 2.2 million new jobs after 5 years of accedence. Jobs mean labor unions must be part of the discussion and part of the equation. The labor unions in the region have the potential of being part of the solution, as the CU advocates a “meritocracy” rather than seniority. For unemployment, the CU envisions the Ghent System with “Union” management powered by CU systems.
2 Labor Unions and e-Government

Under the CU plan, trade/labor unions will have access to e-Government services and functionalities, (same as Foundations). Therefore, the Unions will be able to access online account management and transaction processing systems to review, request CU services on behalf of their members. They will have the tools to service their charters.
3 Expertise Certification
4 Community Ethos – Automation & Partnership

The CU’s mission is to level the playing field for global competition by fostering and deploying technology to the fullest extent possible. Technology and Labor do not also align in objectives (think: The Legend of John Henry). But there are case studies of successful adoption of Internet & Communications Technology (ICT) embedded in the quality processes to maximize the outputs of the labor force. The ethos for Caribbean labor must be partnership with management.
5 QA Adoption
6 Work-At-Home Promotion
7 Federal Civil Service.
8 Self-Governing Entities (SGE)
9 Volunteers / Foundation
10 Emergencies – Martial Law – Union Suspension

This advocacy projects that Labor Union stakeholders can be partners in the stewardship of Caribbean society. They care about the workers; there is external pressure on those workers and the whole economic system; we are “all in this together”; we need “all hands on deck”. This is the attitude and value system that will foster societal progress.

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap … to allow us all – workers and employers – to work together as partners. This is one more way to Forge Change and make our Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxi.  Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxiv.  Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Learning from Another ‘Great Place to Work’: Mercedes-Benz – Encore

Posted on December 19, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Industries, Planning

A lot of companies formed 133 years ago are no longer around.

  • Time takes its toll
  • Business models change
  • Technology improves
  • Values are reformed

For the companies that have survived the “Win or Go Home” tournaments, it is important to study them and learn lessons of their successes … and failures.

One such company is the international automotive conglomerate Mercedes-Benz or DaimlerBenz:

Mercedes-Benz is a German global automobile marque and a division of Daimler AG. Mercedes-Benz is known for luxury vehicles, buses, coaches, ambulances and trucks. The headquarters is in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The name first appeared in 1926 under Daimler-Benz. In 2018, Mercedes-Benz was the biggest selling premium vehicle brand in the world, having sold 2.31 million passenger cars.[4]

Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft‘s 1901 Mercedes and Karl Benz‘s 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is widely regarded as the first gasoline-powered automobile. – Source: Wikipedia.

This “Old Dog” has learned a lot of “New Tricks”.

They are considered one of the Great Places to Work, by the formal Great Place to Work® Institute; they are in the Top Ten on the 2018 List.

VIDEO – World’s Best Workplaces 2018 | Daimler Financial Services – https://youtu.be/HG2nGLaEj9w

Published on Oct 17, 2018

One such Value Reformation that Mercedes-Benz has completed that other companies, institutions and regions – this mean YOU Caribbean stakeholders – can learn from is the emphasis on Diversity and Inclusion. See this ethos featured in the internal company newsletter here from December 9, 2019:

Title: How we shape Diversity & Inclusion
Daimler employs more than 298,000 people from around 160 nations. And that is just one aspect of our company’s diversity. We shape Diversity & Inclusion with appropriate offers and measures for our employees in five dimensions.

  • We work in international teams: Our workforce from around 160 nations offers us first-hand insights into our different markets and customer groups. Daimler employs people from different countries and cultures to combine their different perspectives in projects and produce the most optimal results.
  • We bring people from different generations together: Daimler employs people from five generations. Experience is combined with fresh ideas in intergenerational teams in order to create new approaches. Our employees can develop further and unfold, regardless of age. For this we offer a great variety of learning possibilities.
  • We promote equal opportunity for all genders: A balanced relationship between women and men benefits companies and society equally. Be it as developers, location managers, assembly workers or members of the Board of Management: Women work at all levels at Daimler. The share of women in senior management positions is to increase to at least 20 percent by 2020.
  • We defend the rights of the LGBTI+ Community: We would like our employees to feel that they can speak openly about their sexual orientation and identity. This applies to gays, lesbians and bisexuals as well as to trans* persons or intersexual people. And we also take to the streets for this: With the Daimler Pride Tour [Link] we are sending a clear signal for diversity, respect and appreciation – worldwide.
  • We include people with disabilities on an equal footing: The participation of severely disabled people in working life is more than an obligation for us. On the basis of our inclusion agreement, we create jobs for people with disabilities and promote their further qualification. Our action plan for severely disabled trainees opens up a wide range of commercial and technical professions for young people.

Source: Posted December 9, 2019; retrieved December 19, 2019 from https://www.daimler.com/sustainability/basics/employees/how-we-shape-diversity-inclusion.html

For the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – the movement to reform and transform the Caribbean – this is not our first time focusing on the classification of Great Places to Work. In fact, we published a previous blog-commentary on December 2, 2014; it is only apropos to Encore that submission here-now:

—————–
Go Lean Commentary – Making a Great Place to Work®

The book Go Lean…Caribbean represents a quest to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. The focus on this commentary is on work. There is actually a formula to making an organization a Great Place to Work®; that formula is so regimented that it is copyrighted and patented, and thus the ® symbol. This effort is pursued by the Great Place to Work® Institute. Below is their corporate information and accompanying VIDEO:

Video: The Great Place to Work Institute Model – http://youtu.be/IneDx950xRA

Great Place to Work Institute co-founder Robert Levering discusses the history of the Institute and how after 25 years of researching the best companies to work for around the world, that high levels of trust between employees and managers is the main element found in great workplaces. – Uploaded on Nov 7, 2011

————————

CU Blog - Making a Great Place To Work - Photo 1For over 25 years we’ve studied and identified great workplaces around the world.

Your company can be a great workplace, and you have the power to make it happen. It begins with an investment in building trust throughout your organization. The return will be a more vibrant enterprise, more innovative products and more satisfying relationships. Employees who trust their managers give their best work freely, and their extra effort goes right to the company’s bottom line. Managers who trust their employees allow innovative ideas to bubble up from all levels of the company. Employees who trust each other report a sense of camaraderie and even the feeling of being part of a family. Together they deliver far more than the sum of their individual efforts.

We’ve built the Great Place to Work® Model on 25 years of research and surveys of millions of employees.

Many of the best performing companies have followed this insight and seen tremendous results. At the Great Place to Work® Institute, we’ve spent 25 years tracking these leaders and learning from their successes. By surveying millions of employees and studying thousands of businesses, we’ve created a model for building performance based on trust. It’s our contribution to a global shift in businesses that is changing the way the world works.

We know that trust is the single most important ingredient in making a workplace great.

Our data show that building workplace trust is the best investment your company can make, leading to better recruitment, lower turnover, greater innovation, higher productivity, more loyal customers and higher profits. Our model provides specific, actionable steps to get you there. While you’ll be the one to lead your company on this journey, we can provide steady guidance from one of our 40 offices around the world.

We know that great workplaces are better financial performers.

Companies of all sizes look to us for our assessment tools, trainings, advisory services, conferences and workshops. The world looks to us to identify the best workplaces through our renowned lists. It’s all part of our passion to create a better world by helping you create a great workplace. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to join us and create yours.

Our clients are those companies and organizations that wish to maintain Best Company environments, those that are ready to dramatically improve the culture within their workplaces, and those in between the two. We know that organizations that build trust and create a rewarding cycle of personal contribution and appreciation create workplace cultures that deliver outstanding business performance.
Great Place to Work® – Corporate Website (Retrieved 12/01/2014)http://www.greatplacetowork.com/about-us

CU Blog - Making a Great Place To Work - Photo 2

The Go Lean book stresses the need to create great work places. It serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation for the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). As a federation or federal government, there will be the need to employ (and empower) a Civil Service workforce; this labor pool is projected to be only 30,000 people, thusly embracing lean (or agile) delivery methodologies.

Lean relates to management, the Great Place to Work® concept, on the other hand, relates more to character and organizational culture. In fact the foregoing source material highlights one attribute more so than any other: Trust. They relate that from the employee’s perspective, a great workplace is one where they:

  • TRUST the people they work for;
  • Have PRIDE in what they do; and
  • ENJOY the people they work with.

So “Trust” is the defining principle of great workplaces. Consider the example of one company, in the Detroit Metro area, Credit Acceptance Corporation in the Appendix below.

