6th Americas Competitivness Exchange is ON!

 

Further to the 5^th Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) held in Arizona and California in April, business leaders and policy-shapers worldwide are preparing for the 6th Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) which is scheduled to take place from September 25^th to October 1^st, 2016 in Canada.

The week-long tour will include visits to Toronto-Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and the Niagara Region. ACE participants will gain insight into the best-practices in key Canadian economic sectors such as advanced manufacturing, information and communications technology, clean tech, life sciences, agri-food, and fintech.

For more information on the 6^th Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) on Innovation and Entrepreneurship visit http://www.riacevents.org/ace/canada2016/, watch the video http://www.riacevents.org/ace/canada2016/video.html or click here to download the Overview of 6th ACE.

There will be an interactive webinar on June 28^th, 2016 at 2:46pm where interested participants can gain more information on the program, application process, logistics, etc. Click here to join this webinar https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/633067957
RECAP OF 6th AMERICAS COMPETITIVENESS EXCHANGE on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

WHAT: The 6th ACE is a week-long tour for key business leaders and policy shapers from the Americas and beyond
WHEN: September 25 – October 1, 2016
WHERE: Province of Ontario, Canada (Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, and the Niagara Region)
APPLY NOW! http://www.riacevents.org/ace/canada2016/

DEADLINE TO APPLY: July 7, 2016

LAST CALL FOR PROCOM APPLICATIONS!!!

Following the launch of the PROCOM Challenge in mid-April, there has been a significant interest from a number of private sector organizations across commercial sectors. Businesses are jumping at this opportunity to improve on their productivity and competitiveness and by extension maximize on their operational efficiency.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Saint Lucia are set to receive co-financing of up to XCD$100,000 for the implementation of projects which seek to enhance productivity and competitiveness through the PROCOM Challenge. In addition to the financial investment, winning businesses will receive the technical assistance to ensure that their ideas/solutions thrive and are impactful. The purpose of the Challenge is to encourage businesses in finding innovative solutions which will help improve the overall climate as it relates to productivity and competitiveness.

Executive Director of the NCPC, Mrs. Fiona Hinkson is very positive about the level of interest generated in the PROCOM Challenge and is looking forward to seeing the types of projects which will emerge. Speaking on the Challenge she said, “When the PROCOM Challenge was initially conceptualized, we had identified micro, small and medium enterprises as the sole recipients. We have received significant feedback post-launch and after internal discussion, we went back to the drawing board and further improved on the Challenge. We recognize that great ideas can come from anywhere and we want to ensure that we give equal opportunities to organizations that may have winning ideas but encounter greater challenges in accessing funding. We have therefore included a small-window for start-ups (i.e. businesses that are registered but have only been in existence for 1 to 3 years). We are hoping that the diversified solution stemming from the PROCOM Challenge will transform the business environment.”

The application process for the challenge is very simple. Businesses applying to the PROCOM Challenge are asked to follow these steps:

STEP 1: Before you start a PROCOM Challenge Application Form, carefully review the eligibility criteria and selection guidelines to ensure that you are the right fit for the Challenge. This information can be found in the PROCOM Challenge Brochure and PROCOM Challenge Manual which may be downloaded from the NCPC Website; www.stluciancpc.org or blog; www.ncpcstlucia.wordpress.com. You may also call 468-5576/468-5571 with any questions/queries on the Challenge.

STEP 2: If you think your idea/solution meets the necessary requirements, submit your application using the prescribed forms and supporting documents to the NCPC; stluciancpc@gmail.com no later than 11:59pm on Thursday, June 30^th, 2016.

 STEP 3: Wait for confirmation from the NCPC. If your initial application has been shortlisted, you will be invited to a Business Plan Training Session where you will receive guidance on the preparation of your business plan for submission to the investment panel. (N.B Only successfully shortlisted applicants will be contacted by the NCPC)

STEP 4: Completed Business Plans must be submitted to the NCPC no later than four (4) weeks after the Business Plan Training Session.

