Download - 2nd Issue by Manager Today Magazine

Workplacebullying

Boostingself-esteem

Woman ofsubstance

Roshaneh Zafar

COVER STORY

MANAGEMENT

MOTIVATION

INTERVIEW

www.themanagertoday.com

LEADERSHIPBRIDGING THE

GAP

WISDOM CORNER

FAITHNo religious faith is loftier thanfeeling ashamed of doing wrongand bearing calamities patiently.nHazrat Ali (A.S)It's faith in something and en-thusiasm for something thatmakes a life worth living. OlivernOliver Wendell Holmes

ATTITUDEWhen one door of happinesscloses, another opens; but oftenwe look so long at the closeddoor that we do not see the onewhich has been opened for us.nHelen KellerThe pessimist complains about thewind; the optimist expects it tochange; the realist adjusts the sails.nWilliam Arthur Ward

BELIEFThere are two ways to slide eas-ily through life: to believe every-thing or to doubt everything;both ways save us from thinking.n Alfred KorzybskiTo accomplish great things, wemust not only act, but also dream;not only plan, but also believe.nAnatole France

FORGIVENESSPunish your servant, if he dis-obeys Allah, but forgive his dis-obedience to yourself.nHazrat Ali (A.S)

CHALLENGEWhen you get into a tight placeand everything goes againstyou, till it seems as though youcould not hang on a minutelonger, never give up then, forthat is just the place and timethat the tide will turn.n Harriet Beecher Stowe

COMMITMENTMaking your mark on the worldis hard. If it were easy, everybodywould do it. But it's not. It takespatience, it takes commitment,and it comes with plenty of fail-ure along the way. The real test isnot whether you avoid this fail-ure, because you won't. It’swhether you let it harden orshame you into inaction, orwhether you learn from it;whether you choose to persevere.n Barack Obama

COURAGECourage is the ladder on whichall the other virtues mount.Clare Booth LuceCourage is going from failure tofailure without losing enthusiasm.n Winston Churchill

EXCELLENCEThe secret of joy in work is con-tained in one word - excellence.To know how to do somethingwell is to enjoy it.n Pearl S. Buck

quotable quotes

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE

EDITOR’SNOTE

WWith the blessings of Almighty Allah, the second issue of Manager Todayis in your hands right now. June has just begun; a month when mostly alarge part of corporate sector reviews its year-long policies, strategies, fi-nancial statements and thus an annual report is made and presented tothe entrepreneurs and top managers. Indeed, it’s a hectic time of the yearas for the people who lead companies, organizations and various businessconcerns; it appears as a showcasing time of their employees’ year-longproductive performance under their leadership, expertise and hard work.No doubt, everyone loves to be appreciated for one’s productive contribu-tion. But in the wake of current global financial crunch, managers are seentrying to sustain their products and services.

But the dilemma with Pakistan is much severe as the country since its in-ception, has been facing leadership crisis in every sphere of life. Unfortu-nately, our nation has not been able to produce real leaders so far and dueto the decades-long political instability, our economy is still lagging behinddespite being blessed with plenty of natural resources and human re-source.

Keeping the crisis in mind, this issue’s cover story comprises the char-acteristics of a true, sincere and competent leadership that our country re-quires in this hour of need. Be it a top manager or leader in a businesshierarchy, the sooner these contemporary leaders adopt these traits thebetter it will be for the future of their businesses and consequently for ourcountry. Our second article on the cover story represents Allama Iqbal’sphilosophy on leadership. His philosophy can be applied universally whichaddresses the leadership problems of modern age. We are sure that this ar-ticle will be inspirational to many of our readers. We also have includedthree wonderful business leaders’ interviews in this issue. Get to know ourwoman of substance Ms Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and President of KashfFoundation this month. Another interview of a dynamic personality, MrGhazanfar Azzam, COO, Kashf Microfinance Bank appears on our Man-ager’s interview pages while the unique perspective of Entrepreneur ,MrFarrukh Salim, CEO, Hush Puppies makes his interview a memorable onefor you all.

The rest of Manager Today’s content has been selected to address the ac-tual issues faced by most of the managers these days. Workplace bullying,anger management, ideas for recession proof businesses, a reflection onsuccession planning, sales success, customer care, career counseling andseveral other interesting and useful articles have been included. For yourdelight, we have not missed to include a movie review besides a commenton an interesting book in this issue. We hope you will appreciate our ef-fort. Please keep us updated with your feedback and don’t miss the nextissue’s must-read cover story, ‘Emotional Intelligence Skills for Managers’.Wish you a happy reading till next issue.

Ijaz NisarEditor-in-Chief

& CEO Leading Edge

INSPIRED?MOTIVATED?DID YOU LIKE WHATYOU READ?

If you findManagerToday inspirational for thepersonal and professional development, doinform us. You can also contribute with yourarticles, suggestions and recommendations at:[email protected]@themanagertoday.comwww.themanagertoday.comPh: 042 5792066Don’t forget to mention yourfull name, postal address and phone number.

Let me avail the opportunity to pay spe-cial thanks for publishing Manager

Today, a great supplement for the stu-dents of business studies. It’s a consider-able addition in library collection of thePunjab University.Ch. Muhammad HanifChief Librarian, Punjab University.----------------------------------------------

The headquarters of Pakistan Civil Avi-ation Authority is thankful for the com-

plementary copy of Manager Today. It’struly Pakistan’s first magazine for the per-sonal and professional development ofour people. We appreciate your contribu-tion and services to HR field.Masood-ur-RehmanG.M HRHeadquartersCivil Aviation Authority, Karachi.----------------------------------------------

Ifelt great happiness to see the firstissue of Manager Today. At last, the

need for establishing HR departments inorganizations is being recognized in Pak-istan. This realization will reshape the or-ganizational performance altogether. Icongratulate the whole team of the mag-azine and wish them great success in theventure.S. Tanveer H. Kazmi, Manager (HR)Murree Brewery Company Limited,Rawalpindi.----------------------------------------------

Manager Today comprises very inter-esting and useful content, covering

all the issues and challenges of manage-ment practices. Many congratulations onreaching this milestone.DrMirza Dilshad BaigHead Organizational DevelopmentManagement, HR GroupAllied Bank, Karachi.----------------------------------------------

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Manager Today is a new idea to im-part training and improve profes-

sional skills out of classroom. It is asincere effort on your part to cover allareas from leadership development tomarketing and sales development. It feelsgreat to see that the area of human re-source management and developmenthas been given prominence. It will surelyhelp enhance the personnel as well asprofessional life of the readers. I wouldlove to be a regular reader of this maga-zine.Tariq NaseemSVP/Head EstablishmentThe Bank of Khyber, Peshawar.----------------------------------------------

Please accept my heartiest congratu-lations on this great achievement of

publishing such an enlightening educa-tional and supportive magazine. All thetopics I went through inspired me a lotmaking me read the magazine thoroughly.No doubt this magazine will enhance theprofessional skills. By introducing such anessential magazine you’ve fulfilled one ofthe social responsibilities. I must thankyou for your great efforts to bringing upthe middle managers helping themmeetthe upcoming challenges in their compa-nies. Wish you all the best.Aneela Sameer,Manager Publicity,Diamond Jumbolon, Johar Town,Lahore.----------------------------------------------

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Manager Today. I feel honored to receivethe first issue of such an outstandingmagazine.Amir Faisal HashmiCountry Human Resource ManagerThe Coca-Cola Export CorporationPakistan Branch.----------------------------------------------

Themagazine is fabulous and containstips to enhance personal and profes-

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Being a student of HR, ManagerToday is of great importance to me.

The way you are instilling a new soul inHR people for the accomplishment oftheir personal & professional goalsthrough your rich knowledge and experi-ence in this particular field is highly com-mendable. I hope Manager Today willkeep us engaged and up to date withthe core issues and latest develop-ments in our field. Keep it up.AnjumEmergency Program ManagerEarthquake Response ProgramAbbottabad.

Born and bought up in London, I havecompleted 18 years working in corpo-

rate world around three continents,presently serving at the helm of SerenaHotels countrywide sales and marketingefforts. As I walked into my office yester-day I was greeted by a decent envelope.Upon opening the package, I caught thefirst glimpse of ‘Manager Today’. I mustadmit that my schedule did not allowme toread the entire contents, but I found it veryhard to put the magazine down.What abreath of fresh air! I felt obligated to ink myfeelings. I congratulate you in pioneeringsomething that was really required in ourcountry. Please do convey my profound re-gards to every member of your team,along with heartiest congratulations onproducing such a wonderful product.Raja Nayer ZamanDirector of SalesSerena Hotels, Faisalabad.----------------------------------------------

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CONTENTS

0812

1416

20

Bridging theleadership gap

Iqbal on leadership

Workplace bullying

Interview

Are you shy? Confident? Impatient?

In an economic downturn, scope formicrofinance institutions increases more:

Ghazanfaar Azzam

Compare the productivity andmorale of a workforce thatis encouraged and supported in finding the rare work-life balance with those of a dispirited workforce wherework-life balance is not a consideration. You’ll see thedifference. The approach ‘take no prisoners’ is a valuedmanagement style which every great leader implementsin his/her organization

Job responsibilities are structured sets of problemsrequired to be solved persistently

The first man had nothing but his instincts andhis body to communicate with. Perhaps thosewere the first signs of body language

Qaht-ur-Rijal is an Urdu word that describes the absence orrarity of men of caliber in a society. This ‘Qaht-ur-Rijal’ is one ofthe basic causes of leadership crisis and decline of Muslim

Ummah

ManagerTodayPCPB # 303-M

Editor-in-Chief Ijaz NisarManaging Editor Shakil A. Chaudhary Editorial Advisor Shakeel AhmedSenior Editor KKaahhkkaasshhaann FFaarrooooqq BBaaiigg Editor Nabeela Malik Associate Editor Saba Kiani Art Director Faiz-ur-Rehman Marketing Manager Munir Hussain Marketing Executive SSaajjjjaadd LLaattiiff,, HHaassssaann YYaasseeeenn Operations Manager MMuuhhaammmmaadd YYaassiirrSales Manager Haseeb Nisar Photographer Kamran Legal Advisor Muhammad Zulfiqar Ali Buttar

A P R O J E C T O F L E A D I N G E D G E T R A I N I N G & D E V E L O P M E N T

24Reflections on succession planning Succession is more important than ever; it’salso the most neglected responsibility of thecorporate boards

26Boosting self-esteem

Positive self-esteem in the workplacenurtures creativity and healthy work

practices 26Boosting self-esteem

Positive self-esteem in the workplacenurtures creativity and healthy work

practices 2630 Woman of substance

Trust your own self and also trust the peoplearound. There is no reason to doubt everyphenomenon

34New rules for finding your pathAre you looking for the six rules that governcareer paths, wage levels and the nature ofmanagerial work in today’s post-corporate

world? Here we go

44An exemplary educationist

The key to success and excellentperformance is that one should always be

producing results

54Healthy food practicesAlthough this term has not been commonly used todescribe health in years past, sustainable health is a

growing movement

38 InterviewI would request our government to pay attention toshoemaking industry because of great employmentopportunites it offer:Farrukh Salim

48 One-minute customerIn a matter of 45 to 60 seconds, he managedto bring forth small details of good customerservice

Publisher Leading Edge Printer Naeem Qasim Printers Head Office PL-20 Siddiq Trade Centre, Main Boulevard, Gulberg II,Lahore Tel: 042-5792066, 5817048 Email: [email protected] Website: www.themanagertoday.com,www.leadingedge.com.pkContributors Dr. SM Naqi, Maqbool Ahmed Babri (Max), Masood Ali Khan, Bakhtiar Khawaja, Saghir Ahmad, SoniaUrooj, Wali Muhammad, Ghazanfar Azzam, Shahid Nafees, Muhammad Zaheer, Bilal Ilahi, Philip Lal

COVER STORY

8 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009

Compare theproductivity and moraleof a workforce that isencouraged andsupported in finding therare work-life balancewith those of adispirited workforcewhere work-life balanceis not a consideration.You’ll see the difference.The approach ‘take noprisoners’ is a valuedmanagement stylewhich every greatleader implements inhis/her organization

leadershipBridging the

gap in pakistan

IJAZ NISAR

June - July 2009 | MANAGER TODAY 9

Pakistan is a country of di-chotomies and contradictions, anenigma in South Asia. At first

glance, Pakistan should be at the fore-front, a leader amongst its fellow coun-tries. According to the World Bankreport, “Pakistan today is South Asia’smost open economy.” However, despiteher apparent strong economic and so-cial indicators, things are not as positiveas they appear.We have sufficient natural resources

and more than sufficient human capital.So what do we need actually? We needgood leaders at all levels, especially atthe organizational and national levels asit’s the leaders’ vision that matters themost for a country or an organization.All of us face the challenge of leading

in an era of discontinuity and ambiguityfar greater than it was 10 or 20 yearsago. All of us should try to be prescientin a rapidly changing world as we try topeer into the future for better planningand maximum benefits. By now weshould be wise enough to idealize thequalities of the people who can lead usagainst the backdrop of the current sit-uations of our times and the challengesahead.

As we come closer to the fiscal yearof 2009-2010, which qualities do weneed in our leaders now more thanever? Whatever the organization or thesector is, I propose that this is the hightime when our masses need real lead-ers who nurture and live according tothe high values of life, capable enough tounify people and heal the hurts of thosewho have been oppressed since incep-tion of this country. Bringing hope andunity within the organizations, enter-prises and different sectors will createan overall positive impact. Leaders pos-sessing such a dynamic personalitytraits are necessary to solve the prob-lems and meet the challenges of ourtime. We do have leaders but these nec-essary traits are lacking in them.Furthermore, we need such strong

leaders who can become role modelsfor the people playing the second lead atevery level of an enterprise. Only then

we can see a trickle down effect of theirtraits and good policies in effect in anorganization. We must keep in mindthat our employees are not only work-ers like machines but they are humansas well. We need leaders who believeand embody the true concept of leader-ship. They must reflect from the lan-guage they use and their actions mustshow that leadership is a matter of howthings should be done. It’s not abouttackling things only after the situationbecomes worse. It’s the stature and

character of the leader that determinesthe performance and results.We need leaders who firmly believe in

the idea of considering employees asthe greatest asset of an organization,and they must demonstrate this beliefby their policies thus making it a reality,not a slogan. These leaders build a richlydiverse organization through powerfulrepresentation of their beliefs at everylevel. They have a realization of the enor-mous opportunities that rapidly chang-ing demographics present in a society.We need leaders who help clarify the

concept and language of the ultimatemission of an organization: whatever it

does what is the motive of the organi-zation’s existence, its purpose, its rea-son for being there, etc. These leadersinvest in building a focused and value-based demographic-driven organizationfrom top to bottom.We need leaders who communicate

proficiently with the people of their or-ganization the clientele and the masseskeeping in mind the frame of referenceof their target audience. Such leaderswhen they communicate are heard bytheir audience. Each and every word oftheir communication is valued and ap-preciated. No doubt, the effective use oflanguage is one of the most importantskills a leader of future outlook shouldbe perfect in. His one word, one sen-tence or one paragraph all must be con-necting, helping, inspiring, and beingheard by the people on large scale.We need leaders who are masters in

the art of listening, who practice therule of thinking first and speaking in thelast. Leaders who are healers and uni-fiers listen to employees complaintspeacefully, build consensus, appreciatedifferences, find common concepts,common language, and commonground to create harmony among em-ployees of his/her organization.We need leaders who in their own

lives try to keep a good work-life balanceand make this balance a reality in thelives of their people as well. It may ap-pear as an unrealistic ideal in today’stough work environment but it’s quiteworkable. Compare the productivity andmorale of a workforce that is encour-aged and supported in finding this rarework-life balance with those of a dispir-ited workforce where work-life balanceis not a consideration. You’ll see the dif-ference. The approach ‘take no prison-ers’ is a valued management style whichevery great leader implements inhis/her organization.Most importantly, we need leaders

who share success widely while accept-ing responsibility of shortfalls and fail-ures. Such leaders have made strictstandards of evaluating their own per-formance, fully knowing that their

Bringing hope andunity within theorganizations,enterprises anddifferent sectors willcreate an overallpositive impact.Leaders possessingsuch a dynamicpersonality traits arenecessary to solve theproblems and meet thechallenges of our time.We do have leaders butthese necessary traitsare lacking in them.


