Leadership

1
li j,i q ,
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

_|] .|,ig |l | gi gei _]|oi _ q ,3

Praise to Allah, Lord of the Universe. May Peace and
Prayers Be upon His Final Prophet and messenger.

2

My Leadership Secrets
by
Dr. Rashid Alleem

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Also by Dr. Rashid Alleem

Is Success a Sin?
Team Dynamics
Inspirational Stories
Successful Marketing
Important Business Definitions

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the memory of
my father, Obaid Alleem,
who taught me the value of
continuous improvement.

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Acknowledgments .. 6
Introduction 7
A Few Word From the Author 9
To The Readers . 10
Developing A Balanced Scorecard .. 11
Building A Business Excellence Organization 29
Kaizen and Gemba Management .46
Benchmarking 61
One Last Note . 76
Thank you . . 77
Your Opinion Matters! . . 78
About The Author ... 79
Alleem Learning Center . 80
CONTENTS

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In every man there is something wherein
I may learn of him, and in that thing I am his pupil.

- Khalil Gibran

I have many people to thank for their participation, good work and good
wishes in the writing of this book including those creative leaders, managers
and employees I worked with and for over the years. In addition, special
thanks to the team at ALLEEM Learning Center who has been extremely
supportive of this project. Truly, without them, it would never have turned
out this well.

I benefited greatly from a number of thoughtful and incisive individuals who
worked behind the scenes for their advice, comments, recommendations, and
never-ending encouragement, my success is your success. I couldnt have
done it without them.

Finally, the very first page of this book is surely one of the most
important: the dedication to my father. It is perhaps beyond my ability to
fully express in words what he means to me. He drove me toward
excellence, accomplishment, and success. He is always in my heart.

May Allah guide you all.
Acknowledgments

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Introduction

Dear Professionals,

It gives me great pleasure to write to the young businessmen of the
UAE - the future leaders (as I like to refer to them) - and share with them
some of my leadership secrets. I strongly consider this to be a part of my on-
going effort and commitment to the community that I belong to. I am
convinced the content of todays secrets will inspire you to think in a new
way about your current business challenges as well as those facing you
tomorrow.

Remember!
Leadership at any level is built on basic management skills.
Consequently, those attempting to lead without fundamental management
competencies usually FAIL before they get started. Its as simple as that.
Hence, I am very proud and interested to share with you how in less then 5
years, I have managed to achieve outstanding service, breakthrough
performance, satisfied customers, and continuous improvement at all places I
worked for by using my management fundamentals and applying leadership
skills.

Here are some of my rewards and achievements for your analysis:

1. 1999 Official member of International WHO's WHO of Professionals
from the USA. For my professionalism in meeting the requirements
established by its Board of Advisors, as well as satisfying the necessary
criteria for inclusion in the annual membership directory.

2. Awarded Honorary Degree of Somali University due to my social and
culture commitments.

3. Nominated as board member of Sharjah Charity International by an Amiri
Decree issued by the ruler of Sharjah Government.

4. Selected member of Franklin Covey Arabization Governing Committee to
review various Arabic translations of Dr. Stephen R. Covey books.
Introduction

8

5. Executive Membership of Islamic Supreme Council in Ethiopia due to
continuing service to humanity.

6. I was recently designated by the Sharjah Government to lead the Business
Unit in Hamriyah Free Zone as Director General, became the youngest
DG in the government.

As part of my ongoing quest, I would enjoy hearing from my readers about
their experiences and observations in working with My Leadership
Secrets material. Please do not hesitate to E-mail me at
alleembs@emirates.net.ae to raise questions, challenges, and to discuss any
area of cooperate that we may touch basis on. I will be delighted to answer
any query. I am also interested in knowing your views about my secrets to
leadership and success. Feel free to share any feedback or suggestions with
me regarding the same. Your suggestions will ensure continuous
improvement in my future leadership strategies and will contribute toward
making you a more powerful and more effective leader.

The German philosopher Geo wrote : If I accept you as you are, I will make
you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of
becoming, I help you become that.

I sincerely hope this book will help you to race to the top in both your
personal and business life. I trust you will find this both interesting and
enjoyable reading.

Yours truly,

Dr. Rashid Alleem March,2002
alleembs@emirates.net.ae

Introduction

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A Few Words From The Author

A hero is born among a hundred,
A wise man is found among a thousand, but an
Accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men

- Nagarjuna

Welcome to My Leadership Secrets! The secrets (stories) you will
be introduced to read are the result of my 20 years of experience in
sitting in the corporate war rooms of major corporations in the
UAE. It is not the result of sitting in business school libraries!

This book was written, not for academics, but for practicing
managers and leaders in the world.

Finally, I present this book as an inspiring source of
encouragement for anyone who has ever experienced tough
challenges and wants to learn how to become better equipped to
handle each challenge as it arises.

Browse through it right now. Then judge for yourself. How many
of its ideas and suggestions can you profitably put to work
immediately?

Good Luck & Happy Reading !

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To The Reader

My Leadership Secrets consists of a real life business stories of
hard work, dedication, and loyalty, which I have achieved with
grace, sensitivity, and intelligence. It sums up of my historic
business achievements.

My Leadership Secrets comes from 20 years of experiences,
successes on the battle-field of business. It is based on many years
of doing, not only on management books or theories.

If you take time to read only one business book this year, I strongly
encourage you to read My Leadership Secrets! Its a management
story on one level, but a story of life and how to achieve your
dreams on another, more important level . Count on it!

I wish you the best in the new journeys that await you!

To the reader

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CHAPTER 1

Developing A Balanced Scorecard

[ First Secret ]

A leader doesn't build a business, A leader builds an
organization that builds a business.

Over the past ten years the BALANCED SCORECARD has emerged as a
leading tool for achieving strategic alignment and successful strategy
execution. It is now used in nearly 50% of large organizations throughout
Western Europe, North America, and about 500 companies in the Arabian
Gulf area. It is increasingly being adopted throughout the rest of the world.
The Scorecard has enabled organizations to implement strategy reliably and
rapidly with sustainable results by creating strategy focused organizations.

Let me briefly describe this management tool for you!

What is the Balanced Scorecard?
A BALANCED SCORECARD is an integrated set of performance measures
that gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the business. Its a
framework that focuses on shareholder, and customer, plus the internal and
organizational learning requirements of a business. This will create a system
of linked objectives, measures, targets and projects which collectively
describe the strategy of an organization and how that strategy can be
achieved.

Why The Balanced Scorecard?
The Scorecard helps you empower and motivate your personnel to
work for mutual goals by allowing them to examine first hand the companys

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vision, strategy, financial and operational targets at any time. It enables
personnel at all levels of your organization to identify their individual
responsibilities and targets so that strategy becomes understandable in an
everyday operational sense.

This legendary management tool is a MUST for you if you want to:
1. Have a balanced view of business performance from a Customer
Satisfaction Culture to Business Results Awareness.
2. Ensure your company benefits from uniting the entire organization
around an integrated system that sets goals enabling your company to
leap frog ahead of competition, measures the progress made, rewards
and motivates everybody involved.
3. Improve decision making and problem solving process.
4. Keep your company looking - and moving - forward instead of
backward.
5. Deliver value to your shareholders.