STEP 5: The Business Plans will be reviewed by the Investment Panel and short-listed applicants will be required to pitch their idea to the panel for final judging. Once approval has been given, the funds will be disbursed after signing of the grant agreement and project work will commence.

The PROCOM Challenge comes to an end this week. Interested businesses are asked to apply by sending their application forms to the NCPC no later than June 30^th, 2016.

About the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC)

Established in October 2013, The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) is responsible for the identification of key issues related to competitiveness and productivity in Saint Lucia.

The NCPC and its Technical Secretariat is committed to providing the necessary advocacy and research to produce timely and effective recommendations to policymakers on issues that affect both competitiveness and productivity on island. For more information about productivity or on the NCPC, visit www.stluciancpc.org; www.facebook.com/stluciancpc, call 468-5571/5576 or send an e-mail to stluciancpc@gmail.com

FIND YOUR PASSION- LIVE YOUR DREAMS

 

 

NCPC Productivity Ambassador, Johanan Dujon with LHCSS 2016 Graduating Class

Graduation- a time for celebration!

Graduation- seeing years of hard work and commitment finally bear fruit!

Graduation- a proud moment for parents and students!

While graduation means different things to different people, the fact remains that this period of transformation from student to graduate is often fraught with uncertainty for students.

 In Saint Lucia, during the months of June to July thousands of students leave behind their secondary schools to embark upon a journey. After five (5)  years of growing accustomed to familiar routines and faces, some are immediately thrown into the world of work while others continue go on to further their studies.

Understanding how difficult this transition can be for students and the possible impact on productivity, the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) has embarked on a Schools’ Graduation Tour. The tour aims to promote an awareness and understanding of the notions of productivity and competitiveness.

Earlier today, NCPC Productivity Ambassador, Johanan Dujon, the Managing Director of Algas Organics (an agro-processing firm specialising in the production of bio-fertilizers from seaweed) had the opportunity to speak to a group of over 100 students of the Leon Hess Comprehensive School 2016 Graduating Class.

The theme for this year’s Graduation was “Find Your Passion- Live Your Dreams” and Johanan, a young entrepreneur, was able to share his own story of finding and nurturing his passion and eventually living his dreams.

Look out for more excerpts from the 2016 NCPC Schools’ Graduation Tour.

 

NCPC Releases Saint Lucia Productivity Summary Report 2000-2015

One of the key objectives of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council is the monitoring of productivity growth and the benchmarking of Saint Lucia’s productivity levels with that of other countries. 

Undertaking this inaugural assessment of the levels of productivity is a very critical step in the discussions on productivity and the actions that will be required to raise productivity levels in Saint Lucia. 

Click here to download the  Saint Lucia Productivity Study – Summary-2000-2015

Latest Issue of Productivity Matters Newsletter- NOW AVAILABLE!

The quarterly newsletter from the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) features updates of news and events and productivity and competitiveness related matters.

NCPC Productivity Matters Newsletter- Volume 1 Issue 1 2016

Productive Teams Build Productive Businesses

Working productively as a team can be difficult for a number of reasons.  Based on various backgrounds and professions, teams are usually confronted with a wide array of ideas and opinions on any particular subject matter that may result in conflicts and disagreements.  These disagreements can sometimes be quite volatile and discussions may sometimes go on for longer than was expected. Regardless of the reason, the end result can prove highly unproductive. 

 

How can we build productive teams? 

For a team to work successfully there must be certain important elements present.  These elements can help the team work effectively together and the end results will be positive.  These elements include:

• The Presence of A Common Goal
• Unity and Trust
• A Dynamic, Empathetic Leader
• A Sense of Choice and
• A Good Selection of Team Members

It can be difficult to find a compatible group of people who can work well together. The success of the team is heavily dependent on the circumstances and the reason for the formation of the group.  It is important to note that to achieve a successful business; the employees need to work together in various types of groups in order for goals to be achieved.  In some instances, there will be groups working towards a common goal, where each member has to participate equally, sharing duties to reach the desired objective.   In other circumstances, it may be that each member has a specific and separate role to play in order for the end result to be reached successfully.

