Gulf Insider June 2015 by Gulf Insider Media

The multi-award winning Arabian magazine

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CONTENTS June 2015

Special Feature

WORK Business

SELLING EXPERIENCES Finance

GCC BANKS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Telecoms

ALWAYS A STEP AHEAD

Property

BAHRAINI BUYERS ON EUROPEAN MARKET Property

SAUDI ARABIA’S NEXT SUPER-CITY Affairs

14 Cover Story

THE ART OF LEADERSHIP

BREAKING THE SICKENING SILENCE

PLAY

20 36 23 40

Travel

24 42

Life

26 46

Motors

28 52

Motors

30 56

Art

TRAVEL INSIDER: WELCOME TO VICTORIA! Life

INSIDER PROFILE: DR RASHID AL JALAHMA

7 SHORT BOOKS THAT ARE WORTH MORE THAN AN MBA CAR INSIDER: 8 OF THE BEST SUVs IN BAHRAIN CAR INSIDER: NISSAN

JABBAR AL GHADBAN

The Arabian Review

COMMENT...

Publisher & Editor in Chief - Nicholas Cooksey Editorial - Agnieszka Piechoska Regular Contributors - Hugh Haskell-Thomas - Nicholas Cortes - Bill Daly

Want to be a banker? Beware, things are changing! Every few centuries or so, an amazing new technology comes along that fundamentally changes human civilization. The Agricultural Revolution. The Industrial Revolution. The invention of the printing press...

Guest Contributors - Tariq A. Al Maeena

We are now in the early stages of a new transformation - the Digital Revolution. And it’s changing everything, from how we do business to how we meet and engage with one another. It has the power to make entire industries obsolete. And banking is one shining example. ‘Modern’ banking is still based on the same system that has been in existence for at least a century. Yeah, sure, they all have websites now. But this doesn’t make them high-tech. At their cores, banks are still old fashioned institutions. But now things are changing. Today, every possible function of a bank, from savings to loans to money transfers, can now be done faster, cheaper, and more efficiently by new technology.

Layout Designs - Dhanraj S Business Development - Redia Castillo Admin & Finance - Nikesh Pola Photography - Harold Tejada - Bench Medina Distribution Executives - Mohammed Yousif - Muhammed Shareef P - Rafnaj K P

Websites like Transferwise or Azimo make it possible to send money across the world at negligible cost. You can also obtain a loan or investment capital online from crowdfunding sites. You can even move your savings out of the banking system altogether thanks to new digital currency platforms. All of this technology already exists - it’s just a question of how quickly it will be adopted. According to a report by (ironically) Goldman Sachs, 33% of millennials surveyed said they don’t expect to need a bank in five years. Banks are facing a situation where, in 10 years, the technology and adoption will likely have progressed to the point that today’s banking services will be entirely obsolete. They need to plan for this accordingly.

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The multi-award winning Arabian magazine

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Also inside:

Travel Insider - Welcome to Victoria Car Insider - Nissan Art - Bahrain’s Photo History

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Arabia’s most intelligent magazine Established since 2004, Gulf Insider is the multi award winning Arabian business and current affairs magazine that also covers property and expat news, interviews, car reviews, travel features, even a bit of art and fashion. The monthly print edition of Gulf Insider is distributed to Bahrain’s highest spending consumers and decision makers. There’s also limited distribution in other GCC states via airline lounges, duty free, ARAMCO in the KSA, and other strategic locations. Registered with Ministry of Information approval no. TFI-431©. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher. All Rights Reserved. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. *Articles by these correspondents are the copyright of Telegraph Media Group, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT, England.

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Send your views to info@Gulf-Insider.com BETTER LIFE, BETTER YOU

The multi-award winning Arabian magazine

WORK for PLAY see page 33

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Issue 124

the YOU issue!

be the best YOU can be

REVEALED - the 9 things successful people do differently… how to make time to do what matters most… the 5 leadership qualities… how to solve problems Bahrain BD2

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Excellent feature on self-development (GI May 2015). Learning to manage your life in the most efficient way is a never ending process, and expert advice always helps. I’ve read the whole thing word by word, and it was time well spent! – Alice

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The multi-award winning Arabian magazine

WORK for PLAY see page 33

The Arabian Review

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BAHRAIN’S STUNNING MAKEOVER Bahrain’s fast-paced development over the last decades makes the island literally unrecognisable in the old photos, even those dated to 1970s, which is relatively recent. It’s fascinating to see all these historical photographs; to get the feel of how things were back then. I look forward to seeing more photos in GI’s next issues. – Jimi

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APPRECIATE THE BASICS

This project got me both excited and terrified! An idea of building a kilometre-high colossus brings so many questions to mind, such as “how?” and “why?” The design challenges mentioned in the article (“Kingdom Tower”, GI May 2015) show how many unprecedented issues (risks?) can occur during the construction. On the other hand, I just can’t wait to go on that elevator ride all the way to the top! – Ellie

This is in reference to “Bahraini Passport Ranks 57 in Latest Power Index” (GI May 2015). The freedom and ease of travel is frequently taken for granted by the citizens of developed countries. But, for some, it still is an unattainable luxury. As a Bahraini, I’ve been blessed with the privilege to see the world since an early age. Meanwhile, many people out there have been deprived of this basic human right… So, while my passport does not allow me to enter many destinations without a visa, I still appreciate the fact that – at least – I can freely choose wherever I wish to go. – Yousif

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News

GULF ROUNDUP NEWS AROUND THE GCC AND BEYOND

BUSINESS & AFFAIRS

Bahrain Cabinet Approves Measures to Cut Costs Bahrain will begin cutting subsidies for goods and services to reduce state spending on its foreign population as low oil prices pressure its budget, a top official said. Bahraini citizens will receive cash payments from the state to offset price rise when subsidies are removed, said Minister of State for Information Affairs Isa bin Abdulrahman Al-Hammadi. Foreign citizens would not receive such payments. The government will therefore redirect subsidy policies to benefit local citizens only, Hammadi said. He did not give a specific timetable for subsidy cuts or say how big they might be. The subsidy for meat, which costs 47 million dinars, may be the first to be removed, but it is small compared to electricity and water subsidies, he said. The austerity measures are expected to have an overall impact, saving a potentially massive BD 386 million (USD 1.01 billion). – ARAB NEWS

Gulf Insider June 2015

Bahrain’s Tamkeen’s Q1 2015 Operations Reviewed Tamkeen Chairman and Chief Executive Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa held a meeting with the media at the Tamkeen customer service centre in Seef Mall last month, to discuss the recent developments within the authority’s operations. The conference touched on several matters, including the enhanced Tamkeen enterprise and individual support programmes as well as new facilities, in addition to Q1 2015 customer engagement statistics. As per the figures provided, 7,853 customers were served at Tamkeen branches, which indicates 49 per cent increase compared to Q1 2014. Also, 62 per cent rise in community outreach and 91 per cent rise in enterprise outreach were recorded. The Tamkeen 2014 Annual Report is now available on the Tamkeen website.

Bahrain’s KHCB Reports BD 1.67 Million Net Profits for Q1 2015 Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) announced its net profit of BD 1.67 million for the first quarter of 2015, compared to BD 529,000 reported during the same period in 2014, an increase of 216 per cent. Total deposits reached BD 461.9 million, an increase by 7.3 per cent over December 2014. Consumer finance portfolio also reached BD 87.7 million, an increase by 11.4 per cent compared with the December 2014. The bank maintained its strong financial position with liquid assets ratio of 28.3 per cent.

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Gulf Economies’ Growth Forecasts Cut as Oil Stays Low The outlook for most of the rich Gulf Arab economies has dimmed for this year and next as oil prices have remained relatively low, according to a Reuters poll. Heavy state spending and strong private consumption are cushioning the impact of a plunge in oil export revenues. Nevertheless, some construction and economic development projects are being suspended, cooling economic growth. Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product is now projected to expand 2.6 per cent in 2015, according to the median forecast in the poll of 18 analysts, instead of the 3.2 per cent foreseen by the previous poll in January. Last year, GDP grew 3.6 per cent. In 2016, Saudi GDP is expected to grow 3.0 per cent instead of the previous forecast of 3.2 per cent. This year’s growth forecast for the United Arab Emirates has been cut to 3.4 per cent from 3.8 per cent, and next year’s to 3.7 per cent from 3.9 per cent. Qatari GDP is projected to grow 6.7 per cent this year and 6.4 per cent next year. Five of the six GCC states are projected to record budget deficits this year and next. The forecast for Saudi Arabia’s fiscal deficit this year has been raised to 14.8 per cent of GDP from 11.1 per cent predicted in the last poll, while next year’s deficit is expected to be 10.6 per cent of GDP. The UAE is forecast to run a deficit of 4.1 per cent this year and Kuwait of 5.0 per cent. Only Qatar is seen staying in the black, with a surplus of 1.8 per cent. Saudi Arabia has already started running down its financial reserves stored abroad to cover its budget deficit. Its reserves are so huge that it could continue to do this for years; the UAE and Kuwait are in similarly fortunate positions. But, the financial reserves of Oman, projected to run a fiscal deficit of 11.7 per cent of GDP this year, and Bahrain, with a forecast deficit of 12.0 per cent, are much smaller. They may be forced into painful spending cuts in coming years if oil prices stay below USD 70 a barrel. – ARABIAN BUSINESS

GCC States to Unify 6 Commercial Laws The Ministries of Commerce and Industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are in the process of unifying six trade laws, following a decision taken in this regard at a recent meeting in Doha. A source at the GCC secretariat has been quoted as saying in the local media that the laws involve a unified trade system, consumer protection law, commercial anti-cheat system, trademarks law, anti-dumping law, compensation measures, and a competition system. On the subject of the standardisation of insurance legislation, the source said a committee will be formed to take on the project, and the General Secretariat has been entrusted with the task of defining the affiliation of this committee. The source said that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) will supervise the insurance system, while the Ministries of Commerce in the other Gulf states will supervise this system and its regulations. The proposed law, according to the source, will be referred to legal experts in the insurance sector. Its development, discussions, and implementation will depend on the next meeting of the committee. – ARAB NEWS 10

Gulf Insider June 2015

130,000 Saudi Firms ‘Quit Over Tough Quotas’ Over 130,000 Saudi contractors have shut shop because they cannot meet Saudization quotas, raising various concerns, including completion of projects. Dawud AlMiqrin, a business development expert, has been quoted by a local publication as saying that these were the statistics for the construction industry. The contractors have reportedly blamed the Ministry of Labour for not giving them the visas for foreign workers that would allow them to complete their projects. Representatives of the contracting companies recently met with Minister of Labour Mufrej Al-Haqani and requested the Saudization quota be cut from ten per cent to three per cent, according to the report. – ARAB NEWS

News

Gulf Employers Finding It More Difficult to Attract Indian Talent A survey by the online jobs site Gulf Talent found that prospective staff from India looking for work across the GCC were increasingly reluctant to leave home because of the fast-growing Indian economy. For decades, Middle Eastern construction industries have relied on expatriate Indian workers and professionals to help build the skyscrapers, shopping malls, hotels, and, many other key Middle Eastern industries. The Gulf Talent survey of 600 employers and 22,000 jobseekers as well as 60 interviews with executives and HR professionals, was conducted between December 2014 and April 2015. The survey found that more job opportunities and higher salaries at home were the key reasons why Indian workers were more reluctant to up sticks and take up jobs in the Middle East. According to the IMF, India is expected to be the world’s fastestgrowing major economy this year, surpassing China for the first time since 1999. – THE NATIONAL

