?There is an often repeated story of two people walking in the forest. They see a tiger advancing towards them. As they start running in the opposite direction, one stops to take out and wear a better pair of shoes. “What do you think you are d

Charisma is often used to describe an elusive, even undefinable personality trait that includes the seemingly ‘supernatural’ or uncanny ability to lead, charm, persuade, inspire,...

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that form the backbone of our economy,..

The Central Bank Annual Report-2014 was submitted recently to Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake...

Poka-Yoke is a Japanese term which effectively means “mistake proofing”.

“One of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician’s objective but election and power are.”

?Last week we outlined the process you should use to accomplish your objectives and goals. The next step is to convert the goals and objectives in that plan to a work plan and budget.  

?Doing things differently.Creativity, if needed, can be summed up in that one sentence. But creativity is often the last on the list when it comes to concepts that drive a business. 

?We, as business people, know that the most valuable asset of our business is none other than our employees. Similarly, the most valuable asset that a country has is its people.

?It is becoming increasingly clear that for a sustained high-growth path, Sri Lanka needs to undergo further structural transformation of the economy - building more competitive industries, raising exports,

?The Sri Lankan rubber industry is currently in crisis with the NR (natural rubber) process at critically low (Figure 1). The only answer is modernization of the industry.

?The path–goal theory is different from trait theory in that leaders are not constrained to a leadership style that depends on their personality. 

The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised the most drastic reforms since the end of the Second World War. What are these reforms and how does it help raise Japan’s long term growth?

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” said Hippocrates, who is considered the ‘Father of Modern Medicine’, over 2000 years ago. He recognized the impact good food has on good health, as the food we consume not o

Some small business owners are content to maintain a small operation they can run themselves in return for a decent, but limited, income. Others, however, are driven by the challenge of growing their business into a high-profit venture with a larger

?It is said that wealth is not about having a lot of money but having a lot of options. In today’s financial world, we are faced with a myriad of options. But what is the most optimal option?

?Dave Goldberg, a Silicon Valley pioneer and the husband of Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook and an icon for working women since publishing her bestseller book ‘Lean-in’, died tragically in a treadmill accident last week.

?Accusations of undercutting of room rates among star hotels in Colombo, with claims that it adversely affected smaller hotels, compelled the government to enforce a compulsory minimum room-rate structure for city hotels from November 1, 2009.

?The tea industry in Sri Lanka is in a serious conundrum. The management companies believe that the cost of wages is too high and that they cannot be further increased without losing financial sustainability.

?The secret behind a profit-making business is its highly skilled and capable employees. In the same manner, the secret behind loss-making business is its low skilled and incapable employees. 

?According to newly released economic data, Sri Lanka has attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) amounting to US $ 1,685 million in 2014 – a 21 percent increase from 2013, but below the US $ 2 billion target set by the government. 

?Quality Circles, a Japanese invention, is now popular in many parts of the world and is one of the few management techniques which has withstood the test of time, having first emerged in Japan in the 1960s. 

?When nearly 90 percent of firms in Sri Lanka are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it is no surprise that the future prosperity of the country will depend on the extent to which the SME sector can produce high value-added goods and services that

?Previous Insights on Sri Lanka’s trade prospects have dealt with two problems: the concentration of markets and the concentration of products. The first is because over 50 percent of exports go to the USA and EU; the second is because over 50

?The earthquake of 7.8 M (Richter scale) of Nepal occurred at Lampung 77 kilometres east of Kathmandu on April 25, 2015, at 11:41 a.m. local time. 

?In November 2011, with the Galleon Scandal in the headlines, I wrote an article “Do the Right Thing”. This was picked up and published in the global media. It was also circulated in the Sri Lanka administrative/public service. 

As 2015 gathers pace, the world seems to be entering a more uncertain and unpredictable phase. With the end of the quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve, we are entering an era of tighter global liquidity.

?The recent visit to Pakistan by Chinese President Xi Jing Ping secured US $ 46 billion for the development of the power and infrastructure sector. This sizeable Chinese foreign investment will help Pakistan’s economy significantly.

?In preferential trade agreements, we often see the potential losers being the most vociferous and more organised, while the gainers are quieter and more fragmented.

?From birth to death, people have to play different roles which can be mainly divided up into two categories such as roles in family and roles at workplace.  In the struggle to find success, people have to find the balance between these two rol