Is your approach to measuring sustainability the same as your approach to measuring your return on investment? This is a question that should keep business leaders awake ALL night. The answer is rooted in the longer term view of the business. Are your health, safety, security and environmental management requirements clearly articulated? Do your people at all levels connect the dots between the activities they are engaged in on a daily basis and the ability of their great, great grand children to survive on this island? Are the business’ decisions being made with the longer term view in mind or are we driven by the next bonus, incentive initiative or opportunity for mobility?

At its core the challenge of establishing an organization’s HSSE excellence agenda as a path-way to sustainability is walking a tight-rope which balances short-term and long-term requirements. This challenge is made even more intense because the culture which surrounds the organization is characterized by lawlessness, short-termism and perfecting the art of the “work around”.

Caribbean societies and those defined as developing countries were organized to focus on the immediate exploitation of natural resources. Our societies were never organized with a longer term vision in mind. Unfortunately in the 50 odd years that we have taken charge of our development, little action has been taken to change this method of operation so we continue to operate in a manner that is not sustainable.

Global organizations have historically acted in their own interest and taken the minimalist approach to issues of sustainability. In the past 10-15 years, the compass has been shifting towards a more meaningful approach to sustainability and the global alignment of operating practices. There is now heightened demand for balancing economic outcomes with sustainable practices. In the Harvard Business School working paper “The Impact of a Corporate Culture of Sustainability on Corporate Behaviour and Performance” by Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou, and George Serafeim, the authors provide evidence that: “High Sustainability companies significantly outperform their counterparts over the long-term, both in terms of stock market and accounting performance. The outperformance is stronger in sectors where the customers are individual consumers, companies compete on the basis of brands and reputation, and in sectors where companies’ products significantly depend upon extracting large amounts of natural resources”.

If we escalate this notion and look at national indicators, there is an exciting growing movement promoting the need to change the big national indicator from (Gross Domestic Product) GDP to (Gross National Happiness) GDH. This movement was given a significant boost when the former French President in 2008 established a Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. The headline from that report quotes President Sarkozy, as saying that GDP ignored other factors vital to the well-being. He urged business leaders “to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people’s well-being”.

A similar movement has been exploding in the small land locked country of Bhutan located between India and China, where they King has challenged the notion that the more we produce the happier we will be and is using GDH to determine the success of his country.

Household incomes in Bhutan remain among the world’s lowest however life expectancy increased by 19 years from 1984 to 1998, jumping to 66 years. The country which requires that at least 60 percent of its lands remain forested, welcomes a limited stream of wealthy tourists and exports hydropower to India.

“We have to think of human well-being in broader terms,” said Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, Bhutan’s home minister and ex-prime minister. “Material well-being is only one component. That doesn’t ensure that you’re at peace with your environment and in harmony with each other.”

Herein lies a whole different notion of how to define sustainability and what are the key indicators. When workers connect the dots between their daily contribution, the firms profitability and their family’s long-term happiness, their productivity is guaranteed to rise to unprecedented heights.

The current mode of mass consumption is simply driving consumers to want more and more. Why should one country use enough resources to power a ski slope in a desert while another country struggles with greater than 60% unemployment figures?

A recent sound bite on television showed a former executive from the motor car industry questioning the evidence about global warming. A visit to another executive’s home showed a fully air-conditioned house. With the launch of every new mobile device, you need a different charger, shell, etc. Business leaders have to re-design the consumption model and cater for cradle to cradle design and innovation. The world cannot continue to feed the consumption habit. At some point citizens will rail against the fact of 25% of global resources is being consumed by 5% of the population.

The major challenge is how to balance economic development with the emotional and spiritual well-being of people. That’s the real challenge of HSSE excellence as a path-way to sustainability.

Every time I hear the response “no problem” I worry. We have become known as a society where life is free and easy. Couple this “no problem” attitude with the notion that Trinidad & Tobago is a place where there is little planning, a short memory and lack of continuity and you spell disaster. Someone recently described our electoral process as an opportunity to start over the race rather than hand over the baton. I could not provide a counter argument when I reflected on the number of things we have started over without even a consideration for the human, economic or social cost. From 2009 to date, 3 different men have occupied the post of Commissioner of Police of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and with each of them a new approach to our biggest scourge.

In just over 3 months we changed an entire traffic system without putting it to its severest test, the opening of the school term. In a way, we don’t even know what were the lessons learned. We can’t really say what was successful or not successful about the plan. The entire system was just tossed out the window.

There’s a common thread between these two examples and that is the absence of citizen participation in important decisions. The days of autocratic decision making are over. It seems that as the level of complexity increases, there is a greater need for citizen engagement to solve our problems.

What would have happened if focus groups were held to hammer out solutions for the St. James traffic problem. Maybe we would have found out that we needed to put in pedestrian crossings at specific intervals or that the taxi route needed to cater for business clusters or that “reduce speed zones” should have been implemented. While it would be legitimate to make the accusation that all of this is the clarity of hindsight my point is that we continue to disregard the views of our citizens. Communication is not at the centre of our strategies. It is absent from the implementation plans.

