There is a political saying: “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” The saying applies well to leadership management also.

The World Trade Organization (WTO), made their ultimate achievement at the 9th WTO Conference conducted in Bali, by finalizing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in the year 2013 which came into effect 22 February 2017 with 2/3 of the members rat

Sri Lanka experienced a notable increase in the frequency and the severity of floods, droughts and landslides in the recent past. 

Chandrika has just received her G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination (O-Level) results. To the delight of her family, she has passed with flying colours, obtaining ‘A’ grades for all nine subjects. Chandrika’s success story, along with

Residents of Chamazi now live with a big crater cutting their neighbourhood in half.

If you have watched the movie series ‘Pirates of Caribbean’, you would remember Captain Jack Sparrow.  In addition to his classic acting, he is quite famous for his memorable quotes. One such quote is – “The problem is no

The evolution of human civilization is rapidly approaching an extremely crucial juncture beyond which any further progress will only be achieved through drastic and sustained action in order to reorient our economies, marketplaces, cities and homes

‘Millennials’, the generation born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, are driving a major paradigm shift in the business-consumer relationship.

July marked 20 years since the Asian Financial Crisis. It’s appropriate to consider at this juncture why the crisis happened, and what we have learned about how countries can safeguard their economies from future shocks and deliver sustainable

Daring to reach greater heights, for IronOne Technologies Co-Founder and CEO Lakmini Wijesundera, the sky is the limit for success. In a nutshell, her mantra for triumph is high risk, high return. 

Last year, India in an effort to combat corruption, tax evasion and counterfeiting, all 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes were withdrawn from circulation. Many international bankers argue with me that India failed miserably in their demonetization effor

In 2050, solar power will end the divide between energy-rich and energy-poor countries. What will the energy industry look like in 2050? It seems far away, in fact it’s 33 years away. But 2017 was an equally distant future 33 years ago. 

When you lose a contract, tender or a big sale, you may blame the weak team members or insufficient support from the technical division or working environment. Whatever the excuse, it typically is secondary to the real issue. From my long experience

Family businesses account for two-thirds of all firms around the world and contribute to an estimated 70 to 90 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) annually. These institutions serve as engines for employment creation, contributing 50 perce

The objective of a free trade agreement (FTA) is not to bring about a balance in trade but to work out a ‘win-win’ situation for both producers and consumers in the FTA member countries. In doing so, there can be instances where the trade

President Maithripala Sirisena submitted a cabinet paper last week seeking the approval to appoint a new National Economic Council (NEC) under his purview to take the key decisions on all the economic and development projects of the government. The p

Need to go somewhere? Book a PickMe. Hungry? Why not order from quickee.lk? Need a job? everjobs.lk is your friend. And the list goes on. Sri Lanka is increasingly shaped by online start-ups, who are changing the business landscape by disrupting the

Asia and the Pacific has long been the world’s top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), propelled by increasing trade and investment openness in the region. From 2001 to 2016, Asia’s share of global foreign direct investment (

Over 20 years ago, during my second year at medical school, I spent my semester break with an Indian non-governmental organisation providing health services to the urban poor in Kolkata. I soon realized that being a doctor or a nurse accomplishes lit

Given the recent stock market trends, you may be wondering whether you should make changes to your investment portfolio.  At times some investors, including bargain hunters and mattress suffers, make rapid investment decisions without considerin

The recent floods in Sri Lanka, triggered by the monsoon rains, affected over 700,000 people in 15 districts, killed over 200, fully destroyed over 2,000 houses and partially damaged around 12,529 houses. In addition to the recurring downpours, Sri

There has been renewed interest among policymakers to get more women to enter the workforce. Most solutions for encouraging women to enter the labour market look at helping women balance home and market activities through initiatives such as expandin

You probably know of some managers who are brilliant at engaging people but you’re not sure quite why those people are so good. The earlier instalments of this series could have helped you up to a level to understand why. They provided some bas

The tactics are all too familiar – when you are the one who has built something from scratch, you think you cannot let go. When you know the pain of having to create something from nothing, you do not want to give up easily. You fear no one wil

Corrupt officials, tax cheats and the financial backers of terrorism have one thing in common: they often exploit vulnerabilities in financial systems to facilitate their crimes.

The minimum room rates in Colombo hotels have been a hot topic in the tourism industry for some time. There are many proponents of it, and too few opponents.

In my previous article of ‘Is Loolkandura or Rotschild first tea estate’, which appeared in Daily Mirror of June 7, 2017, I focused attention to this very important aspect of who planted the first tea plant and gave enough evidence to pro

An year ago, the well-known economist Dr. W.A. Wijewardena had analysed the losses of the top 12 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to the opportunity cost (cost forgone) of some of the better known expenditure heads of the government.

For decades, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita has been increasing in many countries in Asia and the Pacific. However, inequality has also risen and extreme climate events that can compromise economic growth are becoming more frequent.

Utter the words, “Application Support” and you will be met with a variety of reactions.