COVER STORY


language, behavior and actions are eval-uated against their self-proclaimed val-ues and principles. What is the secret to building a great

organization? How do you sustain con-sistent growth, profits, loyal clientele, will-ing employees, unique contribution andservice in an uncertain economy that canliterally change overnight? And how doyou build a culture of commitment andperformance when the notion of loyaltyon the part of customers, employees,and employers seems like a quaintanachronism?The answer lies only within these two

words: be yourself.That is both a simple yet extremely dif-

ficult goal. It means spending lesser timeby benchmarking a best practice andspending of extra time for building an or-

ganization where personality counts asmuch as quality and reliability. It alsomeans cultivating an ability to embraceparadox.Shakespeare in King Lear tells us that

nothing comes from nothing. So do sci-entists, for that matter. Everything in thisworld exists already; whatever seemsnew is only something old re-arranged.So how do we explain innovation?Innovation is a form of change. Though,

our culture welcomes change to someextent, but people proposing it, as youmight expect, often run into barriers. Asour society has become more complexwe find important segments of it becom-ing larger, more structured, more bu-reaucratic, less nimble and lesshospitable to non-conformists and peo-ple of unusual ideas. Leaders can helpthese unusual people bring forth their in-

novations even if it is not out of thin air.However, leading creative people in thisage of diverse work arrangements andelectronic relationships require fromleaders themselves to be significantly in-novative. The secret, I believe, lies in howindividual leaders in variety of settingsmake room for people with unusual andcreative abilities and temporarily becomefollowers themselves.Creative persons stand out from the

rest of us. Somehow, their contributionsaffect large groups and move organiza-tions towards improvement. I call them:‘explorationists’ (the most creative peo-ple in an organization). Yet they functionfor the most part, being outside or awayfrom their organizations. They work in allkinds of places: in cafes, airports, athome and they benefit from their unusual

relationships with the organizations theyjoin. They often have odd reporting rela-tionships but somehow they instinctivelyinsert themselves into organizationswherever they are needed.The changes and innovations they bring

about are often more like giant leapsthan the small steps most of us experi-ence frequently. They think of the worldin larger terms. They work for institu-tions or societies or culture or greaterideas for mass effect, not for individuals.Their creativity comes from the novelconnections they establish between theirwork and personal and professional ex-periences and observations. They areusually curious and look for a field wherethey can satiate that curiosity. Leaderscan work to bring these special and cre-ative people forth to have an impact uponthe efforts of a group.

Leaders in companies, corporations,banks, industries, academic institutionsand the government have already cho-sen to follow the unusual people whocan revive and restore vitality and op-portunity in their relative fields. Once aleader commits to a new way of dealingwith creative people, the process can bedefined quickly. It can be called a searchfor beneficial surprise. Traditional edu-cation does not prepare us for this.Though familiarity with technology helpsus deal with such a search, all the tech-nology in the world will not help us dis-covering the knowledge of ideas,experiments, failures, and successesthat we will be requiring on advent of aventure.If we want to find new sources and per-

spectives, there come two questionswhich, if thoughtfully considered, arelikely to yield good results. The first looksat innovation from a leader’s point of viewwhile the second arises from the view ofcreative persons.A leader will be careful about measur-

ing the contributions of creative persons.Return on assets has become a Baal intoo many organizations. All things cannotand must not be quantified. Financial andlegal matters are truly important butthey do not lie at the heart of our future.Resist the urge to structure all thingsalike.We also need to keep in mind that mov-

ing up in the hierarchy does not confercompetence or wisdom. The discern-ment and judgment necessary to evalu-ate true innovation, to doom or give lifeto good design or breakthroughs in tech-nology lie with people trained in thosefields.Creative persons come in all shapes,

sizes, and fields: from graphic design andarchitecture to software design andhuman resource. The best are volun-teers. They can find work almost every-where and they gauge the quality of theirleaders as a way of deciding where theywill contribute. Leaders make it possiblefor creative persons to make somethingout of nothing---nothing, that is, but ex-pressions of themselves. n

The things that will destroy us areknowledge without character,

worship without sacrifice, politicswithout principles and leadershipwithout integrity Quaid-i-Azam



1.PASSION No trait ismore noticeable in the topbusiness leaders than the

passion they share for their poli-cies and their companies. Quitesimply, they love what they do.

2.INTELLIGENCE ANDCLARITY OF MINDMost successful business

leaders are highly intelligent. Someof their intelligence is clearly thekind of raw intellectual horse-power that is innate. However,equally as important as their na-tive smarts is their ability to makethe complex seem simple.

3.GREAT COMMUNICA-TION SKILLS One of thecommon traits among

the 50 business leaders identifiedby this study is ability to communi-cate well. best business leaders ef-fectively explain businessfundamentals, strategy, alterna-tives and a course of action inways that tap the employees’sense of understanding.

4.HIGH ENERGY LEVELOn an average, the world-class business leaders

work more than 65 hours a week.The line between their work andprivate life is more blurry. Thephysical strain of developing strat-egy, forging consensus, making de-cisions, building a managementteam, dealing with regulators,communicating with institutionalinvestors, lobbying the govern-ment, traveling – all that requirean enormous amount of staminathat seem to be not so enormousto these leaders as they enjoy highenergy level sprouting out of theirinnate ceaseless enthusiasm.

5.EGOS IN CHECK Whenyou are the ultimate boss,it is tempting to take credit

for the success of your organization.In contrast, the best of businessleaders are humans of small egos.Being quite humble about what theyhave accomplished, they give creditof hard work, good timing, a healthydose of luck to the efforts of all staffmembers and colleagues for thesuccess.

6.INNER PEACE The mostsuccessful leaders ap-pear to be least stressed.

They are composed, self-assured,and more in harmony than mostof the managers.

7.CAPITALIZING ONFORMATIVE EEAARRLLYY LLIIFFEEEEXXPPEERRIIEENNCCEESS The study

found that these leaders believe inthe idea of capitalizing on theirformative, early life experiences.They believe as people cannot de-cide who their parents are, whatorder they are born in, or whateconomic stratum they grow up inbut they indeed can control whatthey make out of their early life ex-perience.

8.STRONG FAMILY LIFEComparatively, the di-vorce rate among man-

agers is higher. However, it isalmost zero in case of top classbusiness leaders. Many of theseleaders cite their intelligent effortsto balance a strong family life withtheir work and most importantlythe quality of objective advice theyget from an intelligent spouse askey ingredients in their success.

9.POSITIVE ATTITUDE Asa general rule, these peo-ple tend to look at chal-

lenges as opportunities and seekto make the best out of difficult sit-uations. Their outlook and commit-ment to capitalizing rather thanpunishing mistakes help give em-ployees a sense of responsibility.

10.FOCUS ON DOINGTHE RIGHTTHINGS The great

business leaders achieve their re-sults by focusing on the rightthings throughout the day that in-clude: • living with integrity and leadingby example. • developing a winning strategy ora big idea. • building a great managementteam.• inspiring employees to achievegreatness. • creating a flexible but responsi-ble organization. n

It is an interesting question for many academicians,consultants and practitioners of management thatwhether the successful business leaders possess dis-

tinct personality traits or simply they are like other man-agers, maybe with more drive for achievement and luckierthan others. If they possess distinct traits, how distinct arethey and whether is there any commonality in the person-ality traits of business leaders across the world? Based onthe study of 50 top world-class business leaders, ThomasNeft and James Citrin clarified many of these issues. Theyfound the best of world business leaders possess somedistinct traits and there is commonality in these traitsacross the business leaders. They also identified ten traitsthese leaders seemed to hold in common and presentedthem in their book titled Lessons from the Top, published in2001. These ten traits are:


COVER STORY


Qaht-ur-Rijal is an Urdu word that describes the absence or rarity ofmen of caliber in a society. This ‘Qaht-ur-Rijal’ is one of the

basic causes of leadership crisis and decline of Muslim Ummah. Leadership crisis is also re-sponsible for institutional or national decline. Leadership aims at harnessing the potential of people, creating synergy and building effective

teams. It is the driving force that synergizes the masses and determines their place in con-temporary history of nations or institutions. For leaders, it is their steadfastness and ability toactualize and use the hidden talent of people that determines their own stature. A society is never devoid of people of wisdom and leadership qualities but they fail to break the

mold or to bring about any material change because either they are few in numbers or theythemselves lack something somewhere. All eminent authors who have written books on Lead-ership and similar topics provide good amount of insight into such shortcomings. Here, I would

SHAHID NAFEESThe writer is a senior training manager in Bank Alfalah

ON LEADERSHIP



like to dwell on the subject from purely ori-ental & poetic perspective. Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali in his Mu-

saddas and Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal inhis Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa have beau-tifully highlighted the reasons of suchpaucity of leadership that has ultimately re-sulted into decline of Muslim Ummah. In-depth study of these two poems gives us acomprehensive reformatory plan in situa-tions of distress like that of ours. I recom-mend to the readers to study these poemsand find out for themselves the plan that isthought-provoking as well as interesting. There are two famous verses of Allama

Iqbal in which he describes the essential el-ements of leadership. Missing out these el-ements will bring us nothing but ‘leadershipcrisis. In one of his verses he says, “Nigah Buland, Sukhan Dilnawaz, Jaan

Pur Soz,Yehi hai Rakht-e-Safar Mir-e-Karwan ke

liey”At another place he says, “Yaqeen Mohkam, Amal Paiham, Mo-

habbat Fateh-e-Alam,Jehad-e-Zindagani mein hain yeh Mardon

ki Shamsheeren”Taking cue from these two verses we find

six elements that help us in meeting thechallenge of leadership crisis. It suggestsdeveloping the right traits in ourselves aswell as in those whom we can influence. Stephen Covey has given the world an ex-

cellent book on 7 Habits of the most influ-ential people. I wonder if following this set ofsix elements of leadership highlighted inthese two verses carries any less weight. 1. YYaaqqeeeenn MMoohhkkaammmeans an unflinching

belief. This includes:a. Having ‘Self-belief’ b. Developing ‘Trust’c. Believing in Values and inculcating

a Value-based Culture d. Having ‘Faith’ in Allah and things or-

dained by Him. Impossible things become possible when

‘Yaqeen’ comes into action. To me, the twomain problems in our personality are thatwe do not believe: neither in ourselves norin others. We can call it a state of ‘TrustDeficit’. Yaqeen Mohkam can certainly andmost effectively counter this ‘trust deficit’.

Creating that type of ‘Yaqeen’ may not beeasy but with commitment and right ap-proach, this is something achievable aswell as inevitable. 2. AAmmaall PPaaiihhaamm mean ‘perpetual strug-

gle’. It suggests that:e. We should never be complacent.

Not even when we have achievedour goals.

f. We should always stay proactiveand shun passivity.

g. We should not remain inactive,naïve or dull.

No doubt that thinking, especially thisright thinking is very important in deter-mining the direction and goals but nothingcan be achieved merely by thinking. It is al-ways action that transforms the societiesand brings about change.3. MMuuhhaabbbbaatt FFaattaahh--ee--AAllaamm:: Fatah-e-Alam

is described as an adjective of Muhab-bat- ‘the love’. It means that love and af-fection, and similar good feelings aresuch a strong quality that they can winover the whole world. It is love and careshown for others that wins theirhearts. So the third element of thisrecipe is love, care and compassion forothers. This is how we can win overother people and create win-win situa-tions.

We know that humility breeds love andarrogance breeds hate. That is why arro-gant people always infuse hate amongstothers and humility results into feeling oflove and attachment.4 Nigah Buland: This is a very compre-

hensive phrase that encompasses:AA)) EElleemmeenntt ooff bbeeiinngg aa vviissiioonnaarryy::i. That a person has a vision of the ul-

timate of his endeavors. ii. That he sees himself and his or-

ganization at an appropriate level ina short-term and at a relatively far-ther future.

iii. That he enjoys clarity of thoughtabout all his ideas, efforts, missionand strategy.

iv. That he is focused and this focusdoes not dilute at any stage of hisendeavors.

The concept of being visionary alsomeans that he has the ability to foresee theopportunities and threats that lie at his

work environment. B) Element of excellence: i. That his objectives in life are not

mean or ordinary. ii. He is high-looking and is focused on

something big and worthwhile. iii. He does not involve himself in small

talk, small thinking and trivialities.C) Element of virtue: i. He is a man of virtue. ii. He himself enjoys self-esteem and

cares about the esteem and re-spect of others.

iii. Obstacles in his way cannot diffusehis passion.

5. Sukhan Dilnawaz: In literal sense‘sukhan’ means conversation or talkbut we know now that the ways to talkare diverse and multiple. This phrasetherefore includes all types of commu-nication. Dilnawaz means beautiful, at-tractive or appealing. Iqbal mostprobably has picked up this phrasefrom Quranic words of ‘Qooloo Linnas-e-Husna’. It means when you commu-nicate with people, do it beautifully (andartfully). This attribute of Mir-e-Karwan or leader makes it imperativeon leaders to learn the art of commu-nication. He should communicate withothers in a way that is appealing, beau-tiful and interesting.

6. Jaan Pur Soz: In Iqbal’s poetry ‘Soz’means ‘Ishq’ that includes passion andcompassion. He strongly believes thatit is the dearth of passion, compassionand dearth of Ishq that has done a hor-rendous damage to Muslim Ummah.Ishq and Janoon for Iqbal, mean doingsomething with highest degree of zealand enthusiasm; to put heart and soulin something. He believes that unlesswe put our hearts and souls, unless wework with Ishq and Janoon we cannotachieve our goals of personal and in-stitutional excellence.

It is time for us to find out where we arelosing ground with respect to these at-tributes essential for our personalitiesand that of our leaders. Excellence,whether it is personal or institutional ornational, will be a far cry if we fail to ac-quire these leadership characteristics de-fined by Iqbal. n


MANAGEMENT


Similar problems clustered under avariety of designations constitutethe functional hierarchy of an or-

ganization. The meekest of employees tothe CEO, all human resources strive todeal with their given share of problems.Their individual success rates determinethe extent of entire organizational output. Facing the ad infinitum performance

challenge of modern day competitive envi-ronment “workplace bullying” appears as ablack hole in an organization and gulps itshuman resources' ability to perform ef-fectively. Many dysfunctional companiescan be traced back to chronic bullies who,under the guise of tough management,

have victimized a succession of employ-ees. Their vainglorious self-perpetuatingmanners cause devastating blows to theorganizations' talent pool and gnaw at itsvery ability to achieve its cherished goals. Bullying is a repeated pattern of pro-

voked, unwelcoming, hostile behavior thatintentionally inflicts or attempts to inflict in-jury, insult, hurt, humiliation or discomfort.Targeted, persistent bullying, most oftenprogresses to the ultimate painful conse-quence of perpetual state of depression,serious social, family and health hazardsfor the victim. From the physical hounding in the school

yards, workplace bullying goes psychologi-Workplace

BullyingBullyingJob responsibilities are

structured sets of problemsrequired to be solved

persistently

The writer is an Islamabad-basedcorporate trainer

WALI MUHAMMAD



cal, occurring in situations of real or per-ceived imbalance of power. It can be a dif-ference in personality – one person moredominant than the other, command of lan-guage – one person with a sharpertongue and quicker wit than the other. Psy-chological bullies deploy tactics of mali-cious teasing, name-calling, hurtfulpersonal remarks, and cunning deflationof competence by strategies such as iso-lation, humiliation, excessive supervisionand denial of employee rights. The situation is insidiously convoluted on

the domestic organizational scene, blem-ished by little awareness and practice ofemployee rights, scanty legislation anddiminutive law enforcement. Victims keepsuffering in silence for the fear of losingtheir jobs. Bullies thrive on the victims' ex-tended insecurities. Bullying usually starts slowly and then es-

calates rapidly. Hallmark of a bully is doublebind communication - where the verbalcontent of the message does not coincidewith the body language or two conflictingideas about the same subject are pack-aged in an apparently coherent verbalmessage - all to confuse the victim. Addi-tional signs are extensive use of negativebody language such as eye rolling, eyebrowlifting, heavy sighs, finger gestures, shoul-der shrugging and arm movements. Bul-lies get away with their conduct by makingvictims feel, it's their fault.Nitpicking - finding out constant small

faults in victim's work with a flagrant dis-regard of any achievements is one of thefavorite strategies of bullies. Their con-stant unjustified criticism eventually con-vinces victims that they are no good. Belittling tactics are also some sure

ways to devastate victims. Isolation is being ignored, ostracized and

given the silent treatment during the teammeetings while offering less lee way or flex-ibility to the victim. Systematic incapacitation is extreme

level of manipulation where the victim is in-tentionally excluded from essential infor-mation, or misinformed of the workplacedevelopments, called upon in meetings atodd times, issued written complaints, andcommunicated through sticky notes, in-stead of personal meetings.

