MY VISION: CHALLENGES IN THE RACE OF EXCELLENCE
BOOK TITLE: MY VISION: CHALLENGES IN THE RACE OF EXCELLENCE
PUBLISHER : MOTIVATE
AUTHOR : His Highness Sheikh Mahommed Bin Rashid Al Marhtoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler Of Dubai.
On the 24th of February 2013, United Arab Emirates Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler Of Ras Al Khaimah, Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi arrived in Zimbabwe to explore investment opportunities and was given a 21 gun salute and inspected the guard of honour, an honour reserved for the Head Of State. Many would have wondered as to the reason this presumably unknown name in global politics could be accorded such treatment by the Presidium, senior government officials and service chiefs , but the eminence of the Ruler Of Ras Al Khaimah lies in the position and role he has played in the development Of Dubai.
Many people who have been in Dubai cannot but stand in awe of the standards of excellence, service, technology and infrastructure it has. Dubai has emerged as a cosmopolitan metropolis that has grown steadily to become a global city and a business and cultural hub of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region. Although Dubai’s economy was historically built on the oil industry, the emirate’s model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, real estate, and financial services. Dubai has recently attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become has become
symbolic for its skycrapers and high rise buildings, such as the world’s tallest Burj Khalifa.
In the book, My Vision Challenges In The Race Of Excellence, Vice President and Prime Minister Of United Arab Emirates and Ruler Of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mahommed Bin Rashid Al Marhtoum, gives a personal testament as to the reasons why Dubai has succeeded in the past and why it will continue to do so in the future, combined with considerable insight into the political philosophy of the ruler and his power for positive thinking. This book can be described as a book about the man behind the outstanding success story of Dubai and the challenges that the country has gone through in its journey to become the global tourism, trade and financial hub it is today.
Similarly for the African Continent, the author asserts that the battle awaiting the Arab nations in the 21st century is the battle for development. Poverty, underdevelopment, the chaotic and inefficient planning must not obscure the fact that this region is on the threshold of what could become the greatest economic boom in the history of the world. Sheikh Mahommed in the introduction of the book says, “All the ingredients for the emergence of an exceptional Arab development are present today and I’m confident it will be realised, and confident also of the ability of Arabs to achieve. The exceptional development was a dream once but the dream was embodied in the vision that has made the great Arab state. The vision suffered a setback and back we went to the old dream, but I do believe there is a chance now to wake up and turn this dream into a clear vision once again.”
This book which has been making waves in the upper echelons of government and companies is the blueprint for exceptional development of nations and businesses. It brings to the fore the importance of a clear and pragmatic vision in the development of a nation and how imperative it is for politicians, policy makers, business executives to expend their energies on developmental issues and pursuing of a daring vision of building enduring institutions.
How was it possible for Dubai to rise to such towering heights from beneath the sand dunes of time and oblivion, and with so little oil to export? How could Dubai attract more tourists than Egypt, with its Great Pyramids and Nile River? How could it become the largest financial centre in the Middle East, with the most successful airline carrier in the Middle East, the most expansive aluminium smelter, the tallest hotel in the world, the widest seaport and two out of four structures in the world that can be seen from the moon? And what does Dubai have that others do not have? The answer is: The people Of Dubai and the UAE. There are no more oil wells to drill in UAE, so people and their brains are the only true source of renewable energy, a single exceptional idea could be worth more than all the wells of the largest oil field in the Gulf combined.
Sheik Mahommed is telling us in this book, he plans to double the size of Dubai in the next five years. The country is already bursting at the seams of its boundaries, but that is what the ruler of Dubai is intent on doing. In Dubai the public sector is more profitable and is run with impeachable proficiency and excellence than the private sector. The youth in Dubai actually strives to work for the government than the private sector. This tells a lot about the levels of excellence and proficiency that has since been adopted in UAE and there are no taxes that are paid to the government because the government departments and state companies are run proficiently.
The author made a point in the book that the African state actors need to appreciate and implement for accelerated development of the continent. He says, “We could talk about financial resources derived from exporting energy but I would talk about the optimum use of these resources because the availability of finance does not necessarily mean the automatic creation of development. Moreover, the true value of money lies not in its volume but in the ways it is used. The difference between a good idea and a bad one is a mind that can produce excellence and the other that cannot. This doesn’t mean that the mind that can generate excellence is the mind of a particular nationality or one region of the world and not another, but most often leaders fail to implant the distinctive thinking process that leads to the production of excellence. Leaders often pile the mind of their followers with so many political, social and economic loads that he cannot cope with the weight, and we expect him to later join nimble, well-trained horses and win the race.
Dubai is a country that has gone through its fair share of problems and was under colonisation like most African nations. For example, the Gulf War of the 1990 had a negative effect on the city, as depositors withdrew their money and traders withdrew their trade, but subsequently the city recovered in a changing political climate and thrived. Later in the 1990s, many foreign trading communities, moved their businesses to Dubai. Economic progress and a stable economic and political environment are twin brothers.
This book offers developmental lessons for governments and businesses in Africa. The story of Dubai is concisely captured in the book by the individual who is principal in the vision that has made Dubai a force to reckon with in terms of real estate, tourism and financial services. The Dubai success finds its roots in the ability of the leadership to continuously push for new developmental agendas and projects, whilst accomplishing every project and task on time. Sheikh Mahommed says in the book, “With each new day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing that it has to outrun the fastest lion or perish. On the other hand the lion stirs and stretches, knowing fully well he has to outrun and outsmart the fastest gazelle or he will die- so it is in the race, the human race, whether you consider yourself a gazelle, you simply have to run faster than others to survive”
With a chapter on The Elements of Industry Development, Politicians, Politics and Policies, and more. This is a book for Leaders, Teachers, Politicians, Business People, and anyone who wants to make a commitment to productivity and excellence, both at a personal and corporate/national level. This book will stir you, stretch your vision and challenge you.
Nobody understands the Dubai development story better than Sheikh Mohammed and he writes in a clear, simple, style that is free of jargon and is easy to follow and make analysis and arguments.
According to Sheikh Mahommed ,a vision is legless unless supported by the people, and the people will not participate in turning a vision into reality unless they are convinced of its value, and unless this vision corresponds to their needs and interests. It should move away from theorisation and complexity into clarity and simplicity. “Everyone should know that his or her opinion is important in any vision or plan. And everyone is duty bound to participate in its making, even with a single word”
This is a book that I would recommend to all politicians, policy makers, business executives and all leadership aspirants.
Ngonidzashe Muzondo is a passionate reader, writer and a blogger. He is also marketing executive of one of Zimbabwe’s leading booksellers and stationers. For feedback you can contact him on 0775471700 or 0772422823. You can follow him on twitter @NgoniMuzondo.