When communication is included it is seen as a one way activity in which advertisements are placed in the media, mailers delivered in post boxes and pronouncements made by dignitaries. That is not communication, that is just an opportunity for some inept people to make quick money.

Communication requires and includes significant feedback from the target audience or the persons who will be impacted by your decision making. Today’s world of instant communication requires the deployment of a range of strategies to elicit feedback. People want to understand what is being done and how it will affect them. If we communicate our intentions openly more people will have an opportunity to respond and put their points of view up for consideration. Just as politicians go door to door to seek support at election time there are issues for which they must go house to house to canvass opinions.

This abandoned traffic plan has left a sour taste for everyone and the lessons need to be considered.

Some of the things I have learned are that leaders must understand their authority. If it was clearly understood that the change required legislative authority then, the timing should have spanned a period for the plan to be tested both during the vacation and when school is in session so that sufficient data would have been gathered.

Leaders must remember that the power of the people is paramount. Who were the opinion formers in this exercise and how could they have been engaged? Clearly some key opinion formers were not included and their views were strong enough to shut down the experiment.

Leaders must remember that in the world of social innovation, money is the currency with least value. While the officials had enough budget to replace signs, repaint roads and install traffic lights, the people on the ground had the power to halt the experiment. Social currency is the most valuable currency when it comes to social change.

What saddens me is that after 3 months of the population trying to learn a new system, listening to arguments for and against and significant investment, we don’t know what would have worked or what would not have worked.

Turning to the crime pandemic, it is clear that this problem will not be solved by increasing the spend. It is worrisome that the media reported that there was a spontaneous protest as a result of the alleged slaying of a young man by the police. Is this a variation of the “Dudus Coke” scenario which played out in Jamaica where the community was prepared to shelter a gangster?

It is a well substantiated theory that successful police work can only be accomplished by community involvement. Police rely on communities to get information. If the trust indicators for police continue to decline then the bandits will continue to win. The “Laventille” branded communities will not simply disappear nor will the gun toting bandits. There must be a plan for engaging the communities which host them. People must be engaged and encouraged to take back their communities. It is a false sense of security to feel that you can lock out the bandits behind burglar proofing and gated communities.

Maybe the most important indicator is that our leaders must by their actions communicate that a level playing field exists in the war against crime. There must be no suggestion that the law is being applied according to your proximity to the centre of power.

By Dennise Demming – Public Relations and Training Consultant

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Todd Akin, Republican Senate nominee and member of the House Science, Space and Technology committee, said pregnancy from rape was “really rare” because “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Check this page http://jezebel.com/5936160/the-official-guide-to-legitimate-rape?fb_action_ids=10151140486590854&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366

This is not a line from a lover’s quarrel it is a reflection of the corporate conversations that occur daily. Talented employees often leave organizations because they do not feel valued. They feel that they are being taken for granted and their opinions are not considered. This view is supported by research done by the US based Corporate Leadership Council which reports that 67 percent of employees who intend to leave their organizations feel that they are not valued. Listening or not being heard is one of the key indicators.

When employees feel they are not being valued they vote with their feet. Unfortunately the pattern is repeated in the next organization because corporate communications is generally low on the list of priorities and listening is not a core value.

Some organizations believe that producing a glossy newsletter means that they are communicating effectively. This is such a misguided notion. An analysis of these newsletters often reveals an absence of clear objectives resulting in a publication which reflects the viewpoint of management with little regard for what the employees think or say.

Corporate communications must be at the forefront of the move to ensure a strategic, holistic approach to having meaningful corporate conversations throughout the organization. The cornerstone of effective corporate communications is a system which ensures feedback.

It is no understatement that people feel valued when they believe others are listening. When they perceive that the organization is not listening they experience a significant “disconnect” and leave.

Technology provides us with the opportunity to take a multi disciplinary approach to employee communications.

Maybe the oldest and most abused instrument is the employee survey. Before undertaking a survey you must know what will be done with the results. If the end use is not in the proposal then the survey may be ill advised. Too often organizations conduct employee communications surveys or audits and end at the data gathering stage. This is a recipe to develop cynicism. Employees need to know the results of surveys and subsequently need to be part of the implementation. Well structured surveys can give management excellent insight into the real issues from the perspective of employees and provide the framework for continuing healthy dialogue.

If the survey provides a snapshot of views at a point in time, then ongoing feedback mechanisms provide real time responses to actions taken by management. This means that management can be nimble and responsive based on instant employee feedback.

By definition, management is aware of changes which are on the way long before they are communicated to employees. The announcement is therefore often couched in terms which appear to be cold, uncaring and autocratic. Changing the style of the announcement can work wonders for the receivers of the information.

A common example of a quick feed back system is the use of voice mail. The down side of this is the fact that originating numbers can be traced. This however is not an insurmountable problem.