While federal employees, civil servants, are among the stakeholders for Caribbean empowerment, they are not the only stakeholders the CU must cater to; there are other stakeholders that cover other aspects of Caribbean life. In fact, the prime directives of the CU covers these 3 focus areas:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The roadmap identifies, qualifies and proposes the establishment of a technocratic civil service throughout the region (Page 173). The book posits that an empowered, effective labor force, coupled with advanced technology tools and processes can adequately meet the needs of the region’s super-national government. Imagine kiosks, websites, call centers and mobile applications (Page 197) as opposed to big-bulky edifices with bureaucratic staffers working a queue (think “permits/licensing” in any typical US state – see Page 93 for the example of Nebraska’s “lean” conversion with the Department of Environmental Quality). This technology-led vision is fully detailed in the book (Page 168), encompassing the tactical approach of a “separation-of-powers” with the member-states for specific governmental functionality that will be assumed under CU jurisdiction (Page 71).

In addition to these public sector employees, the Go Lean roadmap also focuses on private enterprises. While there is no plan to micro-manage private companies in the free market, there is the plan to rate/rank companies that are effective and efficient. Imagine: 10 Great Places to Work – Bahamas, 10 Great Places to Work – Dominican Republic, 10 Great Places to Work – Jamaica, so on and so on.

Previously, Go Lean blogs commented on job developments, in the public sector and also with industrial and entrepreneurial endeavors. These points were depicted in the following sample:

Funding Caribbean Entrepreneurs – The ‘Crowdfunding’ Way
Where the Jobs Are – Entrepreneurial Jobs
Jamaica’s Public Pension Under-funded
The Criminalization of American Business – Bad Examples
STEM Jobs Are Filling Slowly
British public sector workers strike over ‘poverty pay’
Puerto Rico Governor Signs Bill on Small-Medium-Enterprises
Self-employment on the rise in the Caribbean – World Bank

Now is the time for all Caribbean stakeholders, employees in the public and private sectors, to lean-in to this regional solution for Caribbean empowerment. The end result, a better workplace and a better homeland; in total, a better place to live, work and play.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

————

APPENDIX: Culture Without Compromise – One Case / One Company:

http://www.greatplacetowork.com/publications-and-events/blogs-and-news/2435-culture-without-compromise

This year, Credit Acceptance, a Michigan-based indirect finance company, secured one of the coveted spots on the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the first time—a goal the company has actively been working toward since 2001 under the leadership of CEO Brett Roberts. While related efforts were numerous and spanned a 13-year period, there are 3 key takeaways to be learned from Credit Acceptance’s journey to greatness from our case study: Culture Without Compromise.

CU Blog - Making a Great Place To Work - Photo 3

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Unequal Justice: Envy and the Seven Deadly Sins

Posted on September 29, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Unequal = Inequality; Inequality = Unequal …

All the talk of economic inequality – the rich getting richer; the poor getting poorer; the middle-class shrinking – is really a discussion on justice & injustice.

After thousands of years of human history, we have come to an indisputable conclusion:

Inequality is never tolerated for long. Eventually the “Have-Nots” demand what the “Have’s” have!

People do protest; revolutions do happen. People do get fed-up and demand change. Here in the Caribbean region, we have the well documented case of our American neighbors and their Revolutionary War Against the British (1776). These demands were embedded in their Declaration of Independence over Just Causes:

… when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

The Catholic Church warned about the long toleration of inequality as well. It described Envy – a feeling of discontent or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck – as one of the 7 Deadly (Cardinal) Sins and prepared its followers that these practices will only lead to discord, disagreement and death. Here is one religious reference:

The Bible’s answer
The Bible does not specifically describe a set of “seven deadly sins.” However, it does teach that practicing serious sins will prevent a person from gaining salvation. For example, the Bible refers to such serious sins as sexual immorality, idolatry, spiritism, fits of anger, and drunkenness as “the works of the flesh.” It then states: “Those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.”​—Galatians 5:​19-​21. *

Where did the list of seven deadly sins come from?
The “seven deadly sins” were originally based on a list of eight principal vices. The list was developed in the fourth century C.E. by the mystic Evagrius Ponticus, whose work inspired the writings of monk and ascetic John Cassian. In the sixth century, Pope Gregory I changed Cassian’s list of eight vices into the list of seven deadly, or cardinal, sins of Roman Catholic theology: envy, pride, greed, lust, gluttony, anger, and sloth.

Source: Retrieved September 29, 2019 from: https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/seven-deadly-sins/

See-listen to the thesis – that Envy is unavoidable as an enemy of inequality – in the embedded AUDIO-Podcast and VIDEO here:

AUDIO-PODCast – The Seven Deadly Sins: Envy – https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1420205

Heard on Talk of the Nation
Posted September 4, 2003 – Joseph Epstein *Author, Envy, the first in a series of The Seven Deadly Sins (Oxford University Press) *Author, Snobbery: The American Version
———-
VIDEO – Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming | Nick Hanauer – https://youtu.be/q2gO4DKVpa8

TED
Nick Hanauer is a rich guy, an unrepentant capitalist — and he has something to say to his fellow plutocrats: Wake up! Growing inequality is about to push our societies into conditions resembling pre-revolutionary France. Hear his argument about why a dramatic increase in minimum wage could grow the middle class, deliver economic prosperity … and prevent a revolution.

Watch more TED Talks on inequality: http://www.ted.com/topics/inequality

TED Talks is a daily podcast of talks and performances from TED events, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.

Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate

Follow TED Talks on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tedtalks Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED

So the Cardinal Sin of Envy forces the hand of the stakeholders in society to conform with programs that abate and mitigate income inequality.

The movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean have addressed Income Inequality on many occasions; the book introduced the roadmap for the implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This CU strives to reboot the economic engines in the region so as to create more opportunities (job-and-entrepreneurial) for everybody in the Caribbean region – men, woman, Black-Brown-and-White in all 30 member-states. This quest is designed to grow the Middle Class.

The Go Lean roadmap recognizes that a prerequisite for advancing society is a change in the Caribbean community ethos – “underlying sentiment that informed the beliefs, customs, or practices” – from Bad to Good. All of the 7 Deadly Sins actually reflect a “Bad Ethos”. Getting the Caribbean region to adopt Good Community Ethos is actually the practice that will promote justice and equality. Consider here, some of the Good Community Ethos that are promoted in the Go Lean book:

  • Deferred Gratification
  • Anti-Bullying and Mitigation
  • Minority Equalization
  • Return on Investment
  • Divergent Genius Designation
  • Research & Development
  • Negotiation … as Partners
  • Reconciliation
  • Sharing
  • Greater Good

This is entry 3-of-4 in this series on Unequal Justice. The previous submissions traced bad history of tyrants here in our New World and how that tyranny imperiled whole populations of people. The previous 2 submissions address matters of Public Safety, while this one focuses on economics. The full series on Unequal Justice is cataloged here as follows:

  1. Unequal Justice: Soft Tyrannicide to Eliminate Bottlenecks
  2. Unequal Justice: Economic Crimes Against Tourists and Bullying
  3. Unequal Justice: Envy and the Seven Deadly Sins
  4. Unequal Justice: Student Loans Could Dictate Justice

In this series, reference is made to the fact that the “arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice“.  There have been times in the past where income inequality have been acute in society; almost always, the end result is revolution and/or violent upheavals – think France in the 1700’s. Inequality indices are among the metrics and drivers for Failed-States.

  • DP – Mounting Demographic Pressures
  • REF – Massive Movement of Refugees or IDPs
  • GG – Legacy of Vengeance-Seeking Group Grievance or Paranoia
  • HF – Chronic and Sustained Human Flight and Brain Drain
  • UED – Uneven Economic Development Along Group Lines

So there is always the need to ensure justice institutions are optimized in society and that the “game is not rigged” so that income opportunities do not only go to a top-select few. The opposite of unequal economic structure would be a thriving Middle Class. So the need for justice in the Caribbean transcends borders, politics, class and race.

The subject of Income Inequality has been addressed in many previous Go Lean commentaries; see this sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13826 Taking from the Poor to Give to the Rich
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11057 Managing the ‘Strong versus the Weak’ – Book Review: Sold-Out!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6399 Book Review on ‘Mitigating Income Inequality’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6089 Where the Jobs Are – Futility of Minimum Wage
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5597 Economic Principle: Market Forces -vs- Collective Bargaining
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2338 Welcoming the Dreaded ‘Plutocracy’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=242 The Erosion of the Middle Class

Overall, now is the time for all stakeholders – citizens, governments, businesses, employers and employees, etc. – in the Caribbean to lean-in for the empowerments described here-in and in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. Income Inequality is the Number One challenge for many societies; especially in the Western World. We must be technocratic in our mitigations and work to help those in our communities explore greater opportunities to make our homelands better places to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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What Went Wrong? ‘Be our Guest’ – The Rules of Hospitality

Posted on July 23, 2019 in Ethos, Industries, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Be our guest
Put our services to the test …
– Song: Be Our Guest from the Movie: Beauty and the Beast – See Appendices below.

