Contact Vol19 No2 June2019

Growth and learning corner
The Chamber's growth and learner corner
What have you read, watched or listened to lately that
has contributed to your growth and development as a
businessperson?
Reyaz Ahamad
President, Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Industry & Commerce;
Executive Director, Southern Sales and Service Company Limited
I have been reading anything I can get my hands on regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Businesses need to play a greater role in improving society by delivering economic, social and environmental
benefits for all their stakeholders.
There are many ways in which this can be accomplished locally. Even at a grassroots level, businesses can
implement simple initiatives which make a positive impact. Investing in CSR can boost employee engagement
and enhance stakeholder relationships, as people want to be associated with an organisation making a difference
in the world.
If you make your country, business and community a better place, then it becomes a better place not only
to work in but to live in too. This is what we are trying to achieve within our business – improve our social
responsibility internally to staff and externally to the communities in which we work.
Kiran Maharaj
Managing Director, Caribbean Lifestyle Communications;
President, Media Institute of the Caribbean;
President, Trinidad & Tobago Publishers & Broadcasters Association
Principles by Ray Dalio is one of the more recent business books that I have read. I think it has a lot of
lessons for any businessperson, especially entrepreneurs.
It was recommended by a very good friend who is one of the smartest people I know, so I knew I had to
read it. The book is about Ray’s experience from failing to rebuild himself, where he explains how to manoeuvre
challenges to get your desired outcome.
The insights are instructive and give guidance for both your personal and professional life. So if you want
to have an insider view of a success story and what one person’s road map was, it’s a great book from which
to gain that perspective.
Dr Christian Stone
Director, 3Stone Research and Consulting
While it’s important to be well read within your field (which is entrepreneurship and strategy for me), I
think that reading outside your field is essential to improving creativity and making connections in innovative
ways.
Recently I’ve been reading Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Having no formal
training in physics, the concepts, especially those that are counter-intuitive, push the boundaries of what I
think is possible and help to connect dots that I never imagined existed. As noted in the book, “People who
believe they are ignorant of nothing have neither looked for, nor stumbled upon, the boundary between what
is known and unknown in the universe.”
chamber.org.tt
JUNE 2019 35