rare as it stands and I have a love for things technologically-based. I’m not just a touchy-feely person – I’m also very logical. In terms of getting respect from staff or the market, in general, I can’t say I’ve had any problems.
securities services; not in terms of physical security services, but in terms of providing the telecommunications backbone for camera monitoring, direct contact and callbacks which can be delivered over the same line as are our other services.
BF: Karib Cable scored big at the recent St. Lucia Business Awards winning the “Business of the Year Award” and the “Award for Corporate Leadership”. How do you feel about this and what are some of the reasons for this success?
BF: Delivery of service must be a critical factor in your achievements to date. What are some of the training programmes you have implemented to deliver these results?
JM: It feels great. It’s also very validating because we’ve worked very hard for this honour. The entire team has pulled together and ensured that this happened. It’s also the result of our staff buying into our vision of being the most-loved telecommunications company in Saint Lucia. Our growth has been tremendous in the short period that we’ve been here, and I think that’s what the judges looked at. BF: What are some of the positive leadership approaches you have implemented that have propelled the company forward?
JM: Our service delivery department is very new. Surprisingly, we only implemented it last August and it’s a first for Karib Cable. We’ve always had the technical department. I think that in Saint Lucia, we’ve progressed from being just a technological company to being a service delivery company. That’s the crux of the matter. So I’ve basically split the technical department into three areas – a network maintenance and projects department, a service delivery department and a department that takes care of our fleet and facilities. We also train our team members so that they become competent in all areas of the business. Training in soft skills is also a big part of what we do.
JM: I would say that I am an inclusive leader. I want to know that I am engaging the brains of not only my management team, but also that of every other person in the company. Everybody’s voice and opinions matter. We recognize, too, that since our employees are the ones who liaise with the customers, they act as the conduit of communication between customers and management. Hence, if customers have issues with any aspect of our service, we can know about them and rectify them.
BF: As a regional company, are there opportunities for movement across borders for your Saint Lucian staff?
BF: With rapidly changing technology, what new can we expect from Karib Cable this year?
BF: Giving back to our communities has become an integral part of today’s business culture. What is the customer service responsibility philosophy of Karib Cable?
JM: We’re based on fibre optic technology. That is what is going to be sustaining us for the future as far as we can tell. I think we’re going in the right direction investing in state-of-the-art technology. So in the years to come, we hope to be doing things like IPTV, which is television delivered strictly over the Internet. That’s the way that the industry is going. If we want to hook up to mobile technology, all of that can be accomplished over a fibre optic network as well. Because of the quality of our technology, there’s so much you can do with it. We hope to launch our BusinessFocus Mar / Apr
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JM: Generally, our thrust is to develop as much local talent as possible, but we do have a mix of nationalities on the islands where we operate. It’s great that we have that option of free movement of talent available to us. We do, however, try as much as possible to hire people specifically from within the prospective islands where we operate.
JM: We’re really excited about our “Mèsi Sent Lisi” programme because we are overwhelmed at the level of support we get from our customers. When I reflected on the number of people who have been with us since our first year in Saint Lucia and are still with us, I was floored! There has been customer loyalty from day one. Things are getting tougher economically for everyone and we want to say ‘thank you’ to our customers for still managing to pay their bills and – better yet – staying with
us. One of our taglines is “More to Love”. We’re also targeting communities where we intend to make similar contributions aimed at raising the quality of life.
BF: What are some of the issues women need to address in moving ahead in the workforce? JM: Women are especially more motivated when they’re younger for a number of reasons. That motivation increases especially if they become single mothers. On the other hand, however, many young women become comfortable living below their true potential and seldom dream of reaching the top. That bothers me a bit, so I try as much as possible to inspire my female staff. Women have infinite potential but some often lack the opportunity of being influenced by strong positive role models. I would really like to see more women seeing themselves as people who can lead successful careers as opposed to just getting by. BF: As a successful woman in enterprise, what advice would you offer to the new generation of women looking to emulate people like yourself? JM: I would tell them that they need to craft a vision for themselves, craft an idea or a dream of where they want to be and refuse to let anyone or anything stop them from getting there. I would tell them to lay their fears aside and just go for it. Women need to stop thinking that there’s a glass ceiling. A glass ceiling only exists if you allow your mind to think that way. BF: What are some of the legacy issues you wish to leave behind as the GM of Karib Cable? JM: The profitability of the company and the awards are fine. But I would hope that the seed I would have planted in the minds of every person that I’ve had the pleasure of leading would have been worth it. In some small way, would hope that every team member would have been positively inspired by me. These are the things that make a real difference to me. And with 110 team members who have families, those seeds have the potential to spread even further. That would be the most important achievement for me. ¤