GCC Said to Miss out on USD 17.7 Billion by Failing to Diversify from Oil GCC countries would gain an additional USD 17.7 billion if they further diversified their economies beyond oil. This is the conclusion of a study by professional services firm EY, which identifies transport, financial services, tourism, telecoms, and research and development as the sectors with the biggest economic potential for the Gulf. The EY Diversification Tracker assesses the degree to which economies have moved away from dependence on oil. It focuses on three aspects – export production and volume, the share of the non-oil sector, and private versus public spending – which demonstrate economic diversification. It identifies a “sweet spot” where regional strengths, economic impact, and nationals’ employment preferences meet, allowing all these three aspects to be achieved. “The best drivers of diversification are those that have the strongest linkages with the rest of the economy,” said Gerard Gallagher, MENA advisory leader at EY. “These sectors are said to have a high economic multiplier – in other words, a dollar of investment translates into far more than a dollar of GDP due to the stimulation of other sectors.” If it grew construction and other “sweet spot” sectors rather than oil, the GCC region could gain an extra USD 17.7 billion in GDP, the report says. – ARABIAN BUSINESS

Business Traveller ME Award for InterContinental Regency Bahrain InterContinental Regency Bahrain was named the Best Business Hotel in Manama by the Business Traveller Middle East Award 2015. The official award ceremony was attended by more than 350 executives across the travel industry. Commenting on the honour, InterContinental Regency Bahrain Area General Manager Jan Ifcic said, “We are truly privileged to receive one of the most respected awards within the hospitality sector. Being singled out as the Best Business Hotel in Manama is a testament to the exemplary services we provide.” 12

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Special Feature

THE ART OF

LEADERSHIP 5 Leadership experts reveal proven techniques to become more successful than you ever imagined.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Special Feature

THE 8 ARCHETYPES OF LEADERSHIP

By Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries My approach to leadership assessment is based on observational studies of real leaders, mostly at the strategic apex of their organizations. My aim is to help them see and understand that their attitudes and interactions with people are the result of a complex confluence of their significant life experiences, examples set by other executives, and formal leadership training. As these influences play out over time, one typically sees a number of recurring patterns of behavior that influence an individual’s effectiveness within an organization. I think of these patterns as leadership “archetypes,” reflecting the various roles executives can play in organizations and it is a lack of fit between a leader’s archetype and the context in which he or she operates is a main cause of team and organizational dysfunctionality and executive failure. The eight archetypes I have found to be most prominent are:

1. The strategist Leadership as a game of chess. These people are good at dealing with developments in the organization’s environment. They provide vision,

strategic direction and outside-the-box thinking to create new organizational forms and generate future growth.

2. The change-catalyst Leadership as a turnaround activity. These executives love messy situations. They are masters at re-engineering and creating new organizational ‘‘blueprints.’’

3. The transactor Leadership as deal making. These executives are great dealmakers. Skilled at identifying and tackling new opportunities, they thrive on negotiations.

4. The builder Leadership as an entrepreneurial activity. These executives dream of creating something and have the talent and determination to make their dream come true.

5. The innovator Leadership as creative idea generation. These people are focused on the new. They possess a great capacity to solve extremely difficult problems.

HOW TO GET STUFF DONE! By Brian Tracy

Do you have a project you need to have completed by a certain deadline? Not sure how to go about planning it? Excellent project management starts by having and writing down a clear plan. A great way to plan your projects is to create a “PERT Chart.”

6. The processor Leadership as an exercise in efficiency. These executives like organizations to be smoothly running, well-oiled machines. They are very effective at setting up the structures and systems needed to support an organization’s objectives.

7. The coach Leadership as a form of people development. These executives know how to get the best out of people, thus creating high performance cultures.

8. The communicator Leadership as stage management. These executives are great influencers, and have a considerable impact on their surroundings. Working out which types of leaders you have on your team can work wonders for your effectiveness as a group. It helps you to recognize how you and your colleagues can individually make their best contributions. This will in turn create a culture of mutual support and trust, reduce team stress and conflict, and make for more creative problem solving.

Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries is a clinical professor of leadership development at INSEAD, where he holds the Raoul de Vitry d’Avaucourt Chair of Leadership Development.

What is a PERT Chart? When you create a visual representation of your larger tasks and projects you and others can see it in its totality. This is often called a PERT chart. This time management technique is used by the most efficient and effective people worldwide. This chart enables you to see a variety of ways to achieve the task with greater efficiency. Begin by determining the goals and objectives you must achieve to enjoy the outcomes you desire. Start with the end in mind. Take the time to develop absolute clarity about what Gulf Insider June 2015

Special Feature

your goals would look like if they were accomplished in an excellent fashion. Then, work back from the future to the present. Make a list of the logical steps, in the order that you need to take to get from where you are to where you want to be.

Time Management Plan Using a PERT Chart The use of a PERT chart, (“Program Evaluation Review Technique,”) sets out graphically all the steps you need to take, and when each one needs to be finished

the completed project is a mark of superior thinking and excellent project management. The rule is that every minute spent in planning and creating checklists will save you ten minutes in execution and getting the job done. This is another example of slow thinking that can dramatically increase your effectiveness and your output, and your ultimate value to your business. This graphic is an example of a PERT chart. There are many forms and styles available online for you to choose from. From the time you begin using a PERT chart, you may be quite amazed at how

A LEADER IS ONE WHO KNOWS THE WAY, GOES THE WAY, AND SHOWS THE WAY. John Maxwell for you to achieve the final goal. Perhaps the most powerful tool you can use to maximize your effectiveness and dramatically increase your level of accomplishment is a checklist. A checklist consists of a written series of steps, in chronological order, which you create in advance of beginning work in the first place.

Clearly Define Your Time Management Goals Your ability to clearly define and determine the steps that you will have to take from where you are today to 16

Gulf Insider June 2015

much more you accomplish and how few hiccups or conflicts there will be between the steps.

How to Create a PERT Chart 1. Start With the Final Product. Draw a line with each of your objectives or goals plotted backward from the required date of completion. Lay it out on paper so that you can see when you have to accomplish each part of the task in order to have the entire job completed on schedule. 2. Stay on Top of Your Projects. By thinking on paper, and using a PERT

chart, you take complete control of the sequence of events. You have a track to run on. You have a series of tasks that you can check on to be sure that they are completed on schedule and to a satisfactory level of quality. By using a PERT chart, you avoid being overwhelmed by deadlines. You are always on top of your work and your major projects. 3. Set Your Deadline. If you need something done by the end of the month, you can set your timeline with plenty of cushion at the 15th or 20th of the month just in case unexpected delays or problems arise. Always remember Murphy’s Law, “Whatever can do wrong, will go wrong.” Project Management Tip: The superior executive assumes that there will be problems, obstacles, unexpected delays and failures to complete the job on the schedule agreed upon. These are normal and natural parts of business life. Your job is to keep your hand on the pulse of the project continually, and then to solve the problems and remove the obstacles that are bound to arise.

Think Things Through in Advance Remember, the most wonderful time management talent you have is your ability to think, especially to think things through in advance. The more time you take to think and plan, on paper, the better results you will get, and the faster you will get those results.

Brian Tracy is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement.

Special Feature

STRENGTHEN YOUR STRATEGIC THINKING MUSCLES By Liane Davey

Being more strategic doesn’t mean making decisions that affect the whole organization. It requires only that you put the smallest decision in the context of the organization’s broader goals. Nurturing a relationship, such as one that could provide unique insight into a supplier, a customer, or a competitor is highly strategic. Everyone has an opportunity to think more strategically. What percentage of your workweek is spent in meetings? How much of the time left over is a mad dash to respond to emails, make phone calls, and do some actual work? Is there anything left? Under the guise of productivity, you have probably squeezed out thinking time. The result is decisions that are based more on reflex than on reflection. The risk of reflexive, knee-jerk decisions is that they tend to be based on what has worked before. That would be fine if our world was static, but it is not. Your industry, your competitors, your customers are changing at an unprecedented rate. Doing what you’ve always done can be as risky (or more risky) as trying a new and unproven approach. In this context, it’s critically important to make time to reflect before making decisions. What is involved? Who is involved? What is at stake? What is the opportunity and what are the risks? What at first seems like an opportunity

4 5

might reveal significant risk and what seemed risky at first might reveal a significant opportunity. Your other response to your harried life might be to make a list of things to accomplish, put your head down and get things done. But focusing too narrowly restricts your chance to be strategic. Strategic people create connections between ideas, plans, and people that others fail to see. Strategic people see the world as a web of interconnected ideas and people and they find opportunities to advance their interests at those connection points. But a person who reflects on situations and connects ideas and people still has one problem: it isn’t possible to do everything! Possibilities are unlimited; time, money, and resources are not. That necessitates the ability and willingness to make choices. In famous Renaissance group research, failure to focus on a few key strategies contributed to the failure to execute strategy. Making choices, both about what you will do and what you won’t, it is a critical part of being strategic. Closing one door in favor of another requires the courage to take action (for which you could later be blamed) and confidence to abandon an alternative (which could be a missed opportunity). It is at the point of choice

that your ability to be strategic is finally tested. It isn’t without risks, but the risk of not choosing, of spreading limited resources over too many options is greater. You will be seen as more strategic if you take action and course-correct than if you choose to stagnate and doing nothing or stall from trying to do everything. You don’t need a new title, more control, or bigger budgets to be more strategic; you just need to be more deliberate in your thoughts and actions. By investing time and energy to reflect on the situations and decisions that face you; by finding ways to connect ideas and people that you had never linked before; and by having the courage to make choices about what you will do and what you won’t, you will greatly increase your strategic contribution. Soon people will be looking at you differently, calling on you more often, and maybe even giving you that promotion you’ve been hoping for.

Liane Davey is the vice president of team solutions at Knightsbridge Human Capital. Her new book is You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done. She is also a co-author of Leadership Solutions: The Pathway to Bridge the Leadership Gap.

WORK WITH MEANING By Douglas A. Ready and Emily Stecker Truelove

Thomas Edison said, “The object of all work is production or accomplishment; and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose as well as perspiration.” That sums up what can be called purpose driven enterprises:

these companies know why they exist, what they want to accomplish and how their values will serve as guideposts along the journey. Because they understand that humans seek meaning in their work, they have infused their workforces with a compelling and ambitious purpose that

serves as a gravitational force — one that binds disparate people together, enabling them to achieve together what none could accomplish alone. A core sense of purpose, however, is just a starting point from which a host of other essential ingredients for a successful enterprise

Gulf Insider June 2015

Special Feature

flows. Purpose is more foundational than the ebbs and flows of the economy. It’s about why you exist in the first place. We believe that for companies, clarity on this question is crucial for sustained business success. Brand. Values. Vision. Strategy. Purpose. It’s easy to get confused and to feel that these terms are little more than management jargon. All too often, senior executives use the terms ‘vision’ and ‘strategy’ or ‘values’ and ‘leader behaviours’ interchangeably; but it is critical to be clear about what these various terms mean and how they can be used to reinforce one another in pursuit of sustained success. Years of experience working with

5. Brand promise The commitments made to stakeholders (customers, communities, investors, employees, regulators and partners) about the experience it will provide 6. Core values The guiding principles that dictate what the company stands for as an organisation in good times and bad 7. Leader behaviours How senior management acts day-by-day as they seek to implement the company’s vision and strategy in pursuit of fulfilling its brand promise and living up to its values. Purpose is at the centre of the compass. It is the intersection point

HE WHO HAS NEVER LEARNED TO OBEY CANNOT BE A GOOD COMMANDER.

