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July 26, 2022
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July 26, 2022

To counter the ‘link culture’

By Daniel Francis

I was privy to a conversation where someone expressed their frustration with how a selection was made. He was complaining about not being chosen after sending a proposal forward for his company to undertake a service.

He griped about how the system was rigged and he believed that the powers that be chose their friends and not the best person for the job, which he believed to be himself.

He also complained that the company that was chosen was new, never did a job like this, and he believed that some money was or will be passed under the table as a result.

This got me thinking about something I have termed ‘Link Culture.’

If you have not already pieced together what this is, trust me when I say you have probably experienced it.

Link culture is pervasive in our Caribbean society, almost like a foundational pillar. It’s built on the simple premise that you leverage the relationship that you have with an individual to obtain something that you may not have easily been able to secure if you went through the conventional channels.

I remember after finishing my CXC examinations I was sitting at home during my August vacation when my mother burst into my room. She informed me that I was starting work that Monday and to prepare for my first job.

Mind you, I did not send out a résumé or was even aware of what this company did. What I soon came to learn was that my mother had an excellent relationship with the HR Manager. My mother sent my résumé forward and just like that, I was a trainee.

These types of situations happen all the time and can be very harmless because this is a small example of link culture. The experience that the gentleman complained about at the beginning of my article is an example of how link culture spirals into something bigger and more problematic.

The progression is very plausible if you take some time to think about it. It starts with linking someone with a job, an item, or even a simple favour. As the degree of the favours grow, so too does the possibility of gaining some type of underhanded monetary gain.

Met with temptation, you must now decide if you will degrade your moral code in return for money or a useful favour. It’s a slippery slope and one that, if I am being honest, happens frequently here in Trinidad and Tobago.

Not only does it happen frequently but without consequence. In these instances, it is a reminder that we need to have consistent reminders to live within clear, honest, and fair principles.

The Church provides a great space to push those values through and send those reminders that need to be upheld.

I like to think of my relationship with God and Church as my anchor. When temptation rears its ugly head, I draw on my faith to help keep me on the straight and narrow path.

I find when I am absent from church, praying infrequently, or not reading my Bible often enough it is easier to sell myself on the lie that it is okay to stray from the honest path.

Choose to stay close to God. Renew your faith with the activities that you know keep you close to God, and you will find that when you are met with opportunities to be morally corrupt you will more easily disregard them.

 

Daniel Francis is a millennial helping other millennials. He is a two-time author of the books The Millennial Mind and The Millennial Experience, and an entrepreneur. Over the past four years, he has served as a Personal Development Coach whose work targets Millennials and helps them tap into their full potential. He is also a Self-publishing coach and has guided hundreds on self-publishing their book successfully.

 

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