Fishing flies, thriving on chaos

Geoff Wijesinghe

The Daily News Business carried two remarkably positive and very welcome reports in last Wednesday’s edition.

The first, was that locally manufactured fishing flies (artificial bait), which presently constitute 90 per cent of the US market are now targeted at European and Asian markets, aswell.

The report quotes Managing Director of Lanka Fishing Flies Ltd., Suresh de Mel, as stating that his firm which he claims is the largest producer of artificial fishing flies to the US market, is exploring the possibility of penetrating the European and Asian markets.

Fly fishing is a popular sport in the US, particularly among urban dwellers in search of a quiet weekend, away from the hustle and bustle of city and town life.

The company exports all its products under the `Umpqua’ brand and is the exclusive North American distributor for `Tiemco’ hooks, the world’ most respected designer of fishing hooks. It has 300 employees and has an annual revenue of US$01 million per year.

The other, was a report of an Address by Dr. Asoka N. Jinadasa Consultant Strategic Planning, Marketing and Communication, at a workshop held under the auspices of the Central Bank.

Dr. Jinadasa made the moot point that new strategic dimensions for thriving on chaos go beyond conventional thinking and ensure survival and growth under increasingly chaotic conditions.

It is necessary to make the dimensional shift as the initial step to thriving on chaos, as the old solutions no longer work.

Quoting from a book authored by TM Peters on `Thriving on Chaos’. Jinadasa states the winners of tomorrow will deal proactively with chaos, look at chaos as the source of marketing advantage, not as a problem, but as a marketing advantage.

In this context, the search for new markets, new strategies, new products and new processes should be pursued relentlessly, as against a depressing dog in the manger stuck in the mud attitude.

Just think of the abundance of Sri Lanka’s positives. We have the best tea in the world, the best rubber, the best coconut, most exquisitely beautiful gems, tasty and succulent fruits and a wide variety of fresh vegetables.

Our output of rice often makes us self-sufficient (seasonally). Soon, with the efforts being made to increase rice production we will have enough for our needs year round and more. We have the freshest, tastiest jams, jellies, the widely used range of tomato and chillie sauces and a whole lot of other products, many of which we are exporting. Even rubber wheels used for trolleys at international airports were manufactured by us.

Blessed with the most scenic beauty, SriLanka Tourism is beyond compare. But, let’s face it, our marketing has been poor, unimaginative, uninnovative, non practical and lackadaisical. We play the same song over and over again. There is no dynamism.We must awake to the reality of modern times, marketing methods, new strategies - new strategies amidst chaotic conditions such as the current global recession.

The public and private sectors must join hands, set up the infrastructure and have a complete attitudinal and a sea change in all aspects. We must learn to thrive on chaos. And certainly, we will be the richer for it.