Less talk more work – The LTL experience
Actions show what someone is and words show what someone wants to be, according to a popular saying.
This is true (as we witness time and again) of most politicians in Sri Lanka who tend to treat conversation like a competitive sport, where the one who says the most, makes the cleverest point, influences others on an opinion, or even articulates the longest and loudest and is the winner.
On TV we see how chat show hosts and politicians go on interrupting, speech-making, insisting, and supply witticisms–all to support ‘their’ point of view or display ‘their’ superior knowledge.
U. D. Jayawardana, Director/ CEO LTL Holdings delivering the IESL Ray Wijewardene memorial lecture titled Transforming Local Engineers into Global Entrepreneurs – the LTL Experience on Wednesday in Colombo gave a timely lesson for today’s Sri Lanka – less talk more work.
He said that LTL has only three board meetings per year and management meetings are rare. “‘Nomunication’ is encouraged,” he said noting that they have after-work soirées where staff exchanges ideas.
“Prof. M.O.A. De Zoysa, former Vice Chancellor, Peradeniya University once said that our Parliament has 94 Members of with no O-Level qualifications and only 25 graduates, but very good orators,” he stated noting the plight of the country.
Definition of engineering is imagining things, making things, a creative process, helping people and is a lot like entrepreneurship, but it hasn’t happened in Sri Lanka, he said. He pointed out that only about 2 per cent of the population corrupt the system to make money. As a result, the majority are corrupted by the system. “We are trying to clean the 98 per cent, instead of cleaning the 2 per cent. Instead, we need to figure out a way need to vote them out,” Mr. Jayawardana noted.
He recalled that he had in 1974 somewhat accidentally met Ray Wijewardene, “and realised that we’re both from the school by the sea. Ray constructed the first Dendron Plant Gas Engine.”
“We always prioritised hydro electricity by giving farmers free water, subsidised fertilizer, subsidised prices but we are still poor – after 18 years it is the same.”
“Follow Ray’s Vision – During his time climate change was not visible. He foresaw that it is hitting us hard. Therefore he suggested Dendro Power ( gas generated from wood) to grow our own energy. In a tropical island like Sri Lanka the only source of water is rain. River is not a source of water, it is only a destination. So, when rain comes we must retain it. How do we retain it? The solution is simple – grow trees. We have over 2,000 km of major rivers and over 1,000 km of small rivers and streams. In the river basins upto about 2 km, on both sides in places where there is no forest. In these areas, go for agro forestry which could provide the timber for Dendro Power. At the same time the trees on the river banks will prevent soil erosion and retain water. If you do not do this, we will run short of even drinking water, forget agriculture,” he implicitly said adding, ‘take an example from those who got it right’.
Little history
The entrepreneur culture before independence and after independence was highlighted by Mr. Jayawardana. He said that entrepreneurs such as the Wijewardenes’, Zoysas’, Amarasuriyas’, De Mels’, Gnanams’, Hirdaramanis’, Jafferjees’, Akbars’, Nawaloka Mudalali, Dasa Mudalali, Maliban Mudalali etc were trailblazers. Some of them sent their children to be educated in London. The London School of Economics at the time was promoting socialism. As a result children with socialist thinking returned to the country. Same thing happened in Singapore but Lee Kwan Yew got rid of them.”
He added that the 1953 reforms which caused a hartal was a disaster and the 1956 language policy, then nationalisation destroyed rich local entrepreneurs. “Ray’s family lost 1000s of acres of fertile coconut lands but the 50 he was left with was well managed. Also now there are no entrepreneurs. What we have in Sri Lanka are ‘wheeler dealers’”.
He urged that Sri Lanka uses ethnic diversity as a strength, pointing out that LTL considers ethnic diversity as a strength. “Entrepreneurship, productivity, eliminate fear of failure, constantly looking for opportunities and getting the timing right is what worked for us,” he noted egging participants to think out of the box innovation.
He added that LTL is 37 per cent owned by employees and that there’s no political interference because of Employee Ownership. “Especially higher management is highly motivated. They are motivated to make profits and not worry about salaries. There’s no internal corruption. We do not just expect integrity from our staff but we ensure it.”
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