There must be a sense of unity among members as unity in turn builds trust. Without trust, there is generally conflict.  Therefore, it is usually wise for a team to have a chosen leader.  The leader’s role should be to successfully guide the team, instilling unity, building trust and avoiding conflicts along the way.

As stated previously, within the team, there must also be an established sense of choice.  This sense of choice means that each team member must feel that their input is respected, accepted and considered by all other team members.  They must feel that the choices given to the entire team are just that, for everybody and not just for one member.  There should also be a balanced sense of competence within the team.  In other words, each member should know their capabilities and be able to apply their skill. They must also be able to trust that all other team members have the ability to do the same.

When a leader is asked to choose members from a group of people, it would be wise to undertake research on prospective members’ background, personality and skills.  Changes may need to be made if one person does not fit well with others within the group. 

Good leaders are those who lead by example. Also, a good leader must show team members how to work through conflict respectfully.   If they have done their job correctly, members will understand the goals set, their role on the team and their specific tasks.  If members are confused about what they are supposed to do, they will encroach on another member’s role, overlapping tasks and wasting time and resources.

Smaller working teams have become a major part of many productive large corporations.  They are formed regularly as they work well at finding solutions to problems and conceptualizing ideas. With a smaller grouping concentrating on working on an issue or theorizing an outcome, results in a greater chance of the right solution being found. Therefore, this means that the right group selections must be made, all team members must have the right mind-set and a dependable positive leader must be chosen.

 

For more information about productivity, visit the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) Secretariat, 2nd floor, Financial Centre Building, Bridge Street, Castries, log on to the NCPC website; www.stluciancpc.org ; www.facebook.com/stluciancpc ,call 468-5571/5576 or send an e-mail to stluciancpc@gmail.com

 

Productivity, Competitiveness and Corporate Environmental Responsibility

By: Snaliah Mahal

 

Ms. Snaliah Mahal- Recipient of Esteemed Award in Youth Development (2016 National Youth Awards, Saint Lucia)

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Saint Lucia face a myriad of environmental challenges. At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of Parties (COP21)  held in Paris last year, the plight of SIDS and their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change were at the forefront of negotiations as climate changes poses an existential threat to countries like ours. Climate change and other environmental changes are set to have detrimental effects on struggling states, affecting all industries: from fisheries, to agriculture, to manufacturing and of course tourism. In the face of climate change and economic uncertainty, developing countries continuously have to balance development and environmental protection.

Prior to, during and after the COP21, Saint Lucia was inundated with climate change information and what the impacts of climate change meant for the future of this country, the importance of our natural environment and the need to conserve what little resource we have. On Earth Day (April 22^nd) Saint Lucia became one of the first countries to both ratify and sign the agreement emanating from COP21 (Paris Agreement).

With this as a backdrop, what have Saint Lucians across the different sectors of society learnt? Who is responsible for ensuring that future generations continue to enjoy the quality of life that we currently enjoy?

Most, if not everyone agrees that government has the major role to play with regards to the care of the environment. There is often talk of environmental governance.  Although environmental governance is not solely the responsibility of governments, they however possess the policy-making and enforcement roles with regards to overall sustainable development.

Environmental governance is not usually seen as the purview of businesses. However, in business terms, the concept of ‘environmental responsibility’ is used to describe “the duty that a company has to operate in a way that protects the environment” (Cambridge Dictionary).

Businesses are undoubtedly some of the biggest users of a country’s natural resources. Do they hence have a role to play along with governments, in ensuring a sustainable future for all? Considering that what drives a business is its ability to make profits and generate surpluses, one may ask whether a link exists between productivity and competitiveness of businesses and their natural environment.

Competitiveness is the “ability of a firm or a nation to offer products and services that meet the quality standards of the local and world markets at prices that are competitive and provide adequate returns on the resources employed or consumed in producing them” (Business Dictionary) while productivity is “ the rate at which a company or country makes goods, usually judged in connection with the number of people and the amount of materials necessary to produce the goods” (Cambridge Dictionary).