The economic principle – slavery – at the origins of Caribbean society had both winners and losers: for the slaves, it was a Bad Start; but for the slave masters it was a Life of Leisure, they had servants to do all the heavy-lifting to sustain their life.

Change came … slavery ended …

… most of the slave masters left the region. A transformation had to take place: socially, politically and economically. So yes, the Caribbean transformed economically from that Bad Start.

Or did we?

Now the primary economic driver in the region – every member-state – is tourism. We are still in the Life of Leisure business. Except now, instead of a Life of Leisure it is now only a week of leisure, or a forth-night, or a month, or a season (i.e. Winter Snowbirds). We have replaced one master for multiple masters at  the resort properties; “one master at a time” still enjoys the leisure.

The more things change, the more they remain the same!

For the former slaves, the Black-and-Brown of Caribbean society, the community ethos – (the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society) –  for them changed from a spirit of servitude to a spirit of Hospitality. Consider the historicity of Hospitality from a Judeo-Christian perspective:

Hospitality – refers to the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, Chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopédie as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity.[4] …

Historical practices – In ancient cultures hospitality involved welcoming the stranger and offering him food, shelter, and safety.[7]  …

Judaism … praises hospitality to strangers and guests based largely on the examples of Abraham and Lot in the Book of Genesis(Genesis 18:1–8 and 19:1–8). In Hebrew, the practice is called hachnasat orchim, or “welcoming guests”. Besides other expectations, hosts are expected to provide nourishment, comfort, and entertainment for their guests,[10] and at the end of the visit, hosts customarily escort their guests out of their home, wishing them a safe journey.[11] …

Christianity … hospitality is a virtue which is a reminder of sympathy for strangers and a rule to welcome visitors.[12] This is a virtue found in the Old Testament, with, for example, the custom of the foot washing of visitors or the kiss of peace.[13][14] It was taught by Jesus in the New Testament [as well]. Indeed, Jesus said that those who had welcomed a stranger had welcomed him.[15] Some Western countries have developed a host culture for immigrants, based on the Bible.[16] – Source: Wikipedia

Now consider the fantasy associated with Hospitality in our pop culture. See this song-and-dance – Be Our Guest – from the animated movie “Beauty and the Beast” in the Appendix VIDEO below.

In general, the better we are at Hospitality, the better the financial rewards – think gratuity.

This has resulted in distortions in our society. The rules of Hospitality means that we place the needs of the “Stranger” ahead of the needs of the neighbor. Consider the above scriptural reference in Genesis 19:1 – 8, where Lot extended hospitality to two strangers while in the City of Sodom. He “urged them not to spend the night in the public square”. The strangers accepted his hospitality, but before they could retire, a mob surrounded Lot’s house, “from boy to old man.” They cried out to Lot that he turn over his guests for immoral purposes, but he [Lot] firmly refused; he protected them, even offering to pacify the mob with the offer of his own family members.

In these modern days, albeit public safety protections for all in society including strangers, along come Direct Foreign Investors. We perceive that their needs supersede the needs of the “townspeople”. Everyone, everywhere senses this. At times, the Direct Foreign Investor is even pejoratively referred to as “Dragons”. This theme was elaborated upon in a previous blog-commentary; see quotation here:

… assigning the term “Dragon” to a “Dependence on Foreign Investors” or DFI. …
Normally DFI refer to Direct Foreign Investment, but in this case the “Dependence on Foreign Investors” is portrayed as a negative factor or pest – a dragon –  unless “trained”, caroled and controlled to harness the energy in a positive way. …

The [Go Lean] book, and accompanying blogs posit that “dragons can be trained”. The sad state of affairs in Freeport (Bahamas 2nd City] can be turned around by the embrace of a “double down” strategy on the island’s nascent ship-building industry [in place on the sole reliance of tourism].

This – shift to depending on hospitality of strangers – is What Went Wrong in the Caribbean development. Time for a change!

The 2013 book Go Lean … Caribbean opened with this warning:

The Caribbean has tried, strenuously, over the decades, to diversify their economy away from the mono-industrial trappings of tourism, and yet tourism is still the primary driver of the economy. Prudence dictates that the Caribbean nations expand and optimize their tourism products, but also look for other opportunities for economic expansion. The requisite investment of the resources (time, talent, treasuries) for this goal may be too big for any one Caribbean member-state. Rather, shifting the responsibility to a region-wide, professionally-managed, deputized technocracy will result in greater production and greater accountability. This deputized agency is the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).

To recap, it is not Tourism that is wrong is the Caribbean, rather it is the spirit of ” only accommodation to strangers” that is wrong. It subverts the community ethos and causes the stakeholders to become complacent, and settled that the “Foreign Man” – the Tourist or the Investor – will take care of us, rather than taking the necessary steps to take care of ourselves, like leveraging  and confederating with our neighbors, our neighboring communities and neighboring islands.

This is What Went Wrong in Caribbean history, society and culture.

Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come”. – Ancient Chinese Proverb

This commentary continues the July series from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean. This submission, 4-of-6 on the theme “What Went Wrong?” focuses on Caribbean history and why we still have many of the same defects that other societies – think North America and Europe yes, but even Asia – have already remediated. The full catalog:

  1. What Went Wrong? Asking ‘Why’ is Important
  2. What Went Wrong? ‘We’ never had our war!
  3. What Went Wrong? ‘7 to 1’ – Caribbean ‘Less Than’
  4. What Went Wrong? ‘Be our Guest’ – The Rules of Hospitality
  5. What Went Wrong? Failing the Lessons from Infrastructure 101
  6. What Went Wrong? Losing the Best; Nation-building with the Rest

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the regional engines of Caribbean society, for the full 30 member-states. The challenges are too big for any one member-state alone. We need the whole neighborhood, despite the language, race, colonial heritage or political structure – we need All Hands on Deck. The movement behind the Go Lean book asserts that this change is possible; we do not want to abandon Tourism; no, we want to optimize it and make it even better as an economic engine for our region. See how this theme was developed in many previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=17337 Industrial Reboot – Amusement Parks
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=17072 Cruise Ports ‘Held Hostage’ – Need to Reboot Cruise Eco-System
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15907 Industrial Reboot – Navy Pier 101
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15844 Doubling Down on “Snowbird” Tourism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15521 The Need for Caribbean Unity to Mitigate Tourism Missteps
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15380 Industrial Reboot – Cruise Tourism 2.0
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15378 Industrial Reboot – Tourism 2.0
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13856 Bad Case Study: Baha Mar – Doubling-down on Failure

All of the Caribbean had the historic background in slavery. Most of the Caribbean profess the Judeo-Christian religious affiliation. Most of the Caribbean have Tourism as the primary industry. The propensity for the Judeo-Christian form of hospitality and the mono-industrial expressions of Tourism is more than coincidental:

It is What Went Wrong with the Caribbean.

Now the focus must be on the changes that we need to move forward – the Way Forward.

Finally, we need to reboot our societal engines. While still extending our arms of hospitality in touristic expressions, we need to double-down in working with our neighbors – all neighbors in the region. We must convene, collude, cooperate, collaborate and confederate to address all our collective problems with collective solutions.

And we must carol and control our invitation of hospitality to Direct Foreign Investors – better train our dragons.

Yes, we can.

This is the urging of the book Go Lean…Caribbean and the resultant roadmap. We hereby urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this roadmap. This roadmap is conceivable, believe and achievable. We can make our homeland a better place for all stakeholders to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

iv. Whereas the natural formation of the landmass is in a tropical region, the flora and fauna allows for an inherent beauty that is enviable to peoples near and far. The structures must be strenuously guarded to protect and promote sustainable systems of commerce paramount to this reality.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

————–

Appendix VIDEO – Be Our Guest | Beauty and the Beast | Lyrics – https://youtu.be/GXlgmqHpBkU


Disney DeKa
Published on Jul 8, 2011 – I do not own anything! Thanks for watching 🙂

————–

Appendix – Lyrics: Be Our Guest | Beauty and the Beast

“Ma chere Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride
And greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight
And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair
As the dining room proudly presents
Your dinner!”