Classical tactics for a victim's undermin-ing include not providing a clear job de-scription (a deliberate strategy to makethe role unclear), devaluation of role by tak-ing away important and interesting tasksreplaced with menial tasks. Threats of dismissal are typical at Asian

organizational scene, where the organiza-tion itself bullies its employees. Behavioral repertoire of bullies cuts

across a variety of patterns. They may bedifferentiated accordingly. Some mastering the blame game, are

experts at conjuring thoughtful and caringpublic appearances. They are calculating,scheming and deceitful deep down. Suf-fering from narcissistic self-love and con-vinced of their exalted abilities, they blameeveryone but themselves for their mis-takes. Even their victims are charmed bytheir nice manners. ‘I was thinking aboutyou’ is their favorite sentence before deliv-ering devastating criticism to their victims.

Opportunistic bullies are extremely ca-reer-oriented and if anything comes intheir way they use every ploy to eliminate it.They are highly competitive and manipu-late circumstances to achieve their ends. Self-preserving bullies are insecure,

loyal only to the agenda of personal sur-vival. Utmost authority orientation is theircornerstone. They go any length to ap-pease their superiors though absolutelyflip side of coin to subordinates. In thename of system they bash their juniorswith no holds barred and hate to see anyinitiative coming from them. This simplyprovokes their internalized insecurity thatthey relieve by searching and advertisingtheir constituents' weaknesses and find-ing creative ways of demeaning them.

Juniors for them are only to be seen notheard.Workplace bullying is definitely a no-win

situation. It is not only damaging for theemployees being bullied and their familiesbut the business bears its cost through in-creased leave and tardiness, reduced effi-ciency and productivity, low morale andhigh turnover. Good intentions are obviously not

enough to escape this quagmire. Suc-cessful man is one who finds out what isthe matter with the business before hiscompetitors do. Prevention is any organi-zation's best strategy against bullying. Thiscan be achieved through a three prongstrategy.FIRST STEP is drafting an anti bullying

policy that clearly spells out bullying be-haviors. Every member of staff must beprovided with a copy and the policy shouldbe updated regularly. SECOND STEP adequate mechanisms

must be drawn to report the bullying be-havior. This may include nominating a con-tact person for reporting, a system ofmediation, investigation and sanctions be-cause policy does no good unless enforcedproperly.THIRD STEP is compulsory training for

managers, human resource staff dealingwith bullying complaints, the contact peo-ple and all the general staff. Training mustadequately address the intricacies of as-sertive communication skills required tobecome an effective team player ratherthan a starving slave runner. Even the bullies just like their victims may

become valuable human resources; theymust be identified and helped before theybring the organization to a grinding halt. n

BullyingBullying As I entered boss's office, he sat there with managerof administration department. I thought maybe it was

not the right time to be around, so I said, "I may come later".But he insisted, I should tell him about my progress. As Ibegan, he quickly picked up small gaps and started spittingfire right away. I felt I was made to go naked in public. Nextday he told me that such lessons will help me progress inmy career. (A victim)


INTERVIEW


Please give an introduction ofyour academic profile and the

beginning of your professional career.I did graduation in Commerce from Pre-

miere College, Karachi and joined HabibBank Limited (HBL) as a probationer offi-cer. Banking appealed to me much but afeeling of incomplete education remainedwith me even being on the job. So I ap-peared in professional exams and com-pleted DIBP. Seeing my interest in teachingand training, I was invited to the HR traininginstitute of HBL in Peshawar which I joinedimmediately.There I along with others started con-

tacting private corporate sector. It was thetime when private banks were again beingnationalised and training was absolutely anew institution. At start, we could find onlyten to fifteen nominations from our ownbank. Getting a good number of traineesproved really difficult. Thus, we started invit-ing other banks and multinational compa-

nies in our trainings. It proved very suc-cessful as this exercise gave our employ-ees a fair chance of sharing theirknowledge and experience with traineescoming from other institutions. With passage of time, our trainings be-

came very popular among different com-panies. Many banks became our regularclients including Bank of America, CityBank, Faysal Bank and Indo-Swiss Bank.

Please share with us the fac-tors you focused on to excel in

your profession?Although I was working successfully, I

started feeling lack of experience of inter-national level because the people I was in-teracting with had vast exposure ofinternational companies and banking.Thus, I applied for Chevening Scholarship

and also the American Fulbright Program;luckily, I was shortlisted for both scholar-ships. On my own discretion, I went for the

In an economic downturn, scopefor microfinance institutions

increases more:

Those persons in the government who do have anunderstanding of capital generation and realise thatmicrofinance plays a pivotal role in economic and socialdevelopment of any country, they encourage it

–GHAZANFAR AZZAM

NABEELA MALIK

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Mr. GHAZANFAR AZZAMChief Operating Officer at Kashf Microfinance Bank, sports a dy-namic personality. In a career spread over 22 years, this Ful-bright-Hubert Humphrey fellow has worked for four leadingPakistani banks including Habib Bank Limited, Union Bank (nowStandard Chartered Bank, Pakistan), Bank Alfalah and PrimeBank (now part of Royal Bank of Scotland, Pakistan). He has heldsenior positions in many international institutions; served as “Fi-nancial Sector Specialist” for a Chicago-based institution, ShoreBank International in Pakistan on a USAID funded WHAM projectaimed at building and strengthening Small Business lending ca-pacity in Pakistani financial institutions. He is an experiencedbanker in retail and consumer banking, small business lending,sales force management, training and development. His key skillsare strategic planning, leading teams, setting up new lines of busi-ness, establishing & managing projects and mentoring & devel-opment of staff. Mr. Azzam keeps an inspiring work and personallife balance. His approach towards life and its challenges is quitedown to earth.


INTERVIEW


American scholarship as it was betterbeing the unique opportunity offering newdevelopments. So I went to PennsylvaniaState University and completed two se-mesters and some courses on HR, Lead-ership and Management. That scholarshipprogram gave me a great exposure. Theyarranged a World Bank seminar on globalfinance in Washington DC and we weregiven access to the capital market of NewYork. Last in the program was the optionof working with an American bank for fourmonths. They asked me if I was interestedin any bank, I gave them three names in-cluding Citi Bank and ABN Amro. The re-sponse of ABN Amro was the best, itoffered me to work at it’s headquarter inChicago. Thus, I ended up my scholarshipwith ABN Amro in Chicago for fourmonths. After completing my scholarship,I had to decide whether to return to myown country or to build my career in Amer-ica.Meanwhile, a very nice and senior col-

league of mine, Mr. Bakhtiar Khawaja, nowHead of the Learning and Development de-partment of Bank Alfalah contacted meand insisted me to join Bank Alfalah (thenan emerging bank in Karachi) if I wanted tocome back to Pakistan.. I came back toPakistan and joined Bank Alfalah as thetraining manager. In 2002, I rejoined Prime Bank’s busi-

ness side. By that time, the State Bank ofPakistan had started recognizing Smalland Medium Enterprises, we also set upSME as a special line of business as it wasa very important area of finance. I servedas the country head of consumer bankingand as the regional head of Prime Bank aswell.In 2005, acquisitions and mergers of

banks got started. At that time I came toknow about a Chicago-based institution,Shore Bank International. They were as-signed a three-year SME and MicrofinanceSector Development project in Pakistan.They declared a position of a financial sec-tor specialist, requiring a Pakistani having agood knowledge of the industry and theability to communicate with the Pakistaniindustry. They selected me and I workedwith them for around two-and-a-half year.

During that time, I got many chances towork with Standard Chartered Bank, Na-tional Bank of Pakistan and Union Bank’sKisan Card product. We also conductedmany trainings and community awarenessprograms.

When and how did you shift tomicrofinance banking?

Being with the Shore Bank, I actuallycame to know about microfinance bankingwhile being in the commercial banking, Icould never understand microfinance asmost of the bankers from commercialbanking do not understand it because of itstotally different methodology, mindset andmarket. It relates to the smallest consumers at

the grass root level while commercial bank-ing deals with large groups. I came to knowabout microfinance through discussions ofthe international consultants who used totalk about the activities of microfinance in-stitutions all over the world like the per-formance of Grameen FoundationBangladesh, Grameen Foundation USA, ac-tivities of microfinance in Latin Americaand the performance of microfinancebanks in Indonesia etc. All their storiestaught me a lot about microfinance bank-ing in real terms.

So did this knowledge of mi-crofinance banking pave your

way to the Kashf Microfinance Bank?Yes, indeed it was the time when I came

across Kashf Foundation and its servicesin the field of microfinance. I met RoshanehZafar, President of Kashf Foundation in fo-rums on microfinance. Roshaneh was of

We have 18 branches inoperation at present andby the end of 2009, thiscount will raise up to 32branches while withinfive years Kashf Bank willbecome a hundredbranches networkInshAllah. We also hopeto fetch one millionsavers to our bank withinfive years. We are alsoplanning to reach up to500 thousandmicrofinance borrowersin the same time period

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the opinion that Kashf Foundation had ac-quired the potential of establishing a mi-crofinance bank. Being well-experiencedin this field, I was offered to join the ven-ture. I agreed and in 2007, we startedformal steps of establishing the bank.Kashf Foundation had nearly 0.3 million

borrowers at that time. We thought ofconverting them into savers because thefoundation could not make savings whichcould only be done through a bank.In the total investment for the estab-

lishment of the bank, Kashf contributed51% while the remaining 49% was con-tributed by participants including IFC, theWorld Bank group, Shore Bank,Women’s World Banking, (a New-Yorkbased institution) and also a Dutch groupof social investors. We applied for a licence from the SBP.

It went through our business plan, evalu-ated our team and issued the licence tous within a record time of seven to eightweeks.Thus, on October 27, 2008 Kashf Mi-

crofinance Bank became operational with18 lending branches.

Please tell us about thestrategic plan of expansion

for Kashf Microfinance Bank?

We have 18 branches in operation atpresent and by the end of 2009, thiscount will raise up to 32 branches whilewithin five years Kashf Bank will becomea hundred branches network InshaAllah.We also hope to fetch one million saversto our bank within five years. We are alsoplanning to reach up to 500 thousand mi-crofinance borrowers in the same timeperiod.

What are the challengesfaced by the bank right now?

I think the greatest challenge is the lackof understanding of microfinance amongour people. Our commercial banks andbankers do not understand it in realterms. Another point is that as microfi-nance consists of very small loans andborrowings, it deals with meagreamounts thus its operating cost is veryhigh. For instance, if in commercial banking

one person makes a portfolio of 500 mil-lion, the same will be done by a hundredcustomers in the microfinance bankingso its operating cost ratio becomes high.

Is the Government of Pak-istan helping and promoting

microfinance banking?Yes, the Government of Pakistan un-

derstands its value and usefulness. Thegovernment made a policy for the micro-finance institutions, formed a law, en-forced Microfinance Act 2001, createdKhushali Bank and offered five-year debtholidays to the microfinance banks tohelp and encourage people to get bene-fits from its services. Thus, those personsin the government who do have an un-derstanding of capital generation and re-alise that microfinance plays a pivotal rolein economic and social development of

any country, they encourage it. But on the other hand, some negative

elements are trying to distort the imageand performance of microfinance as theyencourage the culture of non-refundingloans to the banks but anyhow, we are try-ing to cope with these challenges and cre-ating maximum awareness among ourpeople and customers.

In the wake of current eco-nomic crunch, do you think

that your bank will be able to establishmore branches and grow at a highpace?Economic downturn definitely affects

all institutions in a country, it affects usas well but if we assess the microfinanceinstitution, we find it in a direct relation-ship with the low income community asmicrofinance banks always deal with thelow income groups. So, in an economicdownturn, scope for microfinance insti-tutions increases more, its unfortunatebut a fact that the market of microfi-nance expands further as poverty in-creases.However, if the law and order situation

worsens in a country then it createsproblems and affects the performance ofmicrofinance banking. Incidents like riotsand strikes affect our institution also.

Would you like to tell ourreaders the secret of your

success?Practically speaking, there is no short-

cut to success, but the factors leading toit include commitment to your goals, ded-ication and hard work to achieve excel-lence. The golden principles read intheory must be trusted upon and prac-ticed sincerely, only this belief and sincerehard work will lead to success. n

Most of the bankers from commercial banking do notunderstand microfinance banking because of itstotally different methodology, mindset and market

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COMMUNICATION


CONFIDENT? IMPATIENT?The first man had nothing but hisinstincts and his body tocommunicate with. Perhaps thosewere the first signs of body language.Communication has come a long waynow. So, does the body stillcommunicate?

Are you shy?Are you shy?


he world would be in utterchaos without effective

communication. History talksabout sign languages. Drawingsand inscriptions that were usedas the means of communica-tion. The most commonly used

and understood language is body languagewhich transcend all boundaries and regionand cultural aspects. However, unlike other languages, body lan-

guage can sometimes communicate un-knowingly. The trick lies in reading the signsright and understanding them. Accordingto psychologists, there are many other ge-netic, learned and cultural signals throughwhich we communicate. Some of the most basic and common

communication gestures include the smile,when we are happy; the frown, when we areangry and tears, when we are sad.The palms of a person talk much based

on their positioning during a conversation.The open palm gesture has often been as-sociated with truth, honesty, allegiance andsubmission. During normal conversation,open palms (open upwards) indicate howthe speaker is trying to impose his honestywith another person. In a conversationwhere the speaker is slowly opening up andrevealing facts, his palms come out openupwards slowly throughout the conversa-tion. This is a completely unconscious ges-ture implying that the person is telling thetruth. On the other hand, an unaware liarwill have his palms concealed, hidden in apocket or folded behind him in an effort tohold back the truth. Palms can also revealnervousness when they are sweaty orshaky. Other signs of nervousness includeknuckle cracking and clenching of fists.Again, clenched fists come as a result ofanger and vengeance. Generally, clenchedhands are a sign of confidence. Clenched

hands in front of the face is a hostile ges-ture while clenched hands held down on thetable is an authoritative gesture. Well, if at all there is another part of the

body that displays a range of emotions, it isthe human eye. Generally, excitement and happiness tend

to dilate the pupils four times their originalsize and anger contracts them. Thesesharply contracted pupils have given rise toterms like ‘snake eyes’, ‘evil eyes’ or beadylittle eyes’. It may be easy to hide your innerthoughts by hiding your hands but the samecannot be said about the eyes. There are two ways in which you can gaze

at a person, namely ‘the business gaze’ and‘the intimate gaze’. For that assume the for-mation of an imaginary triangle on every-one’s head. The triangle has its vertices atthe two eyes and a point on the person’sforehead. When conversing with a person,if the gaze is focused on this triangle it iscalled ‘business gaze’. This is a formal styleof using the eyes and talking to the personlooking him straight in the eye. If this gazeshifts below the triangle at the nose, mouthand the neck, then it seems ‘the intimategaze’, meant for casual or informal conver-sations. All these concepts of body language

teach us one thing—every gesture repre-sents a positive or a negative trait. One ofthe most common gestures is thecrossed arms before the chest. This isgenerally viewed as a defensive gestureand represent a barrier to block un-wanted elements from invading your per-sonal space. Another negative gesture isthe hand to face gesture. When some-body is lying, he is bound to cover hismouth or start rubbing the area below hisnose. Small children often tend to claptheir hands over their mouth when theysee or do something that they should not


A thumbs-up sign in many parts of theworld means ‘it is good’.

Shaking the fist means ‘I am angry’. Itsa threat of aggression.

Unlike other languages,body language cansometimes communicateunknowingly. The trick liesin reading the signs rightand understanding them.According topsychologists, there aremany other genetic,learned and culturalsignals through which wecommunicate


SONIA UROOJThe writer is a communication trainer and consultant

have. This gesture gets refined with ageinto the nose touching gesture. It is not always easy to observe and in-

terpret body language. The few percep-tive and intuitive people capable of doingthis dedicates hours of observation andstudy. Women are generally more per-ceptive than men owing to their maternalinstincts of communicating with theirchild. REFINING THE LANGUAGE

Improving body language can make abig difference in people’s skills, attrac-tiveness and general mood. To changeyour body language you must be aware ofit. Notice how you sit, how you stand, howyou use your hands and legs, what you dowhile talking to someone. You might alsowant to observe friends, role models,movie stars or other people you think hasgood body language. Observe what theydo and you don’t.Here are some tips on what you need

to do and what to avoid to sharpen yourbody language. AVOID DEFENSIVE GESTURES

(Do not cross your arms or legs) keep-ing your arms open is a welcome gestureas long as they don’t invade your personalspace.

