The
Book named “My Vision – Challenges in Race for Excellence” by Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum (Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab
Emirates and Ruler of Dubai) and was published by Motivate Publishing in
2012. This is a book about a unique
development experience that sets a creative example for the Arab world to
follow. The book
was gift and given by Dubai professionals during ANQ Congress. I would like to record down some valuable
statements of the book for reference.
The
book content included:
Introduction
Part I: The Pulse of Development
-
Chapter One: The Lion and the Gazelle
Part II: The Elements of the
Development Industry
-
Chapter Two: The Vision
-
Chapter Three: Leadership
-
Chapter Four: Management
-
Chapter Five: Decision-making and Teamwork
Part III: Development for
Survival
-
Chapter Six: The Banks of the Creek
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Chapter Seven: Minding the Minds
-
Chapter Eight: The Importance of My Horses
-
Chapter Nine: Positive and Negative Energy
Part IV: Excellence in
Development
-
Chapter Ten: Excellence in Dubai’s Development Vision
-
Chapter Eleven: Made in Dubai
-
Chapter Twelve: Institutionalizing Excellence
Part V: The Road to the Future
-
Chapter Thirteen: The Race of Nations
Author
wish the same good for my own people as I do for all Arabs and quoted the
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) once said “None of you will be a true believer, until
he wishes for his brother whatever good he wishes for himself.”
Credibility
of leadership can only be established through action and not words.
Our
mission is for Dubai to become an international, pioneering hub of excellence
and creativity, and we are already striving to make it the world’s premier
trade, tourism and services destination in the twenty-first century.
Part I: The Pulse of Development
-
Chapter One: The Lion and the
Gazelle
With
each new day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing he must outrun the fastest
lion or perish. At the same time, a lion stirs and stretches, knowing he must
outrun the fastest gazelle or starve. It is no different for human race. Whether you consider yourself a gazelle or a
lion, you simply have to run faster than others to survive.
When
you face a challenge that demands a solution or a decision, you have two
choices – you can either emulate the example set by others or use your own
creativity and intelligence to formulate a new idea.
Today’s
giants might not be the same tomorrow, and those that are considered small
today could well become the leaders of tomorrow.
Overcoming
the challenges in the race for excellence is the secret of success; failing to
do so is the reason behind defeat and trailing behind other nations. The choice is ours.
Part II: The Elements of the
Development Industry
-
Chapter Two: The Vision
Many
great leader never went to school, but gained their knowledge from the ‘university
of life’ and by carefully observing everything that went on around them.
Whatever
the case, vision should always incorporate one decisive element: it must allow
for implementation.
The features of a true leader’s
vision
1.
The vision must be excellent in form, essence and implementation.
2.
All its elements should include imagination.
3.
It must be comprehensive and far-sighted.
4.
It must be straightforward because clarity will make it easier to
implement.
5.
It must be challenging to some extent, not only for the project team,
but for society as a whole.
6.
Its announcement should have an impact.
7.
It should stir the resolve, creativity and initiative in people and
revive their determination to complete.
8.
It should not be easy to implement and should border on the impossible
without actually being so.
9.
It should not be proposed prematurely, before perfecting it and linking
all its various elements together.
10.
It should benefit everybody in a comprehensive manner. The benefits
should not be restricted to one or several groups of people.
11.
It must be positive in that it promotes the people’s trust in their
leadership, their future and in each other.
It must also deepen the people’s trust in their country and their
loyalty to it.
-
Chapter Three: Leadership
Sheikh
Zayed also taught us that leadership is all about daily action and not just theory. Leadership, as he practiced it, is a human
and social concept that overtakes speculation.
It is also about determination, self-confidence, far-sightedness and
good judgement.
…
true excellence is when you propose an idea that may be good, but does not necessarily
gain everybody’s immediate approval, and you have to overcome obstacles to
implement it.
A
leader may be able to foresee something no one else can. This is one of the qualities that make true
leaders.
Anybody
may provide suggestions, but the leader alone must have the final say, because
he is the one who carries the responsibility.
That is why we always adopt the formula, ‘many minds, one opinion’.
-
Chapter Four: Management
Nowadays, the “strong and trustworthy”
is the employee distinguished by excellence, success, commitment, honesty and
good behavior.
Time is passing, the clock is
ticking, the world is racing, and no one will wait for us.
If we were gazelles and stopped
running, lions would devour us; and if we were lions and stopped running, we would
starve to death.
-
Chapter Five: Decision-making and
Teamwork
Making the right decision at the
right moment is one of the most important factors for success.
The higher the quality of information
on which the leader bases his decision, the higher the chances are that his
decision will be the right one. Deep
consideration, consultation, research and thinking are all needed in reaching
the right decision.
Part III: Development for
Survival
-
Chapter Six: The Banks of the
Creek
Only people can make development
happen. The secret of successful
development lies in reaching an ideal formula that can efficiently use the
skills of people along with … (the existence resource), to put in place a
uniquely successful metropolis.
The context of this formula is the
right vision and the key to its success is the leader, who combines his goals
and determination to see them through to fruition, despite all obstacles.
I believe that true social stability
is closely linked to economic stability.
-
Chapter Seven: Minding the Minds
Effort, work, planning and
preparation are the tools needed to realize dreams and their goals. If dreams are the cornerstone of great ideas,
creativity is their foundation.
When we allow individuals to be
themselves and practice their individuality, we free their potential and
motivate their creativity.
According to the Arab philosopher,
Ibn Khaldoun, “If the leader is an oppressive tyrant who uses punishment to
impose himself and searches for people’s mistakes, they become afraid and
humiliated, and use lies, deceit and cunning to escape his wrath. They consequently adopt this sort of behavior,
and develop corrupt insights and low morale, and they will probably abandon him
when he is in dire straits and in war.”
Our minds are factories of ideas –
the higher the quality of the raw material we absorb, the better the quality of
the final product. (The idea factory)
A successful leader is not one who
insists that his ideas are the best and the only ones that deserve to be
implemented; he is one who encourages others to develop and present new ideas.
If some of our young people think
this mission is impossible, I would like them to open their windows and take a
look around them… then I will tell them,
-
Chapter Eight: The Importance of
My Horses
“The reason I succeeded where they
failed was because the consultants, experts and trainers had bogged themselves
down in such minute detail, that they failed to see when a horse was only standing
on three legs!”
The key to a true and effective
development process is a vision that does not allow small details to cloud its
basic goals.
-
Chapter Nine: Positive and
Negative Energy
You simply cannot kill the power of
dreaming in young people and then ask them to be creative and to excel. If you kill the dream, you kill hope; and if
you kill hope, what kind of life will be left for people to live? It is only normal for young people to feel
pessimistic and frustrated when they become entrapped in such a situation.
And since young people who do not own
anything have nothing to lose, they lose interest in everything.
This type of change can become less
difficult for employees to adopt when they find the right example in their
leader. If the leader is not
enthusiastic about change, he must not expect others to be.
“Today’s economy incorporates modern
and traditional trade. Those dealing in
traditional trade are finding it difficult to convert to modern methods and
want to retain their old ways. The
private sector is dynamic by nature. The
new generation of businessmen understands the requirements of dealing with the
modern economy and has not faced the same difficulties the old generation had
to endure while adapting to it.”
Part IV: Excellence in
Development
-
Chapter Ten: Excellence in Dubai’s
Development Vision
One of the main goals of the Dubai
e-government initiative is to redefine the concept of government and allow it
to become more efficient and active through the use of the Internet.
Since an important part of Dubai’s
philosophy is ‘living the future today’, we believe that Dubai offers one of
the world’s best investment opportunities.
Our marketing strategy targets four
categories: visitors, residents, trade manufacturing and services, and export
markets.
-
Chapter Eleven: Made in Dubai
“The greatest risk for a man is not
to take risks.”
The Dubai way (Dubai way of
doing things):
l Crystallizing the vision;
l Setting the goals;
l Drawing the plan;
l Setting a reasonable time for implementation;
l Mobilizing resources;
l Giving the signal for implementation of the project.
Dubai way of doing things means that
work is undertaken according to Dubai’s concept of excellent achievement:
l Superiority
l Overcoming the impossible
l The melting pot of success
l Civilized models of management
l Creating circumstances for success
l Positive attitude
l Innovation
l Sustainability
Innovation: The best solutions are sometimes the
easiest. Since we want to make things
easier for multinationals and ourselves, and we want them to succeed as quickly
as possible, we asked them for a ‘wish
list’ of what they expect and we endeavor to meet those wishes and remove
all obstacles, within the limits of our laws, regulations and procedures.
Exceeding the expectations of
customers is one of the most established standards of quality. If a passenger expects to pass through the
airport in one hour and finds that he has managed to finalize everything in
half an hour, this is quality service.
-
Chapter Twelve:
Institutionalizing Excellence
International conferences, workshops
and seminars that regularly take place in Dubai allow civil servants the chance
to meet experts and specialists in the fields of management, economy and
technology.
“If you think the price of training
is high, consider the price of ignorance.”
Part V: The Road to the Future
-
Chapter Thirteen: The Race of
Nations
Overcoming the challenges of a new
century in a new millennium calls for fresh methodologies and innovative
approaches.
Change also indicates a change in
mindset; the ability to understand the language of the New World and convey our
message, standpoint and goals, in a clear, simple and frank manner.
Our vision is clear, our road is
paved and the clock is ticking. There is
no more time for hesitation or half-baked goals or solutions. Development is an ongoing process and the
race for excellence has no finish line.
Reference:
My experience in Middle East was only in “Saudi Arabia” in 2017 and
passed the Dubai airport.
The 6th National Quality Conference (NQC) in Damman, Saudi Arabia - http://nqc.gov.sa/en/AboutUsPage.aspx
20171103: Apply Visa to visit Saudi Arabia for Saudi National
Quality Conference - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2017/11/apply-visa-to-visit-saudi-arabia-for.html
20171127: Pre-National Quality Conference 2017 Visit in Dammam,
Saudi Arabia - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2017/11/pre-national-quality-conference-2017.html
20171128: The 6th National Quality Conference 2017 in Dammam, Saudi
Arabia – Workshop - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2017/11/the-6th-national-quality-conference.html
20171128: The 6th National Quality Conference 2017 in Dammam, Saudi
Arabia – Opening Ceremony - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2017/11/the-6th-national-quality-conference_28.html
20171129: The 6th National Quality Conference 2017 in Dammam, Saudi
Arabia – Day 1 - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2017/11/the-6th-national-quality-conference_29.html
20171130: The 6th National Quality Conference 2017 in Dammam, Saudi
Arabia – Day 2 - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2017/11/the-6th-national-quality-conference_30.html
20171130: Post-National Quality Conference 2017 Dinner & Visit
in Dammam, Saudi Arabia - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2017/11/post-national-quality-conference-2017.html
Book Sharing: My Vision – Challenges in the Race for Excellence - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2018/02/book-sharing-my-vision-challenges-in.html
Book Sharing: Flashes of Thought - https://qualityalchemist.blogspot.hk/2018/02/book-sharing-flashes-of-thought.html
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