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PAC reports puts things in perspective

After spending a great portion of Thursday afternoon reading Partnership Africa Canada's (PAC) report entitled "Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review 2008," I have a new perspective on the perceived "problems" that exist in my life.

Generally, when I get an e-mail with a 24-page attachment, I am not too thrilled at the prospect of reading it, especially after spending the majority of Wednesday night tossing and turning in bed, barely sleeping because I couldn't stop thinking about the economy and my own financial messiness (which is 99 percent my fault anyway).

But, once I picked up this report, I couldn't put it down.

The report provided fascinating insight into what really goes on in some of the world's diamond-producing nations, beyond the scope of the Kimberley Process, which was put in place to stop the trade of conflict diamonds.

The report gives a detailed account of the conditions affecting miners, human rights, corruption and the living and working conditions of the people in 13 diamond-producing nations around the world.

Two of the more horrific accounts came from the African nation of Angola, a country nearly twice the size of Texas located on the southwestern African coast, just above Namibia.

The first story presented in the PAC reported detailed the alleged murder of diamond miner Belito Mendes, who was badly beaten and later died of his injuries after being stopped by Angolan police and searched for diamonds.

Though Mendes didn't actually have any diamonds on him, he did have the equivalent of $17.50 in cash and allegedly was beaten to death after refusing to hand his money over to police.

Such incidents, according to the report, are "hardly the exception" in Angola's diamond-bearing provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sol, where being a diamond miner often is a dangerous occupation.

The other story included in the report from Angola details the plight of Congolese refugees who flee to Angola and begin working as artisanal diamond miners. The refugees are, indeed, in Angola illegally. But, when discovered by Angolan authorities, they aren't merely arrested or asked to leave. Instead, according to the report, they are often robbed of all they have, and many women are raped.

The report tells the tale of one man who was robbed of his spare clothes, a radio and $600 before being forced to walk back to the Congo, leaving his wife and child behind. Upon his return to the Congo, he was eventually reunited with his wife, but the reunion was one that was "bittersweet"—he discovered that Angolan border guards had repeatedly raped his wife.

The report makes a good point in that, while it's not wrong for Angolan law enforcement to apprehend those in the country illegally, it is wrong to rob them of all they have, and rape their women.

The report is available here: http://www.pacweb.org/e/images/stories/documents/ar_diamonds_2008_eng.pdf

But I warn you: Don't click on this link unless you have some free time. Once you start reading it, you won't stop. And, when you finish reading it, you'll spend the next couple of hours reflecting on how terrible conditions really are for so many people in the world, and how good you really have it. I know I did.

Hard times

Anyone who has been running a jewelry company for more than five years has ridden the financial roller coaster—up and down, good times and bad.

Many years ago, when I owned a large jewelry manufacturer, we faced hard times too, arguably as challenging as the financial storm of today; i.e., 15 percent interest rates, 13 percent inflation, 7 percent unemployment. The so-called Jimmy Carter "misery index" (unemployment plus inflation) exceeded 20 percent for the first time since World War II. The country was in an economic disaster. An army of jewelry companies, including entire sales channels, were forced to close their doors, mine included.

Looking back, there are hundreds (er, thousands) of lessons that I learned from that economic debacle. One (out of many) leadership ideas is worth passing on.

Don't become a Lone Ranger. I wanted to "grab the bull by the horns" during tough times, but that was a big mistake. Research has shown that groups make better decisions than individuals. So, during economic downturns when you're trying to tighten control, resist the urge to cut out meetings.

Instead, be honest with your employees. Encourage idea exchange and build the strong relationships needed to weather the crisis. Tap into your organization's collective wisdom. Bring in your team: In other words, don't grab the ball, pass it.

In a few days, I'll write about some other leadership lessons I've learned from those days. I hope you'll attach some of your ideas to this blog. We could all learn from each other's experiences.

Jan Brassem is a founder of Eclipse Global Consulting LLC, a firm that assists jewelry retailers who are expanding into foreign markets and/or sourcing globally. You can e-mail him at Jan@EclipseGlobalConsulting.com.

Star sighting: Sheryl Crow

Rings have always been a sort of friendship symbol for me, and they've also always been among the most demure jewelry pieces I've possessed. For years, the only ring I sported was a tiny diamond eternity band that matched one that both my sister and a cousin had. Last year, two friends and I each bought miniscule gold bands with the smallest spot of a diamond.

So it was a pretty big thing for me when after a trip to a Baltimore boutique earlier this year, I came home with a big disk-shaped number featuring a flat, round agate stone, far wider than the finger I wear it on.

Since then, I've been keeping an eye on bold finger adornments that rival the season's dramatic necklaces and cuff bracelets. When I saw this photo of Sheryl Crow at the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation's Grand Slam event held over the weekend, her ring brought a smile to my face. I mean, that's one knockout of a ring. The knuckleduster is from Bochic and it features rose-cut diamonds.

Photos: Courtesy of D'Orazio & Associates

Salaries in the jewelry industry

My son just graduated from business school with a degree in marketing and consumer behavior and, since he comes from a jewelry family, I kinda coaxed him to continue the family tradition. He has been going through the "required" job interview process (ugh) and has received a few offers from jewelry companies.

Interestingly enough, he has also received several offers from cosmetic, stock broker, clothing and leather accessory retailers. I was thrilled, indeed.

When he accepted the offer from a leading cosmetic company, however, I was disappointed. "Why not a jewelry company?" I asked.

Salaries at these other companies, he told me, were on average a full 35 percent above the salaries being offered at jewelry companies. In fact, the job he took had a 58 percent higher starting salary than the highest offer he received from a jewelry company.

So this raises a bunch of questions. First, is the jewelry industry a "closed-industry?" If you don't come from a jewelry family, or haven't started as a high school jewelry intern (you know what I mean), does that mean you really can't enter the industry? You're not a "jewelry person?"

Maybe jewelry company executives feel the industry is so complicated that an MBA would be over his head. Or maybe, the industry is so simple, that jewelry executives feel MBAs would be wasting their education.

But no matter what executives think, cosmetic, clothing and accessory retailers' sales and profits (per RMA ratio analysis) are, on average, way higher than jewelry retailers.

Would more competitive salaries have had an impact on the current jewelry industry tumult? What about the industry's future profits and economic health?

Jan Brassem is a founder of Eclipse Global Consulting LLC, a firm that assists jewelry retailers who are expanding into foreign markets and/or sourcing globally. You can e-mail him at Jan@EclipseGlobalConsulting.com.