Are businesses able to operate efficiently and be environmentally responsible? In some parts of the world, profits and greed reign supreme at the cost of environmental protection. Companies have shareholders to report to, who may not consider the damage, some irreversible that said companies are inflicting on the environment.

In the developed world strict environmental compliance and or responsibility may give businesses the competitive advantage over their rivals. Companies’ bottom lines may suffer greatly by any actions real or perceived which may be to the detriment to the environment. Organisations such as Greenpeace for example, speak out vociferously against threats to the environment. However in a country such as Saint Lucia when sometimes there is only one company providing essential products and services to an entire population, environmental responsibility becomes a choice rather than a requirement for good business. Consumers are left with little to no choice in what products they buy and from whom. Additionally there is a lack of advocates for the environment which can force any real change in business practices which may be contrary to proper environmental practices.

Businesses may not see the role they play in caring for the environment and though lack of environmental responsibility may not affect competitiveness because of small market size, it has proven to affect productivity. During the Chikungunya outbreak in 2014 many businesses suffered with employees calling in sick and being out of work for extended periods of time and in so doing putting a strain on business operations and slowing down productivity and by extension affecting the bottom line.

The Chikungunya epidemic highlighted the importance of the private sector in taking an active role in environmental education of not only the general public, but similarly of their employees. Ensuring that our surroundings are kept clean and prove unfavorable to mosquito breeding, will in turn decrease the prevalence of vector borne diseases and minimise the amount of resources that Government dispenses through the Department of Environmental Health in educating the populace.

Working towards sustainable development and fighting climate change are considered one’s moral responsibility and a commitment to future generations. On an individual basis it has proven difficult for persons to change bad environmental practices. What then for a company which may not have Environmental Responsibility embedded in their Mission, Vision and Values?

Can Saint Lucia with its limited natural resources and limited land space sacrifice the small and vulnerable natural environment that it possesses for economic growth and development?

We all want access to clean air, water, uncontaminated rivers, seas and agricultural land but what role have we taken or businesses taken to ensure that the small space that we have been given to inhabit in the Caribbean Sea is clean for our use and for our children’s children?

Businesses in a country like Saint Lucia though not usually compelled to do so, need to start taking a vested interest in their natural as much as their economic environment. While it is easy to focus on just numbers, the fact remains that neglecting to protect the environment today can very well result in not having a market to sell products to tomorrow.

Article submitted by Guest Contributor Ms. Snaliah Mahal. Snaliah is an environmental activist and enthusiast, an active member of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network- Saint Lucia Chapter and an advocate for youth development.  She holds a Bachelor’s in IR and an MSc in Climate Change and International Development. She recently embarked on a micro-business venture where she repurposes everyday items and creates magical pieces. She was also the recipient of this year’s Esteemed Award in Youth Development in the 2015 National Youth Awards. To connect with the author follow her on Instagram @katharsis_7Ks, on Twitter @snalsm and like her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/7ks.

Strides Towards Enhancing Productivity and Competitiveness

Since its establishment, the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) has been committed to enhancing both productivity and competitiveness of Saint Lucia and as such closely follows benchmarks set by regional and international agencies.  One such benchmarks would be the ten (10) principles of competitiveness adopted by the Americas Competitiveness Network (RIAC) and the World Economic Forum 12 pillars of competitiveness.

The Establishment of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council with an Accompanying Technical Secretariat

The Government of Saint Lucia established the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) with its accompanying Technical Secretariat on 5 August 2013.  The establishment of the Council was made possible with funding assistance provided by the Compete Caribbean Programme in the form of a Technical Assistance Grant for the Project entitled: “Strengthening Public-Private Dialogue in Saint Lucia”.  Membership of the Council include officials from the private and public sectors, civil society and trade unions.