Be our guest, be our guest
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin ’round your neck, cherie
And we’ll provide the rest
Soup du jour, hot hors d’oeuvres
Why, we only live to serve
Try the grey stuff, it’s delicious
Don’t believe me, ask the dishes

They can sing, they can dance
After all, miss, this is France
And a dinner here is never second best
Go on, unfold your menu
Take a glance and then you’ll
Be our guest oui, our guest
Be our guest

Beef ragout, cheese soufflé
Pie and pudding, on flambé
We’ll prepare and serve with flair
A culinary cabaret
You’re alone and you’re scared
But the banquet’s all prepared
No one’s gloomy or complaining
While the flatware’s entertaining
We tell jokes, I do tricks
With my fellow candlesticks

And it’s all in perfect taste that you can bet
Come on and lift your glass
You’ve won your own free pass
To be our guest if you’re stressed
It’s fine dining we suggest
Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest

Life is so unnerving
For a servant who’s not serving
He’s not whole without a soul to wait upon
Ah, those good old days when we were useful (hey Cogsworth)
Suddenly those good old days are gone
Too long we’ve been rusting
Needing so much more than dusting
Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills!
Most days we just lay around the castle
Flabby, fat and lazy
You walked in and oops-a-daisy!

It’s a guest, it’s a guest
Sake’s alive, well I’ll be blessed!
Wine’s been poured and thank the Lord
I’ve had the napkins freshly pressed
With dessert, she’ll want tea
And my dear that’s fine with me
While the cups do their soft-shoein’
I’ll be bubbling, I’ll be brewing

I’ll get warm, piping hot
Heaven’s sakes! Is that a spot?
Clean it up, we want the company impressed
We’ve got a lot to do!
Is it one lump or two?
For you, our guest (she’s our guest)
She’s our guest (she’s our guest)

Be our guest, be our guest!
Our command is your request
It’s been years since we’ve had anybody here
And we’re obsessed
With your meal, with your ease
Yes, indeed, we aim to please
While the candlelight’s still glowing
Let us help you, we’ll keep going

Course by course, one by one
‘Til you shout, “enough I’m done!”
Then we’ll sing you off to sleep as you digest
Tonight you’ll prop your feet up
But for now, let’s eat up
Be our guest
Be our guest
Be our guest
Please, be our guest

Source: Retrieved July 25, 2019 from: https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/33715733/Alan+Menken/Be+Our+Guest

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‘Tipsy Bartender’ – Revisited: Still growing – Encore

Posted on June 30, 2019 in Economics, Implementation, Industries, Social

It’s been 3 years; we thought we’d check back in.

When we last visited the ‘Tipsy Bartender’ YouTube Star Skyy John, he had just surpassed the 1 Million Subscriber mark. As of June 27, 2019, his subscriber totals register at …

3,716,528

Wow! New Media charges forward!

… while in the meanwhile, Old Media retrenches:

Title: Traditional TV Still Sinking in Stream of Digital Video
Sub-Title: Nielsen Total Audience report shows 68% of homes have connected devices
By:
Traditional TV watching continues to wane, especially among younger consumers, as more homes get connected devices and streaming services. …

See full Article here: https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/traditional-tv-still-sinking-in-stream-of-digital-video – posted March 19, 2019; retrieved June 27, 2019

Since it is 3 years to the day, now is a good time to Encore that original blog-commentary on – ‘Tipsy Bartender’ from June 30, 2016. See it here-now:

—————-

Go Lean Commentary – YouTube Millionaire: ‘Tipsy Bartender’

“Out with the old; in with the new” …

… media that is.

The transformation to new media has taken hold. More and more people are consuming electronic media; so much so that it is becoming the mainstay for communications and entertainment.

This reference to electronic media conveys visual images; that means television, yes  …

CU Blog - YouTube Millionaires - TipsyBartender - Photo 2… but today, there is also the ubiquity of the internet, with its many video streaming services. The “new” in new media refers more to this medium than it does TV.

This is the change that has come to the world … and the Caribbean.

The book Go Lean … Caribbean advocates for the Caribbean region to better prepare to exploit the agents of change affecting the world. The book specifically identified technology and globalization among those agents (Page 57). It then declares that the region needs to move to the corner of preparation and opportunity.

Here – this commentary – is an example of the full manifestation of this “corner”. Identifying how – and why – networks can emerge without the need for investment into network infrastructure. The old adage is “where there’s a will, there’s a way”; but now there is only the need for the “will”, as the “way” is already in place, ubiquitous and fully accepted.

The Go Lean book relates how we are now able to have a network without the “network”. Many models abound on the world-wide-web. Previously, this commentary identified the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and ESPN-W; now the focus is the platform of YouTube, and the millionaires that have emerged. The YouTube network is delivered via the internet-streaming only.

This platform allows for nimble individuals and enterprises, the “fast and the furious”, to exploit the tenets of Internet Communications Technologies (ICT). So this platform – or even a homegrown duplicate as in the www.myCaribbean.gov portal defined in the Go Lean book – demonstrates how we in the Caribbean can elevate our eco-systems of ICT, entertainment, television, and economics.

This commentary presents the profile of one member of the Caribbean Diaspora – Bahamas – who serves as a role model for his exploitation of YouTube videos: Skyy John.

CU Blog - YouTube Millionaires - TipsyBartender - Photo 1

DATE OF BIRTH: January 2, 1978

BIRTHPLACE: Nassau, Bahamas

AGE: 38 years old

ABOUT
Host and creator of the YouTube channel Tipsy Bartender, the number one bartending show in the world. On the show, he makes crazy, colorful drinks.

BEFORE FAME
Before moving to America, he was a bank teller by day, a Dominos pizza delivery guy by night, and a fisherman on weekends. He is also a former member of the Bahamian military (Defence Force).

TRIVIA
He has acted in co-starring roles on television series, including The New Adventures of Old Christine, Cold Case, The Shield, The Young & Restless. He has also appeared in movies: Dorm Daze 2 (2006), Street Eyes (2015) and Whitey Goes to Compton (2011).
Source: Retrieved June 29, 2016 from http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/skyy-john.html

See a full interview from Tubefilter in the following article. Tubefilter is a curator of online videos from industry news, web series reviews, events, and an Awards Show. They published a web series on YouTube Millionaires. See the full article here:

Title: YouTube Millionaires: TipsyBartender Is “Here To Have Fun And Make Cocktails”
By: Sam Gutelle

Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.

Skyy John has successfully brought the party to YouTube. The 37-year-old Bahamian has found online success thanks to TipsyBartender, a channel on which he teaches viewers how to craft a variety of mixed drinks. John’s videos tend to have several elements in common: They feature colorful beverages, feature attractive women as John’s assistants, and convey a fun-loving atmosphere. This formula has proven to be a hit with the online audience. TipsyBartender, which is partnered with the Tastemade network, now has more than 1.4 million subscribers. Here’s what John had to say about that:

Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?

Skyy John: It feels amazing, humbling and empowering when you think of that many people supporting what you do.

I would like to tell each one of them that I love you, and you’re all very special to me. To celebrate hitting one million subscribers, I set up a meet and greet at a local bar. I bought everyone drinks and shots all night because it’s the least I could do to show my appreciation.

TF: How did you get started on YouTube?

SJ: In the early days of YouTube I had an idea for a talk show – I shot a really low budget pilot of it and posted it online. The response was good, so I kept making videos where I’d go around and interview people. As a means of diversifying my content, since I was a bartender, I’d show people how to make one or two cocktails. A friend of mine, Monroe, said “Hey, why don’t you start a bartending channel?” I said, “That’s a good idea,” and TipsyBartender was born.

TF: What made you decide to include women in all your videos?

SJ: When you come to the TipsyBartender channel and you watch an episode, yes I always have an attractive female cohost, and to the new viewer who thinks they’re there for looks, it’s much deeper than that. Behind the scenes, the show has been primarily powered by women, in terms of working out the format, designing the style of thumbnails, choosing the drinks that we make – it’s all been women. Without that very important female touch, the TipsyBartender show that you see today would not exist. I’d like to give a special thanks to Marjane and Emma, the two that really helped me create what you see today. TipsyBartender will always be home to women from all over the world who don’t get a chance in any other medium.

TF: When you create your videos, how do you balance entertaining your audience with conveying your recipes?

