This is me…. Investing in Creativity; Transforming Societies

Had the opportunity to address the Sixth Form School Leaving Ceremony at my Alma Mater, St. George's College on April 27, 2018. Tried to leave a few nuggets of inspiration which I hope resonated then and will resonate with you.

Greetings and Salutations:

• Jesuit Father Rohan Tulloch, Chairman of the St. George’s College Board
• Jesuit Father Christopher Llanos, Vice Chairman of the St. George’s College Board and Superior of the Jesuit Community in Jamaica
• Mrs. Margret Campbell, Principal of St. George’s College
• Mr. Alphonso Christie, Dean of Sixth Form, St. George’s College
• Mr. Ian Telfer, President of the Old Boys Association
• Faculty and staff of St. George’s College
•  Parents, guardians, students, well wishers
• And most importantly, the graduating class of 2018 ...Good afternoon.

Introduction

It is my pleasure to join you for this, your sixth form school leaving ceremony. Before me, I am sure, is the most prestigious group of graduands from this noble institution. You have all gotten straight A’s, everyone is a model student and you are advanced in efforts to end world hunger and secure a solution to society’s biggest problems – in short, the St. George’s College Sixth Form Class of 2018 is ready to take on the world’s greatest challenges and fix them by the end of next week!

At your age, I wasn’t that focused. I didn’t get straight A’s in sixth form or had the slightest clue how to achieve world peace. What I did know, was that I wanted to be a business leader, preferably in the banking sector. Yes, I had noble dreams but I didn’t want to put in the work to achieve them…at least, not yet.

In truth, I didn’t think my sixth form education was important and didn’t apply myself to my studies during the two years. So, when exam results came out I had a rude awakening. I was on the cusp of my entry into adult society and all I had achieved were two A-Levels - an E in Math and a B in General Paper. In contrast, many of my classmates had 4 A-Levels or more. I felt like a failure. I had attended this amazing school, obtained opportunities that many could only dream of – because St. George’s is THE best college in Jamaica – but I had not achieved what I should have.  

Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said: “Failure is an opportunity to begin again more intelligently”. So, I did just that.

I thought about the decisions that caused my failure, made a plan for success and actively started working towards it.

Looking back, my failure in sixth form was a wakeup call.

Today, I am the Managing Director of a major telecommunications provider. I am glad that I experienced that failure because maybe I would have accepted a mediocre existence, just coasting along and not fighting for what I wanted to achieve.

Class of 2018, the message here is that failure is not a stop sign nor is it final. It is an opportunity for review and to start again – achieving success is still in your power.

Now that we know success is and will always be within the reach of each of you, let’s discuss how to achieve success and what it may look like in tomorrow’s world.

Innovation

Innovation is the new economy. In technology, we often throw that phrase around but its’s true. It means that the ability to create a new, exciting and revolutionary product to meet the needs of consumers is where business is going.

• Air BnB, the world’s largest accommodations provider, has allowed every property owner to be a landlord.
• Ebay, one of the world’s largest online retailer, has allowed each vendor to have a virtual shop front facilitating the growth of enterprise for small businesses.
• Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the three giants in the social media space, have provided each person a platform to share their views.

The solutions that these businesses provide are things that consumers didn’t know that they needed or even thought possible. Further, these companies remove the middle man, giving the consumer the power to choose and conduct business on their own terms. This is the world that we live in... but tomorrow’s world will be decided by you. You will be the leaders; the movers and shakers; the changemakers.

Class of 2018: you will need to be an entrepreneur, innovator and creative to thrive in society. Fortune favours the bold, and being bold requires you to follow your gut and do what feels right.

Among us is:

the next Elon Musk, founder of Space X and the person currently leading the charge of colonising Mars

the next Gordon "Butch" Stewart, founder of Sandals International.

And, the next Dr. Paris Lyew-Ayee, conceptualiser and primary developer of the Caribbean's first GIS system… also a past student of George’s College.

There are new problems to be solved, new medical cures to be found and new business venture to be developed. Sounds both exciting and daunting but here are a few things to keep in mind.

Advice for the Future

My first piece of advice is that Learning never stops.

Formal education can never equip you with all the tools that you need to succeed in the career of your choice.

At school, you won’t learn the cure for cancer as it hasn’t been developed, nor will you learn the next revolutionary business idea as it is still in ideation. Instead, school provides a robust foundation along with fundamental information to guide your path.

The onus is therefore on you to read articles, listen podcasts and watch TED talks or YouTube videos to learn about the world. I also implore you to create relationships with people in your field of interest – you may choose to follow an influencer on LinkedIn, get an internship or ask a business leader to be your mentor.

To be a pioneer, you have to create the mold and continued learning is critical to that. Each day, I learn new things from my employees, customers and mentors. Indeed, I am still on that journey of success which I started charting after my failure in sixth form.

I previously said that fortune favours the bold and many times, you will have to take bold steps to achieve personal and professional goals. Therefore, my second piece of advice is to take chances.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, the advice to take chances is more important than you can fully appreciate at this stage. Many a time, entrepreneurs have made monumental sacrifices, put in long hours and experienced setbacks in order to develop business ideas.

We know the stories of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs who ran their technology companies from their garages before making it big. I am sure that there were days when each wondered whether taking a chance on their dream was the right decision but instead they followed through and the world is a better place for their contribution.

Let me be clear, the savviest entrepreneurs take the necessary precautions to minimize undue risk before taking a leap. Ensuring that they possess an understanding of the industry they seek to enter, the value that their product or service will provide and doing research to assess market demand all provide a safety net when taking chances.

Graduands, the life of Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba – dubbed, the most valuable retailer in the world- and his journey to become one of the richest people is a lesson in perseverance, and the third piece of advice that I will leave with you today.

Jack’s life seemed like a series of unfortunate events.

He applied for 30 jobs in his hometown and was turned down for each. When KFC opened in China, he was among 24 people that applied for a job and was the only one rejected. He was later part of a group of five applicants for some vacancies in the police force and, again, he was the only one not accepted for a position. To be honest, many of us would be discouraged after so many near misses. However, these disappointments taught Jack to deal with failure and allowed him to develop the fortitude to build one of the most successful e-commerce businesses worldwide.

Class of 2018: there is a big world ahead of you. Your success and ability to transform society lies in the investment that you make in your own creativity, to be the best version of yourself and to follow your dreams. I know that there are limitations but most of them are things we tell ourselves. Too often we think:

My dream is too big

• I am not worthy of fulfilling my dream
• Or, there are so many obstacles so let me give up
• However, giving up before you begin is the surest route to disappointment leaving you with lost hopes and dreams.

Conclusion

As a Georgian, our school’s history has taught us a lot about investing in ourselves.

It took tenacity to open Jamaica's first secondary institution for classical and scientific education. The school also had to close its doors on three occasions before becoming the steadfast institution that we know today. Its legacy means that you, the newest crop of graduands, can stand on the shoulders of a great network of Georgians such as:

• Stephen and Ziggy Marley
• Senator Don Wehby, CEO of the Grace Kennedy Group of Companies
• And, Professor Emeritus Anthony Chen, who shared the 2007 Nobel Prize with the former US Vice President, Al Gore for their work on climate change.

In my eyes, you are already a success. The world is waiting to embrace your greatness, go out and show it who’s the boss!

Thank You