The objectives of the Council are:

• To raise awareness and understanding of the importance of competitiveness and productivity to economic well-being.
• To monitor all aspects of productivity growth and competitiveness in Saint Lucia vis-à-vis other countries.
• To monitor all aspects of productivity in the various sectors of the economy.
• To provide advice to the Government on actions to promote productivity growth and competitiveness in Saint Lucia.
• To monitor and reporting on the progress made in the implementation of solutions to actions designed to boost competitiveness and productivity in Saint Lucia.
• To assess specific competitiveness and productivity topics in greater detail.
• To advocate on actions to promote productivity and competitiveness.

The Council has begun its work and has focused heavily on building the awareness around the issues of Productivity and Competitiveness.  Some of the work of the Council include:

1. Inaugural National Productivity Assessment for Saint Lucia

To effectively carry out its mandate, the Council first sought to assess current levels of productivity in Saint Lucia as well as engage key stakeholders to understand current challenges and possible solutions in raising productivity in various sectors.    As a consequence, the Council undertook a the following studies and activities::

• Estimating overall productivity levels for Saint Lucia for the period 2000 to 2013
• Estimate unit cost of labor from 2000 to 2013
• Estimate productivity levels for six sectors of the economy including: manufacturing, agriculture, construction, wholesale and retail, financial, tourism. 
• Assessment of four (4) pilot agencies of Government (Inland Revenue Department, Customs Department, Physical Planning Section/Development Control Authority and Transport Department). 
• Benchmarking Saint Lucia’s productivity levels with countries where data was available.

National consultations were held with key sectors of the economy including the Health, education and the youth.  In addition, discussions were also held at the community levels.  The objective of those consultations was to discuss the issues affecting productivity in Saint Lucia and to solicit ideas from the participants on ways that productivity can be improved nationally.

The Council continues to measure the level of productivity in the economy.

2. Instituted the Annual Observance of “Productivity Awareness Week”

 In its first year (2014), the NCPC focused its attention on bringing greater awareness to the issues of productivity and competitiveness in Saint Lucia and instituted the annual observance of “Productivity Awareness Week” highlighting the very apt theme “Enhancing Productivity is OUR Responsibility”.   The outcome for the week resulted in cultivating and promoting productivity awareness among individuals, enterprises and the nation – stirring, motivating and encouraging them to act in the interest of higher productivity.  Some of the activities include private and public sectors forums, debating and essay competitions involving the secondary schools as well as Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.

The observance also continued in 2015 and focused on providing training and tools to entrepreneurs in an effort to assist them in becoming more competitive in the current economic environment.   The Week in 2015 included seminars for young entrepreneurs and bus drivers, secondary school productivity tour and a primary school fair, showcasing initiatives from the public sector that impact productivity.

The Council is in the process of planning its third observance of Productivity Awareness Week for 2016.

3. Design of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Fund – PROCOM Challenge

The Council has advocated for the setting up of a National Competitiveness and Productivity Fund.  This fund is expected to assist the private and public sector to finance innovative projects that is geared towards the enhancement of productivity and competitiveness.  The Fund was launched and branded as the PROCOM Challenge on 18 April 2016.

4. NCPC Public Sector Outreach Program on Productivity

In continuing the drive to heighten the awareness of the importance of productivity and competitiveness to economic well-being, the NCPC engaged over seventeen (17) public sector agencies for an opportunity to inform of the roles and functions of the NCPC as well as to dialogue on the way forward regarding joint collaborations between the NCPC and public sector agencies in productivity and competitiveness related initiatives.

The sessions were quite interactive and offered the opportunity to dialogue on issues affecting the various Government Ministry’s productivity levels. This initiative occurred during the period June- September 2015. A questionnaire was administered at each ministry which was consulted. The results of the questionnaires were collated and will inform the work of the Council in the future with respect to enhancing public sector productivity.

5. Design and Establishment of the Commercial Division of the Court – A Business and Competitiveness Reform

As part of the technical assistance project with Compete Caribbean for the NCPC, The Commercial Division of the High Court, was identified as a high priority reform project to enhance the business environment and the Saint Lucia’s general competitiveness.  The NCPC was given the mandate to coordinate this project and was done in collaboration with the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Ministry of Legal Affairs.  The Division is expected to deliver an expeditious and cost effective mode of resolving disputes that directly affect the commercial and financial sectors in Saint Lucia.  The Project was officially in January 2016. 