Aristotle organisations across the globe have brought us to believe that there are seven terms that really matter, that, added together, provide a compass that leads to success. Call it the Collective Ambition Compass (CAC): 1. Purpose The company’s reason for being; why it exists; its core mission as an enterprise 2. Vision The position or status a company aspires to achieve within a reasonable time frame 3. Targets and milestones The metrics that are used to assess the extent to which a company has progressed towards its vision 4. Strategic and operational priorities The actions taken (and not taken) in pursuit of its vision

Gulf Insider June 2015

or link between ‘hard’ elements such as vision and strategic and operational priorities, which drive performance, and the ‘soft’ elements such as brand and values, which work to create a distinctive organisational climate. Leaders driving productive change or executing well-conceived enterprisewide initiatives step back and take the time to look at the variety of elements that should (indeed, must) interact with one another in order for these initiatives to have a solid chance of being executed successfully. Effective leaders understand the importance of shaping a powerful and compelling story of their companies’ futures. They also know it’s not simply about crafting a compelling story that inspires employees to fulfil the purpose. While we’ve seen the process of gaining

clarity on the CAC serve as a powerful engagement-builder, the engagement is a means to an end: executing strategies that make the compelling purpose a reality. There are many paths to shaping and implementing a collective ambition. And while there are no formulas, there are themes. First and foremost, purpose matters for business enterprises. Purpose is a potent source of employee engagement, of leadership development initiatives, of branding. It breeds trust, it can speed decision-making by defining boundary conditions more clearly; and it works beautifully as the centrepiece of compelling enterprise-wide change efforts. For companies seeking to become more purpose-driven, this is not about implementing a best practice here, a trendy programme there. It is about taking the pause and courage required to ask some tough questions: “Why is my company in business? What would the world lose if we were to disappear? Why is this purpose motivational for me? What do I uniquely contribute to this enterprise?” Without senior executives willing and able to ask and answer these questions - and engage the organisation in doing the same - the benefits of being or becoming more purpose-driven are likely to go unrealised. And that leads to a parting observation: the importance of having the right kind of leaders at the top. Unless senior leaders take the company’s purpose and associated leadership development activities seriously, an organisation will not reach its full potential.

Douglas A. Ready is a Visiting Professor at London Business School. He is also Founder and President of the International Consortium for Executive Development Research. Emily Stecker Truelove was a researcher at ICEDR and is a doctoral student in Organization Studies at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She is a co-author of Collective Genius, a forthcoming book about the relationship between leadership and innovation (Harvard Business Press, 2012).

Business

SELLING EXPERIENCES

An inside scoop on luxury hospitality on the island from Greg Pirkle, General Manager at the new Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay.

ow would you describe Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay in one sentence? It’s a contemporary urban resort.

Why ‘urban resort’? It’s all about the location and facilities. We are fully capable of catering to the resort market, such as people who come here for their weekend breaks, arriving mostly from Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, we have what it takes to meet the needs of our business travellers, who stay with us throughout the week.

Gulf Insider June 2015

How big of a challenge was it to open a brand new hotel from scratch? It was challenging, but also fun. We received a lot of support from our sister hotels in the GCC. We have also brought in some of the Four Seasons employees who requested to be transferred to Bahrain – they make up around 25 per cent of our total workforce. This is in line with the company’s internal staff development programme. It also helps carry our unique corporate culture. Luxury hotels keep popping up on Bahrain’s skyline. How will Four Seasons stay ahead in this market? The shareholders wouldn’t invest in

five star properties here if they didn’t believe that the market was going to grow. We have our certain clientele, and the other outlets will have theirs. We are actually excited about all the luxury venues coming onboard, as this trend will add more relevance to the destination, making it more attractive for both business and leisure travellers. Take Dubai, for example – it’s a wellknown fact that it has all sorts of hotels available, for any given budget size. Whereas in Bahrain, there are still only a few true five-star hotels that meet the international standards. What does it take to be considered a

Business

him design three of our seven outlets – re Asian Cuisine, his signature CUT steakhouse, and Blue Moon Lounge. While impressive, a dinner at any of your restaurants comes with a hefty bill… We make sure that we offer value for money. Perhaps we are pricey, but we never want to hear that we are overpriced. We want our guests to feel that although expensive, the experience was absolutely worth it. How do you make sure your guests don’t forget you as soon as they check out? We’re not just selling bedrooms to stay overnight; we’re selling experiences. We want to engage with our guests to make them feel that they are special to us – someone recognised them when they

The shareholders wouldn’t invest in five star properties here if they didn’t believe that the market was going to grow. true five-star property? In the US, you have to earn this status – through Forbes Travel Guide (previously known as Mobil Travel Guides) or AAA rating system – based on not just the facilities, but also the impeccable service standards. In fact, there are currently only 97 genuine five star hotels in the entire country. You really have to work for this right. Does the same apply in Bahrain? Although there is currently no formal rating system in place, there have been talks to introduce one in the region. If implemented, it will take into consideration both the services and the

amenities provided by a hotel. Can you tell us about your newly introduced dining concepts? What I learned when I first got here a year ago was that the locals, both Bahrainis and expats, judge a hotel based on how good the food and beverage is. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that this message was prevalent amongst our team. We began to work on our concepts years before the opening. We truly wanted to partner with a celebrity chef, so we approached Chef Wolfgang Puck as he had already collaborated with us on several projects. We decided to have

walked through the lobby; or someone asked them about their dinner at CUT on the previous night. They walk away with the feeling that there was a connection. What is the most important thing you wish you had known when starting your career? My first and most valuable lesson right out of school was that how you communicate with people makes a difference. We have three goals that we follow here, in this specific order: people, product, profit. If people and product are aligned properly, the profit will come.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Business

AJ Amyx and Andy Zitzmann

MAKING $30,000 A MONTH How these business coaches make $30,000 a month working and living wherever they want.

y the time they met in 2014, AJ Amyx and Andy Zitzmann were very familiar with professional coaching. In fact, between training, seminars, books, and coaches, the now 30 and 38-year-olds, respectively, had spent a combined $250,000 on professional development coaching over the course of their careers. Amyx, whose career ranged from working for a boutique advertising firm, and Zitzmann, who spent 11 years managing a $250 million business and hundreds of employees before leaving the corporate world, realized that there was one way in particular that the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs weren’t being met. “We both saw disconnects,” explains 22

Gulf Insider June 2015

They bring in an average of $20,000-$30,000 a month, and are expecting to make a consistent $50,000 a month by the end of the year. Amyx. “When people hire business coaches, they have to hire someone else for Facebook ads and to do their website.

There’s no one point where people could come into coaching and get everything they need: the mindset, marketing, and mechanics.” He combined his online advertising and marketing experience with Zitzmann’s managerial and coaching expertise to create Gametime Movement, a coaching business that specializes in helping others make the transition that they have: making a living online, living the lifestyle they want to lead. The company has a few different ways of making money: a month of oneon-one coaching for $2,000, or 90 days for $5,000; and Gametime University, a 12-week program that provides access to over 70 tutorial videos. Now they are granting free access to an online program called the Movement Marketing Summit for the first 48 hours it’s live, then sell unlimited access to that material for $97. Later this year they will release two more as-yet-unnamed products. When they first started the business, Amyx estimates they were putting in 12-14 hours a day, and they’re keeping a similar schedule as they prepare to launch the Summit. “People want a ‘lifestyle’ business and are intrigued by the concept, but the only way to achieve it is to view it as a career,” he explains. “One where you do work each day, with a ruthless commitment to be one of the best at your craft or skill set.” Altogether, they bring in an average of $20,000-$30,000 a month, and are expecting to make a consistent $50,000 a month by the end of the year. Typically, over 50% of what the business makes could be considered profit. Zitzmann now works from the beachfront condo he shares with his fiancé in Florida. Although their business is growing and they’re able to live the lifestyles they want, they have a few words of caution. “In this industry, so many people want to focus on the hype,” says Amyx. We want people to understand that you have to have something that people want to buy. You have to learn to get traffic, you have to learn to convert it, you have to learn to manage the business. You have to be willing to do the work and learn the skill set to actually have a lifestyle business.”

Finance

CUSTOMERS SAY

GCC BANKS ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH New Study Identifies an Industry Performance Benchmark.

anks in the GCC are not meeting customer expectations, according to a recent study by TNS, the world’s largest custom market research organisation. The study looked closely at the services offered by corporate banks with the outcome suggesting that ‘banks are just not delighting their corporate customers’, which is impacting customerbank relationship, as well as provoking a resistance to offering customer referrals. “It seems that customers of corporate banking services believe their bank could up-the-ante on service and this sentiment negatively affects the willingness to recommend banks to others. Indeed, even after rating a bank’s performance as good, more than 70 per cent of respondents are not willing to offer a recommendation,” said Stephen

The study highlights the need for banks to improve across customer experience, longterm relationship management, faster responsiveness, as well as turnaround time. Hillebrand, CEO, TNS Middle East. The study highlights the need for banks to improve across customer

experience, long-term relationship management, faster responsiveness, as well as turnaround time. It also suggests that local banks have ‘some catching up to do’ when compared to multi-national players (MNC). “Another interesting observation is that the performance of financing products and treasury services specifically is considered ‘below average’,” says Hillebrand. He noted that an opportunity exists for local banks to better use the industry strategy dubbed ‘know your customer’ (KYC), and noted a high interest in Islamic banking, specifically for credit facilities, such as bilateral and syndicated loans, as well as project financing. The TNS Annual Corporate Banking Excellence Study was created by TNS Middle East following face-to-face conversations with senior finance directors across more than 425 organisations. Those surveyed included SMEs with annual turnover of AED 30-100 million, medium-sized enterprises with annual turnover AED 100-500 million, and large corporates with minimum annual turnover of AED 500 million. “This first-of-its-kind corporate banking study was generated to ensure that the UAE and GCC banking sectors have a neutral industry standard that focuses on the voice of customer. “Time is money and a bank’s ability to respond, provide solutions and be proactive will improve reputation. The call from customers seems to be to marry delivery with a basket of services customised to each corporate segment needs and wants. This will result in a win-win,” Hillebrand concluded.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Telecoms

ADVERTORIAL

ALWAYS A STEP AHEAD Bahrain becomes the first in the region to host a global IP connectivity hub for all operators.

IVA Bahrain and BT, one of the world’s leading communications services and solutions providers, announced last month the launch of Bahrain’s Global IP Exchange (GIPX) interoperability hub. BT IP Exchange is an interoperability service that enables fixed, mobile, legacy, and next-generation networks to interconnect in a way that minimises the cost and technical burden of protocol conversion. Specially developed to meet the growing need for connectivity between voice-over-IP operators, traditional communications providers, and converged service providers, BT IP Exchange provides essential interworking between the various communications technologies currently used by businesses and consumers around the world.

First in the Region “Bahrain is the first nation to host a hub providing global IP connectivity to all operators in the Gulf region and Middle East. This launch reaffirms our kingdom as a regional leader in the telecommunications industry and underlines our Government’s 24

Gulf Insider June 2015

commitment to building a strong knowledge-based economy,” said His Excellency, Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications. “We are convinced that cost effectiveness and faster connectivity will also reinforce Bahrain’s position as an attractive business friendly environment,” he added.

