LAST THURSDAY, one of Jamaica's leading corporate titans, Douglas Orane, was inducted into the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica's (PSOJ) Hall Of Fame. The chairman and CEO of Grace, Kennedy & Company is a man of many talents and a true Jamaican citizen who is admired, respected and loved by many. Below is the full text of his acceptance speech.
WHEN GRETA Bogues called me to say that I would be the next inductee into the PSOJ's Hall of Fame, I was momentarily speechless. For some reason, I subconsciously thought that this honour was reserved for the older generation ahead of me! It is indeed a reminder to myself that I am a part of a maturing generation.
I am truly humbled by this award. I accept this honour on behalf of the many people throughout my life who have helped me along the way my parents Douglas and Daisy, my wife Michele, my sisters Marguerite and Carole, my children Zahra, Omari and Alia who have helped educate me about the younger generation, and the rest of my family.
OPPORTUNITY TO GROW
The other family in my life is the Grace family. The ability for me to be considered for this award tonight is a direct reflection of a company that treasures the principles of being a meritocracy. Grace, Kennedy has given me the opportunity to grow as a person at so many crossroads in my career. It is not by chance that two of my predecessors are Hall of Fame inductees Carlton Alexander receiving the inaugural award in 1992 and Raf Diaz in 1995. Part of our belief system in Grace, Kennedy is to encourage each individual to maximise his or her potential in life, to whatever level that may carry him or her in their careers.
Colin Powell, born of Jamaican parents, made a statement in 1994 at the commencement exercise for Howard University graduates explaining the spectacular success of his military career "I am a direct descendant of those Buffalo Soldiers, of the Tuskeegee Airmen, and of the Navy's Golden Thirteen, and the Montfort Point Marines. I climbed on their backs and stood on their shoulders to reach the top of my chosen profession to become the Chairman of the American Joint Chiefs of Staff."
If I myself have reached heights where I am noticed, it is because I have got there on the supportive shoulders of those who went before me, and those of my current colleagues at Grace, Kennedy.
I was privileged to have worked with Carlton for nearly a decade and with Raf for now going on 25 years, and have benefited immeasurably from their coaching and mentoring.
I wish to express my special gratitude to Mable Tenn who is the person I first approached in the late 1970s about joining Grace, Kennedy, and who had the faith in me to introduce me into the company.
There are many others who have touched my life in a special way over my 56 years and who are too numerous to mention, but whose seminal advice and guidance I can remember so clearly, as though given yesterday.
UNIQUE
There is one group that is, however, unique. Over the years many people have asked me the question, 'Douglas, what has contributed most to your success?' I've unerringly replied, "The family life my parents created, and the way the Wolmer's schools moulded me for adulthood." In acknowledging all the teachers who helped sculpture me to be a productive human being, I am recognising the following teachers who are with us tonight: Eileen Aris-Scott who taught me as a six year old at Wolmer's Prep. School Woody Miller my form teacher for 3A at Wolmer's Boys School and who honed my grasp of the English language. Irene Cousins my sixth form chemistry teacher who catalysed my love of the sciences, which formed a critical stepping stone for me to eventually become a engineer, and Dave Myrie the current headmaster of Wolmer's Boys' School. Born in the United Kingdom of Jamaican parents, he returned home four years ago to lead an impressive transformation of my old school.
One Saturday morning a few weeks ago, I went into the PSOJ and read the citations on the walls of the previous inductees. There is a view that a hall of fame is only about recognition and that is certainly true. But to me, more importantly, in our country Jamaica today, I believe it represents something much more fundamental, and it is this we are, through the hall of fame, helping to define as a young nation what is the ideal of leadership and how successful leadership manifests results. Each time we induct a new member, we are signalling to the wider society, and particularly the younger generation, the message, "Here are homegrown role models to emulate."
There is a saying, "Managers do things right, but leaders do the right things." This room is full of leaders, and in the younger generation present, a large pool of leadership potential. How can we do the right things?
There is an aspect of leadership that goes far beyond the traditional workplace. Carlton Alexander used to comment to me, "Douglas, whatever is good for Jamaica, we need to make it good for Grace, Kennedy." Put another way, leadership is about giving back to one's society. People who know me intimately remark that. I ask myself two questions each day, "Why am I here on this earth?" and "How will I ensure my time is well spent today?" Over the years, it has become clear to me that my country Jamaica has been good to me. Now each day I increasingly explore how I can give back in some small measure.