The Council will continue to monitor the performance of the Commercial Division with respect to its efficiency to settling commercial disputes.

6. Active Research Agenda on Competitiveness and Productivity

• Comprehensive Entrepreneurship Program & Apprenticeship Program for Saint Lucia.

The principles of competitiveness speak to having high impact entrepreneurship to foster growth as well as pertinent education as a key element to drive competitiveness.

For the period 2015, the Research Team focused on two topics namely:

• Design of a comprehensive entrepreneurship program for Saint Lucia – looking at what exists and lessons learnt. The research is now completed and was presented to the Council members.  The Research piece will be presented to the Ministry of Commerce for consideration.

• Design of a comprehensive apprenticeship program for Saint Lucia and its implications to policy – This research piece is also completed and has been presented to the Council.

It is expected that the research findings will lead to policy changes that can impact on productivity and the growth of the economy.  For the period 2016/2017, the Council is exploring research in the area of labor market efficiencies.

7. Providing Training and Technical Assistance in Productivity Matters

The NCPC has been called upon to provide training and seminars on improving productivity in the work place as well as providing general motivation to staff members.  This training is usually conducted by the staff from the Secretariat and some Council members.  It is hoped that this arm of the NCPC can be enhanced to meet the increasing demands from both the public and private sectors.

The Council is designing assessment tools that can be used for both the private and public sectors.

8. National Outreach and Public Relations on Issues of Productivity and Competitiveness

A very important mandate of the NCPC is to promote the awareness and understanding of competitiveness and productivity to economic well-being.  Therefore as part of its continued promotion of the awareness of productivity issues the Council has maintain a presence in the general public through a number of public relation initiatives.  These include:

• Production of a Television Documentary series entitled “Productivity Matters” which currently airs on DBS, HTS, Calabash TV and NTN;
• An active presence on Facebook, Twitter and also on Pintrest and YouTube;
• Television interviews conducted with Choice, Calabash, TCT, GIS, DBS, HTS and other national stations for inclusion within their nightly news programs.  Radio appearances were also made on Radio Saint Lucia (Inside Government and 90 Minutes), Kairi FM, WVent, RCI and Helen 100 FM;
• Print and video editions of the NCPC Productivity Tips (10 in all) were circulated within the Government (GOSL Notices), via our social media pages, on radio and on television;
• Two NCPC television commercials were commissioned and produced especially during the Productivity Awareness Week.  As part of the public relations for Week, two jingles were produced in English and Kweyol;
• Weekly news articles were published in The Voice newspaper within our column ‘NCPC Perspective’. Press releases were circulated weekly to the various media houses.

9. Formulation of the Public-Private Partnership for Saint Lucia

The NCPC coordinated the formulation of the Public-Private Partnership policy for Saint Lucia.  Technical assistance for this project was provided by the World Bank.  The policy was approved by Cabinet. The Technical Secretariat was instrumental in formulating a PPP Core Team and Steering Committee who will be responsible for making the necessary institutional arrangements to oversee the effective implementation of PPPs in Saint Lucia.

10. Reporting to the Network of the Competitiveness of the Americas (RIAC)/Signs of Competitiveness of the Americas – Part of the Global Network

The Council actively monitors projects/initiatives within the public and private sectors that boost both competitiveness and productivity.  The Council provides information on initiatives to the Network of the Competitiveness of the Americas (RIAC) to be included in the annual “Signs of Competitiveness Report for the Americas”. The Technical Secretariat has contributed to this report from the period 2013 – 2015. 

11. Other Work in Progress includes:

The Council is currently in the process of formulating a 5-year strategy and action plan for enhancing overall productivity and competitiveness.  It will be working with public sector agencies as well as the private sector in developing tools that will assist in measuring productivity at the unit level and recommendation solutions at the micro level in addressing issues related to productivity and competitiveness.  This will allow the Council to work directly with agencies in resolving those issues.