New Benefits With the launch of the GIPX hub, VIVA Bahrain delivers hosting and connectivity, whilst providing a new route to market BT’s Global IP Exchange Voice and interoperability services in the region. It will also enable BT to extend its Global IP Exchange footprint to the Middle East. The new GIPX hub is expected to be of particular interest to mobile and fixed service providers across countries such as Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, who need to terminate international voice traffic to other countries. By using the GIPX hub, those operators benefit from convenient, simplified, and seamless access, enabling them to provide their end customers with fully

BT Global Services-MENA region MD, Wael El-Kabbany, H.E Eng. Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation & Telecommunications and VIVA CEO Eng. Ulaiyan Al Wetaid interoperable services and innovative products. The hub unlocks significant pull-through business for mobile roaming, Wi-Fi roaming, and other future IP Exchange propositions. For consumers, applications such as HD voice, video calling, and Wi-Fi roaming and 4G-roaming will become easier to access and less expensive than they are today,” explained VIVA Bahrain CEO Ulaiyan Al Wetaid.

Merging Technology with Creativity BT Global Services Middle East and North Africa Managing Director Wael ElKabbany commented, “We have worked together with VIVA for more than five years and share the same outlook on leadership, dynamism, innovation, and how the creative use of technology can help deliver a great performance. The hub will help further develop a new ICT ecosystem and encourage global players to drive new ICT services, in addition to offering the latest technology services to the home market. “It is also a key building block in the execution of our strategy aiming at rolling out a fully federated Global IP Exchange infrastructure around the world.”

Property

THE RICHEST REAL ESTATE TYCOONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST Behind the projects that made the region’s property billionaires rich.

audi Arabia’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud is the Middle East’s richest real estate tycoon, according to the 2015 Forbes Billionaires List. A member of the Saudi royal family, he is one of three businessmen from the region with significant interests in real estate worth an estimated $US 1 billion or more. We take a closer look at the property portfolios of the region’s top three billionaires who have made all or part of their fortune in real estate.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia

Majid Al Futtaim, United Arab Emirates

Bahaa Hariri, Lebanon

Net worth: $22.7 Billion

Net worth: $US 6.2 billion

Net worth: $US 2.3 billion

As the chief executive officer of Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud invests in hotels and real estate. His hotel management companies include Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Movenpick Hotels and Resorts and Fairmont Raffles Holding. He has invested in some of the world’s most iconic ultra-luxury hotels, owning the five-star Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris and part of London’s famous Savoy Hotel.

The second richest person in the UAE, Majid Al Futtaim runs one of the largest commercial property developers in the region. His Majid Al Futtaim Group currently operates in 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. His property portfolio includes 17 shopping malls and 11 hotels across the MENA region. His retail developments attract 175 million shoppers per year.

The son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Bahaa Hariri is a key property developer in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. As the founder of the Horizon Group, Hariri is working with the Jordanian government on commercial and residential development in central Amman. In 2014, a $US 423 million project called The Boulevard, located in Amman’s downtown district Abdali, was unveiled. Other projects currently under development include the upscale mixeduse Verdun Gardens site and Place Verdun mall, both in Beirut.

Info compiled by Lamudi, a global property portal focusing exclusively on emerging markets. The platform is currently available in 32 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, with more than 800,000 real estate listings and offers sellers, buyers, landlords and renters a secure and easy-to-use platform to find or list properties online.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Property

BAHRAINI BUYERS BOOSTED AS DOORS OPEN INTO EUROPE’S MARKET Strong US dollar and unexpected UK Election result set to bolster Bahraini investment activity, says Cluttons.

he European Union has been at the centre of financial difficulties since the Great Recession, with positive economic news from the bloc remaining limited. With the Bahraini Dinar pegged to the US dollar and performing strongly, investment in European property is expected to rise markedly, according to leading international real estate consultancy, Cluttons.

Gulf Insider June 2015

European Allure

Faisal Durrani, Cluttons’ international research manager explained: ”There is no doubt that the performance of the US dollar has unlocked the door for a significant potential upturn in cross border property investment. The weakness of the Euro means that Dinar buyers are now about 23% richer than this time last year, in Euro terms. This

clearly makes an EU based property investment particularly attractive. “With most GCC states maintaining a fixed peg to the US Dollar, they are all well positioned to leverage this tremendous currency advantage that does not look set to weaken in the short term, especially as the Greek financial saga lingers.” Joanna Leverett, head of international residential agency added: “We know

Property

through our research that property is always a favourite investment asset class amongst the world’s wealthy and London, along with other key European capitals, consistently features on top of property investment hot-spot lists.” Our new office in Andalucia, in southern Spain has been a run-away success. British buyers in particular have been quick to sense the bottoming out of the Spanish property market and with Sterling retaining its edge over the Euro, UK buyers are rapidly snapping up second homes across the sun drenched Spanish coast. And this is a pattern we are seeing echoed across southern Europe. The rich Islamic heritage of

completely dissipated. The ‘Mansion Tax’ really would have been a tax on London and the South East, where almost 90% of the UK’s £2 million plus properties are concentrated”, said Leverett. The other policy being touted before the election was a potential Rent Cap, but this has also quickly faded. The disadvantage for the UK from a restrictive rent cap would be the undermining of its Private Rented Sector, which is currently driving substantial capital inflows from overseas not only into London, but up and down the country. Durrani concluded: “The London housing market is now poised to come out of a holding pattern that stalled growth in the lead up to one of the most

“Still, despite this domestic backdrop, GCC-based buyers are currently looking at an 8%-10% currency advantage due to the strength of the US Dollar. And with our forecasts showing house price growth of almost 18% over the next five years, the historic capital value growth appeal of London will continue driving inward investment. In fact, net inward institutional commercial property investment into the UK during Q1 was almost 150% up on the first quarter of 2014 and was led chiefly by dollar based funds, which accounted for 40% of the total, according to Property Data.”

GCC-based buyers are currently looking at an 8%-10% currency advantage due to the strength of the US Dollar. southern Spain is likely to add to the overall appeal to GCC buyers.”

UK Investment Landscape Cluttons also believes that the surprise result in the UK General Election means that the country is set to enjoy an extended period of economic stability and growth, while the continuity of the governing Conservative Party is expected to eliminate any anxieties surrounding previous worries of a hung parliament. “The threat of a coalition government that excluded the Conservatives and one that planned to undermine the housing policies introduced under David Cameron has now dissipated, much to the delight of the investment community. We can now safely say that the risk of an annual “Mansion Tax”, aimed at properties valued at over £2 million (~BHD1.24 million) has

closely contested elections in recent history. Vendors and investors withdrew from the market early in the year and activity was trending downwards across the board. While we do not anticipate a sudden surge in demand this year, the stability offered by a landscape of political continuity is expected to translate into a resumption in transactional activity, which will of course remain curtailed by a general lack of supply and restrictions on mortgage lending.

23%

The weakness of the Euro means that Dinar buyers are now about 23% richer than this time last year. Gulf Insider June 2015

Property

SAUDI ARABIA’S NEXT SUPER-CITY $100 billion project will house two million people by 2035.

he man leading the construction of Saudi Arabia’s new $100 billion super-city in the middle of the desert has announced that the ambitious project will be finished by 2035 - with 50,000 people moving in just five years from now. Fahd al-Rasheed, the Group CEO of Emaar Economic City, which is behind the gargantuan development, declared ‘the sky’s the limit’ for the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), ten years after work began and with roughly 15 per cent of the pop-up metropolis complete. Built entirely from scratch, the KAEC will eventually house two million residents spread across over 100 square kilometers - roughly the same size as the US capital, Washington DC. Located around 100 kilometers north of Saudi Arabia’s current commercial hub, Jeddah - and built entirely on previously unoccupied desert land - it’ll have hospitals, schools and golf courses, with the city’s blueprint also including

Gulf Insider June 2015

Fahd al-Rasheed is in charge of the build

a port capable of handling 20 million containers a year, an industrial complex, a financial island, beach facilities and residential neighbourhoods. Once complete, KAEC will serve as the main logistics and manufacturing hub for countries on the Red Sea. Mr al-Rasheed said: ‘Putting that first phase together is the most difficult point ‘Once you figure it out, the sky is the limit, so we are in that phase now.’ Plans for the new build were first announced in 2005 by the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Largely privately funded, the Saudi government has set up an Economic Cities Authority to help oversee not only the KAEC, but also the three other megacities in the oil-rich country’s construction pipeline. The late King Abdullah, who died in January this year, had pinned his hopes for his country’s future on the innovative builds, with oil supplies naturally dwindling.

Property

Delegates look at a scaled model of how the finished King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) will look upon completion in 2035

The project is part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to ‘diversify away from oil’ and create jobs. Mr al-Rasheed previously told the BBC: ‘We’re building with the 65 per cent of the population who are under-30 in mind, and we have almost 200,000 Saudis studying abroad. ‘Inevitably, they are going to change things when they come back.’ Although the KAEC currently resembles a dusty building site dotted with cranes, the city is envisioned to eventually be home to two million people. The target for 2020, according to al-Rasheed - is 50,000 residents and 28,000 jobs, with 25 percent of the city,

Built entirely from scratch, the KAEC will eventually house two million residents spread across over 100 square kilometers - roughly the same size as the US capital, Washington DC.

or 45 million square metres, developed. High-speed train links to Jeddah and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina will open in due course, allowing the city to also become a major travel and tourist hub. The Haramain train station will launched at the turn of the year and has been designed by British architect Norman Foster. Insiders say that its future hinges on many things, not just the construction and funding, including the complex relationships between health, education, housing and employment requirements and infrastructure.

This photograph shows part of the development which is well underway, with 15 per cent of the city already constructed Gulf Insider June 2015

Affairs

BREAKING THE SICKENING SILENCE By Tariq A. Al Maeena

hot new topic has taken over the Saudi social media scene. It is not the coordinated Saudi-led military assault dubbed ‘Storm of Resolve’ on the strongholds of Al Houthi rebels in Yemen. It pertains to an attack much closer to home, a heinous act perpetrated by a perverted individual in broad daylight. The assault took place a little before midday last month during the weeklong spring break in the coastal city of Jeddah. Dareen, a 23-year-old, was repeatedly stabbed by a young man who made unwanted advances on her. According to eyewitnesses, Dareen was 30

Gulf Insider June 2015

on an outing with her aunt and cousin when they decided to stop at a popular cafe in front of Jeddah’s scenic corniche. As Dareen waited outside the coffee shop taking in the beauty of the Red Sea, a young man approached her and started harassing her. Trying to avoid him, she turned and started walking towards the cafe. Incensed at her snub, he grabbed her from behind and pushed her to the ground. He then drew out a paper cutter from his pocket and began stabbing her in the back, neck, face and shoulder. The incident on the sidewalk quickly drew attention but unfortunately it was of the wrong kind. Several spectators

began taking out their mobile phones to document the vicious attack without bothering to intervene. It was only when a young Saudi roller-skater who happened to pass by came to her rescue that Dareen’s ordeal ended and the attacker took off. Dareen was bleeding profusely from the neck when her rescuer Abdullah Al Sharbini got to her and chased the assailant away. Quickly applying some pressure to stop the bleeding, Abdullah waited a few moments before others joined in the rescue and then he took off after the assailant. He was fortunate to catch up with the assailant and take some

Affairs

courage to defend himself and others when confronted with such a situation. Just by being an idle bystander and not coming to the rescue is intolerable”.