HHAAVVEE EEYYEE CCOONNTTAACCTT,, BBUUTT DDOONN’’TTSSTTAARREEIf there are several people you are talk-

ing to, give them all some eye contact tocreate a better connection and see ifthey are listening, keeping too much eye-contact might freak people out. Giving noeye-contact might make you seem inse-cure and unwanted. DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE UP SOMESPACETaking up space by, for example, sitting

or standing with your legs slightly apartsignals self-confidence. (Do not overdo it)KEEP YOUR SHOULDERS RELAXED

When you feel tense, it easily winds upas tension in your shoulders. Try to relax. ACKNOWLEDGE A CONVERSATIONWITH PERIODICAL NODSNod once in a while to signal that you

are listening. DON’T SLOUCH, SIT UP STRAIGHT

Lean, but not too much. If you want toshow that you are interested in whatsomeone is saying. Lean towards the per-son. If you want to show that you’re con-fident in yourself and relaxed, lean back abit, but don’t lean in too much or youmight seem needy and desperate for ap-proval.

SMILE AND LAUGH

Lighten up, don’t take yourself too seri-ously. Relax a bit, smile and laugh whensomeone says something funny. Peoplewill be a lot more inclined to listen to youif you seem to be a positive person. Butdon’t be the first to laugh at your ownjokes. DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE

It shows that you are nervous and canbe distracting for the listeners or thepeople in the conversation.KEEP YOUR HEAD UP

Don’t keep your eyes on the ground, itmight make you seem insecure and a bitlost. Keep your head up straight and youreyes towards the horizon. SLOW DOWN A BIT

Walking slowly not only makes youseem more calm and confident, but willalso make you feel less stressed. If some-one addresses you, don’t snap your neckin their direction, turn it a bit more slowlyinstead. DON’T FIDGET

Avoid fidgety movements and nervousticks such as shaking your leg or tappingyour fingers against the table rapidly. USE YOUR HANDS MORECONFIDENTLY

Use your hands to describe somethingor to add weight to a point you are tryingto make.BARE YOUR HEART

Don’t hold anything in front of yourheart as it will make you seem guardedand distant.MIRROR

Often, when you get along with a per-son, when the two of you get a good con-nection, you will start to mirror eachother unconsciously. That means you mir-ror the other person’s body language abit. To make the connection better, youcan try a bit of proactive mirroring. If heleans forward, you might lean forward.But don’t react instantly and don’t mirrorevery change in body language. KEEP A GOOD ATTITUDE

Last but not the least; keep a positive,open and relaxed attitude. How you feelwill come through in your body languageand can make a major difference. n

NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTERPERSONALBrisk, erect walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ConfidenceStanding with hands on hips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Readiness, aggressionSitting with legs crossed, foot kicking slightly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BoredomArms crossed on chest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DefensivenessWalking with hands in pockets, shoulders hunched. . . . . . . . . . . DejectionHand to cheek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation, ThinkingTouching, slightly rubbing nose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rejection, doubt, lyingRubbing the eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doubt, DisbeliefLocked ankles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ApprehensionHead resting in hand, eyes downcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BoredomRubbing hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AnticipationSitting with hands clasped behind head, legs crossed. . . . . . . . . Confidence, superiorityOpen palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sincerity, openness, innocencePinching bridge of nose, eyes closed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Negative evaluationTapping or drumming fingers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ImpatiencePatting/fondling hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lack of self-confidence; insecurityTilted head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . InterestStroking chin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trying to make a decisionLooking down, face turned away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DisbeliefBiting nails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insecurity, nervousnessPulling or tugging at ear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indecision

COMMUNICATION

22 MANAGER TODAY | June - July 2009 www.themanagertoday.com

Succession planning plays a keyrole in an organization’s pursuit oflong-term strategies and lasting

results. Good management does not hap-pen by itself and succession planning iscritical to its continuation.Succession planning is one of the top

three responsibilities of corporateboards, along with strategy review/rati-fication and the evaluation of manage-ment performance and compensation.Yet, today’s business headlines are all toofull of corporate embarrassments.CEOs stay on too long and stifle poten-

tial successors or rivals. Divided—and

sometimes packed – boards are oftenout of touch with shareholders’ interests.Internal power struggles lead to exces-sive exits of talent when a new CEO is fi-nally selected. Shareholder value isdamaged as an all-too-public search im-pedes business operations and erodesemployee and public confidence.For good reason or bad, some great

companies have drawn adverse publicityin their handling of executive succession.The fault need not lie with the CEO. It mayrest with the board, individual directors,active shareholders, core self-styled heirsapparently – to mention just a few

sources. Whatever the cause, the public-ity and damage are a matter of publicrecord. Just ask the likes of American Ex-press, Eastman Kodak, IBM, or Sears.How can succession planning be ad-dressed so as to preempt problems andensure a continuation of good manage-ment? First, recognize the importance ofthe task. Second, it is necessary to over-come today’s tendency to look for a one-size-fits-all solution born of conventionalwisdom. Helping to choose the rich successor

must be regarded as the ultimate obliga-tion of a CEO. While this is done in covert

HUMAN RESOURCE


Reflectionson successionplanning Succession is more important thanever; it’s also the most neglected

responsibility of the corporate boards

SYED ALI RAZAThe writer is head of HR in a multinational company



with the board of directors, the responsi-bility for the quality of candidates and theattractiveness of the job rest with currentmanagement.Among many responsibilities of the cor-

porate boards, assurance of a sound suc-cession process is second to none. Yetamong the key tasks addressed by theboards, succession, by the nature of itsrelative infrequency is the most neglectedone.The secret is to make succession plan-

ning through people’s development as thecore value in your corporate culture. In sodoing, you not only establish a process forsuccession planning for all levels, includ-ing that of CEO, but you also ensure a con-tinuous supply of qualified candidates.Thus, succession strategy in most or-

ganizations must make six transitions:l From an annual event to a contin-

uous processOrganizations need to create an envi-

ronment of continuous succession ‘think-

ing’ instead of annual succession plan-ning. This can be done through more fre-quent senior management meetings,instead of annual or semi-annual reviews.Greater time can be devoted to follow-

up at regular staff meetings. People andsuccession issues in business planning

can be emphasized.Finally, succession objectives intoperformance evaluation and man-agement can be better incorpo-rated (For example, onesuccessor as their potential re-placement.)

l From a short term re-placement strategy to a longterm development and re-tention strategy Balance the need for a steady

supply of ready talent. The clearbenefit is reflected in employees’ ap-

preciation of their development and con-tinuous improvement.

l From an emphasis on ‘whom wehave’ to an emphasis on ‘what weneed’Companies must create an atmos-

phere in which external talent can behired to fill critical skill gaps, independentof job openings.

l From position blockage to appro-priate turnover in key position Promote and reward capable man-

agers, emphasizing managerial over tech-nical skills. Good managers can routinelyassess the potential of incumbents in keypositions, develop appropriate actionplans, avoid position blockage and stimu-late appropriate turnover.

l From insufficient bench strengthto a pool of ready talentTwo factors are vital to bench strength:

the involvement of line management increating individual-specific developmentplans, and its accountability for follow-through. For example, awards might be

created to recognize and give insight topeople’s development.

l From subjective evaluation to an em-phasis on results and tangible metrics

Specific measurements must be es-tablished to evaluate succession results.Some measures that have proven usefulare: the percentages of key positions thathave at least two ready successors; thepercentage of key positions filled exter-nally; the percentage of developmentalaction plans implemented; and the extentto which the process contributes posi-tively to business results.Managing change is the first responsi-

bility of any management. Since change isever more dynamic, good management –and the process ensuring its continuation– must be constant. To make it happen,analyze your organization’s managementneeds and communicate them to thoseinstrumental in selection decisions. Im-plement a continuous program to ensurethat those needs will be met.There’s another reason to make sure

that the very best people are at the topof the world’s corporations. Today toomany people, including members of manygovernments have the perception that‘business is bad and the bigger the bad-der.’Business bashing has reached record

levels. And business is seen more andmore as part of today’s problems, not atthe basis for solutions through a strongeconomy.Today’s business leadership is facing a

host of new challenges. As we move intoan increasing global economy, we mustensure a solid succession of outstandingexecutives and managers. They will notonly serve the interests of their enter-prises and their stakeholders, but also ad-dress key issues vital to the creation of astrong climate for business, individual na-tions and the world.n

Among many responsibilities of the corporate boards, assurance of asound succession process is second to none. Yet among the key tasks

addressed by the boards, succession, by the nature of its relativeinfrequency is the most neglected one.


MOTIVATION


People like working for companies that support them in feel-ing good about themselves. They don’t like working forthose in which they feel unvalued and manipulated by a ‘we

versus them’ management style. When the year 2010 arrives toput the big squeeze on competition for competent employees,then perhaps we will remember the prophetic words of RosabethMoss Kanter, former editor of the Harvard Business Review: “Thecompanies that are the best at creating a good quality of work lifewill be able to attract and retain the most skilled workers.” Forthose companies that are listening, the message is clear. It’s timeto weed out working conditions that contribute to alienation, frus-tration and discontent. It’s time to implement training programsthat teach managers and employees alike how to create work en-vironment that enhance self-esteem. Self-esteem is the attitudethat one has towards oneself based on the sum of self-respect,self-confidence and self-responsibility. Although people can’t raiseanyone’s self-esteem but their own, they can take action at work-place that nurtures the growing of other’s self-esteem. A person with high self-esteem is better equipped to deal with

life’s problems. He or she is resilient, more likely to be creative andambitious, more likely to form supportive relationships, more in-clined to be respectful of others and experiences more joy in life.But how is self-esteem made, and how is it developed in others?Eight behavioral keys are useful in enhancing self-esteem. Each

key represents a set of specific behaviors that must be learnedand practiced conscientiously for the best results.

self-esteemself-esteemPositive self-esteem in the workplace nurturescreativity and healthy work practices

BoostinG

at work

DR JAVED SAIMThe writer is practicing psychotherapist



RESPECT OTHERSManagers can demonstrate respect by

being courteous, listening attentively andempathically, and maintaining eye contact.They can avoid lecturing and using a con-descending or sarcastic tone.In far too many cases, people haven’t re-

ceived their fair share of respect in life andthus aren’t overly skilled at giving it to oth-ers. Worse yet, those with low self-esteemtend to become controlling, impatient, anddownright verbally offensive in stressful sit-uations, destroying whatever communica-tion skills they have cultivated.Regardless of the circumstances, no

manager will elicit exceptional perform-ance from employees by treating themwith hostility, contempt, or lack of respect.

ENABLE AND EMPOWER

To enable is to give people the knowledgeand skills they need to be successful on thejob. To empower is to support people in tak-ing self-responsibility. Without training, peo-ple can’t achieve. Without responsibility,people tend to become doers instead ofthinkers. Enabled people feel good aboutthemselves because they have the oppor-tunity to excel. Empowered people feelgood about themselves because they ac-cept responsibility for their lives, acceptsources—and demonstrate that they canaffect their lives in important ways.

ACT CONGRUENTLY & CONSISTENTLY

Behavior is congruent when what peopleare feeling on the inside matches but whatthey are doing and saying on the outside.Behavior is consistent when it is in charac-ter and in alignment with personal and or-ganizational values. Employees are at bestconfused and at worst distrusting of in-congruent and inconsistent managementbehavior. Managers can create trust inemployees by being real and telling thetruth. How can manager expect employees

to be open with them when they never di-rectly communicate to them what they’rereally feeling and thinking?

CREATE SAFETY

A ‘safe’ environment is one in which peo-ple feel they can give input openly withoutfear of ridicule or reprimand. They feel safeto say, ‘I made a mistake.’ In this book, Talk-ing Straight, Lee Lacocca advises, ‘only theboss can set a tone that lets people feelcomfortable enough to say those magicwords. ‘I don’t know’ followed by, ‘but I’ll findout.’ When people feel safe, they are nat-urally inquisitive. When people don’t feelsafe, they may become defensive, over con-trolling, fearful, timid, or resentful—none ofwhich produces peak performance. Manymanagers can learn to create safer workenvironments that promote initiative, cre-ative problem solving, open communica-tion, and greater teamwork.

TEACH PERSONAL LIMITS

Most people were never taught how toset their personal limits with others – theywere never taught how to tell someone re-spectfully, therefore unacceptable to them.Abuse of any form is unacceptable. Every-one has the right to set personal limits.Managers have the opportunity to teach

by example. Sometimes, it is necessary forthem to say to a verbally disrespectful em-ployee, ‘Your behavior is completely unac-ceptable to me, and continuing it willdemonstrate your choice to accept theconsequences.’ The challenge is to set per-sonal limits using a neutral tone, without re-sorting to character assassinations ordictatorial commands.

INVESTIGATE PERFORMANCEDISCREPANCIES

All actions, inappropriate or not, are al-ways related to a person’s attempt to sat-isfy needs, efforts at survival,

self-protection, maintenance of equilibriumand avoidance of fear and pain. When anemployee is behaving unacceptably, firstmake an effort to understand what is caus-ing the performance discrepancy—the dif-ference between actual and expectedperformance. Help yourself and your em-ployee to discover how he or she views thesituation before determining what actionscan be taken to correct the problem.

OBSERVE BEHAVIOR AND THENPROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

One of the best training methods is im-mediate, constructive feedback about per-formance. However, giving constructivefeedback is a learned skill. Whenever pos-sible, managers should be specific aboutan employee’s performance strengths andthen provide specific performance im-provement feedback. They should avoid la-beling employees. People feel resentfulwhen judged and feel less worthy whenthey know the praise is unrealistic.

NURTURE POTENTIAL ANDRECOGNIZE DESIRED PERFORMANCE

People with low self-esteem are often asfrightened of their virtues as they are oftheir shortcomings. Shortcomings can create feelings of in-

adequacy, whereas virtues can createfears of social alienation or taking self-re-sponsibility. The more people resist theirown potential, the more a manager’s pa-tience is tested. As Dr. Robert Ball, formerexecutive director of the California TaskForce on Self-esteem and author of Walk-ing on Water, implores, ‘Be kind. Everyoneyou meet is fighting a hard battle.’ The notion of enhancing self-esteem in

the workplace is not an impossibledream, but to make it a reality, everyonemust commit to learning new skills andcreating workplaces that breed positiveself-esteem. n

Without training, people can’t achieve. Without responsibility, people tend tobecome doers instead of thinkers. Enabled people feel good about themselvesbecause they have the opportunity to excel. Empowered people feel good aboutthemselves because they accept responsibility for their lives


EVENTS


INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF MANAGER TODAY

Mr Bakhtiar Khawaja

The team of Manager Today

Saba Kiani hosting the ceremony Venerated guests listening to the speakers Ms Medeeha J. Khan

Mr Danish Shahriyar

Mr Max Babri Mr Shahid Nafees



Manager Today Pakistan’s firstmagazine for personal and profes-sional development was inaugu-rated in a graceful ceremony heldat the Royal Palm Golf & CountryClub on April 11, 2009.The ceremonious etiquette of

the event was great. Starting fromthe recitation of Quranic verses itheaded toward the speeches of thehonourable guests including Ijaz Nisar, Editor-in-Chief Man-

ager Today & CEO Leading EdgeMax Babri (Transformation life

coach) Bakhtiar Khawaja (Head Learn-

ing & Development Bank Alfalah)Masood Ali Khan (CEO

Takhleeq)Danish Shehryar (Former Head

of Training Allied Bank)Shahid Nafees (Senior Training

Manager Bank Alfalah)All the learned guests appreci-

ated the philosophy behind pub-lishing such a unique magazinerelated to the Management and HRissues in Pakistani corporate sector.In their addresses, speakers ex-pressed their hopes for great suc-cess of the magazine. They alsoshared their experiences, giving anumber of great advices to youngprofessionals from different multi-national companies, banks and govtemployees present at the occasion.

The electronic media gave an ex-clusive coverage to the event.The venerated guests had a very

congenial and friendly time at theHi-tea followed by a wonderful mu-sical program exclusively arrangedby the musical band of Bank Al-falah headed by Mr. BakhtiarKhawaja.Such a wonderful gathering of

more than two hundred guestsproved a big success and a greatsource of encouragement as wellas appreciation for the whole teamof Manager Today. n

The musical band of Bank Alfalah, Lahore TunesEditor-in-Chief Mr Ijaz Nisar talkingto the media

Mr Shakil A Chaudry

Mr Masood Ali Khan The audience listening to the guest speakers


INTERVIEW


Would you please like to give an intro-duction of microfinance and its impor-tance?First of all, I would like to talk about the

myth of loans for the poor in Pakistan.There is a misconception that poor peopleare not credible to be given loans. They lackabilities to utilise the amount and conse-quently they turn out as defaulters unableto pay off the loans. Financial institutions donot consider them credible. Same miscon-ception is prevalent about women. We alsobelieve that poor people do not save andthey are so busy to get both ends meetthat they never think of savings. We alsobelieve that poor people lack access to themarket, lack awareness of documentationof any financial agreement due to being il-literate thus they will not be able to fulfil therequirements of a lending, saving programor an insurance plan. All these misconcep-

tions lead financial institutions never to be-lieve in lending to poor people by callingthem illiterate, lazy, untrustworthy, irra-tional to build career or to run a businessetc. On the contrary, Micro financing is allabout dealing with poor people.I learnt Microfinance from the world-

renowned Dr Muhammad Yunas. I wouldlike to quote one of his sayings here: "whyleave business for the rich and charity forthe poor?" Why do we think that poor people can

only get charity? Why can’t we assist themto earn their livelihood by running their ownbusinesses? And to provide them with that opportu-

nity we need to establish financial institu-tions which are called microfinanceinstitutions.Please tell us how and when did you es-tablish Kashf Foundation?

Roshaneh Zafar, theFounder and President of

Kashf Foundation is a learnedeconomist. She representstrue face of the ideal womenof 21st century who nurturea vision and are capable oftransforming their dreamsinto reality. Kashf Foundationis one of the leading microfi-nance institutions of Pakistanrepresenting her commit-ment to elevate the poor ofPakistan which is highly com-mendable. Despite beingdaughter of renowned for-mer Senator SM Zafar, shehas earned a name for her-self through her genius, hardwork, conviction and profes-sional expertise. Well-knowneconomist Dr. MuhammadYunas has been an inspira-tion in all her endeavors.

PROFILE:IJAZ NISAR


Kashf was started in 1996 with an 'Ac-tion Research Program' to replicateGrameen Bank in Pakistan. I am an econ-omist by training; I used to work with theWorld Bank. Before I started Kashf, I metDr. Yunas at a conference. His ideas andthoughts were very enlightening to me. Hemade me realize that we can work foreliminating poverty, for women empower-ment and for the economic developmentif we work on microfinance. I went toBangladesh in 1994, where I observedthe working of Grameen. Thousands ofwomen got loans and repaid them verysuccessfully despite all the calamitiesBangladesh face like droughts, floods, cy-clones, typhoons etc, the borrowers al-ways return the loans in time. Then, Icame back and spent a whole year in trav-eling all across the South Asia and ob-serving micro financing in the South Asia.Finally in 1996, with an ideal in my mind, Ialong with a team of highly skilled profes-

sionals started Kashf with only 15 clientsin the beginning.

Could you please articulate KashfFoundation’s mission and vision?Our mission is to provide cost-effective

and sustainable microfinance services towomen in order to help them start busi-ness and alleviate poverty. We mainlyfocus on economic empowerment ofwomen.

Kindly share with us the basic princi-ples, you indebted in Kashf Founda-tion? Microfinance is absolutely opposite to

the commercial banking. There are fourbasic principles of microfinance which wehave indebted in Kashf:1.A microfinance institution says: ‘no col-

lateral’. Your life is your collateral becauseyou have to feed your children; it’s the mat-ter of your survival. If you are willing to

INTERVIEW


take money for your betterment and foryour survival, you can lend.2. Our second principle is: ‘you are poor,

however, you have the skills, ability and theconviction to take money for earningmoney, so we will lend you’.3. Our third principle is ‘to make groups

of single people devoid of external help andsupport’. We make them partners. For in-stance, we collect five like-minded womenbelonging to a same community, makethem a group and responsible for one an-other's loan repayments according to theinsurance rules and conditions. Empha-sizing upon the money taken must be in-vested in a business.4. Our fourth principle is: ‘small loans

and small repayments.’Our first loan is of Rs. 10,000. A house-

hold pays that back in very small monthlyinstalments. Then we give a second loanof Rs.15, 000 and it gets increased ac-cording to the requirements of the bor-rower and his credibility.

What do you think are the biggestchallenges faced by Kashf Foundationright now?Our first challenge is of building trust.

According to Dr Yunas microfinance isabout changing mindsets. If you canchange people's mindsets from being de-pendent on charity to be dependent onbusiness, you can transform a society. That challenge of trust building and

changing the mentality of people took ustwo years. I worked as a loan officer fortwo years. I wanted to understand whatthe business of microfinance truly was. Iserved 115 clients in two years; per-forming all duties of a loan officer’s jobfrom loan provision to its recovery thus Imanaged the entire portfolio of 115clients. Two years later, we faced our next

biggest challenge of standardization andsystemization. We had to cut across asustainable business model. Our firstbranch was established in 1999 and by

the year 2000, we had 30 branches inour network. Our next challenge was tokeep these 30 branches sustainable.

Please tell us about the biggestachievements of Kashf Foundation?We have dispersed about Rs. 16 billion

in the market, catering to 850,000 poorfamilies. Right now, we have 300,000 ac-tive clients and 300 million rupees circu-lating in the market while successfullykeeping up 99 per cent recovery rate.Such a high recovery rate determinesthat the poor are credible provided thereis an environment that supports them.Recently, we had problems due to themindset of our politicians who believe thatmicrofinance is charity and there is noneed to get that money back. We areworking on creating awareness for re-moval of this misconception. Recently, weconducted seminars with a good numberof MNAs and MPAs and also met thePrime Minister to convince the authori-ties that microfinance is an essential sec-tor that can help alleviate poverty on alarge scale.

How does the State Bank of Pakistansupport and contribute towards thecause of Kashf?The SBP has been very much support-

ive to Kashf. In 2002, we initiated theKashf Microfinance Bank. The SBP im-mediately issued the license. In fact, to letpoor people sustain their growth, a cost-effective saving mechanism is essential.The SBP has given a lot of priority to themicrofinance sector. They have estab-lished funds, credit guarantees and also apositive reduction strategy for the pro-motion of microfinance banking. The Gov-ernment of Pakistan has also recognizedthe role of microfinance for the uplift ofcommon masses as it has included themicrofinance in its poverty reductionstrategy. The Government of the Punjabis also very proactive. So, awareness andrealization about the importance of oursector is improving and we hope for fur-ther improvement.

Do you see a tough competition for

ACTIVE BORROWERS BY SECTOR



Kashf in market?In Lahore, Bahawalpur and Karachi we

are facing a tough competition. Our pen-etration rate in the market is 12 percent. Kashf Foundation has 150branches right now and around 2000employees across the country. The SBPgrants us special facilities to open mobilebranches for our microfinance bankwhere the vendors can collect moneyfrom the savers thus facilitating themthe most on the spot. We are allowed toget mobile vans going home to home forcollecting deposits; we can also hireagents to work for us. So it is not a com-pulsion for us to establish a full service,full-fledged bank and its branches regu-lated by the SBP. We can set up sub-of-fices and the advantage we have underthe law is that we can focus on what wecall 'Alternative Delivery Channels' whichcan be of various kinds to actually bringdown the cost of depositing.

How do you find the response of civilsociety towards Kashf Foundation?We have a network called 'Microfi-

nance Network' where all the big playersof microfinance MFIs are the members

and we practise certain things for theimprovement of our sector. We comewith a sectorial code of consumer pro-tection consisting of three characteris-tics/principles. First, Transparency &Truth in lending, second, 'Non AbusiveRecovery Process' and on third, we havea 'Customer Care System,' where clientscan call in to complain and put theirqueries forward as well. On average, wereceive four to five queries a day thatmeans an active interest and participa-tion of the clients and common peopletoo.

Is there any expansion plan underwayfor Kashf? Where do you see Kashfnext year?We are planning to outreach up to

850,000 more clients, which would en-able us to outreach one million activeclients but given the security concernsand political situation in Pakistan, theglobal economic crunch and resultantlyour inability to raise funds, this year wewill not be expanding Kashf. Most proba-bly, we would shrink by doing rightsizing.Because our clients are facing tough timeso we are also facing it. As we cannot

raise more funds, we have problems incertain communities due to the politicalinterference making people feel that suchmicrofinance loans are not essential tobe returned. With a stamp on a letterfrom a MPA or MNA which people showus, they try to prove that they deserveloans so do not ask for the recovery.Thus, we are facing difficulty due to thismindset. That’s why in the wake of thesediscouraging factors and an overall badsituation of the country, we have post-poned the expansion plan this year andwe are only focusing on consolidationstrategy this year.

What is the ratio of male/female em-ployees in your organization?There are nearly 40 per cent female

employees in our organization. But this islessening on the management level. Athigher level, the ratio of women is de-creasing.I have 22 area managers: 50 per cent

of them are women while the remaining50 per cent is comprised of men. As you see women are often forced to

leave their jobs temporarily for one or theother reason, meanwhile their male col-leagues get promoted thus increasingthe ratio of men at higher level. Other-wise, we do prefer women workers in ourset up but it’s basically dependent upontheir own capacity and availability.WWoouulldd yyoouu lliikkee ttoo ggiivvee aannyy ssppeecciiaall mmeess--

ssaaggee ttoo tthhee wwoommeenn mmaannaaggeerrss ooff ttooddaayy?? Yeah, I would like to give a few guidelines

to women managers which in my opinionwill prove helpful to them in their careers:• Be very prudent in your business

planning.• Spend a healthy time in pondering

over the terms and contingency of a newventure and never give up easily.• Do not expect miracles to happen

overnight.• Focus on the product and the system

in operation; identify the market needsand trends.• Trust your own self and also trust the

people around. There is no reason todoubt every phenomenon. n

The last quarter of 2008 portrayed a dramatic downturn as microcredit growthentered into negative figures for the first time in more than two years. Active bor-rowers decreased by 7%, while the gross loan portfolio (GLP) of the sector faredeven worse, falling by 12%. Given the overall economic condition in the country, andthe consequent credit crunch being faced by a majority of the microfinanceproviders (MFPs), this decline is perhaps not surprising.

SUMMARY OF MICORCREDIT PROVISION


Success at work for most peoplemeans a job that is economically andpsychologically fulfilling, contributing

towards society and supporting a healthypersonal and family life. Paths to success atwork have been changing over the past twodecades, and for several reasons. The shift in the world’s economy is altering

the nature of managerial work, career paths,and the structure and functioning of organi-zations. Here are the six new rules to govern who

succeeds and who doesn’t in today’s post-corporate world.

DO NOT RELY ON CONVENTIONCareer paths that were winners for most

of this century are no longer providing muchsuccess. Most business schools have con-sistently taught with a big business focus. Butalthough students from previous generationsappear to have gone mainly to big busi-nesses, more recent MBAs have increasinglyturned to small business. Additionally, fewergraduates have begun their jobs in manufac-turing than in the conventional past. Those innon-manufacturing are employed in different

industries, the biggest concentration of whichis finance. Others are in consulting, real es-tate, and distribution.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON GLOBALIZATIONAND ITS CONSEQUENCESEvery thing is changing, offering both gi-

gantic new opportunities and equally largehazards. As a consequence of globalizationand other forces, new competitors have en-tered many industries. Markets have grownin size, and all kinds of rules limiting competi-tion have been dissolved. Some of these ruleswere formal: the government’s regulations,labour agreements, and corporate bureau-cratic policies. But many were informal, the‘let’s set all our prices at this level’ patternthat evolves in classic oligopolies. Both thestrategies and career paths needed to winhave also changed. What worked well formuch of this century especially large-scale bu-reaucracy and professional management—is less often leading to success. In thepost-corporate economic environment, whatlooks unconventional to a mid-20th centuryeye—the smaller businessman and manyother people like him—are often winning.

CAREER


f nding pathyourNew rules for

Are you looking for thesix rules that govern

career paths, wagelevels and the nature of

managerial work intoday’s post-corporate

world? Here we go

BASHARATULLAH MALIKThe writer is a professor of Marketing studies


MOVE TOWARDS THE SMALL AND EN-TREPRENEURIAL AND AWAY FROMTHE BIG AND BUREAUCRATICSpeed and flexibility are winning in an in-

creasingly competitive world. Some argue that talented people leave big

firms mostly to make more money. This drainon talent hurts big firms and all the con-stituencies that depend on them, especiallylower-level worker who lose their jobs. Thewhole situation is unfair. How much truth is in this argument? A

closer examination suggests that moneymaybe less of a factor drawing some peopleto small business than is real responsibilityand authority. Second, managers in big firmsdo not create more new jobs today than dosmall business people. On the contrary, mostmanagers in large while small business peo-ple account for all new jobs growth. Andthese jobs are not just poorly paid service po-sitions. Finally, although many are following the

trend away from big firms, they are never-theless involved with efforts to help large busi-ness become more competitive. They do soas consultants, suppliers’ distributions, and fi-nancers. Indeed, despite surface appear-ances, these people have not abandoned bigbusiness—only tall command-and-control hi-erarchies, which are being replaced by muchmore flexible forms of network organization.

HELP BIG BUSINESS FROM THE OUT-SIDE AS WELL AS ON THE INSIDEHuge opportunities exist for consultants

and other service providers. Everywheretoday, big firms are being restructured. Sothey can compete better. This change in-volves the replacement of tall bureaucratic hi-erarchies with smaller chains of commandthat are more loosely connected inside a firmand more tightly linked to suppliers or dis-tributors outside the firm. Often called a net-work organizational structure, this new formcan be much more flexible, dynamic, innova-tive and thus competitive.Sometimes this restructuring occurs en-

tirely inside a large firm. A huge hierarchy isbroken up into smaller business units. A lim-ited group at headquarters oversees the newcompany. This happens more often with out-side help and with the newly restructured or-

ganization partly outside the firm’s officialboundaries. Those involved with suchchanges have left behind the usual emphasison conformity. They deal less with vertical re-lationships with a homogeneous group andmore in horizontal relations to a more diversecrowd. In this sense, they offer a preview ofthe future: a future with less hierarchy andmanagement, but more market-like relations,diversity of players, negotiation among indi-viduals and a greater need for leadership.

DO NOT JUST MANAGENow you must also lead to help make or-

ganizations winners.Although management was the central

task necessary to make tall hierarchies func-tion, that process is less important in flexiblenetworks, especially relative to leadership andnegotiation. In the relative stability of the past era, many

firms performed well with managers and ex-ecutives who spent more time managingthan leading. With demand equal to orgreater than supply in many industries, thekey to success was simply getting the prod-uct out of the door on time and on budget.In today’s more competitive and changing

environment, this is no longer true. In some in-dustries, supply exceeds demand. In others,what is being bought is constantly changing.To succeed, organizations now need to re-duce costs, improve quality, develop newproducts, and move much faster. The capac-ity to produce useful change is becomingmore and more the key to success. Andchange requires leadership. As part of the move away from tall hierar-

chies to flexible networks, organizations havedelegated management functions to lowerlevels and asked middle to upper executives

to spend much more time providing leader-ship. In this new environment, executives whocannot lead are increasingly having prob-lems. If they are surrounded by non-leaders, their

firms usually perform poorly unless protectedin some way. If they are surrounded by lead-ers, they are passed over for promotion. Indi-viduals who manage but do not lead are inlower-level positions, making less money andgrowing slower businesses than their peers.

WHEEL AND DEAL IF YOU CANHuge opportunities exist in financial and

other deal making careers.Globalization has increased the sheer num-

ber of firms that might want to have relation-ships of some sort with other companies,especially those in other countries. Dealersoften structure these relationships.Often today, the financial dealers working

for major investment banking houses actlike any banker, helping to supply a firm withmoney. But they also act like consultants,assisting the movement away from tall hi-erarchies towards flexible networks byhelping sell off parts of companies. Some-times they work very closely with firms in aflexible network style, acting much like in-ternal corporate finance or strategic plan-ning staffs.In today’s increasingly fast-moving world,

business concepts, product designs, com-petitor intelligence, capital equipment, and allkinds of knowledge have shorter credible lifespans. Firms and individuals rarely succeedwhen they are static and try to live in the past. These conclusions have significant implica-

tions for how people should manage their ca-reers today, for how both big and smallcorporations should be run. n


In today’s increasingly fast-moving world,business concepts, product designs,competitor intelligence, capital equipment, andall kinds of knowledge have shorter credible lifespans. Firms and individuals rarely succeedwhen they are static and try to live in the past


SALES & MARKETING


Have you ever wondered…• Why some salespersons are more

successful than others? • Why good fortune follows them wher-

ever they visit a prospective buyer?• Why they always seem to come out

winners in any and every selling effort?Based on my years-long sales training

experience in Pakistan and abroad, I inferthat there are 3 types of salespersons:1. Order-Takers ( commonly known as

Professional Beggars )2. Order-Makers ( who make things hap-

pen however tough competition may be )3. Order-Creators ( the ones who really

make a difference in the organization )Over 95% of so-called salespersons in

Pakistan are just talkers, devoid of pro-fessionalism. The difference in their atti-tude towards profession is primarily dueto absence of proper training and self-de-velopment – and it all starts with a Com-mitment to Excellence!Winning salespersons are committed,

totally committed to their profession andtheir career. Their commitment is theirWinning Power – a power so strong thatit can overcome any obstacle, achieve anygoal and put them exactly where theywant to be in their career and life.

