6 lessons I have learned about working with businesses in Barbados

Trust. Tardiness. Patience. Patience. Email TV and File cabinet. Crazy ants.

1. We have trust issues which contradict our trust issues. For example - the case of signing documents electronically. Why the hesitation? Whether you sign your documents manually, take a picture of your signature and insert it into your pdf documents or you use a digital signature - all of these methods require a degree of trust.

Some may say that anyone can take a picture of your signature and use it for any purpose. This can happen with all of the above methods of signing. Do what is convenient to you, rather than basing your decision on perceived trust.

Connection to sustainability – If you avoid signing your documents electronically you are wasting paper, gas and time. You are already paying for electricity and you have already bought the computer/smart phone - these products have already created pollution in their creation and they will end up as electronic waste in some form or the next. Some of us are under utilizing our devices which could also be considered a waste of resources.

2. Don’t take it personally if someone is late (even if you are that person) but DO let people know and observe how they communicate about being late. Do make the call to leave or cancel if you have to wait too long or make someone wait too long. For me my limit is 30 minutes of waiting and I let people know asap if something changes my trajectory and I’ll be late.

Confession - Sometimes I underestimate traffic which is very easy to do in a country as densely populated as Barbados (road network included). Sometimes I have some avoidable reasons for being late but still I try to let you know and apologize.

I try not to schedule meetings back to back and I try to create an hour buffer in between. Yes, we should strive to value each other’s time, respect our words and be loyal. Set a time that is realistic with both our goals and the fact that you can get held back by public transportation or by actually driving behind a creeping, sputtering truck/van.

Sometimes we need to give people a break and acknowledge that no matter how much a meeting may be of priority to you, you have no way of knowing what else is going on in someone else’s life so a little bit of open consideration can help. Still make your own call whether to reschedule/wait and own up to your tardiness. Don’t blame and carry forward the late cycle with misery because you knew you should have cancelled. This is what fosters a society worse than one of late comers - one of people who are miserable and have misplaced agitation.

Oh I understand we generally shouldn’t be late but it is going to happen occasionally (or maybe regularly) so how will you handle it?? What is the point of having a cow about it, that’s a waste of time and energy.

Connection to sustainability – wasted time/gas when we don't communicate about our tardiness.

3. Be patient. Be patient if people change their minds in contradiction to their verbal commitments. Be patient if people don’t have the information organized in a way to explain the value of their business. The reasons behind each of the mystery of these occurrences are complex and vary from business to business. The only way you can build a working relationship to move past these occurrences is by putting yourself into their shoes. When this happens to me, I remember times when I have been in their situation when I was unable/unwilling to share certain information to clarify the mystery or change in commitment. It is human and we need not be too judgmental about it. We do need to determine what our boundaries are to determine whether this is happening “too often”.

4. Be patient with delayed/non communication but please let people know when you can. Everybody else has something they need to do or were doing before they came to work with you or met you in general.... in life.

Please only open emails when you have the time to read.

Please CEASE and DESIST from sending one word emails. You are wasting electricity. E.g. Received. Acknowledged. These types of emails do not identify any kind of action that will be taken. Either don’t respond or send something marginally useful. In this day and age most emails go through to the recipient. If not, read receipt features exist.

My trick is to ask a question in my emails to confirm whether the email has been read and received. What is the point of a received but unread email? If someone doesn't respond then call/Whatsapp to follow up on that specific question rather than the whole email to avoid annoyance.

5. Most people have access to computers/internet and email addresses but that does NOT mean they actually want to use this technology nor that they are comfortable using it. This also does not mean that they will use this technology to communicate. "I have an email address" is very different than "I prefer to use email". Some people treat their computer/internet/phone like a tv or file cabinet. They watch it but don’t use it and you just have to figure it out on a case by case what works best for the person you are trying to reach.

There are people who don’t have computers/internet of course so I always ask people what is the best way to reach them. For government offices I call until I get an answer or I get tired, I never expect call backs. It is a reality but sometimes my expectations are exceeded and I do receive a call back or email response. For some people I simply have to come to them in person to reach them….that in-person Whats -apping lol…gasp..it works.

6. The culture of running round like crazy ants….it’s somewhat of our nature. However this tires us out mentally and physically. Then, we make poor decisions which starts the cycle again of running around like crazy ants trying to solve the problem we created because we were too busy to solve a previous issue thoroughly. Could this be why we have so much traffic on the road at all hours of the day? Could this be why our bank lines are so long? Could this be why it seems like no one has time for anything but yet everyone seems to be busy doing something?

What have you learned about doing business in the Caribbean?

#Resilient #BetterCaribbean #Sustainable