How does the Balanced Scorecard work?
This tool provides managers with a more 'balanced view' and a
more comprehensive view with an equal emphasis on outcome measures (the
financial measures), measures that will tell us how well the company is doing
now (current indicators) and measures of how it might do in the future
(leading indicators).

Moreover, the Balanced Scorecard provides answers to the four basic
questions:
1. How do customers see us? (Customer perspective)
2. What must we excel at? (Internal perspective)
3. Can we continue to improve and create value? (Innovation and
learning perspective)
4. How do we look to shareholders? (Financial perspective)

My First Secret . . The Balanced Scorecard Story

In the following paragraphs I will share with you insights, experiences,
and ideas on this comprehensive management approach and give you the
knowledge to implement BSC smoothly and efficiently in your business. I

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will focus on the practical, rather than the theoretical approach to the
Balanced Scorecards implementation.

My aim is to describe and explain how the Charity International has
achieved a phenomenal track record of success.

My story with BSC is one of my greatest success stories. It is a story
of passion and commitment. Ill let the facts speak for themselves.

Read on! Its a quick read!

What You Measure Is What You Get.
In May of 1997, I was offered a job at Sharjah Charity International as a
General Manager to look after the humanitarian projects. At that time the
Charity had four local offices and five overseas offices. I was not happy with
the charitys monthly performance report because it was looking only at the
financial perspective
How much money does charity make?
How much cash do we have?
To a certain extent, they are right. Cash flow, fund raising programs, etc. are
the critical bottom-line kind of results that a charity must deliver to
survive in todays fast- changing, high-pressure social environment.

I still wanted to see other non-financial perspectives that reinforce and drive
charity strategy forward like: donors satisfaction and internal learning and
growth. We needed a whole new approach-and we needed it fast. In short,
measures of success must go beyond financial results.
What to do?

I decided to call up my financial controller into my office and discuss with
him my strategic plan.
Ive got to ask you some questions, Asif.
With the pleasure sir, go ahead.
Look. Do you think that cash flow is the only leading factor we can use to
measure our success?
He shook his head, and said, I dont know.
I dont disregard the traditional need for financial data. The big question is
this: Is this enough? I asked.
Probably not. He thought for a moment.

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What you up to, Rashid.
Well, your current emphasis on financial issues leads to an unbalanced
situation with regard to other perspectives like donors satisfaction. I want to
implement the balance scorecard in our business.
Oh my God, another project. He exclaminated.
The balance scorecard is a new management tool permits managers to see
their company more clearly from many perspectives and hence to make
wiser long-term decisions. I answered.
It is going to be a tremendous challenge?
I took a deep breath and said, In short, I am looking for a system to link our
business strategy to concrete qualitative and quantitative performance
measures in order to deliver peak performance at all times, and navigate
towards a more successful future. I clarified.
I believe in you, Asif said confidently.
Are you with me on this challenging project?
You bet I am . . I appreciate your talking to me, Rashid, He replied
enthusiastically.
Thanks. Thats exactly what I was hoping youd say. I continued.
Ill do whatever I can help you.

I was pumped up. My hopes were high.

Still, I didnt have a master plan. What a challenge that was!

The truth was, we didnt need one. We needed commitment and long working
hours and a little bit of luck. The commitment and long hours we supplied.
The luck came our way How?

In the midst of this challenge, and while I was thinking how to start
and what changes to implement I remembered my fathers statement one time
when he said: Rashid makes an immediate impression on you. He is good at
speculating where his business is heading, proficient at judging long term
trends and highly change oriented. He also gets along with his employees
and is always out there working with them. He is brilliant at creating a
climate of innovation where people can invent and be innovative, have fun
and excel at whatever they do.


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The Decision

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

- Theodore Roosevel

My fathers statement inspired me to face the challenge. I had to think
long and hard. A couple of weeks later, I made the decision to take the
initiative and become a leading edge Leader to improve our work to achieve
breakthrough performance; thus becoming one of the leading charitable
organizations in the Middle East which sustains the capacity to change,
improve and be able to take risks and do innovative things. But what should
be my first priorities? Generate cash flow? Develop customers?

I did indeed concentrate on these tasks. I worked hard days and nights
trying to address the four questions, which leading edge leaders ask to assess
their performance :
Where is the business going?
How do we get there?
What do we need to do well?
How do we measure how well we are doing?

Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are
people who do the right thing.

Asking these questions is a great place to start. One of my first
priorities was to have the right answer for these questions I needed more than
just financial data to monitor the business. It is not enough to lead the
organization towards its strategic objectives. It is not enough, either, to have
discussions on where our business should be heading. We needed more than
that. We needed a balanced view of business performance from a Customer
Satisfaction Culture to Business Results Awareness.
Here, I believe, lies the fundamental reason why Charity required a
BALANCED SCORECARD.

I cant tell you exactly when I decided to implement BSC, nor do I
remember a formal announcement. However, I do know that it wasnt a
particularly difficult decision for me. I was convinced. Heres why.

REMEMBER :

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1. The BSC translates a companys vision and strategy into reality by
enabling its management to track key financial and no financial
performance measures.
2. The BSC minimizes information overload by limiting the number of
measures used.
3. The BSC cascaded and communicated down throughout the company
so each and every employee knows exactly what they need to
contribute to achieve the company objectives.
4. The BSC aids organizations to concentrate on all the performance
objectives that are critical to the attainment of its business strategy.
5. The BSC had been identified by Harvard Business Review as one of
the seminal ideas of the past seventy-five years because it is a
comprehensive system for strategic performance management.
6. The BSC popularity has increased in the business world the
framework has been embraced by a global community of enthusiastic
proponents.
7. The BSC drives the organization to achieve its strategic goals.

For these reasons, I believe that the balanced scorecard has its place
and important role to play in our business.

Challenges!!

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one
has reached in life, as by the obstacles which he has
overcome while trying to succeed

Although the BALANCED SCORECARD concept is well known and
appears deceptively simple as I mentioned earlier. Initially, I found it difficult
to design and to implement in Sharjah Charity International due to the
following challenges and management barriers:

1) The Vision Barrier
The vision not being shared by every one in the charity, resulting
in a lack of strategic direction.
Strategy is not understood by those who must implement it.

REMEMBER :

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Our business objectives were built around financial targets and
goals that bore little relation to a long-term strategic vision.

2) The Management Barrier
Management systems are designed for operational control and
very little time is spent on strategy.
Lack of a real business planning process.
Personal goals and objectives, incentives, and competencies are
not linked to strategy.
Didnt have complete strategy.

3) The Operational Barrier
The budgeting process is separated from strategic planning.
Lack of like-minded and highly skilled people.
Lack of financial resources.
Manual collection of data.
Budget numbers mismatched.

So, our strategies cannot work without
Overcoming the four barriers.
The commitment of the people putting them into practice.
Involving everyone associated with the organization.
Continuously evaluating and improving everything we do.
Preventing problems, not waiting for them to occur.
Being proactive not reactive.
Starting doing things differently rather than doing existing things
better.

