ACHIEVING GLOBAL GREATNESS

BY ERNEST LINDO (3-13-11)

1. 2. 3. 4.

Introduction The New Economy Course of Action Implementation

1. INTRODUCTION: Today I will talk about an opportunity for us to achieve global greatness and have it recorded in history to benefit many generations to come. The Civil Rights Movement is an example of achieving global greatness but our status in the American Society hasnt changed. We still find ourselves on the bottom of societys pyramid, socially, politically, and economically. However, I will not spend time redefining our problems or debating our relative position as an ethnic group in this society. What I will talk about are solutions and opportunities. 2. THE NEW ECONOMY: For the first time in our 400-year history, we have a legitimate opportunity to achieve Equal Status in the American society and seize control our own destiny. Our opportunity exists because our society has shifted from an industrial based economic system to an information based economic system. To understand the shift is to understand the simple definition of an economic system. It is a system for creating wealth through the ownership of land, labor, and capital that puts you in control of the production and distribution of goods and services. Therefore, a shift to a new economic system speaks to the creation of new wealth and the shifting of power to the new wealth holders by virtue of their ownership. It is the time between economic systems that offers us the greatest opportunities for the creation of wealth and power. However, the differences between the two systems substantiate the necessity to engage different strategies for the acquisition of wealth and power. The shift in emphasis from individual wealth to shared wealth; the shift from power generated by money to power generated by people; and, the shift from centralized power to decentralized power all work to enable the new opportunities. The timing for our emergence is perfect. We are witnessing major systemic breakdowns in our institutions of healthcare, education, business, and government and none of the publicized solutions are addressing the causes. We are also witnessing a shift in responsibility over housing, healthcare, education and welfare from the federal government to the state and local governments. The questions that we should be asking are: 1) how do we take advantage of this shift and, 2) what should be our course of action?

Achieving Global Greatness by Ernest Lindo March 13, 2011

3. COURSE OF ACTION: Our best course of action is to come together to implement a simple but comprehensive plan for creating wealth and power and improving the socio-economic conditions in our communities. Given that the new economy requires a new and different strategy, we must move beyond the Civil Rights strategies that were so effective during their time. We are at a different time, in a different environment, and under very different circumstances. We won the civil rights battles. However, we continue to remain as dependents in this society and dependency is the antithesis of empowerment. We talk empowerment but to this date there has not been a comprehensive plan presented or submitted to enable empowerment. Of course, such a plan will have to be based upon our creative efforts because empowerment is not something that will be granted by another. Briar Institute has such a plan and it has been thoroughly tested and refined to enable a successful implementation. An analysis of the new economic system establishes the need to organize and reinforces the need for business ownership. Therefore, the Briar plan will introduce 2 new concepts; Power Grouping and Strategic Business Ownership. Power Grouping is different from Power Networking in that Power Networking is an Industrial Age term and its orientation is on the individual. Power Grouping is an Information Age term. It establishes a method of organizing into autonomous small interacting groups to acquire and effectively utilize knowledge, wealth, and power. Strategic Business ownership establishes ownership whose purpose transcends the acquisition of money and puts people first. It concentrates on business alliances and new sources of wealth creation in strategic industries while supporting the needs of the community. Strategic Business Ownership focuses on the total market within its industry and not just a focus in those communities represented by its ownership. A strategy for strategic business ownership answers the questions of why ownership and what we should own? Examples of such ownership to achieve empowerment led us to establish ownership plans with packaging in the entertainment, healthcare, real estate, and hospitality industries for starters. In sports entertainment, professional sports represent the largest revenue segment in the entertainment industry. It was reported that in 2010, the National Football League generated $9 billion in revenue, Major League Baseball $7 billion and the National Hockey League $3 billion. In addition, several studies have been conducted that estimate the economic impact on a city for each major sports event is $32 million dollars. As an example, an NFL football team has 10 home games and at the average impact of $32 million per game, it has a total average economic impact of $320 million per year. Professional sports teams also develop a loyal base and unify a city. Of more than 300 professional sports teams, African-Americans only have majority ownership in one team. Therefore Strategic Business Ownership would have us coming together to have ownership of an entire professional sports league and 18