Wave of indignation Although the culprit behind the attack on Dareen was soon arrested with pictures of him and the vehicle licence plate before latter sped away. The police arrived at the scene five minutes later. Dareen was rushed to the nearest government hospital where she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition with a vein in her neck severed and a nerve controlling her speech functions damaged. Dareen’s ordeal didn’t end there. One of her relatives who accompanied her to hospital charged that Dareen was left unattended for nine hours, except when bandages were applied to stop the bleeding. The relative charged that there was very little urgency shown by the hospital staff to provide emergency medical attention to Dareen given her lifethreatening condition, and that it was only after much pleading and threatening that she was taken, unconscious, for X-rays and then to the operating room. “This neglect of emergency [attention] by the hospital staff has led to the added torment of her family,” the relative said. The incident, which happened in broad daylight in the country’s most cosmopolitan city, swept through social media like wildfire. One woman, a relative of the victim, said she intends to educate the community on how to respond to such crimes and has launched a campaign dubbed ‘We are all Dareen’ to highlight the dangers that women face and to spread awareness among members of the community on how to respond to such incidents. The activist called upon society to “come together in solidarity against such acts. Every person must have the

Every person must have the courage to defend himself and others when confronted with such a situation. Just by being an idle bystander and not coming to the rescue is intolerable.

the blood of his victim still staining his clothes, that did not halt a wave of indignation from Saudis shocked at the way the sordid incident had panned out. Mona, a young mother of three, said: “I shudder to think what would happen to me in such a situation. Perhaps more deadly than the wounds would be to witness the callousness of bystanders busily clicking away with their camera

phones while I am under attack.” Another said: “There should be visible security in such places and tough antiharassment laws like in other countries in the Gulf. This act is neither civilised nor Islamic and it is a shame upon all of us.” It should not be forgotten that were it not for the timely arrival of a brave young man — who put his life in danger when he confronted the attacker and prevented further damage — the girl could have been dead today. How many of us would act in such situations and how many others would continue to stand by and click away?

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi sociopolitical commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Affairs

ASTOUNDING REALITY OF PUBLIC SECTOR OFFICIALS Tariq A. Al-Maeena

t never ceases to amaze me how often what we are told by some of our esteemed public service officials when it comes to the services they provide is so far removed from the truth. Either we don’t live in the same city or something is off-key and perhaps meant to keep us forever muddled and befuddled. In days gone by, it was very convenient for public sector officials to grab at buzzwords to pacify an increasingly irritated public. At that time, one of the most abused four-letter words used by our public service officials when addressing queries to long-outstanding problems or issues in their organization was the word “soon”. It was the weapon of choice to placate a frustrated public. Department heads became adept at brushing off the concerns of people with that simple four-letter word. As an example, in the last decade of the last century, it was announced that the national airline, Saudia, would “soon” be privatized and that services offered to the public would improve. At every press conference, the airline spokesmen were quick to dismiss queries on the

Gulf Insider June 2015

One of the most abused fourletter words used by our public service officials when addressing queries was the word “soon”. issue with the word “soon”. For some odd reason, the new century started with little sign of any headway on the privatization issue. Indeed in recent times, there have been some units of the company privatized, but if you were the parent of a primary school child when you first heard of the privatization of the national airline, by the time it fully materializes and goes public, you would most likely have been attending the university graduation ceremony of your child. “Soon” is only relative to those who utter it.

In that era, there were countless promises of “soon” by many others. Buoyed by the lack of accountability in the public sector, department heads were quick to pounce on any shortcomings in the performance of their sector by promising that “soon” everything would be sorted out and excellent service would be restored. We heard it from Jeddah Airport officials in explaining away their dilapidated and outdated facilities. We heard from the Ministry of Social Services that all public buildings would “soon” have facilities for disabled people with wheelchair ramps, handrails and special toilet facilities. They even proclaimed that there would be special parking areas reserved for the disabled, with special parking stickers for their vehicles. A physically disabled individual would find such statements challenging today. We heard from the Ministry of Education and the Civil Defense in the dark days following the Makkah school fire in 2002 that resulted in the tragic death of 15 schoolgirls the assurances that all schools would “soon” be subjected to a rigorous fire safety and structural inspection and all offending schools would be shut down. Did that really take place? Unless my eyes deceive me, some schoolchildren are still entering dilapidated buildings which I can only assume are major firetraps judging from the look of the exteriors? In early 2001, if my memory serves me right, the Ministry of Transport announced plans that would “soon” ease traffic problems in major cities, such as Jeddah and Riyadh, with a system of flyovers and a public transport and shuttle bus system. The crowding of our streets according to those officials would “soon” be a thing of the past. Fifteen years on and I’m still waiting. Such dismissive and empty statements by department heads are indeed a disservice to the nation as they are not backed by any action. Perhaps “soon”, they should all be shown the door.

The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena

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GULF ROUNDUP NEWS AROUND THE GCC AND BEYOND

LIFE IN THE GULF

Saudi Women to Vote for First Time Saudi Arabia has drawn up the legislation required to allow women to vote in council elections for the first time. Saudi women will be able to vote and stand as candidates in the upcoming municipal elections from this December. The kingdom announced the ground-breaking constitutional reforms last year. Now, it has drawn up the legislation required to enact the changes, according to the Saudi Gazette. Article 66 of the new law stipulates that any citizen with a valid ID can participate in the next municipal elections as a voter or candidate. Under the law, local committees will prepare separate electoral centres for registered women to cast their vote. Women will also help organise the elections, appointing electoral committees and overseeing the process for female voters. Men and women aged 25 or above and without any criminal record will be able to contest elections in the area in which they have been registered as voters. Women could not vote or stand as candidates in the 2011 election but Saudi ruler King Abdullah ordered in 2014 that women should be allowed to take part in the elections from 2015. – ARABIAN BUSINESS

TRA Bahrain: 18 Minutes on Average for Mobile Ports The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Bahrain reduced the time taken for a port to be successful to an average of 18 minutes on mobile ports and 33 minutes for fixed line ports, while it took three working hours for mobile ports and three working hours and 50 minutes for fixed ports last year. The Authority’s Technical and Operations Director Eng. Mohammed Alnoaimi stated that since the Authority launched the number portability system in the kingdom in 2011, which allowed the residents of Bahrain to change providers while keeping their original numbers, the requests for mobile number port-outs have reached 186,749 in total with an average of 4,150 requests per month, while fixed line requests tally up to 4,958 in total with a monthly average of 118.

Gulf Insider June 2015

McCormack Grabs Win for Bahrain Endurance Team in Indonesia In his first outing since being named director of the Bahrain Endurance 13 Team, four-time triathlon world champion Chris “Macca” McCormack topped the sprint distance at the Bintan Triathlon last month, finishing in a time of one hour, three minutes, and four seconds. He also joined a team in the Olympic distance race in the afternoon.

News

Saudi Arabia to build world’s largest hotel Plans have been unveiled to build the world’s largest hotel, which could be open as early as 2017. The Abraj Kudai, will be located in the holy city of Mecca. With twelve 44-story towers containing 10,000 rooms, the hotel, which is being created by multi-national design group Dar Al Handasah. Work has already begun on the $3.5 billion project, which will feature 70 restaurants, multiple helipads, whole floors devoted to royalty and one of the largest domes in the world, according to reports by design website designMENA. Ten of the towers will cater for four-star guests, while the remaining two will offer luxurious five-star amenities. On its website, Dar Al Handasah states: ‘With a total site area of approximately 60,000 m² and total built-up area of around 1.4 million m², the project is a residential and commercial complex that consists of a large podium topped by 12 towers accommodating several elements such as a podium housing a bus station, a shopping mall, restaurants and food courts, a convention center and car parks. The five star towers offer all related services for the visitors of the Holy Kaaba. The interiors - expected to match the opulence expected of the local area will be designed by London-based Areen Hospitality design practice. Much of Mecca’s historic architecture has now been demolished, including the house of Khadijah, the wife of Muhammad, and the house of Abu Bakr, which is now the site of the Hilton hotel. While many buildings were destroyed to make way for accommodation and facilities for the influx of prilgrims each year, some of the destruction is due to Saudi Wahhabism, which fears that placing significance on religious places may lead to shirk or idolatry.

Double Win for Oman Air at World Travel Awards Middle East 2015 Oman Air has won two awards at the World Travel Awards Middle East 2015. The national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman came top in the ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline – Business Class’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline – Economy Class’ categories at a ceremony, held on last month at the Four Seasons Resort Dubai. This is the second year in a row that Oman Air takes the titles, which are voted for by travel and tourism professionals worldwide.

Top Cities for Millionaires in ME According to ‘The 2014 Middle East Wealth Report’, published by New World Wealth, there are 48,000 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in Istanbul and 42,000 in Dubai, making them the top two regional destinations for millionaires. The survey puts New York at number one with 103 billionaires; Moscow at number two with 85 such rich individuals, followed by Hong Kong (82), London (72), and Beijing (37). On the regional front, New World Wealth puts Doha after the Turkish capital and Dubai. The city is home to 27,000 HNWIs followed by Kuwait City with 25,000 millionaires; Riyadh with 24,000 well-heeled, and Abu Dhabi with 15,000 rich people. Tehran follows with 14,000 and Beirut is home to 9,000 ultrarich, according to the report. The statistics show that there are approximately 460,000 HNWIs living in Middle East (as of December 2014), with combined wealth holdings of USD 2.2 trillion. This equates to 48 per cent of total wealth held in the region (USD 4.6 trillion). The report takes into account the wealth or net value of assets (assets less liabilities, excluding primary residences. Local HNWIs include all individuals who are living or working in each country, including expats. – EMIRATES 24l7

Gulf Insider June 2015

Travel TRAVEL INSIDER

WELCOME TO

VICTORIA! Nick Cooksey discovers that, although Australia’s smallest mainland state, Victoria offers history, culture, and magnificent wilderness.

couple of month’s ago I visited Victoria for the first time. Much of the time was spent in its capital city, Melbourne. Though only an hour’s flight from Sydney, the two cities have very different atmospheres and cultures. Where Sydney is tropical and New World, Melbourne is cooler and has an “old world”, European feel to it. In fact I have heard it described as being as a European city ‘should’ be. Melbourne is known as Australia’s “Culture Capital”. It has one of the highest densities of commercial art galleries anywhere in the world, with more than 130 art galleries and museums; it boasts the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, Museum Victoria; it has the largest collection of Australian art on permanent display at the Ian Potter Centre “NGV Australia”; it has a rich history of literary culture and creative talent and was recently appointed as a UNESCO City of Literature; it is home to a third of

Gulf Insider June 2015

Travel

all Australian writers and to Australia’s publishing sector. Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens contains an impressive 51,000 plants representing 12,000 species. These are arranged as an extensive ornamental garden, in which botanical collections and plants of historical interest are aesthetically integrated. I would go for early morning walks along the city’s streets and enter the beautiful parks. The morning air was invigorating. I stayed at the Stamford Plaza Hotel (+61 3 9659 000), which was conveniently located in the heart of the city and which has an old world charm combined with every modern convenience – just like Melbourne itself. One of the city highlights for me was eating at Florintinos, a fine dining experience owned by Australia’s celebrity chef Guy Grossi who on the night I was there took the trouble to visit each diners table after their meal for a friendly chat. I describe it as a ‘dining experience’, and that’s what it was – proudly serving the finest Australian, and only Australian, meat and produce. A taste sensation! Australia has the greatest food in the world and I took time out one morning to

Melbourne is known as Australia’s “Culture Capital”. It has one of the highest densities of commercial art galleries anywhere in the world. visit the Queen Elizabeth Market. Every stallholder seemed to be an expert in their own particular produce and happy to discuss it - and offer free sample tasters. Tasting my way around the market was a delight and made me wish we had something similar in these parts. I also recommend a visit to Melbourne’s Eureka Tower, home to the highest viewing deck in the Southern Hemisphere. The glass on the top ten

floors is 24 carat gold-plated, and it boasts a 360 degree observation level called Skydeck 88, on the 88th floor. If sport is ‘your thing’, each year Melbourne plays host to tens of thousands of interstate and overseas visitors who come to see the Australian Open Tennis Championships, the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian 500CC Motorcycle Grand Prix, Spring Racing Carnival, the Australian Football League Grand Final, and many more sporting events. The Melbourne Cup, ‘the race that stops the nation’, is the richest handicap race in the world, run annually on the first Tuesday of November.