SJ: We maintain a very delicate balance between entertainment and education. We keep our recipes simple, which allows us to focus on the entertainment more. Our goal is to learn and have fun while doing it. We are, after all, a party channel.

TF: What in your mind is the most important component of a good cocktail?

SJ: The most important component of a good cocktail is you – the person that I’m serving. You have to like what I’m giving you. The easiest way to accomplish that is to build a cocktail using some ingredients that you already enjoy. You like Kool Aid? I’ll build around that. If you like ice cream, I’ll build around ice cream. You like Gatorade? I’ll build around that. Whatever you like, I’ll use – and that mentality is what makes me a pariah in the world of mixology because most mixologists feel that they know better than you what you should be drinking. They’ll give you a cocktail with aged whiskey, organic basil, handcrafted bitters, ice from the Alps, and tell you that “Hey, this is the most perfect best greatest drink ever!” What if that person you’re serving it to doesn’t like any of that s**t? Only you know what you like. You’re drinking the drink, I’m just working with you – i’m not a mixologist. I’m here to have fun and make cocktails. Drinking is supposed to be enjoyable, not feel like a damn chemistry exam.

TF: There don’t seem to be a ton of drinks channels on YouTube. Why do you think it’s not a more common category?

SJ: Because it’s very difficult to do. Drink-making is not that exciting because it’s very difficult to present it in an interesting format. Luckily, we’ve been able to get it right and to keep people interested, and every day we strive to continue doing what we’re doing and make our audience grow.

TF: What is your favorite cocktail you’ve made on your channel?

SJ: There are too many to list. Some of the favorite drinks I made were the rainbow shots, because that was difficult to learn how to do. Definitely some of the jungle juices because they’re pretty crazy, and believe it or not it requires a lot of math and planning to make the appropriate amounts in large quantities. Some of the jello shots we’ve made for sure. My favorites would probably have to be ice cream drinks or drinks based around rum, especially coconut rum.

TF: When you’re out bartending, do you ever get recognized as “that guy from the Internet”?

SJ: All the time – but I don’t bartend in a bar anymore. I actually got fired because of TipsyBartender. I was spending so much time on the show, so much time editing that I needed to get my shifts covered. Working in L.A. you got people covering shifts all the time, so it wasn’t really a problem at first. I was called into work for a meeting and they said I hadn’t been there in a few months – I said “I’ll get back to work, don’t worry I got you,” –  but I didn’t realize that they were monitoring me. They discovered that in four months following our meeting, I only worked once. So I got the call saying “Go mix drinks man, we’ll handle the bar.”

TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans?

SJ: TipsyBartender morphed into a truly global brand where we have tons of fans all over the world, primarily because we focused on Facebook, where videos are very easily shared. We’re now approaching 7 million fans that are highly engaged in what we do. Our Facebook engagement is higher than that of all the biggest liquor brands around the world combined! Our next step for us is to take our cocktails and products around the world. We’re also in the developing stages of creating a Kickstarter to fund our first bar in L.A.
Source: Tube Filter Online Magazine – Posted February 5, 2015; retrieved June 28, 2016 from: http://www.tubefilter.com/2015/02/05/tipsy-bartender-skyy-john-drinks-youtube-millionaires/

—————–

Alternative Interview: http://affairstoday.co.uk/interview-tipsy-bartender/

—————–

VIDEO – How to make Rainbow Shots! – Tipsy Bartender – http://youtu.be/MoVZoCmkdjY

Published on Nov 17, 2011 – Subscribe to Tipsy Bartender: http://bit.ly/1krKA4R
The prettiest shots ever…RAINBOW SHOTS! These are the best looking rainbow shots ever!
OUR VLOG CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/TipsyVlogs

Is YouTube a successful business model for Skyy John? Yes indeed. See here as to the estimate of how much money he was making in 2011, long before he crossed the million-subscriber threshold; (1.4 million as of February 2015):

“How much money does Tipsy Bartender make?”
Skyy John is the Bahamian guy who runs the YouTube channel called Tipsy Bartender. He has an estimated net worth of $500,000. …

See the full article here: https://naibuzz.com/much-money-tipsy-bartender-makes-youtube/

The actuality of YouTube and the role model of Skyy John is a lesson for the Caribbean; there is heavy-lifting required to transform society. The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic federal government to administer and optimize the economic/security/governing engines of the region’s 30 member-states. In addition, there is the vision for the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU), the focus of which is to coordinate regional mail plus the www.myCaribbean.gov portal to offer email and social media functionality for all Caribbean stakeholders: 42 million residents, 10 million in the Diaspora and even the 80 million tourists-visitors.

The Go Lean roadmap accepts the precept that one person can make a difference in society. What’s more, that one person does not have to be a genius – in the way society measures genius – they only need to be committed and disciplined. That is the example of Skyy John, committed and disciplined in the occupation of bartending, not exactly a STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), but impactful nonetheless.

Bartending is more art than science.

This Go Lean economic empowerment roadmap strategizes to create a Single Media Market to leverage the population of the entire region, an audience of 42 million people across 30 member-states and 4 languages consuming cutting-edge ICT offerings. YouTube provides a great role model for the CU‘s executions; making the regional implementation of social media and internet streaming, www.myCaribbean.gov, economically viable. This means jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

At the outset, the roadmap recognizes the need for ICT development and job creation with these statements in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13 & 14):

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries… . In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.

xxvii. Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.

xxviii. Whereas intellectual property can easily traverse national borders, the rights and privileges of intellectual property must be respected at home and abroad. The Federation must install protections to ensure that no abuse of these rights go with impunity, and to ensure that foreign authorities enforce the rights of the intellectual property registered in our region.

In the Go Lean book and previous blogs, the Go Lean movement asserted that the market organizations and community investments to garner economic benefits of ICT are within reach, with the proper technocracy. The eco-system for streaming videos is inclusive of the roadmap’s quest to make the Caribbean region a better place to live, work and play.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean to lean-in to the following community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies detailed in the book Go Lean…Caribbean to deliver the solutions to elevate the Caribbean region through ICT:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – All Choices Involve Costs Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – The Consequence of Choice Lie in Future Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments – ROI Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship Page 28
Community Ethos – Promote Intellectual Property Page 29
Community Ethos – Ways to Bridge the Digital Divide Page 31
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization Page 57
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – How to Grow the Economy to $800 Billion – Trade and Globalization Page 70
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Postal Services Page 78
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Interstate Commerce Administration Page 79
Implementation – Year 1 / Assemble Phase – Establish CPU Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change – Group Purchase Organizations (GPO) Page 101
Implementation – Ways to Optimize Mail Service & the myCaribbean.gov Marketplace Page 108
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media Page 111
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization Page 119
Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean – # 8 Cyber-Caribbean Page 127
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Foster e-Commerce Page 198
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Main Street Page 201
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Hollywood Page 203
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218

The Go Lean book asserts that the region can be a better place to live, work and play; that the economy can be grown methodically by embracing progressive strategies in ICT and video streaming. This point was further detailed in these previous blogs:

UberEverything in Africa – Model for ICT and Logistics
Zuckerberg’s Philanthropy Project Makes Investment for ICT Education
Transformations: Caribbean Postal Union – Delivering the Future
The Future of Money
How to address high consumer prices
Truth in Commerce – Learning from Yelp
Net Neutrality: It matters here … in the Caribbean
Role Model Jack Ma brings Alibaba Social Media Portal to America
Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market
Amazon’s new FIRE Smartphone
Grenada PM Urges CARICOM on ICT

This Go Lean roadmap is committed to availing the economic opportunities of ICT but the roadmap is bigger than just videos; its a concerted effort to elevate all of Caribbean society. The CU is the vehicle for this goal, this is detailed by the following 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

This Go Lean roadmap looks for the opportunities to foster interest that may exists in specific endeavors, and then explore the business opportunities around servicing that demand. This is the example that the ‘Tipsy Bartender’ (Skyy John) provides for his Caribbean neighbors – though he now lives in Los Angeles, California. Oh, how much better to foster these passions right here at home in the Caribbean region.

This quest is conceivable, believable and achievable, but it is not easy; it is heavy-lifting. This is the quest of Go Lean/CU roadmap, to do the heavy-lifting to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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‘Free Market’ Versus … Labor Unions – Junior Communists?

Posted on June 23, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

All Labor Unions are Communists, right?

Surely, there is no validity to this simple statement, right?

The truth is … “not so fast”! While the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is a landmark for modern civilizations, it only came about because of the left-leaning interests of its advocates and proponents. (‘Left-leaning’ = pseudonym for communism).

