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Knowing when to fix it

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By Dr. Basil Springer

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. – Ecclesiastes 3:1

Just over six months ago while chatting casually with some of my Marketplace Excellence (MPE) colleagues, it was suggested that after decades of a traditional business presentation format, my column should now pivot to more of a storytelling style which captures interesting events from my many experiences in life and in business. I was quite content with my style and feedback over the decades and adopted the approach “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

In researching this potential storytelling shift, several things were revealed. Storytelling is (1) the oldest way to deliver a message; (2) one of the marketing world’s new darlings; and (3) hailed as the single most powerful communication skill for the immediate future.

These revelations put things in a new perspective. Will I be able to sustain this change and will it be beneficial to all concerned? Well, time will tell.

Just over a week ago, my partner Judy and I resumed our daily habit of systematically reading aloud and discussing chapters from a book of mutual interest as part of our companionship lifestyle. I do not know why we stopped for a while, but it seemed to coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic. The benefits of this habit created interesting conversational topics, but it often introduced beneficial changes in our lifestyle patterns. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

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The book she chose on resumption was “Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the Spirit and the Heart” by Jack Kornfield & Christina Feldman. The first chapter of the book reads: “The priceless gift of any story lies in its power to spark a fire into our imagination. A great story has the capacity to transcend the boundaries of our personal world and introduce the universality of human experience.” We were happy to continue our habit.

I remember as a teenager, I was transfixed by bedtime reading of the “Just William” 39-book series of children’s short stories about the young schoolboy William Brown, authored by Richmal Crompton and published between 1922 and 1970.
My own children’s bedtime reading patterns are less vivid probably because I often fell asleep before they did. But many young children feel more satisfaction turning in once they have had their storytelling nightcap. Storytelling transcends generations. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

The above three examples, on columns, companionship and comfort transcend generations.

There are other examples in life where we might not want to fix it. For example, when to undergo a medical operation, abandon your 30-year-old car, replace your computer or phone, or change your business model. However, upon further examination we must take other factors into consideration to optimize our condition.

And when we do depart from the adage, perhaps we should be guided by another formula – the Sequential Evolutionary Approach (SEA), which states that as we journey through life “the intelligence gained at any step along the journey, fashions the size and direction of the next step.”

This is relevant to all of us for each step that we take each day.

I am pleased that I yielded to the counsel to start fixing it.

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]