I have a dream!

The Winner Never Quits and
The Quitter Never Wins!

Ive put my mind, my heart, and my gut into that journey every day of
the 3-plus years Ive been lucky enough to be a part of Charity International.

REMEMBER :

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I started asking myself how we go about designing, integrating and
communicating the BALANCED SCORECARD at Charity?... How to start?...
Where to start? How to overcome the obstacles? How to get top
management buy-in? How do we achieve real alignment to measure goals
and strategies? How to make Charity International a strategy focused
organization that achieve breakthrough performance by implementing the
BALANCED SCORECARD?.

I often stayed awake at nights, thinking of how to benefit from this
highly effective organizational measurement tool and achieve sustainable
productivity and performance improvement to cope with the fast- changing
business environment.
Answering these questions was the first step in developing a BALANCED
SCORECARD for our organization BUT HOW?

The Leading Role
A goal is just a dream with a deadline.
- Harvey Mackay

Its about leadership. Leadership is about change. Making things
happen. As you know visionary leaders follow an inner sense of direction,
and lead from the inside out, as exemplified by Mahatma Gandhi. He said, I
must first be the change I want to see in my world.

To lead is to influence, and to influence is to
change peoples internal worlds

So, Leadership is the key to success. It is about taking people from
where they are now to where they need to be. The best visionaries who
are successful base their leadership on an inspirational, positive picture of the
future, as well as a clear sense of direction as to how to get there. If you
really want to change people behavior significantly and involve them at the
deepest level, you need to change peoples picture of their roles. Inspire them
to be better than they already are and help them identify with what Lincoln
called the angels of their better nature. After all, you cant do something
new and exciting if you force yourself to stay in the same old rut. Or as

REMEMBER :

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Edward De Bono observed in New Think, You cannot dig a hole in a
different place by digging the same hole deeper. Dont just work harder at
the same old thing. Make a change. Everything changes so fast today, that
the key is often not what youve learned, but how fast you can learn
something new.

Leadership is much more than giving orders or being in charge.
Be a visionary strategic thinker, believe passionately
in what you do and act like a professional
aiming for true excellence

Creating the can-do team

The way a team works as a whole determines its success.
You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars,
but if they dont work together, they will fail.

I just had to find the teammates who were ready to try to do things different
way. I needed the top senior to work with me to run the charity, So in
October I created Leadership team, which overnight was renamed can-do
team. It had seven members including myself. When I announced my can-
do team members, It was a loud statement that there were going to be major
changes in the managerial culture of charity. I had made the decision to
implement BSC. Now I had to make that decision pay off.

Change + good + commitment = improvement + profit + excellence
- Dr. Rashid Alleem

The successful implementation of the BSC provides a thought
provoking challenge to any management. So often, I was asked by senior
management:
How can we make the scorecard work effectively in practice?
Most of them knew why, at least in general terms but did not know how.
My times were filled with meetings with my direct reports.
I had to have all these people thinking as one cohesive unit. If I could not do
that, my entire strategy for turning around the charity would fail. I kept asking
our team very simple questions:

REMEMBER :

REMEMBER :

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What makes an organization successful?
And what does the customer consider value?
Why not change the way we work?
Why do we work the way we do?

The right Thought plus the Right People
In the Right Environment at the Right Time For the
Right Reason = the Right Result

This team has been an important contributor to our success. Strong,
involved, effective.

I Made it Work
All together, we made it work. Through team work and the can-do attitude of
a number of people we created good plans using latest thinking tools and
lateral thinking techniques to improve our quality of thinking and creativity
of all the people involved with the project. This allowed everyone to be part
of the solution and gather the best ideas.

It was exciting work. I loved it. The plan worked. Our plan was so detailed it
included the who, what, when, where, how, and why.
Who will do what? Who does it involve?
What are we going to do?
When does it start? When does it end?
Where will it take place? How will it take place?
Why must we do it?..
What will happen if we do not do it?

Creation of a Strategy Map

The challenge is not to have the best strategy
but an effective strategy that can be
implemented successfully.

Finally, I used a combination of my leadership skills, out of the box
thinking, and teamwork to develop a r oad map to create successful step-by-

REMEMBER :

REMEMBER :

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step method for introducing, implementing the balanced scorecard in our
organization. The winning team members were committed to continuously
communicating a total comprehensive picture to all members of the
organization not just by top management, but by everyone. Our team theme
was go from want t o to can do from good to great .

The result? The balanced scorecard allowed our managers to (1) look
at the business from five important perspectives (Financial, Customer,
Internal business process, Learning and growth, Human Resources) and (2)
minimizes information overload by limiting the number of measures used.
(See the exhibit on page 23)

The 5 perspectives of the Balance Scorecard

Can do team decided to focus on the five perspectives to build the scorecard,
to enable everyone in our organization to see the organization more clearly
from many perspectives and hence to make wiser long-term decisions.
translate its vision and strategy into implementation. Following are the 5
perspectives :

1. Financial perspective
2. Customer perspective
3. Business perspective
4. Learning and growth perspective
5. Human resources perspective

After that the team identified performance measures or leading indicators for
each perspective.

The integration of these five perspectives into a one graphical
appealing picture, has made the Balanced Scorecard method very successful
as a management methodology.


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Fi nanci al Cust omer
I nt er nal /
Busi ness
Pr ocesses
Lear ni ng
and
Gr owt h
How do we
look t o
sharehol ders?
How do
cust omer s
see us?
What must
we excel at ?
Can we
cont i nue t o
i mpr ove and
creat e val ue?

What is our vision of the future?

How to achieve our organization's goals ?
What are our Balanced Perspectives ?
Area of focus
Examples of
performance measures

How to link CSFs and KPIs to the mission?
St r at eg y
Profit ability
growt h.

Shareholder
value.

Cash flow.

Return on
investment.
Cust omer sat isfac-
t ion as measured by
survey result s.

Number of customer
complaint s.

Number of new
customers.

On-t ime deliveries.

Defect -free unit s as
a percentage of
completed unit s.

Manufact uring cycle
efficiency.

Time to set t le a
customer claim.
Suggest ions per
employee.
I T development
expense/ I T
expense (%).
I nvestment in
research
I nvestment in
development of
new market s ($).
Vi si on
Mi ssi on
B Bu ui i l l d di i n ng g a a B Ba al l a an nc ce ed d S Sc co or r e ec ca ar r d d
Per spect i ve
Act i on Pl an
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
_________
_________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
_________
_________
Developing CSFs
(Critical Success factors)
Developing KPIs (Key
Performance Indicators)
Employee
t urnover.

Hours of in-
house t raining
per employee.

Sat i sf i ed
Empl oyee
_______
_______
_______
_______
Human
Resources
Monitoring I mpl ement and moni t or resul t s
What we want to be?
Why we exist?
Our plan

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Benefits of the Balanced Scorecard
Was the Balanced Scorecard worth implementing?

Nobody cares how hard you tried, Only results count.