Another way of obtaining feedback is to encourage written responses. The key is that the organization must act on the reponses or talented people will leave.

Ongoing feedback narrows the gap between what management feels is in the hearts and minds of employees and what is actually in their hearts and minds.

As a final strategy, exit and post exit interviews provide information which would be otherwise lost to the organization. As an additional benefit, this also provides an opportunity to enhance the corporate memory of the organization. When employees leave, they carry with them informal information which can prevent organizations re-inventing the wheel.

To capture the data, the methodology and approach must be consistent. It is not a task to be carried out simply to satisfy a requirement. It might therefore be appropriate to engage a third party from outside of the organization to conduct these interviews.

Linking these tactics to the overall communications strategy means taking action and where this is impossible providing employees with suitable explanations. If this sounds like a lot of work, then rightly so because improving corporate communications has the potential to retain talented employees and positively impact the bottom line.

Organizations intent on maintaining their competitive advantage must ensure that listening becomes a core value.

One caveat, listening without action is merely passing time, listening with action is ensuring organizational survival. Nobody actually says “Listen or I’ll leave” they just leave and that’s expensive.

By Dennise Demming – Public Relations and Training Consultant

Senator Tewarie in a live television interview commented that the Media has not played its role in promoting the 50^th anniversary celebrations … Minister Warner accused the Media of sensationalizing their reporting of crime. Meanwhile a spontaneous protest erupts against the alleged gunning down of a citizen by the police and government representatives repossess the instruments used by Divine Echoes Band. All of this within 24 hours. As a communicator, these scenarios are worrisome and require deep analysis. Both government and citizens appear to be seething with anger and embarrassment. In the midst of all of this, hundreds of families in the North West Disaster area are hurting as they try to regain some semblance of normalcy from the mud and sludge left by flood waters.

This is not the time for the Government to draw swords with the Media. Despite money, control and power, Journalist have more ink and paper at their disposal. Maybe this is an opportunity for the Government to pause and reflect on the needs of the hundreds of thousands of citizens who gave them the mandate to lead this country to a better place. Their will be no winner in a fight with the Media.

A Minister cannot expect the Media to promote his agenda prior to the activities.  I expect that there will be full coverage of the news worthy activities once they are staged.  Minister Warner thinks he can be cunning with the media but this is short lived strategy.  My confidence is that the Media will play its role and communicate in a manner that is balanced and fair to the population.

Couldn’t we have planned this public holiday thing? I understand the need to celebrate achievement but planning is key. We have managed to celebrate the outcome of careful planning by NOT planning. As a business owner, my day was planned complete with deadlines etc and just so! … everything is down the drain. Some feeble brained bureaucrat did not think this through. How could we declare a disaster area in one part of the island and a public holiday simultaneously?

What are businesses supposed to do? The disaster areas have been waiting since Saturday for full service Hardware supplies to open their doors. 

The name Laventille has become a brand. It is a negative brand. The Laventilles in our country don’t only exist in East Dry River. They have been replicated throughout and there is a kind of lethargy which is immobilizing.

The only way out of this malaise is personal action. Just as the drug addict must take personal responsibility, so too must the unemployed, the gangster and the dispossessed. I accept that there are cases which require institutional support but the vast majority of people have the capacity to improve their lot in life.

As someone who spent the first 19 years of my life in Quarry Street, East Dry River (EDR) my observation is that the persons who were able to improve their lot in life did so by being faithful to the first word in our country’s motto – Discipline. It takes discipline to avoid pregnancy and bringing a child into this world when you are unable to provide physical or emotional support. It takes discipline to ensure that children go to school every day and devote the necessary time to studying. It takes discipline to learn a trade or develop a skill which will prepare you for the labour market. It takes discipline to save enough money to pay the deposit for a government house. It takes discipline to obey the laws of the land.

What I am hearing is a society interested only in quick fixes and a growing tendency to demand that someone else should solve the problems that we created in the first place.

Government has a major responsibility to provide the enabling framework but the responsibility for moving from point A to B lies in the heart of each individual and the sooner we accept that the sooner we will take responsibility for ensuring that sweet T&T is a place of equity.

Here are 20 things we can do to make T&T a better place:

1. Go to work every day!
2. Work for 8 hours!
3. Complete your tasks to the best of your ability!
4. Use sick leave only when you are sick!
5. Let your supervisor know if you cannot go to work!
6. Turn up on time for appointments!
7. Ensure that your children go to school every day!
8. Speak the truth!
9. Ask for permission before you take or use anything that does not belong to you!
10. Place litter in bins!
11. Use cross walks or zebra crossings!
12. Obey the speed limit when driving!
13. Stop at “stop lights”!
14. Stop at major roads!
15. Drive on the correct side of the road!
16. Overtake on the right only!
17. Be polite to everyone!
18. Refuse “bribery” in any form!
19. Extend a hand to anyone in need!
20. Implement the laws of Trinidad and Tobago!

This may appear to be basic and corny but they represent a list of “little things” which can make a world of difference in our society