Speeches

The College of The Bahamas 2006 Commencement Address

by Ambassador John Darrell Rood

May 25, 2006

Congratulations, graduates – I know you are proud.   To family and friends, I also congratulate you for your support over the past years and thank you for being here today to join in this celebration.

Graduates, I am honored to be here today to mark your graduation from the College of The Bahamas.  Your lives are about to change dramatically as you move from the world of study to the exciting world of possibility.
Many of you know what you will be doing with your lives, and have careers waiting for you.  But many of you don’t -- I was in your shoes when I graduated from college.    I enjoyed college, but hadn’t focused on what I would do when it was over.  I certainly hadn’t planned to start my own real estate development company or become an Ambassador. 
I did what many of you will do.  I went out into the world, excited but uncertain.  I put my heart behind everything I did, and took one step at a time. 
As I reflected on how I went from a college graduate without a plan, to a business owner and Ambassador, I remembered four words that I have always kept close.  These are words that provide focus and direction.  I would like to share these with you in the hope that you take these four simple words on your lifelong adventure.

The first word is initiative.
To get into college and to become a college graduate you need initiative.  But to be successful after you graduate you need a bunch of it!  I remember when I graduated, suddenly the idea of a real job hit home.  No more working in the student bookstore, it was time to venture out and start a career.  Having graduated from the University of Montana, I realized that I needed to move to find work, so I packed my bags and headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota.  I took the imnitiative to use every contact I had to get interviews.  I soon realized you don’t wait for your calls to be returned – you stop in.  Well, by taking the initiative I soon had a job at The Carlson Companies.
That was not the end of the need for initiative.  As a new employee I needed to learn, so I read what I could that related to my new career. I looked for areas to pitch in.  I took the time to help others.  I did not wait to be told what to do.  You can never show too much initiative.  My career advanced and I became more confident in my abilities.
Initiative.

The second word is tenacity.  Initiative gets you in the door and motivates you to acquire knowledge.  However, it is tenacity that gets results. 
I left the Carlson companies and moved to Florida to work as a real estate broker.  Early in my career, I still remember working on the sale of a large apartment community.  The owner was a cantankerous gentleman, who did not care for real estate brokers.  I brought him offers and all he would say was no – not interested in selling. I would find excuses to meet with him – bring in market studies, information on the competition, anything to develop a relationship.  I kept working this sale and finally he said if you are this tenacious with me I think you are the right guy to sell my property.  I got the listing and then made the sale. Tenacity.

The third word is perseverance.
Life is not easy.  You will be thrown many challenges.  Your faith and your ability to persevere will determine if you overcome the challenges. 
After working in the brokerage field, I started a real estate company called The Vestcor Companies.  We purchased, or developed, apartments in Florida and Texas.  Our portfolio grew to over 10,000 apartment units. 
When I think back it seems easy, but there were times where we almost gave up.  In 1986 the real estate tax laws changed and caused a dramatic reduction in property values.  Many of our properties were financed with investor notes and many of those investors decided not to pay as agreed.  Many companies chose bankruptcy as a way out, but we did not.  We stuck with it, found a way to get through these tough times and then when values were down, went on a very aggressive acquisition program.  Challenges often end up as opportunities.  The key is to survive the challenge, learn and then look for the opportunity.
Perseverance.

The fourth word is Perspective.
One of my favorite books is “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” by Steven Covey.  And my favorite of his 7 habits is “Seek First to Understand.”  As I gain more experience, I learn more and more, that I know less and less.  And the ability to listen to others, to understand their perspective, is vital to success. 
The key to keeping good employees is to understand what they want:  respect, responsibility, fair pay, and challenge.  Provide what your employees want and they will make your company successful.  This concept also applies to employees understanding their boss’s perspective and to everyone understanding the customer’s perspective.  If you work to understand another’s perspective you will make better decisions and form better relationships.  
This concept is not only for business.  When I presented my credentials to Ggovernor Ggeneral Dame Ivey Dumont, I told her I was going to “listen, learn and then act.”
During the reception following the presentation, I was chatting with the Governor General about one of our favorite topics – education.  I was saying how I hoped to provide more opportunities for Bahamians who wanted to study in the US.  She diplomatically responded that she appreciated my interest in education but that I should look to the College of The Bahamas, as it is a wonderful college that serves the students of the Bahamas.  She went on to say that supporting College of The Bahamas would give more Bahamians an opportunity for a college education and they would be more likely to stay and help the Bahamas prosper.  Needless to say –I heard her perspective on this issue loud and clear and we, at the Embassy, are proud to partner with the College of The Bahamas in so many areas.
Perspective.

Initiative, tenacity, perseverance and perspective.  Keep these thoughts in mind.  In the years ahead ask yourself if you are doing what it takes to make your life all it can be.

I will conclude with a brief poem that has meant a lot to me over the years.  After high school, I was leaving the United States to spend a summer in West End and work on the MS Grand Bahama.  I was going alone and I was a bit nervous.  But I was also excited.  As I left for this new adventure, I received a poem as a graduation gift.  At the time, I wasn’t too happy about receiving a poem as a gift, much preferring cash.  But for some reason, I took this poem with me and read it often that summer.  Since then I have always kept a copy with me.  The words provide guidance and inspiration. 
The poem is called “IF” by Rudyard Kipling, and I want to share it with you.  I hope you will find wisdom in these words, as I did.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
 
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
 
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same; 
 
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;
 
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
 
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
 
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Congratulations to you all!