No traffic lights on island. sweet
No cinema. Not sweet.(well maybe not actually)
rivers to dip in after you go to the sea. sweet
no indoor sports courts, bball, football, tennis...anything. Not sweet
fresh fruit, and vegetables. sweet
the most punitive import duties you can find. not sweet
The result is that there is a wonderful opportunity to build a sports arena, a cinema and to spend alot of time driving around island.
Would not like Dominica to end up like Barbados, but, there is a halfway house we can reach.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Island Intellect
The egos of men drive most development. It also leads to their demise. When I moved here I took a risk. Its not a risk quantifiable in dollars. Its far greater than that. Whilst there are real benefits to living in a small tropical paradise it insulates you from so many things in the real world.
Your parameters for growth are limited. Its almost mathematical. The range of people you can meet on an island is extremely limited.
When you then have to interact constantly with someone for example who has never worked anywhere but on an island you face real challenges. It doesnt mean people cannot be briliant or groundbreaking, and it certainly doesnt mean they arent great. But it does mean they can be extremely narrow in their thinking.
Its why I guess the more tangible forces for change anywhere are those who are insecure about their knowledge and are eager to learn. And it also works that those most likely to be agents of stupidity are those who are closeted in their own little enclaves, thinking they have reached the apex and are only interested in functional knowledge that enables them to make money and curry favour or try to manipulate people.
These are the people who are convinced that their risks and their effort are the greatest of all. Put them on an island and you have Napoleon meet Hitler. Give them a few disciples and you have Jim Jones too.
Do you know someone like that second model ? Run from them very fast. You could waste time building them into even bigger beasts than they really are.
Your parameters for growth are limited. Its almost mathematical. The range of people you can meet on an island is extremely limited.
When you then have to interact constantly with someone for example who has never worked anywhere but on an island you face real challenges. It doesnt mean people cannot be briliant or groundbreaking, and it certainly doesnt mean they arent great. But it does mean they can be extremely narrow in their thinking.
Its why I guess the more tangible forces for change anywhere are those who are insecure about their knowledge and are eager to learn. And it also works that those most likely to be agents of stupidity are those who are closeted in their own little enclaves, thinking they have reached the apex and are only interested in functional knowledge that enables them to make money and curry favour or try to manipulate people.
These are the people who are convinced that their risks and their effort are the greatest of all. Put them on an island and you have Napoleon meet Hitler. Give them a few disciples and you have Jim Jones too.
Do you know someone like that second model ? Run from them very fast. You could waste time building them into even bigger beasts than they really are.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Chavez
is in Dominica.
Its like the uncle who comes with some cash in his pocket and the whole family gets lined up by the door of a recently cleaned room.
Its embarassing but Venezuela is our IMF. You gotta dance to their tune. Unlike many I dont have a problem with that until we conntinue dancing even after the music stops. What is worrying is that when Chavez is gone, all the nice treats get put away and out comes the whip.
It would be good if the mobilisation of resources that was done to get the place ready for the visit, was a constant of life here.
Its like the uncle who comes with some cash in his pocket and the whole family gets lined up by the door of a recently cleaned room.
Its embarassing but Venezuela is our IMF. You gotta dance to their tune. Unlike many I dont have a problem with that until we conntinue dancing even after the music stops. What is worrying is that when Chavez is gone, all the nice treats get put away and out comes the whip.
It would be good if the mobilisation of resources that was done to get the place ready for the visit, was a constant of life here.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Caribbean oddity
I dont think its a Dominican one, but I am sure we do it more than other islands.
Its both a very serious thing (which it is) and a total joke (which it is as well).
I refer to how the government calls a signing ceremony complete with speeches and hushed tones to launch everything from a public convenience to fixing a road to building a sea wall to giving a scholarship.
Imagine if after a surgery procedure a doc comes out and calls a press conference to announce that they had successfully stitched your forehead. Well...the irony of this is that these are things that governments are SUPPOSED to do, yet somehow they turn it into a back slapping self congratulation complete with odes to the PM and accolades for all.
Its so funny its sad.
Its both a very serious thing (which it is) and a total joke (which it is as well).
I refer to how the government calls a signing ceremony complete with speeches and hushed tones to launch everything from a public convenience to fixing a road to building a sea wall to giving a scholarship.
Imagine if after a surgery procedure a doc comes out and calls a press conference to announce that they had successfully stitched your forehead. Well...the irony of this is that these are things that governments are SUPPOSED to do, yet somehow they turn it into a back slapping self congratulation complete with odes to the PM and accolades for all.
Its so funny its sad.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
What to do....
Dominica doesnt need much.
1. sustain itself food wise. All the talk of exporting food ignores the fact that we import way too much food. If Dominica concentrates on simply feeding itself we can achieve serious success.
