Local emeriti Farhan hosted us to a local emerati meal at Al
Fanar at Dubai Festival City. It was an
enriching experience chatting with him, and he gave some insights into the UAE
culture.
Everybody Loves the
Ruler
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai
and the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, is much loved by his
people. His people see him as their
father, they listen to him, trust in him, and will die for him if necessary. He
is a visionary
leader, who has created Dubai to be what it is today. He is a people person, and tells everyone,
that it is not the buildings or malls that he is proud of, but his people. He
interacts with his people freely and regularly, and even hosts a live local
radio station to answer questions from his listeners. Apparently, he also
writes poems,
and has published a book Flashes
of Thought: Lessons in Life and Leadership from the Man behind Dubai.
On aspiring to be ‘number one’ and his ten
best quotes:
“We, in the UAE, have no
such word as “impossible”; it does not exist in our lexicon. Such a word is
used by the lazy and the weak, who fear challenges and progress. When one
doubts his potential and capabilities as well as his confidence, he will lose the
compass that leads him to success and excellence, thus failing to achieve his
goal. I require you, youth, to insist on number one.”
This love and respect for their ruler, is not just by the
local emeritis, but also by the expatriate community at large.
The Ruler Trusts the
Young
There was a case story of how when Dubai first started out
its plan to be a financial centre, it recruited the top talents from Britain to
help it get started. Then Qatar, also
with the same vision, poached the same talents with three times their pay. Dubai, in the next moment, recruited a 36
year-old for the job. The guy got people to work for him, they stayed in the office,
slept in the hotel in the next building owned by the government, no one went
home, their families got them their clothes. The only time they left the office
was when they made appointments and flew to various countries to make sales
calls to the top banks across the globe.
In a month, the financial centre hub was set up. Qatar took five years.
Just look at its 22 year-old Minister for Happiness. How many countries are willing to invest in a
22 year-old as a minister?
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum says:
“We are proud that the
UAE is a young country. And we are proud of our youth. We invest in them and
empower them precisely because they are our future. We believe that they are
faster than us in acquiring and processing knowledge, because they have grown
up with the tools and techniques that we lacked at their age. We entrust them
with driving our country to new levels of growth and development, which is why
we have now appointed a cabinet minister of their age and created a special council
of youth.”
Left Pocket, Right
Pocket
Dubai has deep pockets for it to realise its lofty dreams. The Emirates Group, wholly owned by the government,
has among its brands an airline, ground handler, hotel, travel agent, retail,
food & beverage etc. So its
executives fly its national airline, stay in its hotels, booked through its
agencies, host at its F&B restaurants.
Money flows, from the left pocket, to the right pocket.
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