Yes indeed, we have achieved spectacular results. There are clear
benefits from doing it right. The following are some of the general
benefits of the implementation we have been experiencing:
1. Better team work at the top management.
2. Better communication throughout the organization.
3. Better self management at the bottom.
4. Better alignment translated into better result.
5. Better organization and planning.
6. Better reporting mechanisms (whos doing What, When, How and is
it really working properly?).

Our monthly reviews of our performance versus scorecard targets
have become an integral part of how we manage the business and fund
raising process. Our team was so active and committed to the success of the
project that we have experienced very beneficial and measurable results in
a very short period of time (less then a year).

Following are the five specific areas of benefits as a result of
implementation of the BSC:
1. Financial perspective
Increased income / cash flow to 80% in less than a year.
The highest record in the history of charity.
Delighted financial donors.
Saved 47% of management operational expenses.

2. Customer perspective
Satisfied Customers. Customers complaint statistics
reported by government agency, charity has the best
customer service record in the government.
Achieved lean processes.
Effectively created solutions to social problems.

REMEMBER :

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3. Internal business processes
Continuous Improvement at all charity levels.
Demonstrated the highest level of quality excellence.
Provided fast, real-time overview of our activity through
dynamic, readily available reports and graphs.
Reduced non-valued added work.
Overcame hidden traps in decision making.

4. Learning and growth
Minimize quality problems.
Provided a fact-based platform for making the right
decisions fast.
Better follow-up in keeping the projects on track by
adjusting people, schedules and work to meet the projects
objectives.
Better fund raising programs.

5. Human Resources
Satisfied employees.
Optimize employee performance.
Less employee turnover.

Sounds easy? Well, it isnt, but the elation at the successful
completion of the project is worth all of the hard work!

You will harvest exactly the same thing you plant.

Before I stepped a way in the late 1999s, we were number one in
Sharjah in community services and one of the best in the Middle East. On
that December in 1999, I was the happiest man in the UAE.

The journey has been a great one! I never imagined that the Charity
and the people in it would be able to achieve so much. What a journey! It
was worth every minute. I thank God for the wonderful people who were
committed to me during that challenging time.

REMEMBER :

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Avoiding the Pitfalls:

Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterdays
success or put its failures behind and start over again.
Thats the way life is, and thats the way business is.

Dear reader, do you know that 70% of scorecard implementations fails
to deliver their objectives?
Do you know the most common causes of implementation failures,
however, are poor organizational processes, not poor scorecard design?

And Now
Now If you are interested or going to implement the Balanced
Scorecard try to avoid the following pitfalls which Robert Kaplant, the creator
of this revolutionary performance management tool mentioned in his book
The Strategy-Focused Organization with David Norton. The pitfalls are the
results of ten years of learning and research into more than 200 companies
that have implemented the Balanced Scorecard.

1. Lack of Senior Management Commitment:
The senior executive team needs to have real skin in the game. No
commitment no involvement.

2. The Few Individuals Involved:
Of course, trying to build a scorecard with too many people can also prove
fatal. The intensive interactions suggest that group sizes be kept to a
number at which active discussion from all participants can occur and
achieving consensus is a realistic goal.

3. Keeping the Scorecard at the Top:
The opposite error of not involving the senior executive team is to involve
only the senior executive team. For the scorecard to be effective, it must
eventually be shared with everyone in the organization.


REMEMBER :

27
4. Too Long a Development Process:
Some failures have occurred when a project team allows the best to be
the enemy of the good. The team, believing in the big-bang theory of
organizational change, feels it has only one chance to launch the
scorecard, so it wants to produce the perfect scorecard.

5. Treating the BALANCED SCORECARD as a systems Project:
Some of the most expensive failures have occurred when companies
implemented their BALANCED SCORECARD as a systems project
rather than as a management project.

6. Hiring Inexperienced consultants:
Using inexperienced consultants or consultants who deliver their favorite
methodology under the cover of the BALANCED SCORECARD is
almost surely a recipe for failure. Be careful!

7. Introducing the BALANCED SCORECARD Only for Compensation:
Scorecards used to introduce no financial measures lead to improve
customer and financial performance.


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SECRET 1
Do t he Right Thing

In Conclusion
The first secret of my leadership consists of two parts first, about knowing
the key leadership tasks which mainly consist of :
Building people development, deployment
Aligning build teams and serve customers
Thinking new ideas for new futures
Achieving allocating resources for growth
Changing creating learning organization

Second, is about knowing the key Leadership Success Factors which consist
of :
Clarity clear about what you want and want from others
Commitment when people are valued, appreciated and empowered
Change whats new & different?

In a Nutshell
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, The ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands
at times of challenge and controversy. - Dr. Martin Luther

Conclusion

29

30

CHAPTER 2

Building A Business Excellence Organization

[ Second Secret ]

Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing right thing.
Excellence is doing right things right.

Many companies claim to produce quality products and offer
excellence in their services. These two fancy-sounding words have become
a new corporate label that everyone wants. Talking about quality and
achieving it are very different. As saying goes Theres a big difference
between knowing what to do and doing it.

To truly become a quality company, the corporate culture - the way it
works and what people believe about it - must recognize and promote quality
standards through everyday action, not just in marketing literature and
advertising. Quality is an attitude. Quality is everybodys job. Each and
every person within the company must constantly strives to give the best
possible service at every moment.

It gives me great pleasure to share with you in this book my second
leadership secret. I will explain how, in only two years, I was able to make
notable quality achievements in Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZ) and strengthen
our position as a well known organization in the world. Thus, setting an
example for the rest of the business community in the region. HFZ is
considered one of the best organizations in the Middle East due to its world
class breakthrough performance and commitment to quality movements,

31
excellence, and customer satisfaction. In fact, it is a privilege to state that
Hamriyah Free Zone has been conferred with numerous felicitations and
laurels locally and globally.

My quality achievements with Hamriyah Free Zone is a genuine
success story.
See for yourself.

If you can, be first.
If you cant be first,
Create a new category in which you can be first.

The first recognition was received on July 2000 when HFZ received
ISO-9002 for quality management and quality assurance by Moody
International Certification which is ranked as one of the top 10 multi-
accredited ISO Certification Body/Registrars in the world today.
The second recognition was received on August 2001 when HFZ was
fully certified by the International ISO-14001 Certification for Environment
Standard by the Det Norske Veritas (DNV), which is known as one of the
Leading International Certification bodies in the world.

This is in fact a milestone in the reputation of Hamriyah Free Zone
being ISO-14001 certified thus becoming the first free zone-out of more than
(4000) free trade zones-in the world to hold this certificate.

HFZ is unswerving commitment to quality and continuous
improvement in every aspect of its business, from management, health, safety,
environmental protection and breakthrough performance was recognized by
the Century International Gold Quality Era Award, on 1
st
July 2002, in
Geneva in recognition of outstanding commitment to Quality and Excellence,
which merits the Century International Gold Quality Era Award in the
realm of Customer Satisfaction, Leadership, Strategic Planning and
Benchmarking, as established in the QC100 TQM system.