2. take control of our geothermal resource. this means more than government expropriating the the resource but actually engaging in exploiting the resource in two definite ways. first in reducing the cost of electricity in such a way as to revolutionise the cost of living for the local population. second in creating a real opportunity to sell energy to the rest of the region and to create a competitive advantage for business to be located in dominica.
3. get rid of income tax and become an indirect tax jurisdiction. this is always controversial because like all small caribbean states we have been taught that ttaxation is our way of life. unfortunately our infrastructure is still one of the poorest in the caribbean and consumption is dropping like a stone. its a double whammy we dont need. by leaving vat and corporate tax and eliminating base income tax, we can sell the perception of a tax free jurisdiction which frees up everyone mentally. The population needs to dream.
4. engage in community planning. for too long new communities in dominica have developed organically without any support or guidance from government. the nightmare in picard is evidence of what happens when you leave a population and new arrivals to simply make their way.
thats a decent start.
1. sustain itself food wise. All the talk of exporting food ignores the fact that we import way too much food. If Dominica concentrates on simply feeding itself we can achieve serious success.
2. take control of our geothermal resource. this means more than government expropriating the the resource but actually engaging in exploiting the resource in two definite ways. first in reducing the cost of electricity in such a way as to revolutionise the cost of living for the local population. second in creating a real opportunity to sell energy to the rest of the region and to create a competitive advantage for business to be located in dominica.
3. get rid of income tax and become an indirect tax jurisdiction. this is always controversial because like all small caribbean states we have been taught that ttaxation is our way of life. unfortunately our infrastructure is still one of the poorest in the caribbean and consumption is dropping like a stone. its a double whammy we dont need. by leaving vat and corporate tax and eliminating base income tax, we can sell the perception of a tax free jurisdiction which frees up everyone mentally. The population needs to dream.
4. engage in community planning. for too long new communities in dominica have developed organically without any support or guidance from government. the nightmare in picard is evidence of what happens when you leave a population and new arrivals to simply make their way.
thats a decent start.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Marijuana
There is something fundamentally wrong with the criminalisation of a whole heap of young people for smoking small quantities of herb when we have a serious social problem caused by alcohol in the Caribbean.
That is not to say we want wholesale smoking everywhere but marijuana is the least of our concerns.
Incest, child abuse, domestic abuse, corruption, political victimisation.
Yet there are kids in jail for being so idle as to have the time to smoke a plant. A social problem it is yes...but not a criminal one.
That is not to say we want wholesale smoking everywhere but marijuana is the least of our concerns.
Incest, child abuse, domestic abuse, corruption, political victimisation.
Yet there are kids in jail for being so idle as to have the time to smoke a plant. A social problem it is yes...but not a criminal one.
The Tip
WIll be returning. Its going to be more interesting this time round actually. And it will still be free.
Cant say much more except that I am tired of people asking me about it :-)
Cant say much more except that I am tired of people asking me about it :-)
Tough times
These are tough times for anyone in advertising. In a region where the idea of the value of an advertising agency, is just below that of a photographer (or picture take outer).
We are pitching to more accounts than ever though because tough times brings about a need to differentiate, or die. Therefore we are talking to people who would traditionally skip over us.
Its interesting. In a market where distributors and wholesalers have cannibalised marketing and advertising and have created the standards of cheap n dirty that allow any con man with a few dollars to appear to be doing so much, we need change.
Long live introspection and fear. It creates a need to think.
We are pitching to more accounts than ever though because tough times brings about a need to differentiate, or die. Therefore we are talking to people who would traditionally skip over us.
Its interesting. In a market where distributors and wholesalers have cannibalised marketing and advertising and have created the standards of cheap n dirty that allow any con man with a few dollars to appear to be doing so much, we need change.
Long live introspection and fear. It creates a need to think.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Perspective
In a meeting of our ad agency network in Miami, everyone was trumpeting new wins in 2009. The consensus is that small independent agencies will do generally well this year because for the first time companies will look beyond cushy relationships and actually start questioning how much they spend on marketing.
Of course the numbers are relative to markets. My indian counterpart, Atul from Ignitee was talking about a huge account with the Indian Board of Tourism. Kinda humbled any thought of relative success some of the other agencies had.
But anyway, listening to some of the agency stories gives perspective on success or failure. Its always funny to return to Dominica after those meetings. Love it more than ever though.
Of course the numbers are relative to markets. My indian counterpart, Atul from Ignitee was talking about a huge account with the Indian Board of Tourism. Kinda humbled any thought of relative success some of the other agencies had.
But anyway, listening to some of the agency stories gives perspective on success or failure. Its always funny to return to Dominica after those meetings. Love it more than ever though.
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