Go Lean Commentary
“I write the songs that make the whole world sing; I write the songs of love and special things; I write the songs that make the young girls cry; … I am music and I write the songs”. – Barry Manilow (see Appendix A below).
The publishers of the book Go Lean…Caribbean want to forge change in the Caribbean. How do we go about doing that?
The book identifies music as one of the viable approaches.
Consider what happened in 2014, with this song (Happy by Pharrell Williams) and related experiences:
Video: “Happy” Makes Pharrell Williams Cry – http://youtu.be/IYFKnXu623s
As the foregoing VIDEO depicts, the song moved us all. In this writer’s opinion, one of the promoters of the Go Lean book and movement, this is the song of the year (2014).
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), an initiative to bring change and empowerment to the Caribbean region, to make the region a better place to live, work and play. From the outset, the book recognized the significance of music in the Caribbean change/empowering plan with these statements in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12 & 14):
xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.
xxxii. Whereas the cultural arts and music of the region are germane to the quality of Caribbean life, and the international appreciation of Caribbean life, the Federation must implement the support systems to teach, encourage, incentivize, monetize and promote the related industries for arts and music in domestic and foreign markets. These endeavors will make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play.
The purpose of the Go Lean roadmap is not specifically on music, but rather change, and yet there is the acknowledgement that music can help forge change.
This Go Lean roadmap calls for the heavy-lifting in shepherding important aspects of Caribbean life. In fact, the empowerment roadmap has these 3 prime directives:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
- Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.
The book describes the CU as a hallmark of a technocracy, a commitment to efficiency and effectiveness, and also includes a commitment to concepts of fun, such as music, arts, sports, film/media (Hollywood-related), heritage and overall happiness. In fact, there are a total of 144 different missions for the CU. While much focus is on “live and work” activities, many others are targeting the areas of “play”‘; music is definitely a play-time activity … for young and old.
As depicted in the foregoing VIDEO, “music” can be used to forge change. The Go Lean book declares that before any real change takes root in the Caribbean that we must reach the heart, that there must be an adoption of new community ethos – the national spirit that drives the character and identity of its people. We must therefore use effective and efficient drivers to touch the heart and forge this change. How? Here’s one suggestion, (from Appendix A):
Oh, my music makes you dance and gives you spirit to take a chance
And I wrote some rock ‘n roll so you can move
Music fills your heart, well that’s a real fine place to start
The Go Lean roadmap was constructed with the community ethos in mind to forge change, plus the execution of related strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to make the change permanent. The following is a sample of these specific details from the book:
| Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Principles – People Choose | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Principles – The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future | Page 26 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius | Page 27 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Intellectual Property | Page 29 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development | Page 30 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Bridge the Digital Divide | Page 31 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Around | Page 33 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness | Page 36 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Strategy – Vision – Confederate 30 Member-States | Page 45 |
| Strategy – Mission – Celebrate the Music, Sports, Art, People and Culture of the Caribbean | Page 46 |
| Tactical – Confederating a Permanent Union | Page 63 |
| Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy | Page 64 |
| Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change | Page 101 |
| Implementation – Ways to Deliver | Page 109 |
| Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media | Page 111 |
| Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region – Cyber-Caribbean | Page 127 |
| Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better | Page 136 |
| Planning – Reasons Why the CU Will Succeed | Page 137 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy | Page 151 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs | Page 152 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Communications | Page 186 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster e-Commerce | Page 198 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Hollywood | Page 202 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Beauty Pageants | Page 203 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage | Page 218 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve the Arts | Page 230 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Promote Music | Page 231 |
While the roadmap is optimistic; it is realistic too. There is the acknowledgement that the business of music (Show Business in general) has changed in the light of modern dynamics, particularly due to Internet & Communications Technologies. To spur more development in music, the economic engines of the music/show business must be secured. This point was previously detailed in these Go Lean blog/commentaries:
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2415 | How ‘The Lion King’ roared into history |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2291 | Forging Change: The Fun Theory |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1909 | Music Role Model Berry Gordy – No Town Like Motown |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=866 | Music Man Bob Marley: The legend lives on! |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=676 | Introduction of a Bahamian ‘Carnival’; Big Change for Country |
“Do what you have always done, get what you’ve always got” – Old Adage.
The quest to change the Caribbean is more complex than just playing or listening to music. This is serious, this is heavy-lifting; but all the earnest effort will be a waste unless people are moved to change. So we must use all effective tools to forge the required change; music is one of the best.
Even if we fail, at least we would have had fun trying to execute the plan. As depicted in the underlying video (Appendix B): “Because I’m happy”.
This is the mandate of the Go Lean roadmap: making the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play; and having fun while doing it. Everyone is encouraged to lean-in to this roadmap:
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
Because I’m happy
🙂
Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
————
Appendix A – Song: “I Write The Songs”; written, produced and performed by Barry Manilow:
I’ve been alive forever
And I wrote the very first song
I put the words and the melodies together
I am music
And I write the songs
I write the songs that make the whole world sing
I write the songs of love and special things
I write the songs that make the young girls cry
I write the songs, I write the songs
My home lies deep within you
And I’ve got my own place in your soul
Now when I look out through your eyes
I’m young again, even tho’ I’m very old
I write the songs that make the whole world sing
I write the songs of love and special things
I write the songs that make the young girls cry
I write the songs, I write the songs
Oh, my music makes you dance and gives you spirit to take a chance
And I wrote some rock ‘n roll so you can move
Music fills your heart, well that’s a real fine place to start
It’s from me, it’s for you
It’s from you, it’s for me
It’s a worldwide symphony
I write the songs that make the whole world sing
I write the songs of love and special things
I write the songs that make the young girls cry
I write the songs, I write the songs
I write the songs that make the whole world sing
I write the songs of love and special things
I write the songs that make the young girls cry
I write the songs, I write the songs
I am music and I write the songs
———
Appendix B: Pharrell Williams – Happy (Official Music Video) – http://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM