THE STORY OF UAE BY MOHD BIN RASHID AL. MAKTOUM PART II

 

MY VISION - CHALLENGES IN THE RACE OF EXCELLENCE- THE STORY OF UAE BY MOHD BIN RASHID AL. MAKTOUM

MANAGEMENT

The crisis the Arab world is facing today is not one of money, men, morale or resources - it is crisis of management. Good management requires a capable manager. The Arab world have lot of  politicians , more than it really needs, but lack creative manager who can lead us out of constant crisis we are facing. The need for people who can build airports, ports, companies, factories and other growth generating ventures cannot be overemphasized. These all require managerial skills capable of mobilizing the resources needed to reach specific targets within a defined framework.

Routine is the enemy of pioneering spirit. We must adopt a creative mind to achieve success. Hard work ensures joy and path to success. We should not be afraid of hard work, challenges and pressures because they will come our way no matter what and will make us better people. A diamond is nothing more than a stone until it is cut and polished; only then it does become a precious stone. But what is it that polishes a manager? Work experience and commitment.

Our experience in UAE has taught us that the difference between good and bad government sometimes lie in the number of obstacles we can remove from the path of our citizens we put before them. Most of Arabs world suffer from self-imposed obstacles – those facing students, business men, traders, investors, creative people and women, all evident in airports, infrastructures etc. on bad government.

We must focus on relieving these bottlenecks in order to promote business and talent and allocate the remaining time to work, production and generation of wealth. The civil servants are supposed to be at the service of the citizens not the other way round.

To accumulate talent, you must develop it; to make a good trainer you must train someone first; to make leaders, you must coach promising talents and teach them how to avail themselves of good opportunities and avoid failure.

Human beings are the most precise asset of all nations and most important factors in the progress of countries. The development of human resources is the gauge for the development of our country.

We cannot succeed in the absence of trained Human Resources. This is the responsibility of sound management; it is also the responsibility of the leader because he leads the management as well as the community.

For management to become productive, it must adopt modern management principles and set standards for management development in a new and future economy.

Making the right decision at the right moment is one of the most important factor for success. Making such decisions is critical because it calls for daring, will power, a quick response and a deep awareness of the consequences of the decisions and how it fits into the leader’s goal.

Teamwork is obviously the major driving force of any great undertaking.

The biggest obstacle I have encountered in my drive to develop my country was to know how to convey the message to those in charge of the development process, so that they understand precisely what I wanted them to do.

 

Development for Survival.

The extinct of the pearl trade and great depression of 1930s affected the Dubai economy. Modern Dubai trade policy which centres around principles of free trade, open market/ skies and a free economic system was an integral part of Dubai constitution and set in the minds of its leaders from their forefathers. The interaction between these principles with the high skills and expertise of Dubai traders and cooperation of its people are true makers of the great opportunity and puts the emirate in a leading commercial and Economic position in gulf.

Modern Dubai – One crucial turning point in Dubai Modern history was the dredging of the Creek in 1960. Dubai Creek- 14 Kilometers water way is one of the best natural harbour in Gulf, if not in the world. Excellent harbour for small and medium size ships that moved along the bank. The boom in shipping after 2^nd world war, made Dubai to raise funds to the further dredging of the Creek to accommodate larger merchant ships with deeper drafts. Their oil was discovered in 1966. Larger port facilities were constructed to accommodate increasing trade. Port of Jebel Ali was constructed, Dubai aluminum company and Dubai international trade centre etc. to equip Dubai with unique infrastructure and industrial basis to excel.

Only people can make development happen. The secret of successful development lies in reaching an ideal formula that can efficiently use the skills of the people

in Dubai’s case, the existence of the Creek, sunny skies, desert, sandy beaches and sea to put in place a uniquely successful metropolis. The context of this formulae, the right vision and key to its success is the leader, who combines his goals and determination to see them through to fruition, despite all obstacles.

The absence of any delineating line between your goal and their implementation is key to Dubai since history. Leader’s optimism in light of negativity. Trade and services/ tourism were also the foundations blocky Dubai leader’s development goals. Despite gains in the oil exploration.

Minding the minds.

What I wish most for the youths of UAE is success. Our experience in UAE has taught us that there are no big secrets in the development process. The quality of a group is derived from the quality of its members and the strength of a community is derived from the strengths of its sons and daughters. When we free the potential of individuals, we simultaneously free the potential of the whole community they are part of, and when we let the creativity of individual’s blossom, the creativity of the whole community blossom.

 

Failures and successes are not permanent but failures should always be analysed to determine the reason why we failed to enable us succeed the next time.

The only thing that could ever guarantee success is to have the largest number of excellent achievers on board your team because the race for excellence calls for exceptional participants. But creativity itself is not a product we can buy and nor enthusiasm. We have to look for those who have these characteristics and nurture their talents.

The idea factory – Our minds are factories of ideas – the higher the quality of raw materials we absorb, the better the quality of the final products. A true leader develops and encourages others to present new ideas.

- The key to a true and effective development process is a vision that does not allow small details to cloud basic goals.

 

Importance of My Horses

Horses are not just like other animals. They bless the house of their owner, they are pride of every Arab and a symbol of strength, magnanimity and power. Not every rider is a horseman and not every horseman is a knight. A horseman is one who rides a horse, but a knight is a horseman who knows the meaning of riding his horse. It is chivalry, magnanimity and pedigree that is why I am proud that I understand horses.

Horsemanship is an activity and sport for the body and soul. It is one of the most important sources of generating positive energy in human beings.

Whenever I am with my horses, you will see me scurrying between them, wiping the sweat from one and taking pulse of another, feeding them, training them and teaching them everything that will enable them. This kind of relationship is not one sided as I not only teach them but also learn from them. I learn from people around me and my horses. Whoever knows how to love and respect a horse will also know how to treat people with equal love and respect. And whoever knows how to raise the morale of horses also knows how to lift the spirit of those around him. What you give them is what they will give to you in return and if you encourage them, they will overcome difficulties and take you to victory.

We can monitor a leader’s performance through the morale of his team. Armies do not defeat their enemies because they have the right weapons and infrastructure. They win and lose wars because of their morale. If the morale of a team is high, they will respond to the vision of their leader, achieve his goals, follows his steps but if low, the leader has only himself to blame. Positivity in all we do matters more than negativity.

A Wiseman once said, ‘’wishes are mere daydreams and the fantasy of the deprived’’ change does not come by wishful thinking and the leader who just sits and wishes for change is without a doubt a failure.