The answer to my two daily questions are embodied in the following answer - as a leader, I am here to create a pathway, a ladder for others to climb to success in the same way that others did so for me. Doing this has become an activity I deeply love and enjoy. My colleagues at work will tell you that I often remark "People have many different hobbies - some like to garden and grow flowers - my hobby is to grow other people's careers."
I may not be able to convince you of the pleasures of this hobby, but there is one aspect that has become self evident - creating pathways for people's success benefits both the facilitator and the beneficiary. It's an example of two plus two making seven. It creates wealth for our society and wealth for our businesses. But more importantly, there has been a shift in the world as I have enjoyed pursuing my hobby over the last two decades. As the effects of globalisation have swept through all countries, the key factor to achieve competitive advantage that has emerged is how to develop the creative energies of the people that surround us each day.
I am therefore very optimistic about the future of our country, because the solutions to whatever issues we see ahead of us already exist within us. It is only for us to unlock this potential, particularly in our younger generation. From my personal experience this is not an insurmountable task. I have found that whenever I have managed to surround myself with a few good leaders, no matter what the crisis, solutions emerge.
To me, creating pathways for the young school graduate to experience employment for the first time, or for a secretary to make the leap into line management, or the young engineer or accountant to climb through the ranks to become CEO of a subsidiary, or for the young entrepreneur to take the plunge and start his or her own business, or for an eleven year old inner city resident to complete his years of high school and get a scholarship to university - these have become indispensable as well as truly fulfilling parts of my role as a leader.
There is a pathway to success that was opened early in life to me, as well as for most of the people in this room tonight. It was receiving a grounding in the Jamaican high school system. I had the privilege to attend Wolmer's, but I believe my comments hold true for most high schools in Jamaica. As I speak with more of my old schools friends over time, I recognise that my alma mater has given a unique advantage to each of us, the thousands of living alumni now spread all over the world. That advantage is based on this fact - Wolmer's was and continues to be a leadership factory for young people, from the least to the most affluent. The self confidence and solid foundation of learning in an atmosphere of diversity has given us the foundation to become, if we have so chosen, among the best in our respective fields in Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world.
Our country's need for a well-adjusted, motivated stream of educated young people is now greater than even before. But here is the risk that faces us - at this very moment of greatest need, our educational system is in deepening trouble. Do this simple test. Cast your mind back to what your high school experience was like and how you benefited. Then put yourself in the shoes of a pre-teen in your own family who this month just entered first form at the same institution. What does this comparative quality test demonstrate to you? I believe you will conclude that we have regressed in what we have to offer the generation following behind us.
I personally would not be where I am today if a Jamaican goldsmith named John Wolmer had not willed the majority of his estate to found the school before he died in 1729. This was not an isolated gesture over the next two hundred years. Most of our trust schools such as Mannings, Munro, Hampton and Jamaica College, to name a few, were founded on the philanthropy of Jamaicans who believed in creating a pathway to success for the next generation.
Yet somewhere in the last century, we seemed to have slipped away from this tradition of philanthropy, thus contributing to the deterioration we have seen. We also have an emerging phenomenon of more of our teenagers attending high school in North America. As well educated as they will become, where will their emotional attachments to institutions and their formation of life-long friendships be moulded? Unfortunately, it will not be within the Jamaican school system, an experience which so many of us were privileged to have. This may break the centuries long cycle of bonding with Jamaican friends, institutions and country at a formative age within our shores, perhaps with disconcerting consequences for our society.
I have made the decision to play my part in preserving and modernising the Wolmer's Trust schools to maintain and widen that pathway to success for hundreds of young people each year. I ask you to do the same for your own alma mater. Here is a unique opportunity that perhaps comes only once in a generation - the ability for you to make a difference in the lives of others while shaping them within a set of values that you yourself share, at an institution that gave you a great head start in the journey of life.
It is interesting to note that in the United States, whose educational institutions we so greatly admire, the average family annually gives two percent of its total income to philanthropic and charitable causes. I surmise that the comparative figure in Jamaica is percentagewise only a small fraction of that amount, and is demonstrated by starkly different outcomes.
I hope my approach will help to rekindle the spirit of philanthropy that burned brightly among our Jamaican forefathers for a very long time, and from which we have all reaped rewards. It is our time to give back, not only out of altruism but also out of common sense.
The PSOJ is an organisation close to my heart as I had the privilege to serve firstly as Honorary Secretary, then Vice President and finally as President. It is deeply satisfying to observe how it continues its central role in our country under the nurturing leadership of our current President Bev Lopez. The organisation's vitality is exemplified by the steadily increasing interest in the Hall of Fame activities .
Tonight is a very special moment in my life as you have all gathered here together to honour me. I thank you.