Commitment is your promise, yourstrong resolution with yourself to go tothe top and stay at the top – always! Be-coming number one is about remainingnumber one. Commitment is a passion, a potential

universal force, that is as natural as sun-shine. It is available to anyone who wantsto use it, and using it is as easy as walkingin the light.Every successful salesperson follows

commitment whether or not they know it.For some, it comes naturally, but for mostsalespersons, it’s a learned response toliving, a right way that precedes and leadsto career success.Thousands of salespersons, once just

below-average, have turned their careersaround by dint of their Total Commitment;many have gone from bottom to the top;many have attained high sales career po-sitions they once thought impossible;many others have replaced pain andstruggle with joy and triumph. All have suc-ceeded beyond their dreams, and you cantoo!Commitment is neither affiliated with

any special inborn talent, not it is inheritedor borrowed. It is simple for every sales-person who really wants to succeed in

sales profession.It can be defined by a few military ex-

pressions…• Don’t give up the field• Do or die; don’t ask why• Never, never, never and never give

upThese are very valuable principles dur-

ing the war times where the price of fail-ure is death. But they lose their impact inour daily sales practices; failure is neverfinal because failure in one sale doesn’tmean failure in sales career. However, theabove slogans are based on a principlethat applies to all aspects pf our daily lives:Commitment!This commitment to your sales career

is the single most important ingredient forsuccess. Without it, you fall prey to ex-cuses, procrastination, laziness and ahost of other goal-defeating problems.Commitment is strong, much stronger

than an ‘agreement’. It is your strongpledge with yourself that, come what may,you will be willing to pay every price tomake things happen. Remember, everysuccess has a price tag, and that price isalways paid in advance and in full. There isno credit or installment system in theworld of sales success.

Commitmentroad to sales success

SAGHIR AHMED



Commitment often requires sacrifice inorder to achieve a particular sales target.If your goal is to be the ‘ Salesman of theYear ‘, you’ll probably have to sacrifice anactive social life or pastimes for a while,and then you never, never quit, however,the road maybe tough or hard to walk.Winners Never Quit: Quitters NeverWinMy life-long training-related observation

has led me to believe that salespersonsare like tea bags, and you never know theirreal strengths until they are put into hotboiling water, and commitment is the onlythermometer to gauge their resistancepower.When you are committed to your sales

career goals, attaining them is much eas-ier than you think. Your choices areclearer; you start moving towards newer,higher and loftier achievements, and youdevelop a high sense of self-esteem --- thehallmark quality of all top professionals.Being committed to your sales career

is not at all easy; it takes considerabletime, energy and efforts. That is why, sofew salespersons make commitmentsand often have troubles keeping them.Commitment requires strong self-disci-pline, and a persistent inner voice to urgeyou to keep on keeping on. Self-disciplinegrows out of your commitment to your ca-

reer objectives. You inner voice may alsoconflict with your stated goals. This innervoice tries to fight commitment and wantsto get out of them. It may say: ‘Take rest;you’ve already done a lot; it’s enough forthe day.’ But like a soldier facing theenemy, you face your inner voice, your ownenemies (I call them exquisite ailments)and defeat them valiantly. Don’t let this be said about your sales

career…And nothing to look backward at

with prideAnd nothing to look forward to with

hopeSo now and never any different!Make a commitment right now; resolve

to be the best in your sales career, andkeep on staying against all odds; get upafter every fall, review your strategies;renew your commitments; recharge yourenthusiasm and remember what Confu-cius said: our greatest glory is not in never-falling, but in rising every time we fall. n

The writer is a professional salestrainer and has conducted programsfor over 28 years in Saudi Arabia,United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar,USA and Pakistan. He has won GoldMedal in the International SalesCompetition in USA, and hastranslated 2 best-selling books intoUrdu on Professional Salesmanship. Hecan be reached at [email protected]


ENTREPRENEUR


NABEELA MALIK



(CEO Hush Puppies)

Would you please give an introductionof your family business and the begin-ning of your career?My father started his career at a very

young age when my grand father passedaway.We originally belong to Faisalabad

where my father owned a grocery storenamed after my grand mother. My fathergot married in a very rich family fromNishat group. Despite belonging to ahumble background, he was actually ad-mired for his religious mind and his hum-bleness. In early 70s he moved toKarachi and entered in ship making busi-ness. At that time companies were beingnationalized by the regime of PPP gov-ernment. My mother's family lost itscharm and much of the monetarystrength. In 1982, my father went toChina to negotiate with the establishmentof a textile mill. Although, resources werevery scarce at that time but owing to hishard work and dedication he establishedhis first textile factory in Karachi. In late 80s, the social and political situ-

ation in Karachi got deteriorated. A se-ries of kidnapping for ransom had beenstarted, fearing that, I was sent to Lahoreto complete my studies in a college.Although, my father wanted me to

study Commerce subjects, I owed to mymother’s wish and studied subjects ofF.Sc. Afterwards, I passed B.Com. I wasnever a very shining student but an aver-age one. At that time a couple of mycousins were leaving abroad for technicalstudies in foot wear making. My fatheralso sent me to the UK where I did a two-year diploma in foot wear studies at theUniversity of Leicester. One week before

the completion of my diploma, my fatherwrote a letter to me, telling me that hewas planning to buy a shoe company. Itwas so surprising for me because I hadno idea of ending up into this business.However, on June 23, 1995, I landed

at Karachi airport and the very next day,I was into the shoe company in Lahoreto run it. This company was actuallybeing run by a sikh, showing off a heavyloss at the balance sheet. By looking atthe actual condition of the liabilities anddebts of the company, we decided to pullout of the deal but my father being theman of his words decided to stick to hisdecision. Thus we had to put all of ourenergies and resources for the successof the company. Six months later, I alsogot married but did not compromise onmy concentration level for my company.During the course unfortunately, I re-ceived very poor response from my sen-iors, learned and sophisticated peoplearound, but I was supported a greatdeal by my illiterate and humble employ-ees.Please share with us the challenges

that you had to face in the beginningof the company?The immediate challenges were the in-

consistency in steady flow of cash andthe restoration of the company’s goodname. We sorted out the company’s fi-nancial matters before actually restart-ing it. I remember after taking over thecompany we gave all the employees abonus on eid, I moved my working tableinside the factory area to sit beside theworkers, I did not care for a an extensive,lavish office for myself as I wanted to stayavailable to my workers all the

“I would like to set upa training school forshoemaking andwould makearrangements to trainpeople how to excel inthis industry. It is atechnically sensitiveindustry. As I myselfhad studied it thus Iknew the technicalsides, core knowledgeand skills needed forthis industry.”

IT’S EASY, I LIKE IT


ENTREPRENEUR


time. At that initial stage, I had notenough time to spend with my familyeven.But steadily with the grace of Allah,

Hush Puppies succeeded and we ele-vated from the minus status to the zeroand eventually to surplus.What do you think are the main fea-

tures of shoemaking industry?It is a labour extensive industry as well

as a very complex and highly engineeredone too. It stands as a low energy con-suming industry and it can be estab-lished with a low liquidity and less capital.A lot of components are required for thefoot wear industry including the molds,the knowledge of items ranging from so-phisticated material requiring trims anda lot of other small components. Does training and development help

your company to grow and excelmore?Only two years ago, I attended a train-

ing program organized by Mr.Ijaz Nisarof Leading Edge. There I realized the im-portance of refreshing knowledge and in-creasing it through trainings. I found itvery positive and effective for the busi-nessmen and their professional lives. Ialso extended my reading habit to get up-dated with the latest developmentsaround the world and in my own industry.Being the CEO of a successful com-

pany do you follow any particular setof principles to address your employ-ees?First of all, I feel that a CEO must have

a human heart to feel the pain and trou-bles of his employees. I am thankful toAlmighty Allah for his blessing of givingme a kind heart. I never believe in devel-oping business by following any unethicalmeans. I believe in what goes around,comes around. Money is not everythingin life and it must not be taken as the pri-mary goal of life. Practically, I try to getmixed with my workers by wearing sim-ple clothes like that of theirs and I alwaysget closer to them to minimize the dis-tance between me and my employees.How many outlets has Hush Puppies

established within the country so far?There are 25 Hush Puppies outlets in

Pakistan that we own and operate our-selves. Besides, we have granted somefranchises also. We have made a busi-ness agreement with Service also. Hav-ing a license from the US, we export our

shoes to some countries as well. But dueto the recent terrifying incidents of ter-rorism in our country, our exports andbusiness with clients abroad has been af-fected a lot as they do not want to busi-ness here any further. Personally, Ialways feel myself an ambassador of mycountry abroad and I always defend theimage of my land through all possibleways.What are the Corporate Social Re-

sponsibilities (CSR) of Hush Puppies?My parents are very much religious by

the grace of Almighty Allah and so theyare very punctual at paying Zakat. At thetime of earthquake 2005, we helped thevictims with maximum contribution fromour company. Helping and facilitating ouremployees is our top priority.Secondly, I would also like to set up a

training school for shoemaking andwould make arrangements to train peo-ple how to excel in this industry. It is atechnically sensitive industry. As I myselfhad studied it thus I knew the technicalsides, core knowledge and skills neededfor this industry. I would also request ourgovernment to pay attention towardsshoemaking industry because of greatemployment opportunities it offers. Andit requires around one tenth of the in-vestment amount needed for an auto-mated industry like textile industry whileit also engages a far big number of em-ployees providing them employment. Asa matter of fact, countries with big pop-ulations have established footwear in-dustry on an extensive level just like ourneighboring India and China. So in ourcountry it should also be established ongrand basis.What is your recipe to success?I always encourage and motivate my-

self for any small or big project by con-vincing myself thatIt’s easy, I like it! With this phenomenon

in my mind I easily start and accomplishmy goals. Thus I think that my belief in ‘nothing is

impossible or greater than the humancaliber, if accompanied by ethical values,’is the key to my success. n

“Money is noteverything and it must

not be taken as theprimary goal of life.

Practically, I try to getmixed with my

workers by wearingsimple clothes likethat of theirs and Ialways try to getcloser to them to

minimize the distancebetween me and my

employees”


ECONOMY


Recession has its downsides butthe worst element of a reces-sion is unemployment. Thesluggish economy forces com-

panies to cut back on their biggest costs:PEOPLE a.k.a Human Resource. A steadysource of income is vital for the survivalof many households. Losing a job can re-ally be devastating and even traumatic.There are very few who will have the helpof their previous employers to assistthem in finding a new job. Many will be ontheir own and very depressed. This be-comes the high time for employment andrecruitment agencies, but even they willhave their limitations as jobs becomescarce.History has revealed that a significant

number of people who are laid off turn tothinking about doing what they had al-ways wanted to do. Now that they havethe placement chance and some freetime they can try to set up something oftheir own, which was not possible duringa steady job. Another positive factor isthat many of them succeed and in futurebecome employers having their own em-ployees.

If you are interested, here are suchbusinesses which do not seriously get af-

fected by recession. These are the busi-nesses that deal with the basic necessi-ties of our daily life. Here are a fewexamples to get you started:

CHILD CARE Recession or no recession, children will

always be there. Since more and moreparents are working, they will need aplace to leave their children to be lookedafter while they are out at work. So, why not set up good, clean, child day

care centers?

EDUCATIONThis is another field which can not be

marred by recession. How about openinga school, or starting a school van service,or tuition center, uniform and book sup-ply depot, etc.Well, the children have gone to school,

come back, and did their homework–now what? Children have so much en-ergy and need a positive outlet. One canstart a hobby center to teach childrenvarious interesting things while keepingthem occupied for the parents as well.They can be taught arts and crafts likeon MAD, on the Pogo Channel. Or theycan be engaged in science projects,

sports, baking, swimming, karate, hiking,etc. The options are endless. Even a fewmoms can get together and arrangebirthday parties for children like at KFCand McDonald’s or even at some park. Itneeds not to be on a very big scale, andthe extra income will be great!

FOODYou can start a home based food deliv-

ery service to offices, or snacks or even acatering service. It all depends on you andyour imagination, use it to the maximumand be sure that food needs cannot betrimmed off due to any business recession.

HAIR SALONS Hair salons and beauty parlors will al-

ways be “in”. No one cuts back the budgetspent on getting a haircut!The options are endless and the ideas

innumerable. It all depends on your moti-vation and devotion. The best way to getstarted is to think of what you like to doand what you are really good at. Thenmake a survey of what can be done.There are many organizations that helpstart-up businesses in terms of skill aswell as finances. So make a plan andstart today. It will be worth an effort! n

History has revealed that a a significant number of people who are laid off turn to thinking aboutdoing what they had always wanted to do

MARRYAM CHAUDHRYWriter is a Corporate Trainer & Consultant


ANGER MANAGEMENT


TAUQEER SALEEM KHANThe writer is a professor of Psychology


Let’s face it—anger is a fact of life.Our world is filled with violence, ha-tred, war, and aggression. In

essence, we grow up with anger rightfrom the beginning of life. Anger is a com-mon human emotion. We all feel it. And wefeel it more often than we like to admit.But before going any further, we need tomake a clear distinction between angerand feeling hurt or irritated. As anger islinked with a lot of symptoms like aggres-sion, apathy, violence, self sabotage, angermanagement is a Herculean task. Angeris required for national defence. Anger isresponsible for real events like terrorism,violence and suicide. Anger is a message.Anger tells you that you are hurt and youdon't want to be hurt. Aggression results as a psychological

defence against threats of fragmentation.That is, as infants, we are just a jumble ofdiverse biological processes over whichwe have no authority, and our first task inlife is to develop a coherent identity which“pulls together” this fragmented confusion.Apathy is really a veiled form of anger be-

cause, like all anger — apathy, even thoughit achieves its goal through passive indif-ference, ultimately wishes harm on an-other person. Anger itself acts like apoison in your own heart that ultimatelydegrades the quality of your own life asmuch as it hurts the life of another person. FIRST STEP In learning a healthy re-sponse to feelings of hurt and insult is sim-ply to acknowledge that you’re hurt. SECOND STEP Follow the hurt back intoits roots in the past to all those times andcircumstances when you felt the sameway. Failure to recognize old insults onlymakes the current insult seem far largerthan it really is.THIRD STEP Avoid the popular responseto feelings of hurt and insult. Revenge per-meates our culture because it permeatesthe human unconscious. Revenge, there-fore, is what we most commonly experi-ence in our unconscious fantasies whenwe become frustrated. Often, these urgesto avenge break out of the unconscious intothe real world and become real events suchas terrorism, school violence, or suicide.

FOURTH STEP Forgiveness. It is all tooeasy to present yourself as a ‘nice’ per-son when, deep inside, you really remainan angry ‘victim’. Those who value truelove act with confidence, straightfor-wardness and honesty, whereas thosewho present themselves as nice areoften merely hiding the depths of theiranger behind a show of smiling appease-ment. What about national defence? You

might ask. “How can forgiveness and the

need for self-defence be reconciled?”Well, I’m not about to try to tinker with na-tional defence strategy, whether throughcommentary or through protest. Psy-chology concerns the individual, and for-giveness is an individual act. And for thatmatter, peace is also a matter of individ-ual will, not of politics. No government canorder you to love, and no government canorder you to hate. So ultimately you haveto live—and die—with the destiny of yourown conscience. n


On the subject of anger, I have a self-serving theory, which is that my quickness tobecome furious about petty matters—chiefly, the price of train tickets and thestrange way that any street I move to instantly becomes the site of major con-

struction works—is actually a good thing.After all, it doesn’t show that I’m fortunate enough not to harbor far deeper, more de-

structive rages against my parents or bullies from childhood or society in general? I real-ize there’s an alternative interpretation, which is that I’m just an irritable curmudgeon. Butthat isn’t half so consoling whenever I find my fists involuntarily clenching as some traincompany executive explains that it’s easy to travel cheaply as long as I book eight year inadvance. What one should do on such occasions? Self-help authors have always claimedit is to find a harmless way to vent. ‘Punch a pillow or a punching-bag,’ writes John Lee inFacing the Fire. ‘Punch with all the frenzy you can. If you are angry at a particular person,imagine his or her face on the pillow or a punching bag… as you will be doing violence to apillow or punching bag you will stop doing violence to yourself holding in poisonous anger.’This is the ‘catharsis hypothesis’ – the idea that it’s better out than in – and in the world ofpop psychology it has the status of an article of faith. It is applied to worry, too, which ex-plains ‘a problem shared is a problem halved.’ But the real problem turns out to be withthe hypothesis itself. (Also who actually owns a punching bag?) We’re so accustomed tothinking of our emotions using the metaphor of a pressure-cooker, or a bottle with a corkin it, that we’re barely aware of what we’re doing it. According to this ‘hydraulic metaphor’emotion build up inside an individual is similar to hydraulic pressure in a closed environ-ment. A researcher on anger, Brad Bushman says: “If people do not let their anger out,but try to keep it bottled up inside, it will eventually cause them to explode in an aggressiverage.” But Bushman’s experiments, and a string of others since the1950s, show that venting makes things worse. In one classic study, partici-pants were insulted, and then some were allowed to hammer nails intowood for several minutes. Subsequently, given the chance to criticize theperson who insulted them, the nail-pounderers were significantly more hos-tile. Maybe the hammering provided some physiological relief, but their un-derlying anger had been stoked. Rather than punch a pillow, Bushmanrecommends doing something incompatible with anger, such as readingor listening to music. That will not address the cause of the anger, ofcourse, but it will leave you in a better frame of mind to do so. Likewise,a study last year focussing on teenage girls concluded that the obses-sive discussion of worries—‘co-rumination’—often exacerbate negativeemotions: a problem shared isn’t always a problem halved. This isn’tan argument for bottling things up; talking obviously, is a crucial way offinding solutions to problems. But it maybe an argument for realizingthat we’re much more complex than bottles.