AND GETTING OUT OF MELBOURNE… 1. Parks Galore Victoria boasts 36 national parks and 13 marine national parks as well as a number of state parks, regional parks, botanical gardens, wilderness reserves, metropolitan parks, reservoir parks, and aboriginal cultural heritage reserves.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Travel

high steel structured treetop canopy. It is the longest and tallest walkway of its type in the world.

4. Soothing the Soul

2. The Road Trip Must-Do The Great Ocean Road is a 243-kilometre stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia. The road trip is recommended by Conde Naste as one of the ten must-do drives in the world. I took a couple of days to explore it for myself and have many warm memories I shall forever treasure. Just two that come to mind as I write this were my visiting the famous Twelve Apostles limestone formations, and on the last day of my journey relaxing by a roadside café in a small town eating pizza at dusk while watching wild kangaroos hoping around.

Gulf Insider June 2015

“Muslim friendly” There is a large and growing Muslim community in Melbourne and virtually all meat sold throughout the state, whether in stores or restaurants, is Halal!

3. The Awe-Inspiring Trek Located 20 minutes’ drive inland from Apollo Bay, The Otway Fly Treetop Walk is an hour-long treetop rainforest walk along a 600 metre long and 30 metre

Victoria’s spa centre towns of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, located 90 minutes’ drive from Melbourne, are surrounded by more than 60 natural mineral springs. These spa towns are havens for holistic health and wellbeing with more than 200 therapies on offer.

5. The Link to Indigenous Culture The spectacular Grampians National Park, located 3.5 hours’ drive from Melbourne, encompasses an area that is more than 500 million years old and 100 kilometres long and 50 kilometres wide. A number of Aboriginal tribes live in the region and regard the park as a sacred place.

Qantas operate daily flights between Bahrain and Melbourne. To view the flight schedules, visit www.qantas.com.au or contact the call center on +973 1721 1585.

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Life

o. N e l i f o r P Insider

DR RASHID AL JALAHMA PhD in TQM implementation, HoD of Quality and Performance Improvement Department at Ministry of Defence, and part-time Assistant Professor at Royal University for Women

hat does the term ‘quality management’ mean to you? The main objective of quality management is to increase effectiveness of the organisation. One way to achieve this is by improving the processes that bring profit, and the second – by reducing defects and eliminating extra costs to create capital for further development. Your doctoral thesis at Brunel Business School was nominated as the most impressive thesis on TQM of 2012 and your research paper on TQM was granted ‘Best Paper of the Year’ award in 2011. Can you tell us more about your research and theories? The most cherished thing about my thesis is that it is the first holistic approach attempting to identify how certain types of organisational c u l t u r e affect the implementation

of the total quality management (TQM). Measuring these relationships was the most valued part of my research. Last year, I have published my first book, “Role Of Organisational Culture In TQM Success” in addition to developing online tools – available on my website – for practical application of my research findings. How can your findings benefit Bahraini companies? Bahrain needs an understanding of how the TQM approach can be implemented with a high rate of success. My research contributes to the provision of such an understanding. It provides the government of Bahrain with a set of recommendations that seek to enhance effective TQM implementation. How do you translate this indepth knowledge into practice as the head of quality management department? Generally, we are using TQM as a philosophy and a set of

guiding principles. I believe in continuous improvement approach that focuses on doing things right the first time. As a senior consultant in quality management, performance excellence, and organisational culture – what are the most common issues you deal with? Like in many other developing countries, the businesses in Bahrain need extensive quality and cultural improvement. I face the same impediments in my organisation. There is evidence that lack of quality culture results in slow development. In Bahrain, standards of quality, employee skills, the employee talent pool, and employee performance need to advance considerably. Above all, deficiency of skilled employees and lack of training are the key challenges in the kingdom’s economy. My major concern is also with the SMEs being unaware of what quality management is, how it can be implemented, and what advantages the enterprise could derive from it. Apart from your professional interests, what is your passion? My professional career is a perfect match for my skills and interests; it inspires me and fuels my desire to perform better, work harder. I believe one of the most important elements of personal happiness is being passionate about one’s career. I’m not the kind of person who lives for the weekends and fears the Saturday evenings. Life is too short not to love the work you do.

Dr Rashid’s book, “Role Of Organisational Culture In TQM Success: Impact of organisational culture on TQM implementation barriers” is available on www.amazon.com. For more information, visit www.dr-rsjalahma.com 40

Gulf Insider June 2015

Life

10 THINGS

CREATIVE PEOPLE DO THAT LEAD TO SUCCESS

ne of the marks of a truly successful individual or company is how innovative they are. The creativity it takes to be truly innovative is what successfully separates one business from the rest. Creativity can accelerate a company’s profits and growth beyond that of its less-innovative competitors. Believe it or not, anyone can be creative. For some, it may take a little more practice than for others, but it is still achievable.

3. Learn

- They have a passion for learning outside their existing knowledge through reading and new experiences. Their curiosity drives them to ask tough questions.

alone to allow their minds to wander. Research has proven that daydreaming can bring out your best creative self because it can stimulate connections within your brain and provide insights you may not have considered.

4. Play

8. Take risks

- They revisit their inner child daily by remembering the joys from their childhood. They understand that to play like a child is to remain creative.

5. Foster flexibility

- Creative people are great observers — catching details using all of their senses. They come up with some of their most creative ideas by observing others.

- Truly creative people are in tune with their own internal creativity clock — typically not your usual workday hours. They know when their creativity is set to high. Whether it is first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night.

2. Make opportunities

6. Remain open-minded - They are not

1. Observe

- Creative people change their failures into opportunities by assessing what went wrong and coming up with creative ways to prevent the same or similar mistake from happening again.

quick to make judgments and evaluate and question their initial observations before proceeding.

7. Daydream - Creative types spend time

- To imagine a product, create it, and then put the product out there for all to see is risky, but for creative people risk taking provides them with a sense of power and is intrinsically motivating and rewarding.

9. Nurture - Creative people know when it’s time for a break. Research shows that a change in scenery can recharge your creativity.

10. Imagine -

They don’t just think about success, they feel this success using all of their senses. Almost anyone can use imagery to see and feel possibilities and it can improve with practice even if you initially don’t believe in it.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Life

7 SHORT BOOKS

THAT ARE WORTH MORE THAN AN MBA Over the past few decades, the value of an MBA has declined, probably because the academic world can’t keep up with the rapid pace of change in the business world. Relatively few entrepreneurs have MBAs, but many of the successful ones have read and truly treasure these seven short, easy-to-read classics:

1. “Who Moved My Cheese?,” By Spencer Johnson What It Teaches: Countless books have been written about disruptive innovation and how every individual and company must adapt to an ever-increasing pace of change. No book, however, has explained the situation (and what to do about it) so succinctly and vividly. Best Quote: “What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.”

Gulf Insider June 2015

2. “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” By Robert T. Kiyosaki What It Teaches: In addition to the basics of personal finance (without which success is pointless), this book explains why building and owning businesses is the most reliable way to gain wealth. It destroys the absurd notion that a salaried job represents financial security and shows you how to think like an entrepreneur. Best Quote: “Mankind is divided into rich and poor, into property owners and exploited, and to abstract oneself from this fundamental division and from the antagonism between poor and rich means abstracting oneself from fundamental facts.”

3. “The Greatest Salesman in the World,” By Og Mandino What It Teaches: If you can’t sell your ideas, your product, or your services, you will never be successful in business. You could read dozens of books about selling, but they all come down to the simple truths in this book, which is definitely one of the top 10 sales books of all time. Warning: This book won’t just make you more successful in business. It will make you more successful at life, as well. Best Quote: “I will live this day as if it is my last. This day is all I have and these hours are now my eternity. I greet this sunrise with cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death. I lift mine arms with thanks for this priceless gift of a new day. So too, I will beat upon my heart with gratitude as I consider all who greeted yesterday’s sunrise who are no longer with the living today. I am indeed a fortunate man and today’s hours are but a bonus, undeserved. Why have I been allowed to live this extra day when others, far better than I, have departed? Is it that they have accomplished their purpose while mine is yet to be achieved? Is this another opportunity for me to become the man I know I can be?”

Life

4. “The Elements of Style,”

5. “The One Minute Manager,”

6. “How to Lie With Statistics,”

By William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

By Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

By Darrell Huff

What It Teaches: Now that emailing, texting, and social networking are the core of business communication, the ability to write clearly has never been more essential. After reading this book, you’ll be a better writer than you were before and better than your lessinformed colleagues.

What It Teaches: If there’s a better and more simple definition of what it means to be a good manager, I’ve yet to find it. This book contains more business wisdom (and ways to put it to use) than a dozen libraries full of academic case studies. Every boss or would-be boss should read this book.

Best Quote: “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

Best Quote: “If you can’t tell me what you’d like to be happening, you don’t have a problem yet. You’re just complaining. A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening.”

What It Teaches: A defining characteristic of every business today is the desire to measure. Metrics, however, are worse than useless unless they’re interpreted appropriately and fairly. This book puts you wise to all the tricks people use to manipulate the truth so that it leaves a false impression. It’s definitely one of the 10 most eyeopening books that every entrepreneur should read. Best Quote: “The secret language of statistics, so appealing in a fact-minded culture, is employed to sensationalize, inflate, confuse, and oversimplify. Statistical methods and statistical terms are necessary in reporting the mass data of social and economic trends, business conditions, ‘opinion’ polls, the census. But without writers who use the words with honesty and understanding and readers who know what they mean, the result can only be semantic nonsense.”

7. “As a Man Thinketh,” By James Allen What It Teaches: Most people labor under the misconception that their life is the result of fate, luck, or circumstances. This book explains that your life is what you make of it, and the only way you’ll be successful in life is if you’re first successful in your mind. This is the foundation of a successful career in business. (It’s also one of the top 10 motivational books of all time.) Best Quote: “A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. And as he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts; ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of the hidden powers and possibilities within himself.”

Gulf Insider June 2015

Off Topic

The following day, it pushed further east to cause flight cancellations in Dubai

On April 1, the sandstorm could be seen enveloping much of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

SANDSTORM

April 4, it was beginning to stretch across the Arabia Sea towards Pakistan and India

THE SIZE OF THE UNITED STATES Satellite photos reveal last April’s massive sandstorm hitting Arabian Peninsula.

ncredible satellite images have shown that last April’s massive sandstorm was as large as the United States. It wrecked havoc across the area, causing traffic accidents, the cancellation of hundreds of flights and triggering breathing difficulties amongst many. Images show the vast sandstorm sweeping its way across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates and reaching as far east as India and Pakistan over a period of seven days. A final image taken on April 7 shows much of it had dispersed across the sea while some remained over Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and Oman It began on April 1, when high winds whipped up the sandstorm in northern Saudi Arabia before it consolidated and began moving southeastward across the peninsula, Discover Magazine reported. Along the way it caused chaos across

Gulf Insider June 2015

the area’s major cities including Riyadh, Manama, and Dubai, where some locations were reduced to zero visibility, streets turned a shade of orange and schools were forced shut. The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies said: ‘The blowing sand reduced surface visibility to near zero at some locations, disrupting ground transportation, air traffic, and also closing schools. Visibility was reduced to 0.1 mile for several hours at Dubai International Airport, which is one of the world’s busiest in terms of volume of flights.’ More than 450 Saudi Arabian Airlines flights were cancelled - which equals 33 per cent of the carrier’s 1,526 scheduled flights, the Saudi Gazette reported. Despite sandstorms being a relatively common occurrence in this part of the world, they are not generally so big and rarely wreak so much havoc. The sandstorm swept across much of

the Arabian Peninsula, seen here with borders illustrated by the blue lines. Pictured is Saudi Arabia (top left), Yemen (bottom), Oman (right) and the United Arab Emirates (top right) It also billowed across the Empty Quarter - the world’s second largest desert which is located in Saudi Arabia. Here it is pictured by satellite, revealing its distinct sand dune patterns.