Yes, there is a long history of Labor Unions and communism. Examine these facts, considering an American perspective:

  1. International Workers’ Day

… also known as Workers’ Day, Labour Day in some countries[1][2] and often referred to as May Day,[3][4]is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement which occurs every year on May Day (1 May), an ancient European spring festival.[5][6]

The date was chosen by a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886.[6] The 1904 Sixth Conference of the Second International, called on “all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace.”[7]  …

… some countries celebrate a Labour Day on other dates significant to them, such as the United States and Canada, which celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September. – Source: Wikipedia.

[These countries choose dates other that May 1 to differentiate from socialist and communist regimes].
  1. Taft–Hartley Act

The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United States Congress over the veto of President Harry S. Truman, becoming law on June 23, 1947.

Taft-Hartley was introduced in the aftermath of a major strike wave in 1945 and 1946. Though it was enacted by the Republican-controlled 80th Congress, the law received significant support from congressional Democrats, many of whom joined with their Republican colleagues in voting to override Truman’s veto. The act continued to generate opposition after Truman left office, but it remains in effect.

The Taft–Hartley Act amended the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), prohibiting unions from engaging in several “unfair labor practices.” Among the practices prohibited by the act are jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, secondary and mass picketing, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns. The NLRA also allowed states to pass right-to-work laws banning union shops. Enacted during the early stages of the Cold War, the law required union officers to sign non-communist affidavits with the government. …

Anti-communism
The amendments required union leaders to file affidavits with the United States Department of Labor declaring that they were not supporters of the Communist Party and had no relationship with any organization seeking the “overthrow of the United States government by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional means” as a condition to participating in NLRB proceedings. Just over a year after Taft–Hartley passed, 81,000 union officers from nearly 120 unions had filed the required affidavits.[11] In 1965, the Supreme Court held that this provision was an unconstitutional bill of attainder.[16] – Source: Wikipedia.

———–

This history helps us to appreciate two things:

  • Principles and proponents of communism have been embedded in the history of labor movements since the beginning of the quest to reform the workplace for more workers’ benefits.
  • The efforts to monitor and mitigate advances of pro-communists have been promoted as an opposition to labor unions themselves.

This is why this discussion is so important.

The Caribbean must examine its governing-and-economic principles. The most successful models in the history of mankind has been associated with the adoption of Free Market options. Yet, all the most successful countries employ a hybrid of Free Market and Communism-Socialism-Central-Control.

This is a complicated subject to master. But master it, we must.

Think of these line items of occupational progress:

  • 8-hour work-day
  • 40-hour work-week
  • health insurance
  • sick leave
  • workers compensation
  • tuition reimbursements
  • gender protections
  • minority empowerments.

The summary from the historic review is succinct: the progress that the labor movements have enjoyed have only emerged because of their communist advocacy.

This is the continuation of the series on Free Markets Versus… . There is wisdom to this strategy of treating workers as consequential stakeholders in the production process; they are not invisible and disposable. So we must consider these lessons. This submission is entry 5-of-6 of the full series cataloged as follows:

  1. Free Market Versus: Communism – Can they both co-exist?
  2. Free Market Versus: China – Two systems at play in ‘Words and Actions’
  3. Free Market Versus: Socialism – Prevalent in the Caribbean
  4. Free Market Versus: Cooperatives
  5. Free Market Versus: Labor Unions – Junior Communists?
  6. Free Market Versus: Common Pool Resources – Simpler Cooperation

In this series, reference is made to the need for a comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of the Caribbean member-states. It seems that the dissent to Free Market capitalism has been good in itself. Right-leaning extremes can be bad just like left-leaning extremes.

We need the perfect balance!

Labor Unions tend to be early adopters and early advocates. So there is a place for Labor Unions in the roadmap to elevate the societal engines in the Caribbean. This is the focus of this commentary, and for the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean, a roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The book presents one advocacy (Page 164) specifically focused on labor relations, entitled: “10 Ways to Impact Labor Unions“. These “10 Ways” include the following highlights, headlines and excerpts:

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market
This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, expanding to an economy of 30 member-states of 42 million people. The CU is a reboot of the economic engines of the region resulting in the creation of 2.2 million new jobs after 5 years of accedence. Jobs mean labor unions must be part of the discussion and part of the equation. The labor unions in the region have the potential of being part of the solution, as the CU advocates a “meritocracy” rather than seniority. For unemployment, the CU envisions the Ghent System with “Union” management powered by CU systems.
2 Labor Unions and e-Government

Under the CU plan, trade/labor unions will have access to e-Government services and functionalities, (same as Foundations). Therefore, the Unions will be able to access online account management and transaction processing systems to review, request CU services on behalf of their members. They will have the tools to service their charters.
3 Expertise Certification
4 Community Ethos – Automation & Partnership

The CU’s mission is to level the playing field for global competition by fostering and deploying technology to the fullest extent possible. Technology and Labor do not also align in objectives (think: The Legend of John Henry). But there are case studies of successful adoption of Internet & Communications Technology (ICT) embedded in the quality processes to maximize the outputs of the labor force. The ethos for Caribbean labor must be partnership with management.
5 QA Adoption
6 Work-At-Home Promotion
7 Federal Civil Service
8 Self-Governing Entities (SGE)
9 Volunteers / Foundation

The CU envisions certain volunteers (Fire Departments for sparsely populated areas) and Not-For-Profit Foundations; these ones still need labor protections. The CU requirement is for Workers Compensation for anyone injured on the job.
10 Emergencies – Martial Law – Union Suspension

This theme – fostering better relations between management and workers on the job – aligns with many previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16803 Ready for ‘Free Movement’ of Labor – Starting in Barbados
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16000 Good Governance for Local Economic Empowerment
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14954 Overseas Workers – Not the Panacea
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14191 New Labor Marketplace: Gig Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10869 Bill Gates Strategy for Labor versus Automation : ‘Tax the Robots’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5759 Lesson from Greece – Macroeconomics affects Labor Markets
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4240 Immigration Policy Exacerbates Worker Productivity Crisis
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5597 Wage-Seeking – Market Forces -vs- Collective Bargaining

The stewards for a new Caribbean, the movement behind the Go Lean book, presents a sober view of the history of communism.

Labor Unions = Junior Communists = Communism-Lite.

But good things did result! Instead of squishing progressive movements, many companies started a “race to the top” to be A Great Place to Work.

This quest did bring about competition, in catering towards the needs of workers. Yes, by dissenting on the absolute power of industrial giants – think plutocrats – the end-result was more people-oriented labor practices.

See the Appendix VIDEO A for further elaborations on the merits of the labor movement during the 19th & 20th centuries.

There is much we have learned from considering this history of Labor Unions in the Western World (North America and Western Europe): complaints from people on the left, is not just noise. Those should be listened too.

Most importantly, the poignant lesson as a take-away from this consideration is that companies – and industries – can accommodate the demands of labor while not cow-tailing to communism. There are benefits – and continuing challenges – to having unions today; see more in the Appendix VIDEO B.

We can all do better. This is how we make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

————

Appendix VIDEO A – The Labor Movement in the United States | History – https://youtu.be/ewu-v36szlE

HISTORY
Published on Sep 26, 2017 – Analyze the impact of the labor movement in America throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

————

Appendix VIDEO B – The Pros and Cons of Unions Explained… – https://youtu.be/3YnhxYFmeH8


Philly D
Published on Aug 30, 2018 – As seen first on http://DeFrancoElite.com Subscribe today!!
#LaborDay #Unions #RightToWork

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Industrial Reboot – Amusement Parks

Posted on May 8, 2019 in Industries, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

We need a Way Forward.

We need to double-down in our economic engines and do “it” bigger, stronger, better. The “it” refers to our tourism product offerings. Tourism is already the primary economic driver in the region, but the current harvest is not fertile enough. We need to reboot the amenities-and-attractions and transform the landscape with more industrial options.

One way for industrializing tourism is with Amusement Parks.

Are we talking about Amusement Parks like Disney Land & Disney World?

Maybe!

Even more so, we are talking about Amusement Parks at resort hotels and cruise ship private island destinations. See the sample destination in the news story here:

Title: CocoCay: Cruise line’s $250 million private island opens

(CNN) — Thanks to a $250 million transformation, Royal Caribbean’s once-sleepy private island retreat in the Bahamas is offering eye-opening travel amenities to its cruise passengers.

The island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, offers everything from a record-setting water slide and a massive wave pool to five new complimentary dining venues and quiet sandy beaches.

