There are three elements critical to successful economies. I like to call them the 3C’s. The first is confidence, the second is consistency, and the last is courage.
Confidence, in my view, is the grease that lubricates most successful economies. A government that constantly strives to instill confidence in its business sector, is maintaining one of the pillars of what is often referred to as the environment that businesses thrive in.
Consistency and certainty are something businesspeople look for in their governments and regulatory authorities. Investors expect that policies set by authorities will be consistent in their formulation and execution.
ALSO READ : Good Business Basics: Is it a case of never waste a good crisis?
Customers, on the other hand, expect consistency in service and product quality from their service providers. Courage is the key differentiator between the top, average and mediocre performers. Courage is bringing a new product to market against all odds or taking on the big boys in a well-entrenched sector.
But courage is also an important aspect in government regulations: the courage for example to hold to a policy that might cause hardship initially, but in the long term will radically transform and redefine a particular part of the national economy.
Courage is therefore a bed fellow of consistency. The trick for those that control the levers of the economy is how to manage and balance all three elements optimally, ensuring that they work in synergy, rather than opposition.
Of course, the joker in the pack, at least in democratic countries, is politics, where the imperatives of the election cycles tend to temper courage, and consistency, if the policies of the day find disfavour with the electorate, and voter friendly policies, that may not be the best for the country as a whole are, adopted.
Those looking with envy at the economic gains of some of the Eastern-Tiger economies, particularly, China have achieved over the last three decades must not lose sight of the fact that the political systems in these countries are very different to ours, supporting long term, non-populist planning structures.
Vijay Naidoo writes in his personal capacity as CEO of the Port Shepstone Business Forum. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
