Local Talent Just As Good Or Better

Details

Dr Newton

Wednesday, 29 June 2011 06:09

By Dr Isaac Newton

Dear CEO Colin James. In an article entitled: “James Defends Choice of UK Marketing Company,” (Caribarena.com June 28, 2011) I read your rationale that extols the benefits of the Integrated Destination Marketing Initiative for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (A&BTA).

You have reported that there is growth in the US market, in the expansion of Antigua and Barbuda Sailing Week with a 26 percent spike in yachting, and in the possible increase in cruise tourism for the summer with a forecast of positive returns for the winter season.

I understand your challenge is not in finding local talent, but in trying to bring “all the different aspects of marketing and ways of getting the best possible value for Antigua & Barbuda, creating a level playing field amongst like competitors.”

I further accept that your objective of leading with synergy is “to position Antigua & Barbuda in such a way as to take advantage of the new marketing paradise initiative and really push the destination as much as possible.” Where homegrown talent is lacking (locally and internationally), I expect you to squash national pride in pursuit of the best resources, regardless of location. But despite limited returns, it appears that your defense of excluding local talent is an answer in search of a problem. Your explanation seems to convey creative courage that makes conscientious readers especially fact conscious.

I don’t see how the need for online and mass promotion services and the logic of cost effectiveness automatically disqualify local companies from the competitive mix. Perhaps your position needs to blend, more precisely, a competitive advantage perspective with nation-building.

There are better ways to align local talent and talent mobility with marketing initiatives. One option is to integrate qualified homegrown talent into all aspects of national development. This approach should provide a major impetus for achieving mission-critical results in the tourism sector. A second is to remedy the people’s perception - vividly fresh and anecdotally detailed - that the utilization of local talent is not the priority of the United Progressive Party’s government, especially in securing contracts worth millions of taxpayers’ dollars. A 65 percent distribution of contracts in favor of local talent is a solid starting point.

The Ultimate Honeymoon Campaign, 2013 Antigua St. John's - The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) has partnered with Elite Island Resorts, NBC6 South Florida and American Airline... read more

In the spirit of innovative leadership, you may also want to consider whether your quest for homegrown intelligence and expertise is far too narrow to fulfill the requirements of moving homegrown talent up the value chain of international doers and shakers. But the deeper causes embedded in the challenges of balancing homegrown talent with foreign expertise have not been publicly acknowledged, far less discussed. Some of these factors involve the imprint of colonial horrors expressed in the notion that excellence is imported - and the resulting practices that foreign things are superior - others include partisan politics, tendencies for corruption, and the lack of a national vision for sustainable development.

My article on Caribarena.com: "INVEST IN THE BEST" (March 01, 2011) provides an eye-opening new approach to talent security that can change the future for us and for our children. I can foresee a day when nation-building will routinely include inculcating democratic and entrepreneurial values that bring services to our streets and vitality to our villages as we twin homegrown talent with national goals. On a point of inspiration, I watched on CNN with great pride (June  27, 2011),  when Sheila Roseau, Antigua and Barbuda’s director of Gender Affairs,  received the 2011 Hero Acting to End Modern Day Slavery Award from US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. On behalf of global awardees, Ms Roseau showcased brilliance, passion, and competencies that local talent can surpass global standards. I hope her achievement will be celebrated on a national scale.

In light of the exemplary work she is doing to rebrand our national image, she deserves to be appointed Ambassador for Women and Children of Antigua & Barbuda.  Most fundamentally, homegrown talent is an important instrument of value-creation in shaping national outcomes.  Use it to reduce the negative effects of human capital flight on our future progress. See it as a cure to avoid a clap of social thunder and a bolt of youthful lightning. As global-thinking managers win the race for the future, they are becoming more skilled at harnessing untapped energies between local collaboration and international competition. I encourage you to help the government create a stellar pool of homegrown talent for the revival of our economy.
Kind regards,

Dr Isaac Newton is an International Leadership and Change Management Consultant and Political Adviser. He specializes in Government and Business Relations, and Sustainable Development Projects. Dr. Newton works extensively, in West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America and is a graduate of Oakwood College, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia. He has published several books on personal development and written many articles on economics, education, leadership, political, social, and faith based issues.

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