Again, It is a privilege to state that Hamriyah Free Zone has been
conferred for the second time as the first free zone in the world to obtain such

32
recognition. This is another feather in the cap for my dedicated and eminent
leadership moving forward our standard in the international business arena.
In short, the time and resources spent was well worth the efforts. Our
organization has been praised for its Leadership and customer service. We
were qualified/certified with the following:
ISO-9002 ( July, 2000 )
ISO-14001 ( August, 2001 )
The prestigious Century International Gold Quality Era Award (July
2002)

Achieving three International certificates in 2 years is a notable success
indeed. Keeping in mind that HFZ is the youngest Free zone in the Middle
East, it started its business activities in October 1998! Wanting to know how
HFZ achieves there incredible result is certainly a major reason why so many
people are interested in this extraordinary organization.

For the sake of completeness, and before I talk about my story of success,
I shall give a simple overview of both ISO-9000, ISO-14001 and the
prestigious Century International Gold Quality Era Award. In the following
paragraphs I will explain more about the managing processes, benefits
description and selection process of each certificate.

What is ISO?

The Geneva-headquartered International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) is a non-governmental organization established in
1947. The mission of ISO is to promote the development of standardization
and related activities in the world with a view of facilitating the international
exchange of goods and services, and to develop cooperation in the spheres of
intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity.

What is ISO 9000?
ISO 9000 is a group of international standards and guidelines for
quality management and quality assurance. ISO 9001-2000, the most recent
standard, applies to manufacturing and service firms and public agencies.

33

Why ISO 9000?
It helps to gain international recognition.
It brings a continual improvement of the management system.
The user will gain a competitive edge.
It improves service to the customer and increases competitiveness.
Customer needs and expectations are continually satisfied.

What is ISO 14001?
ISO 14001 is a group of international standards for Environmental
Management Systems (EMS). ISO 14001 is the standard that gives
organizations a globally accepted structure integrating EMS with overall
management activity. ISO 14001 also assures that environmental performance
meets an array of regulatory, audit, and other environmental management
requirements. The ISO 14001 standard responds to public concern over
industrial impact on both the local and world environment. This standard is
important and being recognized by legislation worldwide.
The ISO 14001 approach forces you to take a hard look at all areas
where your business has an environmental impact. And this systematic
approach can lead to benefits such as:
Reducing costs of waste management.
Gaining a competitive Edge.
Positive image.
Savings in consumption of energy and materials.
A framework for continuous improvement of your environmental
performance.

What is Prestigious Century International Quality Era Award?
Business Initiative Directions (BID) is an independent organization,
located in Madrid, Spain and well known for its expertise in analysis of
corporate image, quality programs and worldwide endorsement programs.

34
They select themselves the recipient of its prestigious Century International
Quality Era Award. The criteria of the awards are generally assessed on the
basis of commitment to the criteria outlined in the QC TQM (Total Quality
Management). Its a high honor, because the selection process is carried out
globally through voting processes through mail / Internet and website.

Benefits of participating
As a participant of the Century International Quality Era Award
program you can expect to receive some benefits, some of which are listed
below:
Increase sales and raise your companys brand position.
Differentiate your company from its competitors.
Accelerate your ability to improve your products and services.
Receive public recognition for your efforts and achievements at a
special awards ceremony.

A genuine success story

My Second Secret . . Excellence Organization Story

My success story with HFZ started on March 12, 2000, when I was
appointed as Director General by His Highness Dr. Shaikh Sultan Bin
Mohamed Al Qassimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and The Ruler
of Sharjah Government. By that time HFZ was not holding any of ISO
certificates.

One thought kept running through my mind : Im going to ISO
certificate someday. It became an official goal of mine. I even wrote it down.

When I joined the organization, I initiated a new vision, developed
new corporate culture and empowered the employees. As a result, in a short
period of time, I was able to transfer HFZ into a successful customer-oriented
organization, and it became the model for most free zones in the world.


35

Destiny is not a matter of chance it is a matter of choice,
it is not a thing to be waited for, but something to be achieved.

How did it happen?

The first and most important step toward success is the feeling
that we can succeed.
- Nelson Boswell

It is started with a very simple questions ; how can HFZ become a
globally recognized organization for its commitment to quality and
excellence? What makes an organization a successful business excellence
organization? I kept challenging myself I remember saying to myself :
Why not take the initiative, be The Change Leader and change the way
we work? I was planning to change many thing, but not everything.

When I started on this journey in April, 2000 I decided to meet with HFZ
team. I worked hard in advance organizing what I want to say to the group.
My goal was to build a leadership team and give the work force a renewed
sense of purpose.

I Need Results:
Early the next morning, I threw out my prepared speech and decided to speak
from the heart. I chaired a meeting and invited all my senior management
team. I smiled and began my speech: Ladies and Gentlemen, I need results.
HFZs future success depend on more fully developed employees, and
increasing employee involvement in every aspect of our business. To deliver a
valuable and credible service and reach that goal we must leave the
traditional organizational system behind and become more progressive and
flexible with the changing times. We must be transformational leaders who
promote change and innovation. We must be visionaries and believe in
building competencies through strategic management. We must be able to
sell our Vision to all employees. Lets eliminate bureaucracy fast. Lets
decentralize decision making wherever possible. I believe, as you do, that the
markets around us are becoming increasingly competitive and quality

36
certification is now an international phenomenon and is influencing the way
companies do business. We have decided to pursue ISO certification. It will
help us raise standards, achieve improved efficiency, better management
control and improve competitiveness. And remember, When you have the right
information, the right people with the right training, the right process,
targeted customers, every thing works. If any one of those is not in place, the
strategy might fail, and you wont get results. Gentlemen, time marches on,
and you either march with it or get left behind. Gentlemen, remember that
passion and determination is the gateway to success, and success has a
tendency to breed more success. Ladies and gentlemen, lets get it done soon.
Thank you very much.
I did extremely well in the meeting and perhaps the most important comments
I made at that meeting regarded Leadership and sense of direction and
strategy.

A wise man is slow in his speech and quick in his acts.

I asked if there were any questions. There were none. I walked
around and shook everyones hand and the meeting ended. I went home,
thinking, Im going to work as hard as I have been in order to stay successful
in this business.

After my vision speech, everyone ran about like ants in the streets of
their city. Everyone in the team felt that We need to work together as a
team. We must change quickly and easily. Rashids not kidding. A lot of
extensive meetings took place to put the new strategy together to become the
most competitive free zone on earth driven by excellence!... Wow! What
a dream it was!

In my office, I have posted a quotation by David Viscott. Its there so
I can remind myself of it every morning as I start the day :
No one can make you change.
No one can stop you from changing.
No one really knows how you must change.
Not even you.
Not until you start.

37
So, change is the key. I announced challenging tomorrow.
Challenging tomorrow became a first step in HFZs cultural change. It was an
important way for me to emphasize that we were going to build a company
from the inside out and the customers was going to drive everything we did in
the organization so our competitors dont keep beating us like a drum.

Of course, my top priority during those first few weeks was meeting
privately with each of the senior executives. In all the meetings over those
several weeks, I was sizing up my team, trying to understand the mind set, the
problems they faced and how they were dealing with them, and what their
leadership potential really was.