“We are so proud to bring our 50-year legacy of innovation ashore to transform an incredible island that now completely revolutionizes private destinations in the vacation industry,” said Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean International’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Reviews site Cruise Critic seconds that notion. Colleen McDaniel, the site’s editor-in-chief, said the “revolutionary” island is “really upping the cruise line private island game in terms of activities ashore.”

At CocoCay’s Thrill Waterpark, the fiery red and orange Daredevil’s Peak water slide towers over the park’s other 12 slides. At 135 feet, it’s North America’s tallest water slide.

CocoCay is also home to the Caribbean’s largest wave pool, a 1,600-foot-long zip line and a helium balloon tethered to the ground that provides guests with a vantage point 450 feet high.

Oasis Lagoon, the Caribbean’s largest freshwater pool, has a large swim-up bar and private cabanas.

McDaniel believes Royal Caribbean may create some cruising converts with this private island offering packed with activities.

“Beyond creating incredible experiences for your avid customers, that’s where an investment of this magnitude has the potential to really pay off — to catch the eye of those who might not have ever tried cruising but are intrigued by this exclusive new experience,” she said.

There’s an added benefit to cruise line private islands, McDaniel said. They help the cruise lines stagger their itineraries and relieve crowds in popular ports.

“The Caribbean is the cruise industry’s most popular region, in terms of passengers and ship deployment,” she said. “So having private islands to add to itineraries is quite helpful to the lines to help preserve the in-port guest experience and the port’s own capacity.”

Perfect Day at CocoCay had its grand opening over the weekend. Itineraries that include a stop at the revamped island are listed online.

One area of CocoCay won’t be completed until December. When it opens at the end of the year, Coco Beach Club will feature the Bahamas’ first overwater cabanas, each with its own slide into the ocean. There will also be a 2,600-foot beachfront infinity pool and a club and deck area.

CocoCay is the first in a planned collection of Royal Caribbean Perfect Day islands. Additional private island locations are expected in the Caribbean, Asia and Australia.

Several other cruise lines have private islands in the Bahamas, among them Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay and Holland America’s Half Moon Cay.

Source: CNN Travel’s Play Column – Published May 7, 2019; retrieved May 8, 2019 from: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/cococay-royal-caribbean-private-island-bahamas/index.html

Yes, there are Amusement Parks in the Caribbean – think: water slides and a wave pools – and there could/should be more.

Yes, we can!

In fact, in a previous commentary by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean, it was related how the World’s Largest Amusement Park – Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida – was first propositioned to be located in the Bahamas. Had we made such a community investment back then, imagine the returns on our economy and infrastructure. The book describes that such an implementation can impact many of the societal engines – think: economy, security and governance.

The Amusement Park-based economy contributes tremendously to the actuality of Orlando, Florida and the State of Florida in general. Now, there is the quest to make more investments like these in Caribbean communities. This is among the Industrial Reboots that we must do to reform and transform our society. This strategy was addressed back in 2013 in the previously identified Go Lean book. The articulated strategy was to invest in Fairgrounds. This summary is detailed on Page 192 of the book under the title – “10 Ways to Promote Fairgrounds“:

# 1 – Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market & Economy initiative: Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).
The CU is chartered to unify the Caribbean region into one Single Market of 42 million people across 30 member-states, thereby re-engineering the economic engines in and on behalf of the region, including the infrastructural needs to enhance tourism. A CU mission to impact events require complete fairgrounds with the facilities to stage festivals, fairs, sporting events, concerts and theatrical performances, much like the Fair Park model in Dallas, Texas. An eco-system around fairgrounds will impact so many aspect of Caribbean life, engaging the domestic and foreign (tourist) markets. …

# 4 – Amusement Parks
The CU region is ideal for the implementation of advance technological amusement parks, the region as a whole enjoy over 10 million cruise passengers – year round. The right mix of computer-aided audio-visual, 3-D, animatronics, live action performers could result in a boom in the region, spinning off jobs, construction, lodgings and other activities.

Investing in Amusement Parks will mean rebooting the industrial landscape of the Caribbean. Rebooting the industrial landscape is not a new subject for this Go Lean movement; this commentary has previously identified a number of industrial initiatives to launch a reboot in the region. See the chronological list of previous submissions on Industrial Reboots here:

  1. Industrial Reboots – Ferries 101 – Published June 27, 2017
  2. Industrial Reboots – Prisons 101 – Published October 4, 2017
  3. Industrial Reboots – Pipeline 101 – Published October 5, 2017
  4. Industrial Reboots – Frozen Foods 101 – Published October 6, 2017
  5. Industrial Reboots – Call Centers 101 – Published July 2, 2018
  6. Industrial Reboots – Prefab Housing 101 – Published July 14, 2018
  7. Industrial Reboots – Trauma 101 – Published July 18, 2018
  8. Industrial Reboots – Auto-making 101 – Published July 19, 2018
  9. Industrial Reboots – Shipbuilding 101 – Published July 20, 2018
  10. Industrial Reboots – Fisheries 101 – Published July 23, 2018
  11. Industrial Reboots – Lottery 101 – Published July 24, 2018
  12. Industrial Reboots – Culture 101 – Published July 25, 2018
  13. Industrial Reboots – Tourism 2.0 – Published July 27, 2018
  14. Industrial Reboots – Cruise Tourism 2.0 – Published July 27, 2018
  15. Industrial Reboots – Reinsurance Sidecars 101 – Published October 2, 2018
  16. Industrial Reboots – Navy Piers 101 – Published October 9, 2018
  17. Industrial Reboots – Payment Cards 101 – Published October 11, 2018
  18. Industrial Reboots – Amusements Parks 101 – Published TODAY May 8, 2019

In summary, our Caribbean region needs a better industrial landscape to improve our economics, security and governance. We can easily make investments in small, resort-based Amusement Parks. We are not envisioning the level of Disney World, but rather more like the attraction in the foregoing news article and the infrastructure at Atlantis in Nassau & Paradise Island in the Bahamas. See Photos here and VIDEO in the Appendix below:

We must do more. The Caribbean’s industrial landscape is in crisis. It must reboot!

Amusement Parks can help to optimize our tourism offerings through out the region, in every member-state. In fact, the CU/Go Lean roadmap calls for the introduction and implementation of Self-Governing Entities (SGE) as CU federal promoted ventures to optimize this business model. This SGE concept is ideal for fairgrounds, industrial and Amusement Parks – even ports and piers – with their exclusive federal regulation-promotion activities. Imagine the quick turn-around and cooperative partnerships with local government and municipal authorities. Imagine the jobs …

Within the 370-pages of the Go Lean book are more details of the eco-systems needed to consider these investments. Here is a sample of references to this strategy of Amusement Parks through-out the Go Lean book:

Advocacy – 10 Ways to Grow the Economy

#5 – Enterprise Zones & Empowerment Zones for 2 million jobs
This includes Industrial Parks, Theatre Districts, Amusement Parks, Bonded Warehouses and Duty Free ports, some managed as Self Governing Entities (SGE). Though some zones exist now, the formalization under the CU will bring more tax (sales, property & income tax rebates) and economic incentives (low interest loans & grants) and stimuli (advertising and event promotions)…

 Page 151
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Foster Empowering Immigration
# 7 – Carnies – Event Staff
The CU plan calls for the deployment of Fairgrounds throughout the region. With these facilities come amusement park-like rides and events, or carnivals. There is an eco-system for carnival ride operators or “carnies”. These are considered highly skilled and experience is necessary for the operators. Carnies will therefore be invited on these SGE Fairgrounds.		 Page 174
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Enhance Tourism

# 3 – Fairgrounds/Amusement Parks Empowerment Zones
Encourage the establishment and promotion of Fairgrounds/Amusement Parks (Disney, Sea World, Busch Gardens-like attractions) that can bring in vast number of visitors. The empowerment zones get special tax incentives and building code variances, or managed as Self Governing Entities (SGE) in which they are beholden only to the CU jurisdiction. Many US and European theme parks are only open during the warm seasons, the opposite can be advocated in the Caribbean region, where theme parks may only be open during the “high season”, or only when cruise ships are in port.

 Page 190

This is the vision for more Amusement Parks while we reboot our industrial landscape! This is the type of transformations that will allow us to reboot our societal engines to elevate our communities.

These efforts are Day One / Step One of the Go Lean/CU 5-year roadmap. Let’s get busy!

