It is time for creative destruction of the old to rebuild better. The numbers unable to find jobs and the rate of business closures is too high. Covid 19 gives new meaning to that now overused phrase; “the only constant is change,” as it renders obsolete so many professions, makes more relevant others while inducing never before contemplated jobs. The same applies to businesses as entrepreneurs are forced to re-purpose or re-invent themselves for new and emerging business cycles.

More than ever, established education curriculum must be rethought and policy and capital investment decisions repositioned or we run of the risk of national obsolescence. On Friday, I interviewed a transformative leader in the energy industry of T&T as part of a “Legacy Project” I launched which seeks to document the stories of home grown, internationally competitive firms in the region. He explained that leaders must continuously improve to positively impact those they leads, because the world is never static.

To this end, I am, now more than ever, convinced that my call for the formation of an independent “Think Tank”, now “Think to Do Tank” is an imperative. This conviction is strengthened by your responses. I am pleased to report (in the spirit of my commitment to full disclosure and transparency), that a small group of like-minded, experienced professionals have had a first brainstorming meeting and are well on the way to shaping form and substance.

Suffice it to say at this stage; there is commonality of purpose that “sustainable livelihoods” whether through employment creation or business start-up and expansion is the ultimate deliverable. This is intended to be an ever evolving and inclusive entity that embraces great ideas to develop practical solutions that enhances livelihoods whether through sustainable job creation or entrepreneurial activities as it operates at the nexus of market supply of and demand for people skills, influencing the growth of economic clusters on the one hand and the supply of appropriate skills to meet their needs on the other.

And so, continue to define shape and form of this “Think to Do Tank”, feedback, recommendations and active participation are welcomed and valued. Already valuable ideas have been received via LinkedIn which have already influenced change to initial conceptualization. The following are some such responses. “Definitely starting with sustainability and enabling human capabilities and capital to compound within a thriving environment is a useful angle to approach it. Would love to contribute” Alistair. “Love the idea of a think tank being used to keep abreast of the country’s human capital availability and then being deployed more efficiently. These are the type of forward thinking initiatives that should be put forward for discussion in the national arena” Sean.

“Instead of a think tank, perhaps a do tank! And instead of jobs, which implicitly have the employer/employee built in, why not “livelihoods”, which opens pathways for cooperative support and entrepreneurship. Your call to civic duty is welcome…let me know how I can contribute” Vicki. “At this point in the Caribbean, we do need to think, to theorize and to reclaim our intellectual heritage, otherwise the doing may be misdirected ill-informed and not grounded. We urgently need to be savvy about determining our interests” Gillian. “I hear you! If we’re going to be change agents… thinking and doing…sign me up” Rudo.

“The thinking people have been tanked for too long, we reward and promote those who sing from the same outdated book. I agree with the general premise…. However…we need to think-actrethink in increasingly shorter cycles, until we are re-inventing even as we invent. We have the talent to create a new future. We have to first think about how to effect change-in a restrictive and intolerant environment-, in which the decision makers benefit from prolonging the old” Donald. “Technology is the great equalizer…it seems government itself is the biggest trade barrier…Your article is an appeal to action that should strike at the conscience of all readers with the capacity to cause positive change, especially the leaders” Pete. “Finding a way to move forward without continuously shouting at government to change (which still has to be done) may be the most innovative thing we can do” Umesh

Without a doubt, we have the intellectual and practical capacity, experience, creativity, innovativeness and most important vested interest to overcome the obstacles that will come as we seek solutions, project by project, moving incrementally from the micro to the macro, building momentum and reverberating this civic call to action that finds consistent productive employment opportunities for such as the two young skilled men who cut my yard and pleaded for any “hustle” that will keep them out of crime. To not answer their cry is a crime.