Guernsey must be bold in order to bounce back
John Clacy, chairman of the Guernsey branch of the Institute of Directors, reflects on 2020 and looks ahead to the States driving the ‘revive and thrive’ strategy in 2021
THE events of last year have given us all a chance to evaluate everything from the ways we work to our business strategy and even the future of our island.
How Guernsey dealt with the pandemic has left the island in a stronger place, allowing us to market the island as a safe haven and an attractive place to operate from and relocate to; we all have a part to play in telling Guernsey’s story throughout the wider international business community.
Leadership and management skills continue to be at the heart of the Institute of Directors training and development programmes, and these skills have been put to the test in the current volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous conditions.
As business leaders, our members must respond with vision, understanding, clarity and agility – all qualities which have been essential during 2020 and that our politicians have had to, and will need to, continue to draw on in the coming months.
Speaking of which, we can’t review this year without mentioning Guernsey’s first island-wide election. This had one of the highest turnouts in recent elections, and over half of the Assembly elected being first-time deputies, this highlighted the strength of the Bailiwick’s democratic process.
IoD members commented that what mattered most to them when making decisions was the impact on the broader economy and long-term sustainability, followed by the impact on their sector and business. This is underlined by industry-wide support for the new Guernsey Green Fund and the sustainability initiatives that the States of Guernsey have put in place.
Our members highlighted a number of priorities during this year which they consider should be high on the agenda of the new States. These were:
. Air and sea links
. Digital connectivity
. Education and the machinery of government
. Rollout of fibre broadband.
Based on our members’ feedback, we will be looking to the newly-elected States to move forward with bold, ambitious actions to enable Guernsey to truly revive and thrive this year and beyond.