Click here to download the document, NCPC Strides Towards Enhancing Productivity and Competitiveness.

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 Visit our website www.stluciancpc.org for regular updates on the work of the NCPC and other ‪#‎productivity and ‪#‎competitiveness related‪ #‎matters.

Operation Success

Have Less, Do More!

By: Kayra Williams

Ms. Kayra Williams, author of upcoming novel, Mars

The less time you have, the more it seems you’re able to do. This article represents my thoughts on productivity and it’s far reaching impact in our day to day living as well as our socio-economic development. Of course productivity must begin on a personal level to have any influence on society whatsoever. To have an impact in the work place, in a country or globally… it has to start somewhere.

I took my thoughts back to my own journey of finding my most productive self, starting in 2014 with the desire to vivify my passion for writing in a way that illuminated purpose, and imparted complete self-fulfillment. After moving on from a media related post in St Lucia I’d faced a major road block. My dilemma? I wanted to chase that which ignited my existence, a quest that would lead to me spending most of my time writing books. Though now I was on a path of creative exploration, I needed to make a living. I could not ignore financial obligations chasing a dream, but I knew I had to make it work somehow. In the space of wanting something more than I have ever wanted anything before in my life, I discovered the truth to productivity, one that is directly linked to creativity, and vulnerability. But I will expound on this later.

 On the journey to finding out all these things, all the while writing furiously in my two hours of spare time every night, I stumbled upon an interview with Ashton Kutcher where he said something along the lines of “opportunity looks a lot like work.” More accurate words had never been spoken. I wondered how many other people could relate. I understood him to be saying the way to be most productive on an individual or collective level was to accept that hard work paid off. Simply put, the moment where you are expected to be most productive is directly related to one’s next manifestation of favour, good fortune, and success.

I completed my first novel in the space of a year, and the second, in about 40 hours. By the time I was onto the second I realized the best version of productivity could only be achieved by time management. Once the blueprint was set in stone, it was less about the little details and more about getting it done, and once it was done, it was all about the little details, crossing t’s, and dotting i’s. After all, productivity embodies ensuring that your time is well spent, and for this maximum effort, you will reap the same or even more of a return, something that is worth your investment in the first place.

Now back to creativity and vulnerability. Where do those fit into productivity in the first place? I had no way of knowing until one afternoon, bored out of my mind with my own company, and four days into a writing marathon, I tuned into a Brene Brown TED Talk. The Qualitative Researcher stated simply: “If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist.” The same words had once been spoken to her by a research professor back when she was a doctoral student getting her Ph.D in Social Work. The shared theory was the spark plug to the inspiration I had been searching for. In a 20 minute presentation she explained that those words had been her life’s mantra as she’d fought hard against vulnerability, choosing instead a life marked with controlling and predicting. She explained how she’d gone about changing her life through intensive research into the lives of other people, through pinpointing the things that created barriers related to connection, recognizing the importance of vulnerability, and ultimately the meaning of living wholeheartedly.

I had been searching for some magical aspect that would lead to unbounded innovation, and here was Brene talking about vulnerability being the root of inspiration and creativity, and by extension, productivity. On an individual level, she said vulnerability was the birthplace of creativity and inspiration. Added to that, recognizing the need for human vulnerability was the beginning of understanding life itself, and as such, connections with others. Connections that are also integral in thriving past the point of individual productivity, into the wider economical plane.

I watched her presentation to the end convinced of the underlying accuracy in the trend of thought that suggested that numbing vulnerability paralyzed creativity, drive and all the things necessary for the realization of true productive power. There was much to be explored with the simple concept of vulnerability in the sense of being more open to change and fresh ideas, accepting not knowing, then finding out, discovering new ways of thinking and doing, and not being afraid to be in that space of transition, all for the greater good. Creativity and productivity can both be found where and when they are least expected, but from there, it is always up to us to maintain and utilize the best measures for success.

 Connect with the author on twitter: @camikayne