Achieving Global Greatness by Ernest Lindo March 13, 2011

teams with community-based ownership. There is only one major sport that provides the potential for such ownership and thats Track & Field. Briar Institute has developed the business plan and packaging for such ownership and has designed major, exclusive innovations to enable our ownership and economic success. Our ownership of a major professional sports league, in and of itself will go a long way in the positioning of our Equal Status in the American Society. In healthcare, the cost for hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceuticals exceeds two trillion dollars annually. Put another way, thats two trillion dollars in revenue, of which we share very little. And yet, we have a major healthcare crisis. Not only are the costs escalating, but also, the levels of suffering and death are exceeding epidemic proportions. 2 million people in the U.S. are dying each year from heart and cancer related diseases and over 400,000 are dying each year from medical errors. The mortality rate among African-Americans from the major diseases is almost twice the rate for White-Americans. Unfortunately, we do not own a healthcare system and consequently we dont have a realistic opportunity to address the severe problems that plague the traditional system. Therefore Strategic Business Ownership would have us coming together to own healthcare systems in our communities. By separating disease from trauma and focusing on disease treatment and prevention, we are able to establish a healthcare system that substantially lowers the cost of healthcare and significantly reduces the levels of suffering and death. In addition, we are able to focus on the specific health needs of the community while making healthcare more accessible and proving that managing wellness is profitable. The business plan and packaging for such a system has been designed. In Real Estate, we have the lowest percentage of home ownership and we pay the highest rates of interest for mortgages. Additionally, the housing industry represents more than 4 trillion dollars annually in mortgages. And yet, we have no mortgage banking ownership and very little real estate development ownership. Therefore, we have designed a mortgage-financing plan that qualifies each buyer at the lowest rate regardless of credit scores, reduces monthly payments and increases principle equity. By coming together, we can acquire a significant slice of the mortgage pie and become major players in the real estate development industry. In the Hospitality Industry, we spend 40 billion dollars annually and we have very little ownership in that industry. Therefore, we designed a 1 st class resort community with all of the amenities including an 18-hole championship golf course, purchased 400 acres of land in Belize, completed the site plan and feasibility study and agreed in principle to a contract with a highly successful African-American construction firm. Standing alone as an individual, there is the distinct possibility that such a project would never occur. However, coming together with a simple but comprehensive plan enables the possibilities for unlimited wealth and empowerment.

Achieving Global Greatness by Ernest Lindo March 13, 2011

Yes, we are on the bottom rung of our economic system and we have no power. We spend 480 billion dollars annually and we speak about the 480 billion dollars as though it represents our wealth. No, it is not our wealth, it represents our consumerism. A study reported that the average middle-class Black family has a minus net worth. You do the math. The 30 top richest men in America are reported to control more wealth than the 36 million African-Americans combined. And, our business ownership represents .04 % of the total business ownership in America while 90% of those businesses have no employees. Again, in an economic system, power is generated from wealth that accrues through ownership. Without ownership we have no power. Therefore, isnt it reasonable to conclude that if we truly desire economic empowerment and Equal Status, we should be about the business of Strategic Business Ownership. 4. IMPLEMENTATION: I am proposing that we establish true Community Empowerment Councils. It will receive its power by virtue of its strategic business ownership and it will be able to influence decisions at the public policy level regarding matters that are relevant to its ownership. The Council is established by first bringing together 21 business and professional people to form a Business Advisory Group. They will become the owners of a simple plan to create billions of dollars in shared community assets and on an individual basis be able to increase their personal net worth by millions of dollars over the 3 year period following their formation. Each step in the process has been completed and the members of the Business Advisory Group will be thoroughly coached through each step. We have reached a point in our experience in this society that it is well passed the time for continuous dead-end dialogue regarding our state of affairs. It is also passed the time for reactive and confrontational strategies without a well thought out solution oriented plan of action to follow. Our salvation rests in a comprehensive proactive strategy for coming together; creating wealth and power through strategic business ownership; and, being in control of our destiny for the first time in our 400 year history in the American Society. In summary, the foregoing has laid out a strategy for achieving Global Greatness. Our method of organizing and establishing true Community Empowerment Councils will revolutionize the government process. Our ownership of a major professional sports league will provide a bridge across the economic divide in our system and into the Information Age economy. Our healthcare system and its form of ownership will save millions of U.S. lives and address a global demand for better healthcare. Our real estate development program will make quality housing more accessible and more affordable and it will create substantial community based capital. And, our Belize resort community will uplift a nation, establish a significant political and economic relationship in the international community, and create substantial revenue sources for ongoing projects in our local communities. Additionally, the new owners will have secured their financial freedom and established a model for building better communities to serve a global demand.

Achieving Global Greatness by Ernest Lindo March 13, 2011

Equally as amazing is the fact that the total out-of-pocket dollars for the members of the Business Advisory Group and the Community Empowerment Councils to accomplish all of the above is $3,500. I am sure that you would want this to happen. There is nothing standing in the way of it happening and the cost for your participation to make it happen is negligible. Briar Institute has prepared the opportunity for us to achieve global greatness. So, lets just do it! WHERE ARE WE GOING? AS A PEOPLE WE HAVENT MOVED SINCE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT BECAUSE WE HAVENT HAD A CLEARLY DEFINED DESTINATION. WE NOW HAVE A DESTINATION AND A PLAN TO GET THERE. WE ARE MOVING TO EQUAL STATUS IN THE AMERICAN SOCIETY. ITS OUR TIME

Achieving Global Greatness by Ernest Lindo March 13, 2011