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Motors

CAR INSIDER

OF THE BEST SUVs IN BAHRAIN Of the many SUVs we have driven over the past 12 months, these are amongst our favorites. Some are affordable to any pocket while others are “top end”, but each SUV we list is special in its own way.

1 PORSCHE CAYENNE The new 2015 Cayenne is a subtle reworking on the previous model. Look at its front and rear end and you should notice they are slightly different. The front looks wider and has sexy looking bladed air intakes. New headlamps and taillights look like they have been taken from Porsche’s latest car model, the Macan. The new Cayenne offers more equipment as standard. There’s a tire pressure monitor and for cars with air suspension, a button drops the vehicle 2 inches when the back is open. Another new option is soft closing doors. 46

Gulf Insider June 2015

On the S model, which I drove, the earlier V8 engine has now been replaced with an impressive and cutting edge 3.6 liter V6 that manages to deliver more power. The new V6 knocks out 420 horse power which is 20 horse power greater than the previous model. There’s 550 Nm of Torque. The Cayenne gets to100 kph in just 5.1 seconds which is just under half a second faster than before. The Turbo gets to 100 in an incredible 4.4 seconds! Inside I noticed that the new Cayenne has adopted the 3 spoke 918 Spyderderived steering wheel. There are loads of buttons, even overhead. Is this a car or a plane? The purpose of some

of the buttons is neither obvious nor intuitive. But what certainly is intuitive are the grab handles firmly positioned in the obvious places that any nervous passengers will want to reach out for when the car is being driven hard. Escaping Bahrain’s traffic on I stretch of empty highway, I put my foot down hard and enjoyed the feeling of speed and power. This is a Porsche! I feel myself thrown firmly back into my seat as the horizon races towards me. The eight-speed Tiptronic transmission shifts smoothly and quickly. I actually enjoyed driving in Comfort over Sport mode as the changes were smoother, which could have been due to its having adapted to a previous driver with a different driving style to my own. I noticed the new Cayenne has slightly sharper handling. The Cayenne was a controversial development for Porsche when launched a little over a decade ago. Many Porsche ‘purists’ could not understand nor accept the company producing an SUV. They mockingly compared the idea of Porsche making an SUV with the idea of Land Rover making a two seat Super Car to rival a 911. Time has proven the Porsche strategy to be correct. Manufacturing an SUV has been a shrewd move. Cayenne sales now make up half of all Porsche sales and outselling every other Porsche model combined.

For a test drive contact Porsche Centre Bahrain on +973 17 459 911

Motors

NISSAN X-TRAIL

2 JEEP CHEROKEE If you’re looking for a solid SUV to be used mostly for the road, but with the option of taking it off for a bit of rough from time to time, then this could be a fair compromise. The Cherokee is comfortable on the road, though it clearly has off-road capabilities. Under the hood there’s a 3.2 litre 24 valve V6 available that offers 271 horsepower and is capable of pulling 4,500 pounds! A 9-speed automatic transmission sends power to the front wheels or all four wheels. Driving around Manama I found the ride to be smooth, and surprisingly quiet. There are three drive setups. Active Drive I apportions drive to the rear wheels, disconnecting them when not needed. Active Drive II adds the ability to vary torque from front to rear and locks the front and rear together for maximum traction. Active Drive Lock is for off-roading and adds a locking rear differential to the above setup. The suspension has been improved from the previous model and makes the ride higher by an inch. Inside, the vinyl and plastics are functional and soft to the touch. The leather steering wheel is nice and

thick to hold. There is a large LCD in the instrument panel and a big 8.4-inch screen powers the infotainment system. There’s a rear camera with dynamic trajectory lines fitted as standard. Optional extras include blind spot monitoring, forward collision alert, lane departure warning systems, and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go. And finally – I couldn’t help but notice the huge amount of storage spaces in this car. The front passenger seat has a hidden cubby under the cushion, there’s a place on top of the dash, door pockets, map pockets, a place for your mobile phone next to the USB port, a tiny pocket in the door armrest, and in front of the center armrest is a cavity for holding something shaped unlike any object I have ever seen. Pockets have sturdy rubber inserts that can easily be pulled out and cleaned. In the back there’s hooks to hang bags. It’s as if the people at Jeep set themselves a challenge to create as much storage locations inside the car as absolutely possible. This vehicle is a dream for people who love to store stuff.

Nissan promotes the X-Trail as a seven-seater although a quick inspection of the third row of seats shows them to be pretty tight (even for kids) and almost inaccessible. It’s probably better to think of the X-Trail as a five-seater with an extra pair of seats if required! Driving position and space upfront, and generally all round, is perfectly fine. The modern dash layout is good and is made with lots of black and silver shiny materials. There is an electric sunroof, front electric seats, leather upholstery, 7 inch infotainment screen with satellite navigation, front and side airbags, LED headlamps, and handle-less electric rear tailgate which opens when the keyholder waves their hand at it. The car I reviewed was the fulloptioned top of the range SL version which also has four cameras giving 360 degree vision to the driver, blindspot warning and lane departure warning. The latter should prove useful for highway driving in Bahrain. Supporting the high specifications of the X-Trail, I must not forget to mention cruise control, Bluetooth and excellent fourspeaker entertainment system. There’s a 2.5 Litre, four cylinder engine with 7-speed CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) transmission that gives 170bhp and a stated 0-100 kph acceleration time of 9 seconds and a top speed of 190 kph. That should be perfectly adequate for the target market. The X-Trail is promoted as a 4 WD SUV but the driver has the option to alternate, with a turn of a dial, between 4 WD and

To arrange you’re a test drive contact Ahmed Zayani & Sons on + 973 17-238 822

Gulf Insider June 2015

Motors

2 WD or to select “auto” whereby the car decides itself which mode it should be in, a feature more commonly seen in higher-end models. And it has hill climb assistance. With a push of the start-stop button, I wouldn’t exactly say that the engine roars into life ….. more like it buzzes into life. The ride was fairly smooth with a dampening effect on road

4 INFINITI QX80

bounce provided by some clever Nissan electronic suspension features at work and outside noise is kept down to a perfectly acceptable level. I would say that the ride comfort of the X-Trail is as good, if not better, than any others in its class. The steering is what I would describe as neutral but it does noticeably firm up as you increase speed, giving a reassuring feel to the car. In cornering, Active Trace Control acts to reduce understeer, where particular wheels are braked slightly in order to pull the car more sharply and balanced into the corner. Nissan describe these features as intuitive rather than being obviously noticeable, assuring us that it is happening even though you might not actually physically feel it. The new Nissan X- rail is without doubt a very nice car and within its class, I would say it is one of the top contenders. It is in an enormously competitive segment of the market.

To arrange a test drive in contact Y.K. Almoayyed on +973 17 732 732 48

Gulf Insider June 2015

Infiniti must be doing something right because over the past few years they have been enjoying great success around the world, and particularly in the Middle East. Infiniti are today the fastest growing premium car company in the region. The big new opulent QX80 is an important part of Infiniti’s growth plan and has been described by the company as its ‘flagship’. This SUV is really a posh version of its sister, the Nissan Patrol, which historically has proven itself as one of Arabia’s favorite and most loved SUVs. Ok, first let’s talk about its power; The QX80 has a big 5.6 liter 400 horsepower V8 engine. A seven speed auto transmission. Zero to 100 kph can be achieved in 7 seconds, which for its size and weight is pretty good. Its exterior appearance has been made to look far more aggressive and macho than the previous model. In terms of quiet and comfort, it scores high and certainly matches any of its competitors. When off-roading, despite its size and weight it cut across waste land without a care in the world. Full-time four-wheel drive can be employed

with a real low drive ratio. Torque is biased to the rear, but can be split 50:50 between the front and rear axles when wheels start slipping. Both on and off road, the QX80 has powerful braking capability. Inside there’s lots of leather, lots of wood, and even some metallic trim. There’s also lots of space inside. This SUV can easily carry five adults in comfort, or even more children! Seating is high up enabling you to look down on the other traffic below you. The front seats are AC ventilated (optional) which was great and kept me nice and cool over my two days of driving. New features for this 2015 model include adaptive headlights that automatically dip the high beams if another vehicle is approaching, collision warning system, brake assist, backup collision warning system, and adaptive cruise control, blind spot and lane departure warning systems. Standard features include navigation with hard drive for maps and music, DVD audio and satellite radio, 20-inch wheels, moon-roof, power tailgate, and Bluetooth. Overall this is an excellent vehicle. Anyone looking to invest in a big luxury SUV should certainly consider taking a QX80 for a test drive before making their purchase decision.

To arrange a test drive contact YK Almoayyed on +973 1773 2732

Motors

5 MERCEDES-BENZ GL500 The GL500 is a very big car, measuring over 5 meters in length and weighing 2.5 tons. It is for big families that need an SUV and want to travel in supreme comfort. If you need to carry seven people in Business Class luxury, at high speed, with the option of driving both on and off road, this may just be the car for you. The GL is for those who believe the ML, Mercedes biggest selling SUV, isn’t quite big enough for them. It’s approximately 30 centimeters longer than its ML sister, with which it shares many components. The extra length allows the GL an additional row of seats. The luggage area is a bit tight when all seats are in use, but electronically at the push of a button the rear seats fold and there’s much more space. The GL-Class looks solid and impressive. The model I drove had the optional AMG body kit that makes it look more aggressive. The huge grille further added to its road presence. A 4.6 liter bi-turbo V8 engine knocks out 429 BHP and 700 Nm of torque, and the adaptive suspension makes the GL feel like its gliding along the road, and there’s very little engine sound when driving in normal mode. Switch to sport mode and the GL

lowers itself, suspension becomes stiff, steering becomes tight and acceleration becomes faster – zero to 100 kph in just 5.8 seconds! And if that’s not fast enough (er.. really?) there’s always the AMG version. Mercedes claim that the latest 2014 GL is 18 per cent more economical than its predecessor. It’s also better looking. Inside, the GL is fitted with luxurious materials, and real wood trimmings. It’s also full of all sorts of safety features and other useful technology like park assist, adaptive cruise, blind spot detectors, drowsiness detection and Pre-Safe, which prepares occupants for an impact, lane change assist, satnav, climate control, reverse parking camera, rear seat entertainment, Bluetooth, internet and more. There’s nine airbags (dual front, front and rear side, side curtain and a driver’s knee airbag. There is a 360 degree camera which is available as an optional extra and is a major help for parking, as you get a birdseye view of your surroundings, making squeezing into even the tightest spots relatively easy. I don’t know how much this option costs but I feel anyone who buys a GL without it would come to regret such a decision.

