Pooling resources to stay competitive

I watch with awe how foreign-owned midsize grocery stores have pooled their resources to, i.e., order basic items in bulk. It grants them savings and, most importantly, the ability to sell at very competitive prices.

This approach enables each of them to thrive over locally owned Mom and Pop stores here. There’s a collective commitment to extending a hand to a fellow countryman in the same business venture in order to stay competitive.

This has been happening here for years now or over two decades now. Surprising that we haven’t caught up with their approach so to employ it in our favor. It goes to illustrate that we have been too busy feuding with each other as to forget checking out what our competitors are doing right.

This attitude leaves everybody in the “sink or swim” sea of self-destruction where in the end we–time and again–wake up the next day ready to pass the blame to everybody else except ourselves.

The answer to staying competitive is in the palm of our hands. We only need to lift a finger and join hands in the march to help one another in what’s now a very competitive local setting.

I find it troubling too that after 26 years, we still give greater importance to the politics of self and collective destruction in everything that we do. We have failed to see the forest over the trees. We were and still are only interested to commanding everything that is government. Such an attitude, mind you, continues to deny locals the benefits of the abundance mentality.

Perhaps we can attribute this attitude to the retarded political maturation process. But then we also have strengthened the political patronage system as to turn public sector jobs the holy grail of the indigenous people. It’s a dangerously troubling system that could very well lead into all forms of corruption in the future.

Or could this setback be blamed on our inability to forge an integrated development plan that includes real commitment to improving the quality of life for our people in what we call paradise. Aren’t we dangerously on the verge of turning paradise into the hellish hole for our children? Why the grand disorientation or more specifically, why did we allow failure and shortsightedness to become the tool of our own demise?

While time is still in our hands, we need to retreat and resolutely define how to carve out a brighter future for our children. Right now, I’m afraid that every step forward results in an advancement to the rear. Friends, we need not fastforward doomsday and I beg of each of you to join hands so we could jointly review. with critical eyes, the future well-being of our children.

Our ancestors have used their sails when the wind picks up in order to protect and enhance our livelihood. They turned to rowing their canoe when the wind turns into dead calm. For generations they have demonstrated local resiliency to rebound even in the most trying of times. This too we can do for our children as our ancestors have done unto us. Let’s do it, today!

Strictly a personal view. John S. DelRosario Jr. is publisher of Saipan Tribune.