By Gary Thompson

DREAM Makers are visionary leaders /entrepreneurs who nurture transformational ideas in the interest of collective human and sustainable economic development.
Game Changers are the proactive and transformational corporate leaders who interpret, translate and nurture revolutionary ideas into reality long before the competition makes a move.

One set of Guyana’s Dream Makers (APNU+AFC) has just been elected to government. They are now expected to deliver the promise as the Game Changers to the populace of Guyana.
Two of the issues that we must address immediately as Dream Makers & Game Changers are: the context in which we treat the subject of sustainable human development, and the integration of Guyana’s private sector into regional and international trade. These two issues are unavoidably linked and interrelated, and must therefore be treated as such.

There are clear deficits with the available human capital that are pertinent and aligned to giving an authentic interpretation, control implementation and demonstrate the full commitment to the developmental vision of entrepreneurs. The Private Sector needs intellectual capitals that can pro-act rather than react; than can transform rather than inform; that can lead rather than follow. This business column “Dream Makers & Game Changers” will put to the public essential pointers that will inform, transform, and hopefully re-brand the thinking of the specific interest groups.

Guyana’s private sector is in urgent need of a “National Human Development Strategy” (NHDS). That NHDS must be strategically aligned to the diverse and sustainable developmental needs of the range of industries within the private sector. That strategy must translate to the relevant interest groups a clear and realistic national human development agenda that is achievable.

Guyana’s National Human Development Strategy must have the foresight to envision where its wants our human capital (HC) to be within the next 10 to 20 years. The proposed NHDS must inform us on where Guyana sees its HC over the next 20 years. The proposed NHDS must identify successful models and best practices to inform its actions; and finally, the proposed NHDS must adopt a no-fail policy in the DRIVE to achieve the NHDS strategic objective, integrity and completion criteria. The full development of the private sector, and by extension the national economy, is completely dependent on the vision, leadership, integrity and commitment of its intellectual authors who are empowered to govern these social organs.

Guyana’s National Human Development Strategy must be completely aligned to a new private sector development agenda. It must recognise the rich potential of the extractive industry for value-added wood production and agro-processing of agri-cultural produce, and ensure that those resources are developed to their fullest potential. It must recognise the rich and untapped potential of the service industry and identify and adopt best practices in the development of this industry with the designed intention to integrate and export our service industry to world markets. The new development agenda must nurture competency within the construction sector, where its players can be branded and better able to leverage their skill-sets to regional and international opportunities.

The Guyana private sector’s sustainable growth, diversification, expansion and integration into world trade are completely dependent on visionary and transformational leadership, which has to be informed by the NHDS. Guyana’s private sector, in collaboration with state support, must be given adequate support to nurture the ability to become proactive rather than reactive; transformative rather than informative; and lead rather than follow, as we set ourselves up to producing products and services that are relevant to world trade.
Guyana must design and implement a plan that must inform and shape global opinions of our readiness to compete and win in world markets. That plan must be the Dream Makers & the Game Changers that enable our industries to attain global relevance and prompt access to world markets. All relevant stakeholders must dance to one melody of injecting capital, time, energy and resources to nurture Guyana’s private sector to demonstrate transformational leadership that can make it truly become iconic as a Dream Maker and Game Changer in the global world of business.

Dream Makers & Game Changers are driven by a deeper sense of self (DSS). That DSS is significantly influenced by mind-sight rather than eye-sight. They believe that whatever the mind can conceive they can achieve.
The public sector, the private sector and civil society must launch a collaborative strategic engagement that allows them to nurture mind-sight on where we want our HC and productive sectors to be 20 years from now. The strategic engagement must be completely informed by successful models, best practices, and a national transformational ideology. That strategic engagement must have a game plan, and that game plan must have a no-fail policy established in the minds of all stakeholders.
A cultured mind is a beautiful thing, it gives us whatever we believe we are entitled to achieve.

Strategic engagement and cooperation between the public sector and the private sector can create an environment that allows our corporate innovators and leaders to transform the landscape of how we do business in Guyana. We must press the reset button on human and business development in this new dispensation.

There is no reason why we must settle for second best regarding nurturing visionary leaders that can, and will, transform the land-scape of how we do business. Why should Guyana settle to be average in our human competencies and corporate leadership and innovation?
The private sector is the product of its thoughts and the results of its actions. We must press the reset button on corporate-inspired action in this new dispensation. What new steps are we taking to separate ourselves from the competition and attain and maintain the competitive advantage in world trade?

Guyana’s business sector must be strongly influenced by a heavy injection of Dream Makers and Game Changers’ ideology that can first inform and then transform the thinking of our corporate leaders. We must craft our foot-prints and local content into regional and international trade.

Guyana has a forestry sector that can significantly diversify our product portfolio. Guyana has an extractive industry that has the potential to brand our economy as a major player in world trade. Guyana has a service industry that is virtually untapped. Guyana has the potential to become a social and economic force to reckon with. Dream Makers & Game Changes will show you practical steps to unlocking Guyana’s potential.
The primary aim of this column is to illustrate a new, transformative and fresh approach to business practice and business development. This column will take an open-minded approach, but will have an analytical and complete look at corporate and national developmental issues such as:
1) Guyana’s National Human Development Strategy or lack thereof, its potential impact on the private sector & national sustainable development.
2) The Chambers of Commerce/Trade Association as drivers of national and economic development: the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats that are associated with these social organs, as economic builders are essential talking points etc.
3) Guyana’s Private Sector Development Bank & its potential impact on Guyana’s global integration and competitiveness
4) The Small Business Act of 2004 and its potential impact on national development will be examined. The laborious or barriers to its full implementation in 11-plus years will also be a critical talking point.
5) Private Sector Tax reform, Tax Incentives and Tax Holidays and their potential impacts on increased private sector activities and Guyana’s development agenda
6) Canada has adopted a unique tax reform national development policy that provides a springboard for new business start-ups, project and product diversification and corporate expansion. DM&GC will examine the applicability of these models to Guyana’s development agenda. Etc.
7) Guyana’s private sector integration into the world market as agents of FDI is also a critical talking point.
The potential of the business sector to transform the social and economic landscape in a mixed economic system such as Guyana’s is untapped. This column Dream Makers & Game Changers will give a critical analysis of the range of resources that lie untapped and propose recommendations and concrete plan of action where the collective, (meaning the State, The private sector & civil society) can begin to fully appreciate and harness the rich potential of human, technical and natural resources of this nation.
Guyana’s private sector is the biggest employer in our economy. These productive industries have to be driven by our human capital; but if their knowledge, training and exposure are not properly aligned to a national developmental agenda, it will impede progress and the diversification process of the private sector and our economy.
The full development of the private sector is dependent on an integrated and collaborative effort between the public & private sectors and civil society. This tripartite body must launch a collaborative strategic engagement that allows it to nurture a new and clear path of human and private sector sustainable development based on mind-sight. Guyana urgently needs a “National Human Development Strategy that is properly informed and fully aligned to advance the diversification process and export market integration potential of the business community. The National Human Development Strategy is necessary in this new dispensation. The NHDS must be informed by clear goals and objectives: Each of the G’s & O’s of the NHDS must be time-lined against performance criteria. The NHDS must be monitored and controlled against the project objectives and integrity. Guyana, the collective, must take concrete action to transform the thinking and culture of the Private Sector, and that transformation can be best informed by the “National Human Development Strategy”.