TWO of the most important books I have ever read were Good to Great and Built to Last by Jim Collins. In them he speaks about BHAGs — big, hairy, audacious goals. These are what great companies use when they set their goals — they think big.

At the close of 2013, an interesting year for Jamaica to say the least, there are some clear big goals to be achieved in 2014 and I know that my readers have some great ones to share. No one person has a monopoly on good ideas, and so I would like to invite you to share your ideas with me in 2014 so that I can pick a few to share in my column and hopefully get some buy-in.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has its own ideas for Jamaica, including tax reform that has already begun and was badly needed. We know our culture and country better than the IMF, so speak up and be heard. Let us challenge ourselves to achieve some big, hairy, audacious goals, just like how Tessanne Chin won The Voice, our sprinters win gold, the Reggae Boyz made it to the World Cup 1998 and a tropical island fielded a bobsled team in the

Winter Olympics.

Jamaicans have proven time and again that ‘wi likkle but wi tallawah’ and it is time that the same energy and effort that go into sports and entertainment are applied to governance and reform. We are great at anything we set our minds to, so let us use 2014 to set our sights on reducing crime, reducing poverty, improving education, reforming governance and improving the economy.

Do not let 2014 finish with people being able to say that we have slipped in the Doing Business Index rankings again. Do not let another year pass by in which we are ranked in the top 10 countries by murder per capita.

Each of us has a role to play, and it starts by sharing ideas. I am happy to assist in spreading great ideas, especially audacious ones. If you have no hope for Jamaica, then maybe these ideas to come will give you hope. I do not intend to give up hope, and the mobilisation of overseas Jamaicans to support Tessanne should give an indication of what is possible with the right organisation and mission.

Happy holidays, and may 2014 bring you happiness. I will be taking a two-week break and resume writing after my birthday in early January.

David Mullings was the first Future Leaders representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board. He can

be found at facebook.com/davidpmullins andTwitter.com/davidmullings