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this roadmap for industrial reboots and for Amusement Parks. Yes, we can … make our homelands better places to live, work and play.  🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 13):

iv. Whereas the natural formation of the landmass is in a tropical region, the flora and fauna allows for an inherent beauty that is enviable to peoples near and far. The structures must be strenuously guarded to protect and promote sustainable systems of commerce paramount to this reality.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv.  Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. 

—————

Appendix VIDEO – All Big Water Slides at Atlantis Paradise Island | Nassau, Bahamas- https://youtu.be/oiR8GbeNms0

TUBERIDES
Published on Jul 24, 2016 – Take a ride on all big water rides at Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas! The Aquaventure water park at the world-famous Atlantis Resort is home to several slides which are impressively embedded into a landscape of palms, rocks and pools. In this video, we show you onride footage of the major slides at the park.

——-

RIDES:
00:10 Kids’ Slide 1
00:17 The Challenger (Kamikaze Slide) Left
00:34 Jungle Slide
00:50 Kids’ Slide 2
00:54 The Falls
01:18 Leap Of Faith
01:31 The Challenger (Kamikaze Slide) Right
01:42 The Abyss (Drop Slide)
02:01 Green Tube Slide
02:13 The Drop
02:52 Power Tower (Master Blaster)
03:26 Serpent Slide (Shark Water Slide)
04:17 River Rapids
► HOMEPAGE: http://www.tuberides.de
► FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/tuberides
► TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/tuberides
► INSTAGRAM: http://www.instagram.com/tuberides

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Women Empowerment – Sallie Krawcheck – Power of ‘Her’ Wallet

Posted on March 9, 2019 in Ethos, Social

Go Lean Commentary

So “you” think you can dance … with a partner?

“You” (male-dominated society) made progress for women; allowed for suffrage (right to vote), property rights, equal education opportunities and equal protection under the law. Well, Sallie Krawcheck says: Still not enough!

This submission is about Sallie Krawcheck …

Who?

Despite her unknown status, what she advocates and promotes is very much known … and important – See Book Review below.

Sallie Krawcheck is a Wall Street icon and activists; she currently serves as the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) for the new financial advisory company Ellevest:

Sallie L. Krawcheck (born November 28, 1964)[1] is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest, a digital financial advisor for women, launched in 2016. She is owner and Chair of Ellevate Network.[2] Prior to this she was the president of the Global Wealth & Investment Management division of Bank of America.[3] She has been known as one of the most senior women on Wall Street.[4][5] Most recently she has been widely published in both social and more traditional media, focusing on Wall Street regulatory reform; she is also advising a number of start-ups.[6][7][8] – Wikipedia

Beyond her professional vocation, she also serves as a Drum Major for change for young people – think millennials. She is trumpeting a message that we all need to hear:

The world is NOT moving in the right direction for gender equality.

The gender pay gap is decades away from closing for White women, 100 years for Black women and 200 years for Latinas.

These are just words – a picture is worth a thousand words; a VIDEO, a million. This VIDEO – from satirist Trevor Noah – presents her quest more fully:

VIDEO – Sallie Krawcheck – How Ellevest Is Challenging the Gender Investing Gap | The Daily Show – https://youtu.be/mdxS8S_06VM



The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Published on Feb 5, 2019 – Sallie Krawcheck explains why diversity initiatives that start from the top aren’t enough, how the financial industry is biased against women and the right way to build a diverse company.

Subscribe to The Daily Show: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWh…

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Watch full episodes of The Daily Show for free: http://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-sho…

About The Daily Show: Trevor Noah and The World’s Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11/10c on Comedy Central.

So young people naturally rebel against the standards and norms of their parents. This could be bad; this could be good. The counter-culture of the 1960’s/1970’s brought change from a lot of bad orthodoxy and American (and modern “Western”) life in general. Now the next generation (Millennials) have the opportunity – and thusly Ms. Krawcheck’s advocacy – to go one step further and demand equality, accountability and fairness, especially in the cases of pay gaps, justice and interpersonal abuse.

Because of the family dynamic, women control 85% of all consumer spending.

Millennial women are coming together and forging change.

Think: “Me Too” … calling out “Men Behaving Badly”.

We hear you Ms. Krawcheck … and agree. The progress with diversity is NOT enough; many times “we” have even regressed instead of progressed.

We need change in the Caribbean too. Far too often our societal institutions have under-valued our women (sisters, daughters and mothers). We need the societal engines of the Caribbean to be better:

  • Economics – Jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities must be equally available to all people, despite gender or race. There is a Freedom of Movement edict in the CariCom regional pact; but the provisions only allowed for one skilled worker to migrate freely among member-states, and not the spouse. This blatantly ignores the women of the region. Modern economic realities mandate that both spouses work, so such “no spouse” rules, depravedly disregards women.
  • Security – Victims of sexual and interpersonal violence should be protected and empowered in our Caribbean. But many member-states still have backwards policies, like on marital rape restrictive prosecutions.
  • Governance – Citizenship laws and cross-border employment must be neutral and equitable for gender roles.

We have no choice, we simply must make progress; we must work around the obstacles in our society. If we do not work around, our women will “walk around … and out”. Yes, they have choices; they have been choosing life away from us, rather than with us. Change is therefore not optional! Equality is therefore not optional!

Success is not automatic; it takes hard-work and heavy-lifting!

This theme – empowering women actually aids society – aligns with previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16477 Transforming Hindus versus Women – What it means for us?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13063 Gender Equity without a ‘Battle of the Sexes’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14718 ‘At the Table’ or ‘On the Menu’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6937 Women in Politics – Yes, They Can!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2201 Students developing nail polish to detect date rape drugs

Thank you Ms. Krawcheck. We hereby pledge to model your “thoughts, feelings, speech and actions” here in the Caribbean.

This is a continuation of this series of commentaries from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This is part 5 of 6 for Women History Month; this series addresses how women can make a difference in society; and how society can make a difference for women. Other commentaries in this series include these entries:

  1. Women History Month 2019: Thoughts, Feelings, Speech and Actions
  2. Women History Month 2019: Viola Desmond – The Rosa Parks of Canada
  3. Women History Month 2019: Kamala Harris – Caribbean Legacy to the White House?
  4. Women History Month 2019: Captain Marvel – We need “Sheroes”
  5. Women History Month 2019: Ellevest CEO: Sallie Krawcheck
  6. Women History Month 2019: Accepting Black Women As Is

As related in these previous submissions, many women fight the bad orthodoxies in society; they challenge “us” to overcome obstacles and positively impact our communities. Some women fight; some cheer on; some can be Drum Major for change.

Like Ms. Krawcheck role model presents, “Yes, we can” make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. 

—————

Book Summary: OWN IT – The Power of Woman at Work – By Sallie Krawcheck.

Amazon Product Review

A Wall Street Journal and Washington Post Bestseller, “Own It” is a new kind of career playbook for a new era of feminism, offering women a new set of rules for professional success: one that plays to their strengths and builds on the power they already have.

Weren’t women supposed to have “arrived”? Perhaps with the nation’s first female President, equal pay on the horizon, true diversity in the workplace to come thereafter? Or, at least the end of “fat-shaming” and “locker room talk”?

Well, we aren’t quite there yet. But does that mean that progress for women in business has come to a screeching halt?  It’s true that the old rules didn’t get us as far as we hoped. But we can go the distance, and we can close the gaps that still exist. We just need a new way.

In fact, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future, says former Wall Street powerhouse-turned-entrepreneur Sallie Krawcheck. That’s because the business world is changing fast – driven largely by technology – and it’s changing in ways that give us more power and opportunities than ever…and even more than we yet realize.

Success for professional women will no longer be about trying to compete at the men’s version of the game, she says. And it will no longer be about contorting ourselves to men’s expectations of how powerful people behave. Instead, it’s about embracing and investing in our innate strengths as women – and bringing them proudly and unapologetically, to work.

When we do, she says, we gain the power to advance in our careers in more natural ways. We gain the power to initiate courageous conversations in the workplace. We gain the power to forge non-traditional career paths; to leave companies that don’t respect our worth, and instead, go start our own. And we gain the power to invest our economic muscle in making our lives, and the world, better.

Here Krawcheck draws on her experiences at the highest levels of business, both as one of the few women at the top rungs of the biggest boy’s club in the world, and as an entrepreneur, to show women how to seize this seismic shift in power to take their careers to the next level. 

This change is real, and it’s coming fast. It’s time to own it.
Source: Retrieved March 9, 2019 from: https://www.amazon.com/Own-Power-Women-at-Work/dp/1101906251/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Book+Own+It%3A+The+Power+of+Women+at+Work&qid=1552166250&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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