The person I relied on most during those early days was Dr. Shehzada
(or Dr. Irshad, as the HFZ family has always called him) when I arrived, Dr
Irshad was deeply involved in the engineering activities and responsible for
the quality program. He offered support, urged me to move quickly.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one
hard step, a road map, and a big smile.
- Dr. Rashid Alleem

I was depressed to realize that despite the powerful logic-that ISO was
going to be one of HFZs unique competitive advantages-the culture of HFZ
would fight it! I did my level best to be as wise as possible by slowly
introducing the quality programs.

Still, there were fireworks. As Machiavelli summed it up very well
when he said: It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to
plan, nothing more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage, than
the creation of a new system.

Throughout those critical early days, it seemed there was a crisis
between Dr. Irshad and some other HFZ units especially Admin Department
Manager. On more than one occasion I found one of there people in my
office, railing against Dr. Irshad. My answer was always the same : You
need to work hard with the quality team to ensure they understand the
competitive advantage of quality. Dr. Irshad is a quality driven person and he
is going to be the program facilitator. Period.


38
We made massive changes in only four months, senior management
created a Blueprint of actions, plans and developed an integrated set of sound
approaches to deliver the required results both financially and operationally
now and in the future by providing answers to the following questions:-
What comprises effective leadership?
What drives successful companies?
Which are the tools and practices that really make a difference?
How do we employ the best ideas to propel strategy, growth, and
employee motivation?

Our keen sense of leadership, management, and planning helped us to
come up with the following recommendation : ISO is the ONLY way to be
truly recognized and succeed in todays highly competitive global economy
and that could be done through employee participation and deep commitment
to our potential values.

And to achieve that goal the following recommendations were discussed
and suggested :

We must develop our vision and mission statements clearly.
Organizations vision and mission must be well communicated to
all participants.
We should realize that Strategic Planning is a vital tool to
achieve excellence.
We should be open to new ideas and challenges.
We should empower our employees to a certain extent where they
can utilize their skills and increase their level of commitment and
involvement.
Department Heads and Senior Managers should communicate
more openly and honestly with their employees.
Positive future for HFZ requires that all employees reach their
fullest potential and that employee contributions be recognized and
maximized.
Each and every person within the organization must constantly
strive to give the best possible service at every moment. When a

39
problem occurs or an error is made, they will correct it as quickly
as possible.
To create total awareness in which each and every person is able to
do it better.
It is a must that people who deal with us be treated with respect
whether employee, business associate, supplier, vendor client or
customer.
The organization operates with honesty, integrity and focuses on
achieving quality excellence.

I Found the Way
I started planning process, attempting to gather as much relevant
information as possible to enable me to establish an action plan for my
project. To perfectly achieve my goal, I started educating myself by attending
training programs and reading a lot of business books written by business
gurus. I was focusing in three areas:
Organization development (A set of techniques or tools that are
used to implement organizational change).
Organizational behavior (An inter-disciplinary field dedicated to
better understanding and managing people at work).
Organizational culture (Shared values and beliefs that underlie a
companys identity).

That led me to the following nine important facts and conclusions:
1. The right people are the most important ingredient to the recipe for
success.
2. In the modern world of business conditions are constantly
changing, and only the fittest will survive.
3. The rate of change in the business environment continues to
increase and shows no sign of slowing. To remain completive in
todays business environment, HFZ must change, we must be able
to meet not only customer requirements and expectations but also
their surrounding requirements: employees, neighbors, community,
and legislation which will help us to remain competitive.

40
4. No one is comfortable with change and it has been that way for
centuries.
5. A great vision and strategy cant compensate for a poor culture and
the wrong people.
6. Learning must be faster then the rate of change.
7. The toughest challenge is not organizational change but changing
mindsets.
8. HFZ needs to respond and embrace change successfully and
speedily in order to achieve its goals in the fast changing world we
now inhabit.
9. The easiest way for an organization to maximize its profits is to
minimize unnecessary losses, permit improvement of company
systems and procedures while helping its people focus on the most
profitable areas and demonstrating the highest level of quality
excellence.

Lets get it done
The above conclusions were challenges for me, especially in the local and
global competitive markets. But the hardest challenge was managing the
change. There was a genuine sense of fear of change among the staff. As
change is seen as an opportunity to me, It is seen as disruptive and intrusive
for many employees. Things didnt work out as I had hoped and anticipated.
I didnt give up. To effectively manage the change quickly and painlessly for
our management, I needed to build knowledge and abilities in the following
areas: -
Remove critical barriers to implementing change
Manage employee resistance
Create communication plans
Create training and educational programs
Inspire incentive and recognition programs

That is not an easy task. To overcome that fear, I worked very long hours and
spent a lot of time identifying and working on the critical elements for
managing change and answer employees questions such as:
Why is change happening now?
What is the risk of not changing?

41
What will change mean to me?
What are the consequences of not changing?
What choices can I make, and what are the potential outcomes?

If you think you are a leader and no one is following
you are only out for a walk by yourself.

I have to admit, my journey has been a tremendous and Ive been blessed by
great people who were mature and determined, and effortlessly and willingly
fit into the larger scheme. Theyve made exceptional contributions by
successfully doing the following:
Encouraged all participants in the organization to be creative,
innovative and gain new knowledge through training and
development. Accepted errors and some risk from the creative
members of the organization.
Started putting a lot of effort to improve the human resources
department by introducing more development, training programs,
management improvement as well as maintaining good
relationships among all departments.
Embodied a deeply caring approach to people, seeing them as our
greatest asset.
Identified the key business climate and, more importantly, which
factors may act as pointers towards future success.
The human resources strategy was developed and became an
integral part of the overall strategy.
Staff were encouraged to continue learning; even if what they were
learning had no particular relevance to their work, it was seen as
valuable in its own right and as encouraging people to become
open to change and more flexible in their attitudes.
Team building, quality and continuous improvement were daily
requirements for which each team was responsible.

Effective leadership is putting first things first.
Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.


42
Piece by piece, with commitment, we became a service oriented organization
qualified for international quality rewards. We received widespread attention
in the local and international media. A flood of mail that inspired me to write
the following guidelines which I strongly recommend any young leader to use
whenever he or she requested to lead a team toward exceptional quality.
1. Ensuring top Management Commitment (Leadership)
They say that the Buck stops at the top, but actually, thats where it
starts. Top-level executives have the primary responsibility for creating a
corporate culture that fosters high-quality work throughout the organization.

The success of any organized activity depends on the undivided and
total commitment of top management. Management should be flexible in
allowing changes of direction. Leaders must do whatever is necessary to keep
the work rolling on. They must create the enabling atmosphere to achieve the
desired results.

2. Conduct a Needs Assessment
Before you begun the ISO process, you must identify your primary
improvement needs. Sources of information include : -
Customer Complaints and related feedback.
Benchmarking in key process areas.

3. Prioritize Improvement Targets
The 20% of the process areas which produce 80% of the unnecessary cost
and waste. As someone famously said, If you cant measure it, you cant
manage it.

