The Tribune

By FELICITY DARVILLE

HAROLD L Watson is a visionary Bahamian businessman whose discipline and perseverance resulted in the success of one of the most widely recognised franchises in the country. A proud Long Islander and family man, Mr Watson has taken the principles of hard work, honesty and reliability with him on his journey to success. In this week’s Face to Face with Felicity, I share a heartfelt letter sent to me from the staff and management of AID in his honour:

“Successful people do the things that unsuccessful people dislike doing and will not do”.

When thinking of Mr Harold L Watson, executive chairman of AID Ltd, this quote by motivational speaker John Maxwell comes to his children’s mind; not only because he has ingrained it in them, but because his life’s work embodies it.

Born in Gordon’s, Long Island to the late William and Olga Watson, Harold was sent to Nassau at the age of 14 where he finished high school. Like so many industrious Long Islanders of that era (including his siblings Frank H Watson, William, Solomon, Brendon, Agatha and Warren Watson), Harold worked with what he had. While his older brothers navigated towards Customs and construction respectively, he had a knack for mathematics, and took a job at Batelco while attending Nassau Technical College at night, where he studied book keeping.

Soon after receiving a distinction in the subject, Watson went on to work for a US-based steel company called Navios Corporation, which had three subsidiaries in Nassau and one in Freeport. It was here that he greatly developed his accounting skills. He was part of a team that was tasked with ensuring that all financial reporting was sent to the company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, US, either by courier or fax, no later than three working days following each month end. The procedures, protocols and discipline that he learned here, he would take with him everywhere he went; undoubtedly paving the way for his future success. He then spent several years at Bahamas Tractor, where he greatly assisted in cleaning up the company’s internal controls. In 1979, Watson began his journey at Automotive and Industrial Distributors Ltd, as it was called back then.

During his tenure at AID, Watson continued to take his work seriously, spending countless hours at the office to ensure that the company was a world class operation. He successfully implemented best practice accounting procedures and policies for all of the company’s locations, which at the time included Nassau, Freeport, Marsh Harbour, Rock Sound, and Nicholls Town stores, he also worked closely with the company’s US-based software developer.

Always abreast of what top retail companies were doing world-wide, he knew that the company needed to move away from its manual processes. He worked diligently with the developer to design custom point of sale, general ledger, subsidiary inventory and fixed asset software programmes for the company, including a computerised Bahamas Customs entry programme that allowed AID to digitally produce its own customs entry; something that was unheard of at the time. The software designed by Watson continues to be the base of the company’s POS and back-office programmes today.

Although he always showed a demand for excellence in the workplace, Watson always led by example. He never expected any personnel to do anything that he would not do. When he wasn’t attending trade shows, seminars, or visiting the company’s Family Island locations, he would often be seen on the retail floor of the company’s Wulff Road store, arranging merchandise on shelves, or in the warehouse assisting with the checking in of shipments. However, it was when he became financial controller of the company in 1982 that he was truly able to demonstrate his leadership skills, and vision for a successful AID.

As an employee himself, Watson believed that the company’s primary asset was a loyal and efficient staff, and that its success was directly related to the character, ability and motivation of its personnel. As a result, to fulfill his vision of leading a company owned by the people who actually made it successful, he implemented an incentive programme whereby all employees would be afforded an opportunity to have a stake in the company that they worked for. At the time, this type of incentive was fairly new. While most companies reserved stock incentives for key management personnel, the programme that Watson developed would benefit all employees, regardless of position; a view that was shared by Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. By 2004, more than 51 percent of the company was owned by its employees - a feat that continues today, and is believed to be unmatched by any other company in The Bahamas.

As Watson celebrates his 73rd birthday, the company would like to honour him and the contributions he continues to make to an establishment that accounting firms tout as one of the top, if not the top run companies in the country. Watson greatly credits his success in business to his Long Island heritage, and when he is not visiting any one of AID’s seven locations, he can be found relaxing at his residence there.

Among countless other philanthropic efforts, Watson’s love for the game of tennis has led the company to donate a tennis court to the National Tennis Centre to aid in the development of the sport. He is past president of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association, and the company continues to hold the annual AID Clay Court Tennis Championships which it started 30 years ago.

He and his wife Shirlene have been married for 47 years, and together, they have three children and eight grandchildren. The daily operations of the company are currently being conducted by Watson’s son Jason, who serves as President and Managing Director. His son Harazette manages the company’s Freeport location, and his daughter Janelle serves as a member of the company’s board, and is the chair of its audit committee.