Capacity To Deliver The Model

If you are a KFC franchisee, to succeed, you must deliver that fried chicken.

            You can’t be a Starbucks barista if you can’t brew coffee—that Starbucks way.

            You must be able to deliver the business model you operate.

            In the Commonwealth of Dominica, five Opposition Leaders in a row—Edison James, Earl Williams, Ron Green, Hector John, and Lennox Linton—all members of the same Party have failed to deliver the Eastern Caribbean political model. The mode works by mutual understanding between leader and follower.

            Yet, these Opposition Leaders turned around and blamed the model, specifically, its election system. As a result, they focused their money, time, and energy on lawyers—not voters!

            In my research, I use four groups of variables—the person, the job, the election system, and the jurisdiction—to analyze political leadership. Capacity to deliver the model is what determines political success. It is a variable that relates to person.

            Edison James was an aloof person in a model that calls for close and warm relations between leader and follower. He won only one election cycle before being disrupted by warmer personalities.

            Earl Williams was forced out by his own Party before he won even one general election.

            Ron Green was so slow to respond to a Prime Minister who used speed as a competitive advantage, snapping a general election—calling it early—the election was done before Green had his manifesto printed.

            Hector John was sacked by his party after it gave him only one hat—Opposition Leader—where voters expect two: Opposition and Political Leader.

            Lennox Linton resigned, complaining of ‘back biting’ in his Party, which is like a fish complaining about being wet.

            Founded in 1988, their United Workers Party, Dominica’s youngest major party organized around banana because their founder and leader was a banana marketer. While the Dominica Freedom Party was tired and the Dominica Labour Party was not yet ready, they pulled out a narrow election victory. Next time around, Labour, now organized around the people, and ready, disrupted Workers.

            Workers having lost, they turned around and took the election system to court.

            Yet, you can’t play soccer in a basketball match. You can’t buy a KFC franchise and pretend you got yourself a Starbucks. Actually, you could not even pretend you had a Wendy’s. If you do, just like the Workers Party is now out of Parliament, just so you’ll be—out of business.