4. Creating Corporate Culture of Quality
Develop a performance improvement strategy.
Create quality improvement team.
Look for opportunities to improve quality and productivity, with
special emphasis on reducing costs.
Talking about it frequently until it become part of their software
of their head!.
Middle managers are responsible for sustaining the culture of
quality developed at the top.


43
5. Building Quality into the Mission Statement
The mission statement should make reference to quality and
excellence.

6. Involving and Empowering Employees
Leaders must empower employees to fix and prevent problems.
Involvement and empowerment include actions such as:
Clustering employees into quality-improvement teams to search for
ways to improve product, services, and the processes by which work
gets accomplished.
A successful quality-improvement effort creates an atmosphere in
which the manager listens to employees suggestions about even
minor aspects of quality.
All employees to have positive attitudes toward quality and believe
that high quality improves profits.

7. Immersing Group Members in Quality

The idea is to get group members studying quality and talking about
it frequently. Employees should be asked to read informative books
and articles about quality, watch videos on the topic, and access
information about quality online.
Insist that group members figure out how to achieve extraordinary
quality goals.

8. Rewarding High-Quality Performance

The best quality results are likely to be achieved when employees
receive internal as well as external rewards for achieving quality. The external
rewards for quality include such factors as salary increases, cash bonuses and
certificates for their contribution to quality achievement.

9. Focusing on the positive:
Rather than energize the negative - Give attention, energy and support
to "best practices".


44
10. Holding Frequent Quality Review:
Assess and Review the approaches followed based on monitoring and
analysis of the results achieved and ongoing learning activities. Based on this
identify, prioritize, plan and implement improvements where needed.

A quick and direct way to improve and sustain quality is to have
periodic reviews of what unit did right and wrong from a quality standpoint.


45

SECRET 2
Doing Right Things Right

In Conclusion
To be a business excellence organization and to survive in todays global
markets, companies must have a strategy for operating better, faster and
cheaper than their competitors and that requires them to change the way they
run their business and that is the toughest thing to do. Organizations that
consider change should have leaders of change. Those leaders should leave
the traditional organizational system and be more proactive, flexible and
progressive with the changing time.

In a Nutshell
Novelist pearl S. Buck once wrote : The secrets of joy is contained in one
word-excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.


46

47

CHAPTER 3

Kaizen and Gemba Management

[ Third Secret ]

Change is a fundamental principle of life. Anything that does not change is dead.
There is only one thing that never changes and that
is change; Otherwise everything changes.

I strongly believe that continuous improvement through employee
involvement is the single most important element of successful business
management in todays fast-moving business world. The term continuous
improvement refers to both incremental and breakthrough improvement. The
term employee involvement is a practice within an organization whereby
employees regularly participate in making decisions on how their work is
done, including making suggestions for improvement, planning, goal setting,
and monitoring performance.

One of the most interesting secrets you may find in this book is the concept of
KAIZEN and GEMBA Management (continuing improvement in the
workplace). This secret I have been using for a long time due to its simplicity
and high productivity.

KAIZEN describes the management practices of leading Japanese businesses
and is now applied by many world-class organizations. Masaaki Imai, the
chairman and founder of Kaizen institute and one of the top Japanese
management consultants, introduced these concepts to western managers in
the late 1980s.


48
In the following paragraphs, I will explain and discuss the meaning of
KAIZEN, provide you with practical step-by-step and show you how
KAIZEN philosophy can help your company to become more efficient, lean
and profitable in a very short time. I will focus on the theoretical, rather than
the practical approach to the Kaizen implementation. I believe that Kaizen and
Gamba do not belong to any single company or industry but have universal
application to companies large and small across all industries.

Lets explore..!

WHAT IS KAIZEN?

KAIZEN as originally defined in the book KAIZEN, the Key of Japans
Competitive Success, by Masaaki Imai, is a Japanese word meaning gradual
and orderly continuous improvement. The KAIZEN philosophy creates a
paradigm shift so that new changes are directed towards effective areas in the
systems structure. The KAIZEN business strategy involves everyone in an
organization working together to make improvements without large capital
investments!.

WHAT KAIZEN CAN OFFER?

KAIZEN is a culture of sustained continuous improvement focusing on
eliminating waste in all systems and processes of an organization. The
KAIZEN strategy begins and ends with people. With KAIZEN, an involved
leadership guides people to continuously improve their ability to meet
expectations of high quality, low cost, and on-time delivery. KAIZEN
transforms companies into Superior Global Competitors.

In fact, KAIZEN encourages managers and their people to work together to :
Solve problems at their source
Improve quality
Maintain and improve standards
Improve house keeping
Eliminate waste


49
ELEMENTS OF KAIZEN

KAIZEN is composed of two elements :
1) Improvement (for the better and ongoing)
2) Change (continuity)
When either element is missing the concept of Kaizen becomes void.

KAIZEN CONCEPTS

Let us run through some of the core concepts of Kaizen to get a view of how
they affect work processes in organizations. In KAIZEN concepts, three
functions should happen simultaneously within any organization.
Maintenance, Innovation and KAIZEN.

1) By maintenance, we refer to maintaining the current status. The
procedures are set and the standards are implemented. People in the LOWER
levels of organizations mostly maintain their standards.
2) By Innovation, we refer to breakthrough activities initiated by TOP
management, buying new machines, new equipment, developing new
markets, change of strategy etc.
3) In the MIDDLE there is KAIZEN, small steps but continuing
improvement. KAIZEN should be implemented by the lower/middle
management and the workers, with the encouragement and direction of senior
managers.

In light of the above, we can say that (1) people are the key factor responsible
for building a successful Kaizen strategy that leads an organization to
continually develop and improve ; and (2) It is the responsibility of upper
management to cultivate the KAIZEN working climate and culture in the
organization.

Now, hopefully you have a full understanding of what Kaizen is all about.
The following paragraph will explain the concept of Gemba.


50
WHAT IS GEMBA?

GEMBA is a Japanese word meaning real place, where the real action
takes place. In business, GEMBA is where the value-adding activities to
satisfy the client are carried out.

WHAT IS GEMBA KAIZEN?

Now you have a good understanding of the words, KAIZEN and GEMBA.
Gemba Kaizen is Kaizen activities that take place in Gemba. Gemba Kaizen
is to make continuous improvement at the real place, where the action is going
on, and that can make your organization better.

My Third Secret . . Management Story

The following is a summary of my general plan to implement Kaizen &
Gemba management whenever something goes wrong or an abnormality
arises in a project or process I am incharge of. The plan consists of six steps.
Each step will be explained in detail in the rest of this chapter. The six steps
are as follows:

1. Go to Gemba first
(understand your operation)
2. Eliminate Waste and Standardize
(identify non-value-added activity)

3. Set effective Objectives/Goals
(have the right objectives to steer improvement)

4. Develop systems for improving the quality
(100% customer satisfaction 100% of the time)

5. Plan Successful Change
(dont do without a plan)

6. Create an Improvement Team
(Continuously improve)
Continuous
Improvement
Change

51
STEP 1: GO TO GEMBA FIRST

Kaizen says : Got a problem? Go to Gemba!
The starting point, is at Gemba The place where the real work is done.
Going to Gemba will help you to find an answer for important questions such
as :
How we are doing?
What went right?
What went wrong?
How can it be done better?