Courtesy: The Guardian

CATHARSIS HYPOTHESIS


INTERVIEW ACADEMIA

An exe

mplary

educa

tionist

PROFESSOR DR MUHAMMAD EHSAN MALIKa Ph.D. from Leicester University M

an-

agem

ent C

entre, UK, is a vibran

t persona

lity. He’s be

en holding

various im

portan

t, high

pro-

file po

sitio

ns th

roug

hout his caree

r as an ed

ucationist. C

urrently, he is serving

as Direc

tor

Gen

eral, P

unjab University Gujranw

ala Cam

pus, Dea

n, Fac

ulty of Ec

onom

ics an

d Man

-ag

emen

t Scien

ces, Pun

jab University and

Direc

tor, Institu

te of Bus

iness Adm

inistration,

Pun

jab University, L

ahore. His professiona

l bac

kgroun

d sinc

e 19

81 to da

te is a jo

urne

ymarked with

hard work, distin

ction an

d exce

llenc

e. He’s be

en rep

resenting IBA and

Pak-

istan to m

any na

tiona

l and

internationa

l worksho

ps, con

ferenc

es and

sem

inars. Despite

being a man

of g

reat stature, he’s very dow

n to earth, lively an

d well-dispo

sed. He pa

rtic-

ipates in differen

t sp

orts and

loves listening

to mus

ic in leisure tim

e.

PR

OFI

LE

Please inform us when was the Institute of Business Administration established and

how many graduates it has produced so far?

IBA was estab

lishe

d in 197

2. S

ince tha

t tim

e arou

nd 18 bad

ges ha

ve bee

n successfully

passed

out. It h

as produ

ced grea

t nam

es like Sha

ukat Tareen (fina

ncial adviser to

the Prim

eMinister) and

the world-ren

owne

d cricketer Ram

iz Raja includ

ing man

y othe

r prom

inen

t per-

sona

lities.

How does IBA make a difference imparting business education?

Look at the history of this institute. It used

to be

a small dep

artm

ent impa

rting ed

ucation

of business stud

ies. It grew and

was upg

rade

d as IB

A in 1989. Its fa

culty and

the

qua

lity of

education are of high stan

dards. As I believe faculty and

qua

lity of edu

cation provided

with

an

enab

ling en

vironm

ent a

lways makes a differen

ce. For th

is high status, w

e’ve strug

gled

a lot.

And

by this tim

e Alham

dolillah

IBA, P

U has becom

e a grea

t na

me am

ong othe

r bu

sine

ssscho

ols of Pakistan.

Would you please like to throw light on the mushrooming of MBA institutions in our

country and the quality of their products?

This m

ushroo

ming is not produ

cing

qua

lity grad

uates an

d profession

als. To control this

tren

d the Highe

r Education Com

mission

of P

akistan ha

s de

cide

d to estab

lish Business Ed

u-

NA

BE

EL

A M

AL

IK

45M

ANAG

ER TO

DAY

| J

une

- Jul

y 20

09

cation Accreditation Cou

ncil (BEA

C). We are working

on it an

d on

ce it is estab

lishe

d, it’ll bring

a great improvem

ent in the stan

dard m

aintenan

ce of business studies in our country. The As-

sociation of the

Man

agem

ent Develop

men

ts in Sou

th Asia (AMDISA, an orga

n of SAARC) is

also working

in th

is reg

ard. This pe

er group

will he

lp im

prove the situation erad

icating the un

-necessary mushrooming of business schools in Pakistan and in our neighbor countries as well.

Kindly articulate the measures on which an educational institution should be estab-

lished?

First o

ff, institutions sho

uld also be free of a

ll kind

s of politics.

Second

ly, while estab

lishing

institu

tions, the

focus sho

uld be

upo

n hiring

of q

ualified

doc-

torates of th

e subject to prod

uce more specialists and

doctorates in future. U

nfortuna

tely it

is not the

case with

our business institutes. W

e do

not have Ph.D. professors, not even re-

search journa

ls are available he

re. R

anking

of institutions req

uire resea

rch which can

not be

cond

ucted with

out the

presence an

d supe

rvision of a com

petent fa

culty.

I mus

t say en

suring

a fea

sible en

vironm

ent; a co

mfortab

le in

fras

truc

ture and

winning

learne

d faculty are th

e main features fo

r an

y institution.

How long will it take us to produce business Ph.Ds in Pakistan?

In fa

ct th

e MBA deg

ree was taken

as a high

profile qu

alification in terms of m

oney but not

in terms of edu

cation. Tha

t is why we do

not find

any Ph.Ds in business ad

ministration whe

ncompa

red to innu

merab

le PhD

s in almost a

ll other fields. U

nfortuna

tely IBA has not produced

a PH.D. so far. I am

the first gen

uine

Ph.D. of business stud

ies presen

t here at th

e University

of Pun

jab. The

re are also a few other Ph.D professors in business man

agem

ent s

tudies but

they did not stay he

re. In IBA, I started

Ph.D. in 2005 yet due

to ab

sence of sup

ervising

fac-

ulty; the

stude

nts could no

t continue

the

ir thesis and

resea

rch journa

ls. N

ow I ha

ve estab

-lished Institutiona

l Doctoral Program

Com

mittee (IDPC), where I am

enrolling Ph.D. and

M.Phil

scho

lars in business ad

ministration. Here five ou

t of ten

stude

nts ha

ve alrea

dy started

their

Ph.D resea

rch. W

ell hop

efully by the

next year we will start regu

lar M. P

hil and

Ph D pro-

gram

s as well in IBA.

Sir, how do you define leadership and role of top management in an organizational

structure and its performance?

The structure in Pakistan is m

ore centralized

as most orga

nizatio

ns are private limite

d,family-owne

d concerns. T

he bab

y bo

rn yesterday is a director of the

com

pany tod

ay so in

most o

rgan

izations th

e ow

ner an

d his family are in th

e top man

agem

ent w

hether th

ey have

the ab

ility to m

anag

e or not. So the real lead

ers are the pe

ople who

are hired

as marketin

gman

agers an

d HR m

anag

er etc but th

ese pe

ople never get th

e chan

ce to go

to the confer-

ences, sem

inars an

d training

s so th

ey don

’t ha

ve th

e op

portun

ity to

develop

them

selves. U

n-fortun

ately this is our culture which we ne

ed to chan

ge.

INTERVIEW ACADEMIA


For last eight years, many bad things have been happening inour country but some good things have also come to the sur-face as now people are realizing that if they won’t develop them-selves they won’t be able to appear on international front sointernational exposure is very important to be accepted in theinternational market. They need to develop the leadership skills.Here I want to make it clear that by saying leaders I don’t meanthe political leaders. I’m pointing at the business leaders.

What are the job opportunities for busi-ness graduates in Pakistan? At present, all the nations of the world

are facing an economic meltdown. Thecompanies which used to show bullishtrends have turned bearish. A huge down-sizing policy has been adopted by many ofthe large companies. So, job opportunitieshave squeezed all over the world. But the major problem in our part of the

world is that of inefficient utilization of re-sources. We do not lack sources but the al-location and maximized use of sources isnot ensured yet. Our nation is simply wast-ing its time without utilizing its human re-source. We are a nation of doers, not ofcontributors. Only hard work and sincereefforts towards achieving our goals canlead us to success by overcoming ourshortcomings.

Sir, do you think there’s a need for ouryouth’s career counseling in the educa-tional institutions?Without proper counseling, our policies

will not bear maximum fruit. Career coach-ing might serve as a milestone to a suc-cessful and satisfactory profession in one’scareer.I recommend that there should also be a

strong linkage between the academia andthe corporate sector. That way we canmaintain better and productive careercounseling.

Would you like to give us some insightinto your early life, education and careerestablishment?Yes sure. After completion of my matriculation with science

subjects I came to Lahore along with a few friends. Here one ofour teachers guided us to study the Commerce subjects as wewere not comfortable with science subjects provided they wereall taught in English language. So we decided to study the Com-merce subjects. Also on encouragement from my elder brother,

I did I.Com and finally I could complete M.Com being on the sametrack. During M.Com I worked for some private companies but my fa-

ther suggested me to select teaching as my profession. My fa-ther was of the opinion that as majority of the teachers in countrywas poor and the profession was never taken as a high profiledone, the students kept suffering. He thought that if I would jointhis field, I might serve towards its improvement. I acted upon the

advice of my father and excelled in my pro-fession. By now I have received manyawards from the government as an ac-knowledgement of my services andachievements.

Please share with us your philosophyabout work?I’ve been serving on three important po-

sitions in Punjab University simultaneouslybut the important thing about me is thatwherever I work, I fulfill the job’s require-ments and I never make excuses. The keyto success and excellent performance isthat one should always be producing re-sults and if one cannot meet many dutiesat a time, one must quit soon instead ofmaking mess of the whole setup.

You are performing on many key re-sponsibilities. We would like to knowabout your strategy for keeping an ex-cellent work-life balance? I believe in practicing and maintaining the

theory of time management in my life. Onekey to be punctual is to offer Namaz regu-larly. It influences your time managementthe best way. Thus it consequently ensuresmy work-life balance. Actually, there is no ac-tivity beyond human capacity. No matterhow much workload is upon you, your natu-ral human capacity is flexible enough to per-form all of them provided you can manageyour time and potential in the accuratemanner.

Sir, please share with our readers thecomponents of success in life.

Yes there are four main componenets of success in life: ‘confi-dence’ ‘determination’, ‘commitment’ and ‘honesty’. I want to for-ward a message to all the readers that honesty is the only policythat ensures success. Remember that one can be confident onwrong mindset, determined for wrong purpose and committedfor performing some harmful act, if all these factors are not ac-companied by honesty everything would go futile. n

The mushrooming ofbusiness schools is notproducing qualitygraduates andprofessionals. To

control this trend theHigher Education

Commission of Pakistanhas decided to establishBusiness EducationAccreditation Council

(BEAC)


Think of customer care and I goback in time to a service experi-ence I witnessed at a carnival or-

ganized by a group of different foodcompanies—an unusual experience I can-not help but share with you. It was the case of satisfying a one-

minute customer. I picked up my wifefrom her office and went to the carnivalstraight from work. We were thoroughlyexhausted going around the place. So wevisited a stall where they were servingfree tea. I stood aside with the bags whilemy wife went to get us tea, as there wasa separate line for ladies. When anything is free, there is usually

a mad rush to get it even if you don’t wantit. A similar situation prevailed there. Eventhe ladies’ area seemed quite crowded. I was watching this young guy who was

serving the ladies. What made the situa-

CUSTOMER CARE


In a matter of 45 to 60seconds, he managed tobring forth small details

of good customer service

One- minutecustomer

HASEEB NISAR



ATTITUDE

tion unusual was his calmness andsteadiness as the guy despite the rush,seemed composed and managed frombehind the counter to maintain a queueand hence avoid hot tea spilling on oth-ers. He asked each one about theamount of sugar they wanted and if theywanted milk too, and often saw cus-tomers off with a parting remark de-pending on the person in front of him. Istood watching him till my wife broughtour cups.During the entire time I spent watching

him serve the ladies, he had a smile anda manner of conversing that seemedeasy. The time he spent with each person

must have been around 45 seconds.Since there was constant stream ofladies, he was kept busy preparing tea. Itseemed that while he was doing a me-chanical job, he was focused on the per-son in front of him. Even my wife managedto get her cup of tea quite in line with hertaste and a parting comment from himon the ration of tea to milk and sugar. ONE MINUTE SERVICEBeing free, the tea need not have been

laced with good service. But this was awonderful sight of excellent customer

service. I thought to myself about how long he

must have been on duty that day andwhat must be making him smile in a situ-ation where, under normal circum-stances, any other person would havebeen fed up with the melee in front of him. In a matter of 45 to 60 seconds, he

managed to bring forth minute details ofgood customer service such as:• Smiling at the customer• Understanding their needs• Excellence timing• Being friendly • Being focused • A thank you in the end

ONE MINUTE BUSINESSDon’t we see similar situations at many

fast food outlets that take pride in serv-ing customers within a specified time? Itis possible that they serve customersquickly, but the question is how are thecustomers served?Are they also focused on the cus-

tomer? Are they friendly and genuine intheir greeting? Is the service accompa-nied by a smile? Do you hear a ‘Thank you,do come again’? Or do you hear a ‘Next’even before you can turn your back?In short, are customers only served

within the prescribed time or does itcome with service that he or she wouldcherish, come back more for or relate toothers? Is speed the only criterion or is itspeed with customer focus the magic po-tion?Good customer service is when you

manage to combine all this. The proof ofgood service is when customers departsatisfied with a ‘Thank you’ and a smilewrite large. Remember this is a reflection of your

smile and gratitude to them—the real re-ward for good service, coming from yourone-minute customers. As the age-oldsaying goes, ‘a million drops make amighty ocean’. This business environmentwhere profits are determined more byvolumes than paper-thin margins. Everyone-minute customer counts in buildingyour client base and business. Every sat-isfied one-minute customer can mean amillion-dollar business. n

When hiring someone, the interviewerwants to be sure of two things—skill andwill. Skill shows whether you can do thejob or not and will reveals how you’ll doit—enthusiastically, with a positive atti-tude or carelessly, with a negative atti-tude. It is more important to have the willbecause if you have that, skill can be de-veloped. An interview is normally pre-ceded by a psychological test thatassesses your will or attitude. It is basi-cally non-threatening by nature. Be hon-est while answering. Prepare for theinterview. This will make you confident.Start with self-assessment of your skills,knowledge, strengths and weaknesses.Also learn about the employer. While waiting for your turn, try some

positive self-suggestion. Tell yourself thatyou can do it and if you don’t pass the in-terview, there is something better instore. When you enter the room, greetthe interviewer with a firm handshakeand an enthusiastic smile that will setthe tone to make a lasting impression.Dress in semi-formals. Verbal as well as non-verbal communi-

cation skills should be utilised effectivelyto create a positive impact. Don’t lookelsewhere while answering. Have an eyecontact with the interviewer. Things likeputting your bag on the table or sittingcross-legged make a huge difference toyour impression. Ultimately, the inter-viewers ask two questions—what valuecan this employee add to the companyand why does he want to join the com-pany? There is no definite answer tothese and they have to be answeredkeeping in mind the employer’s needs inlight of your own skills and motivation.Throw some light on your achievements.Interesting hobbies will add value, espe-cially if you don’t have work experience.Never bluff. You will be caught immedi-ately. Acknowledge that you don’t knowthe answer and say you’ll check up. Knowyour resume well because the inter-viewer is likely to go over it and ask youquestions about it. Listen carefully. It isvery offending for the interviewer if youask him to repeat a question. Ask rele-vant questions during the interview. Thiswill project that you are hardworking andwant to learn. Question the growth op-portunities for you. Avoid questionsabout salary as the interviewer will gen-erally ask you your expectations aboutremuneration. If you are not selected,don’t feel dejected. An interview is aboutmatching a skill set. Remember, there isalways a much better place where youwill prove to be the right fit.

The businessenvironment whereprofits are determinedmore by volumes thanpaper-thin margins,every one-minutecustomer counts inbuilding your clientbase and business.Every satisfied one-minute customer canmean a million-dollarbusiness.

Have the right attitude


COMMUNICATION


Bargain-hunter: someone who looks for things to buy at acheap price lThis city is full of bargain-hunters. Bastardize: to spoil by changing its good parts lThe plot of the classic novel was bas-tardized with an obligatory Hollywoodhappy ending.