PORSCHE MACAN TURBO The Macan is based on the Audi Q5, though with a lower roof, and The Macan Turbo is the quickest and sportiest version of the Macan sports crossover range. Dynamically it’s ahead of the Audi Q5. It can achieve zero – 100kph in 4.2 seconds (the Audi SQ5 takes 5.2 seconds). There’s no crossover that even comes close to this. The twin ¬turbocharged 3.6-liter 400 bhp V-6 is from the Panamera, and it provides 406 pound-feet of torque at 1350 rpm. It has a four wheel drive, sevenspeed dual-clutch PDK transmission rather than a Tiptronic torque-converter as used in the Cayenne. I very much enjoyed my couple of days driving this car. I found the raised driving position – high but not too high,

To arrange a test drive contact Al Haddad Motors on +973 17-785-454

Gulf Insider June 2015

Motors

combined with sports car performance to my liking. Depending on your perspective, the Macan either looks like a scaled down Cayenne or a pregnant 911, and it doesn’t come cheap. The Turbo costs a third of the price again compared with the ‘standard’ Macan S. Despite this big increase in price it looks almost identical. The only really noticeable differences are that the Turbo has bi-xenon headlamps, LED fog lights, staggered-width 19-inch wheels, and squared-off quad tailpipes... oh, and of course a Turbo badge. Inside this car screams sports luxury. It’s beautiful. In addition to the usual abundance of leather and quality materials there’s a huge amount of buttons all over the dash and console which can look a bit confusing but which all make perfect sense once you know

what’s what. There’s a contoured threespoke multifunction steering wheel with proper paddle shifters which is the same as that on the 918 Spyder. There’s all sorts of additional options you can go for – a superior surround sound system at ($4,290), Agate leather interior ($1,730), park assist front and rear including camera ($1,460), thermal and noise insulating privacy glass ($990); carbon fiber interior package ($940), voice control ($595)… and loads more! Some options make particular sense, such as air suspension with PASM (adaptive dampers) for $1385, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus for $1490, and the Sport Chrono package with launch control for $1290. I have a tip for anyone buying – don’t go for the 21-inch wheel/tire package. While it looks good it makes for a less comfortable and noisier ride. They also

cost an extra $3,300 and you will also have to pay out more money every time you change the tires. So why would you choose a Macan instead of the larger Cayenne? Well, If you like driving the Cayenne, you’ll love the Macan’s lighter weight and lower center of gravity. And, there’s sufficient space to stow luggage. It makes more sense for many people who don’t require so much interior space than buying a bigger Cayenne or Range Rover Sport. But sense doesn’t always figure in decision making when it comes to top end premium cars.

To arrange a test drive call Porsche Centre Bahrain on +973 1745 9911.

Nick Cooksey, in addition to being publisher of Arabian Magazines and Gulf Insider Media, is a jury panel member of the Middle East Motor Awards. 50

Gulf Insider June 2015

Motors

7 MERCEDES-BENZ ML 400 The ML is an impressive looking SUV, and step on the accelerator and you would think you were driving a performance car. Switch to sport mode and this luxury SUV lowers itself, suspension becomes stiff, steering becomes tight and acceleration becomes faster. Its 329 horse power and 354 pf torque 3.0-liter V-6 twin turbo engine provides plenty of speed and power, but if you want more there’s always the more expensive AMG 5.5-liter V-8. I found it drives smoothly as I enjoyed sitting in its luxurious cabin. Our test model was white with black interior, and everything inside was of the most luxurious materials including wood trimmings. It’s also full of all sorts of safety features and other useful technology like park assist, adaptive cruise, blind spot detectors, drowsiness detection and Pre-Safe, which prepares

occupants for an impact, lane change assist, satnav, climate control, reverse parking camera, rear seat entertainment, Bluetooth, internet and more. The seats allow for all sorts of positions, are noticeably firm yet supple, and you can have them massage you as an optional extra. 60/40 rear seats offer lots of room and have bottoms fold up enabling the back seat backs to lay flat for lots of storage space. There’s a multilayered 7-inch screen molded into the dash. The top bar displays main functions, the bottom bar offers precise selections for those functions. There is a lot of functionality… so many choices… and so it’s not intuitive - a new owner will have to spend time learning how everything works. The ML has everything you could want in a five seat SUV – comfort, luxury, build quality, status, and power!

To arrange a test drive contact Al Haddad Motors on +973 17-785-454

VOLVO XC60 The updated XC60 looks modern-day relevant and stands out on the road. Volvo’s blocky shapes of the past are long gone,

and the 2015 model comes in a fresh and elegant form. As I took to the road, I began to appreciate the noticeably lessened outside noise level, due to both the vehicle’s low roof rails that reduce wind noise, and its sturdy body that buffers most of the road imperfections. Regardless of all the changes, the new and improved XC60 is still evidently a Volvo, not just because of the prominent six-inch logo, but also the understated and simple Scandinavian-like design. Overall, the interior has a true quality feel to it, with a nice soft leather finishing, the comfortable bucket-style front seats, a large panoramic sunroof, and a spacious boot. To put it in the broadest terms, the XC60 is a really nice car to drive. I must say I was genuinely impressed with the power of this eight-speed transmission model. The new luxury SUV comes in three driving modes, Performance, Elegance, and Eco, the latter of which I did not try – although, given the affordable fuel prices in Bahrain, perhaps Eco’s fuel-saving technology is not necessarily bound to become the sought-after feature among the local car enthusiasts. Over the years, the previously boxy and safe XC60 has been transformed into a sleek and, well, still safe vehicle, with various additional safety options. The brand has built its name for safety, and – while these days pretty much all other makes can be considered fairly safe – Volvo clearly strives to stay ahead of the competition in the matter. Without a doubt, the new model’s looks are better than those of its predecessor’s. As for the specifications, two new 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engines have been added to the front-wheel-drive models, along with a new eight-speed automatic transmission. On the XC60 T5 FWD, a 240-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-litre engine is offered, while the T6 FWD model adds a supercharger to the turbocharged engine for increased lowend performance and a total of 302 hp.

To arrange a test drive call Motor City on +973 1773 6222

Gulf Insider June 2015

Motors CAR INSIDER

NISSAN

STRENGTH TO STRENGTH IN FY14 At a Press Conference held in Dubai on May 18th 2015, Nissan proudly announced that the company had recorded their highest sales growth in the region for the third consecutive year. - By Hugh Haskell-Thomas

issan Motors became the first Japanese car manufacturer to establish a regional Middle East headquarters in June 1994. Operations now cover over 20 countries across the region making it one of the best represented Japanese automotive brands. From its pioneering crossover vehicles and class-leading small cars to the legendary Nissan GT-R and all-conquering SUVs such as the ‘Hero of All Terrain’, Nissan Patrol, Nissan Middle East’s vehicle line-up is one of the broadest and most popular in the

Gulf Insider June 2015

region, covering almost every segment of the automotive market. Nissan Middle East’s Managing Director, Samir Cherfan, was proud to announce that the Japanese automaker grew twice as fast as the market, achieving a 10.3 market share in the GCC, through FY14. “This is our third successive year of record growth in the Middle East and the momentum will continue due to our broad product line, top-quality customer service, outstanding dealership network, and commitment to our brand’s message of

‘innovation that excites’ that we live daily with all touch points and at all levels. The record breaking results are testament to the success of our sales and marketing strategy.” said Cherfan. Unsurprisingly, the ever-popular Nissan Patrol notched record numbers over the period with 34,015 units leaving the region’s showroom floors, a 35% hike on financial year 2013. The company’s other SUVs also performed well, with the Nissan Pathfinder recording 15% growth with 6,800 units, and the Nissan X-Trail recording a significant growth increase

Motors

versus 2013 and achieving a 15.3% market share. Nissan’s brand purchase consideration in the UAE has also increased by 46% in the past two years, closing the gap with the market leader. In KSA after the first full year of operation under its revival plan, Nissan

In the GCC, Nissan recorded an 18.1% sales increase with 185,135 units sold in 2014 versus 156,778 in 2013, increasing its market share to 10.3%.

of 300% versus 2013 with 4,400 units. However, it was not only the ‘desertcrushers’ that performed well, with the Nissan Sunny also attributing to the record breaking results, by achieving 29,688 units in 2014; a 30% sales growth over the last year. In the GCC, Nissan recorded an 18.1% sales increase with 185,135 units sold in 2014 versus 156,778 in 2013, increasing its market share to 10.3%. In the UAE, Nissan maintained its strong number two position in the sales charts, selling 63,036 units – up 10%

reached the third position in sales with 61,806 units, reaching 7.2% market share, representing a 141.7% growth year-on-year. Furthermore, Nissan’s brand purchase consideration has strengthened by 27% reaching the second position in the market; a statistic that Cherfan is extremely proud about in such a short time. When quizzed on the general state of the industry and his outlook, Cherfan commented “There are plenty of headwinds impacting the industry at the moment such as falling oil prices

and currency fluctuations and, closer to home, there are instabilities in Iraq and the Azerbaijan regulations situation. However, Nissan has excelled in the last financial year and lofty targets will again be met in the next one”; bullish results to be expected next year, no doubt! 2014 was not only successful for Nissan in terms of sales, but also in terms of awards as the Japanese automaker received 15 highly-regarded international and regional accolades, positioning Nissan as the most awarded automotive brand in the MENA region for the third consecutive year. However, Cherfan was also keen to point out that it was not only sales performance that had been exceeded, announcing that Nissan will continue to position its regular maintenance costs below their competition and will expand its line–up with genuine products such as engine oil, batteries and affordable

parts for vehicles more than three years old. Finally, delivering on its after-sales promise, Cherfan announced that Nissan Middle East had also achieved record results in sales and service customer satisfaction reaching the top group level in the Gulf, and number one in three of the GCC countries. With some focused effort, after only one year of operation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nissan has also already entered the Top Four group.

Gulf Insider June 2015

Art

Bahrainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Photo History Each month Gulf Insider will publish photos showing Bahrain in past times. To view many more visit Gulf-Insider.com and LIKE Gulf Insider on Facebook to receive new (erâ&#x20AC;Ś old) Bahrain photos almost daily.

Ruler of Bahrain Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and his son, Shaikh Isa, in 1955

Ruler of Bahrain Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

Shaikh Salman, ruler of Bahrain (19421961) with sons Shaikh Isa (ruler 1961-1999), and Shaikh Khalifa (Prime Minister 1970-today) 54

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Customs building and the main seaport in Manama The old Customs House in Manama, around 1940

Gudaibiya Palace, circa 1940s

Manama Fort

Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa (r) in his house in Muharraq in 1911 Gulf Insider June 2015

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1981 fine arts graduate from Damascus University in Syria and the Al Dana award winner, Jabbar frequently reaches back to his childhood recollections for an artistic inspiration. Although he began his creative journey with Impressionism, he gradually turned towards more realistic Regionalism. As a result â&#x20AC;&#x201C; his work is easily recognisable for its precise, geometricized, and mature manner and repetitive folklore elements, mostly depicting the lives of Arab women and objects from a past thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long gone.

JABBAR AL GHADBAN

Gulf Insider June 2015

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Gulf Insider June 2015

Last Word

GULF INSIDER’S

20 FAVORITE LEADERSHIP QUOTES OF ALL TIME 1. A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.

Lao Tzu

2. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

Warren Bennis

8. The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.

15. A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible.

Polybius

Warren Bennis 9. He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.

16. A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.

John Maxwell

Aristotle

3. Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

10. Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.

17. Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.

Jack Welch

Brian Tracy

Sam Walton

11. Leadership is defined by results, not attributes.

18. A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by his actions and the integrity of his intent.

4. A leader is a dealer in hope.

Napoleon Bonaparte 5. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

John Maxwell 6. Leadership is the capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.

General Montgomery 7. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.

Peter Drucker 58

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Peter Drucker 12. The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and selfrestraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Theodore Roosevelt

Douglas MacArthur 19. No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.

Andrew Carnegie 13. Leadership is influence.

John C. Maxwell 14. The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision

Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

20. Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.

Brian Tracy

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