Bigmouth: someone who talks too much, especially inan opinionated or gossipy way l He is a bigmouth but I like him. Brown-bagger: someone who takes his/her lunch to workor school �Broad church: an organization that contains a wide range

of opinions lThe People’s Party is a broad church. Bully pulpit: a public office of sufficiently high rank thatit provides the holder with an opportunityto speak out and be listened to on any mat-ter lThe American presidency is a bully pulpit.Busybody:

FIRST DAY IN A MNC

A man joined a big multinational com-pany as a trainee.On his first day, he dialed the kitchenand shouted into the phone:"Get me a cup of coffee, quickly!"The voice from the other side re-sponded: "You fool; you’ve dialedthe wrong extension! Do you know whoyou’re talking to?""No!" replied the trainee."It’s the Managing Director of the com-pany, you idiot!"Trainee shouted back: "And do you knowwho you are talking to, youidiot?""No!" replied the Managing Director an-grily."Thank God!" replied the trainee and putdown the phone. n

NEVER GO TO HR FOR HELP

After two years of selfless service, aman realized that he had not been pro-moted, no transfer, no salary increaseno commendation and that the companywas not doing anything about it. So hedecided to walk up to his HR Manager.After exchanging greetings, he told theHR Manager about his observation.

The manager looked at him, laughed andasked him to sit down saying: “My friend,you have not worked here for even oneday.”The man got surprised to hear that, butthe manager went on to explain:Manager: How many days are there in ayear?Man: 365 days and some times 366.Manager: How many hours make up aday?Man: 24 hours.Manager: How long do you work in aday?Man: 8 AM to 4 PM. i.e. 8 hours a day.Manager: So, what fraction of the day doyou work in hours?Man: After doing some arithmetic, said:8/24 hours i.e. 1/3.Manager: That is nice of you! What is1/3 of 366 days?Man: 122 (1/3x366 = 122 in days).Manager: Do you come to work onweekends?Man: No sir.Manager: How many days are there in ayear that make weekends?Man: 52 Saturdays and 52 Sundaysequals to 104 days.Manager: Thanks for that. If you remove104 days from 122 days, how manydays do you now have?

Man: 18 days.Manager: OK! I do give you a two-weekannual sick leave. Now minus those 14days from the 18 days left. How manydays do you have remaining?Man: 4 daysManager: Do you work on the New Yearday?Man: No sir!Manager: Do you come to work on theLabor Day?Man: No sir!Manager: So how many days are left?Man: 2 days sir!Manager: Do you come to work on theNational Day?Man: No sir!Manager: So how many days are left?Man: 1 day sir!Manager: Do you work on the ChristmasDay?Man: No sir!Manager: So how many days are left?Man: None sir!Manager: So, what are you claiming for?Man: I have understood, Sir. I did not re-alize that I was stealing company’smoney all these days.Moral: Never Go To HR For Help! n

Vocabulary Bank SHAKIL A. CHAUDHARY

Manager’s Humour Corner



Getting the best from yourself and others all starts withone: one thought … one word … one action.“One” is the first note in orchestrating the personal attitude

that shapes and directs your life – and impacts the membersof your team. Contrary to the lyrics from a classic rock song,one is not the loneliest number. It’s the most important one!Your thoughts, words, and actions are like individual notes that

work in concert to create the power of one person – YOU– to make a difference. You can harness your “power ofone” if you simply:

• Catch one negative thought and turn it into a positive one.• Think of one thing for which you are grateful at the begin-

ning of each day.• Say one “Fantastic!” when a friend or team member asks

how you are doing.• Assume the best in one upcoming situation.• Keep on moving one more time when you experience ad-

versity.• Help one friend or colleague in a time of need – and take

pride in it.Many people used to feel that one vote in an election could-

n’t really make a difference. Well, recent political electionsthat have been decided by razor thin margins have proventhem wrong. A single act can make a difference. It can create a ripple ef-

fect felt many miles and people away. So, ask yourself: what’s one thing I can do today that will

make a positive difference in my attitude? Then DO IT!Repeat that process every day and your life will improve –

and so will the lives of the people you lead.

Pass it on (to more than one other person)! n

someone who meddles or pries into the af-fairs of others; nosy-parkerlAre there any religious busybodies inyour neighbourhood? Catch-22: a situation in which you cannot do one thinguntil you do another thing, but you cannotdo that until you have done the first thing,with the result that you can do neither. Theexpression comes from the title of the

1961 novel Catch-22 by the US novelistJoseph Heller. l It’s a catch-22 situation—without experi-ence you can’t get a job and without a jobyou can’t get experience.—Longman Dic-tionary Carpetbagger: an outsider who seeks power or successpresumptuously. l An outsider, especially a politician, who

presumptuously seeks a position or suc-cess in a new locality.l�After the Civil War the carpetbaggersfrom the north tried to take over the south.These people carried all their belongings incarpetbags.Cherry-pick: to choose things that support your argu-ment, while ignoring things that contradictit. n

ON BOSS’ DISCRETION

Once Omar, Waqar and Raheel were traveling in an auto-rick-shaw. They met with an accident and all three of them died.An angel was waiting for this moment at the doorstep of

death. He asks Omar and Waqar to go to HEAVEN. But, for Ra-heel , Angel had already decided that he should be sent to HELL.Raheel is not at all happy with this decision. He asks angel asto why this discrimination is being made. All the three of themhad served the public. Similarly, all took bribes, all misused pub-lic positions, etc. Then why the differential treatment?He felt that there should be formal test or an objective eval-

uation before a decision is made; and should not be just basedon opinion or pre-conceived notions. Angel agrees to this andasks all the three of them to appear for an English test.Omar is asked to spell “PAKISTAN” and he does it correctly.

Waqar is asked to spell “ENGLAND” and he too passes. It is Ra-heel’s turn and he is asked to spell “CZECHOSLOVAKIA”. Raheelprotests that he doesn’t know English. He says this is not fairand that he was given a tough question and thus forced to failwith false intent.Omar is asked: “when did Pakistan get independence?” he

replied “1947” and passed. Waqar is asked “How many Peopledied during the independence struggle?” he gets nervous.Angel asked him to choose from 3 options: 100,000 or200,000 or 300,000. Waqar catches it and says 200,000and passes.It’s Raheel’s turn now. Angel asks him to give the name and

address of each of the 200,000 who died in the struggle. Ra-heel accepts defeat and agrees to go to HELL.Moral of the story:IF YOUR BOSS HAD DECIDED TO SCREW YOU, THERE IS NO

ESCAPE n

The Power of one


BOOK REVIEW


Robert T. Kiyosaki had a unique op-portunity to find out. Robert's fa-ther was an educator and public

administrator. When Robert was a youngboy, he and his friend, Mike decided theywanted to learn how to become rich. Theystarted by trying to make (counterfeit)money. Robert's father explained to the boys this

was illegal. He also admitted he did notknow how to become rich, but suggestedthe boys ask Mike's father how to go aboutit. So Mike's father, an independent busi-nessperson, became a mentor to Robert,his "Rich Dad." This book is a fascinating story of how

the Rich Dad taught Robert the lessons heneeded to learn to make himself financiallyindependent. Robert has learned that oureducational system is pretty good at pro-ducing employees, but not very good atproducing people who are good at man-aging their finances wisely. He nowteaches people how to apply the principles

of becoming rich. In addition to publishingthe information in this book, he has devel-oped a game, CASHFLOW(tm) 101 to helppeople develop their financial intelligence. Some of the ideas Robert presents re-

inforce those in other books we have re-viewed. Like in ‘The Millionaire Next Door’,Robert points out the difference betweenhaving a big salary and building wealth. In‘The Richest Man in Babylon’, Robert em-phasizes the importance of paying yourselffirst. In his opinion, it's more important tosystematically invest a portion of your in-come than to pay your bills or to pay yourtaxes. (A controversial concept) Robert also has a definition of an asset

versus a liability that is different from con-ventional accounting. Investors generallyfocus on accumulating assets and avoid li-abilities. Simply stated, assets generate in-come or cash. Liabilities consume cash.Rich people accumulate assets. Peoplewho aren't rich accumulate liabilities.Some things that look like assets are ac-

tually liabilities - for example: a residence, acar, a boat. When we accumulate thesethings, we are not really accumulatingwealth, we are consuming it. If we haven'taccumulated sufficient assets and we ac-quire these "toy" liabilities, we are puttingthe cart before the horse. Instead, weshould emphasize regularly on acquiringstocks, bonds, tax lien certificates, rentalreal estate, and other investments. Wealso need to learn to build value and getsome tax shelter by building our own busi-ness. We must develop our financial intel-ligence, make risk our friend, andaccelerate our financial growth. Althoughdiversification is appropriate for preserv-ing accumulated wealth, the investor usu-ally must take the additional risk of focusedinvestments in order to initially accumulatewealth. Bigger returns require acceptingmore risk. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is the kindof book that opens your mind to new pos-sibilities. Whether to contribute to yourchild's financial education or your own. n

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

nAuthor:

Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter, CPA

What is the difference in the worldview and attitude of people who become rich compared to otherpeople? What things do they do differently to have such different results in their lives?

MUHAMMAD YASIR



MOVIE REVIEW

AA mmoovviiee tthhaatt iinnssppiirreess kkiiddss ttooggoo ttoo ccoolllleeggee,, oorr jjuusstt aass eeaassiillyyggeettss yyoouu ttoo ggoo hhoommee,, ttyyppee uupptthhaatt rreessuummee,, aanndd aappppllyy ffoorr aabbeetttteerr jjoobb

This movie is based on a true story.Samuel L. Jackson plays the role of acoach, Ken Carter, a man with militarybackground who takes over a highschool’s basketball team named, ‘Rich-mond Oilers’ which is just a bunch of badboys who neither have respect for thegame, nor for each other and obviously noreverence for their coach. Their commu-nity is quite disappointed with the team’smisconduct and bad performance record.Their only hope is the new coach, KenCarter but he has something else on hisagenda. He is not there to teach theseboys the game; he is there to teach themrespect, teamwork as he wants to makethem champions not only in the game butin real life as well. He asks his team to signa contract that obliges them to make afew pledges including maintaining a 2.3grade point average in studies, attendingtheir lectures and sitting in the front rowin every class. As the things start to turn

around, the team puts together a histori-cal winning streak; Coach Carter is forcedto implement his newly-set academic pol-icy by locking the team out of the gymna-sium. It appears as Coach Carter has alot to teach these young men and basket-ball is pretty far down his hit list. Themovie, released in 2005 is one of the bestmovies ever made on the game of bas-ketball. You don't need to be a fan of thegame to appreciate this tale of troubledyouth being pushed to learn respect forothers and succeed by believing in teamspirit and hard work. It gives a universalmessage that what one has to be in life isto be a human first of all. The role of Coach Carter gave Jackson

the real kind of leading-man breakthroughwhich he's been trying to have for years.When these kids greet their coach with avery bad name and he responds by callingthem 'sir' --- the character is in danger ofbecoming too stiff; when he responds to adissenting student by pushing his face intothe wall, the pendulum swings the other

way towards fears, but Jackson walks theline so well that you can't imagine anyoneelse in the role. When he reminiscesabout his old glory days, you believe him;when he shows the importance of princi-ples, you wish you could have his convic-tions. And when the time comes toconvince us that his team wouldn't wantto make him angry, well, he is Samuel L.Jackson. Samuel L. Jackson has really put energy

and wisdom in his character when hetalks to the boys telling them that their fu-ture lies in their own hands and that theworld wants them to fail; you can feel theinspirational words floating down off thescreen and into the audience. This is thetype of movie that inspires kids to go tocollege, or just as easily gets you to gohome, type up that resume, and apply fora better job. I feel there are only a few ac-tors who can balance the abundance ofstrength and wisdom that Samuel L. Jack-son brings to the role with his terrific act-ing making people want to listen to him. n

Coach CarterDirected by: Thomas Carter Produced by:David Gale, Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin Written by:Mark Schwahn, John Gatins Starring:Samuel L. Jackson, RobertRi'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Mor-gan, Ashanti, Rick Gonzalez,Antwon Tanner, Nana Gbewonyo,Channing TatumRunning time:136 min. Rating:4 out of 5

MUNIR HUSSAIN


HEALTH & WELLNESS


10 Tips for maintaining sustainable health

1.Add a staple food (i.e. fruit, plan-tain/banana, maize/corn, rice,bread) to each meal.

2.Focus on foods that are high-fibreand low in saturated and trans-fatsto keep your heart nice and healthy.

3.Drink plenty of water. Avoid drinkingtea and coffee until 1-2 hours after ameal (when food will have left the stomach)to ensure the maximum amount of absorp-tion of iron by the body supplied in our foods.

4.If you are a youth, you should includefood options that are high in iron (es-pecially young women) such as liver, darkgreen leaves, fish, red meat, and sorghum.

5.Aim for 3 meals and 3-6 snacks perday to create a healthy balance of all

your dietary needs.

6.Avoid sugar-rich, sticky, salty, orprocessed foods and ingredients thatare difficult to digest, inhibit healthy growth,and promote pre-mature aging.

7.Exercise regularly for at least 15 min-utes at a time.

8.When you are sick, you can decreasethe amount of time you remain sick

by covering your mouth when you coughand washing your hands regularly.

9.Get lots of sleep, at least 8 hours ofsleep every night, and take naps orsiestas throughout the day.

10.Grow, buy, and eat food locallyand organically to help your bodyand the environment. n

Although this term has not been commonly used to describe health in yearspast, sustainable health is a growing movement. What is sustainable healthyou might ask? Well let’s break it down. Health can be defined as a state of“soundness of mind,” or more simply, a state of feeling good. The wordsustainability describes the process by which something can be maintainedor can keep going. Thus, sustainable health describes being in a state whereyou feel good not just once but over an extended period of time. Today thereare many ways to achieve sustainable health, one of the most popular beingthrough the use and production of organic food products. Globally, organicagriculture has helped improve the biological health of human beings whilemaintaining the ecological ‘health’ of our environment. Here are 10 tips ofeating and maintaining sustainable health in today’s hectic lifestyle.

Healthy Food Practices

Meditation induces mental tranquil-ity and physical relaxation. You justneed about 15-20 minute sessiondaily with yourself to unwindMeditation relaxes body and calms

mind. It alleviates the harmful effectsof tension and stress—factors that ag-gravate a number of medical condi-tions.Mediation is a scientifically proven

antidote for stress, tension, anxietyand panic. Studies support that itsregular practice reduces high bloodpressure and relieves chronic pain.Many people find it helpful for

headaches and respiratory problemssuch as emphysema and asthma.Meditation in essence is a thought-

directing process. It attempts to freeour mind from unhealthy undesirablethoughts that taint our thinking uncon-sciously. It unifies scattered attentionand energy. Since it requires concen-tration, it clears mind and improvesmemory.It is preventive in nature, as it pro-

tects from disease and improvesstress tolerance. Some studies foundthat long-standing practitioners (thosewho meditate for several years) tendto make fewer doctor’s visits thannon-meditators. n

Relax…

DR AMIR MEHMOOD


EVENTS

7th Bankers’ Learning Forum

Music in Managementlahore: leading edge conducted the sev-enth meeting of bankers’ learningforum on march 7, 09 where seniorbankers met at bank alfalah trainingcentre, lahore. the session was hostedby mr. bakhtiar khawaja, head of learn-ing & development dept., bank alfalahltd. the event was one of its kinds as itstheme was to relate music with man-agement. on the occasion, mr. bakhtiarkhawaja spoke on ‘music in manage-ment’ telling the importance of music atthe workplace and in reshaping overallhuman behavior. Later, ‘lahore tunes’ amusical band of bank alfalah employees

presented a musical program. they per-formed a number of soothing melodiesand songs with musical instrumentsbeing played in a harmonious way to re-late the music with management prac-tices of planning, organizing, controllingand directing tasks which if carried outin consonance with each other bringsup the same outstanding results whichvarious musical instruments create ina great melody. the inspiring phenome-non of the event was that all the bandmembers were associates and employ-ees of bank alfalah. the evening endedon a memorable note and all the

bankers enjoyed this unique concept oflearning with fun. By organizing suchmeetings, leading edge training and de-velopment consultancy is providing thebanking sector with hr developmentforum and a unique business network-ing opportunity, where the representa-tives of different local and foreign bankscan discuss issues regarding theirlearning and development practices.through this, a meaningful outcome isachieved for the mutual benefit of every-one involved. we hope this little effort byleading edge turns out to be advanta-geous for everyone in future as well! n

Participants enjoying the live performance of Lahore Tunes

Mr Bakhtiar Khawaja and Amna singing the cool 'summer wine'

Mr Bakhtiar Khawaja playing a wonderful tune on mouth organ