When an abnormality occurs, go to Gemba first and :
Check with (machine, material, unsafe conditions etc).
Take temporary counter measures on the spot.
Remove root causes.
Standardize to prevent trouble.

Nice To Know

Doing this step first helps a lot because going to Gemba forces top
management and staff to work together, at the place where the error is
occurring.

Remember, attempting to resolve problems in meetings without visiting the
workplace and involving the front-line workers who actually do the work is a
recipe for failure.

Significant problems we face cannot be solved by t he same level of t hinking t hat
creat ed t hem.
Thomas Stemberg, the founder of Staples,
believes in seeing the world at ground level.
He shops his stores like a customer. He
asks questions that a customer would ask,
like Where can I find printer cartridge
number 6534?

52

STEP 2: ELIMINATE WASTE AND STANDARDIZE

Kaizen implies ongoing and committed reduction of waste. It means looking
for better ways, eliminating redundant processes or parts of processes,
ensuring that the system is as lean as possible. You should produce exactly
what the customer wants, efficiently and economically no more, no less.
At this step you must be able to find an answer to the following questions :
How can you identify non-value-added (wasteful) activity?
How can you remove it?
What are the benefits your customers want?

Once you find the right answer to the top important questions you can work
towards a standardized, high value-adding way of processing your work.
Standardizing of the change, making it a permanent part of operations. This
includes communication and documentation of the new procedure. Along
with making it permanent, it also involves the continuing collection of data to
measure how the revised process is operating and continuing to look for
problems and opportunities to improve and ask questions such as :
Does the process now deliver outputs on time?
Are customers more satisfied?

Nice To Know

The following is a common checklist I recommend for standards :
Represent the best, easiest and safest way to do a job
Provide a way to measure performance
25% of all errors made are caused by poor st andards.
FedEx, one of the more innovative of
companies, used to send clients a quarterly
statement with a bonus savings amount
calculated and a certificate good for the
bonus amount. A customer who wanted to
use the bonus had to fill in the back of the
certificate, mail it to FedEx, and then wait for
the next statement to deduct the amount.

Good customer benefit. But complicated and
paper-a-plenty. So FedEx fixed the process
by calculating the bonus and deducting it
automatic credit added. Unnecessary paper
eliminated. Mission accomplished.


53
Show the relationship between cause and effect
Provide a basis for improvement
Provide a means for preventing recurrence of errors

As soon as I standardized a process I set measurements (indicators) to help us
to show progress and prompt action. I always use graph paper or a computer
spreadsheet to draw a run chart.

Nice To Know

STEP 3: SET EFFECTIVE OBJECTIVES/GOALS

This step helps us make sure that everyone involved knows what the objective
is and what it will look like when its done. This supports employees
participation and involvement in Kaizen activities. This will enhance
employee morale and develop a sense of ownership and pride in their work.
Setting goals is one of the oldest, well-proven methods of improving and
managing performance. Objectives will help you work smarter, not harder,
and give you a better chance of achieving efficiency improvement.
The following are some of the common objectives and goals I set almost
always in situations where Kaizen and Gemba management are needed:

Make incremental improvement a daily goal of all work units.
Firmly establish internal systems that can assure quality.
Manage costs (money is being well spent) through cost
management and not cost cutting.
Improve delivery (the target is 100% on-time deliveries).
Develop a less bureaucratic structure so that resources are more
efficiently used.
Find a way to provide fast, friendly, consistent, and knowledgeable
service to our customers (excellence in customer relationships).
A goal properly set is halfway reached.
W. Edwards Deming, has said that about 90
percent of the problems in organizations are
general problems (bad systems) only
about 10 percent are specific problems with
people (Programmers).

54

Nice To Know

STEP 4. DEVELOP SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY

Continuous Improvement is the ongoing improvement of products, programs,
services, or processes by small increments or major breakthroughs.
Improvement needs to be embedded in the way the organization functions.
Embedded means: (1) improvement is part of the daily work of all work units;
(2) improvement processes seek to eliminate problems at their source; and (3)
improvement is driven by opportunities to do better.

Improvements may be of several types: (1) enhancing value to customers
through new and improved products and services; (2) reducing errors,
minimize product defects, and waste; (3) improving responsiveness and cycle
time performance; (4) improving productivity and effectiveness in the use of
all resources.

The most popular approach to continuous improvement is known as total
quality management (TQM). There are two major characteristics of total
quality management: (1) a focus on serving customers and (2) systematic
problem solving using teams made up of front-line workers.

Nice To Know

Perhaps the most important and pervasive TQM problem-solving tool is the
plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle for disciplined process improvement. The
The statement of a goal should include the
following: To + Action Verb + Measurable
Out-put + Quality (good) + Time Frame

Total Quality Management (TQM)
An approach to continuous improvement
that focuses on customers and using teams
of front-line workers to systematically
identify and solve problems.
QUALITY is not an assignable task. It must be rooted and institutionalized in every
process. It is everyones responsibility.

55
plan-do-check-act cycle is a systematic, fact-based approach to continuous
improvement. It applies the scientific method to problem solving. In the
check phase, the results of the experiment are analyzed. And in the Act
phase, if the results of the experiment are favorable, the plan is implemented.
If the results of the experiment are not favorable, the team goes back to the
original data and begin a new P-D-C-A cycle continuously improve.

Nice To Know

So far I have described in detail one of the two elements that contribute to
Kaizen which is continuous improvement. The following part of the plan
will cover the 2nd element of Kaizen philosophy which is change.

STEP 5: PLAN SUCCESSFUL CHANGE

Nobody likes change. Whether you are a senior executive or an entry-level
employee, change represents uncertainty and, potentially, pain. So there must
be a good communication. It is the job of CEO to define and communicate
the new vision (change). Its magnitude, its severity, and its impact. Make
sure that visions and missions are consistent with long-term values, the
principles on which an organization bases its decisions and actions.

In my own career I have used four simple questions to assess and guide the
change process, whether for large or small organizations, government or
private:

Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How are we going to get there?
What do we need to do well?

The reason we call PDCA a cycle is
because it is never ending. No matter
how well a process is operating, it can
always be improved using new
techniques and technology.
New ideas hurt some minds t he same as new shoes hurt some feet .

56
I always believe that successful change programs always involve planning.
Detailed, step-by-step plans are essential for change management. As Sun
Tzu mentioned in his book The Art of War; With careful and detailed
planning, one can win; with careless and less detailed planning, one cannot
win. How much more certain is defeat if one does not plan at all! From the
way planning is done beforehand, we can predict victory or defeat.
The process of planning has been characterized by five basic stages :
1. Determine the goal.
2. Review the present situation.
3. Recognize limiting factors.
4. Develop the plan.
5. Implement the plan.

Following is the explanation of each stage.

1. DETERMINE THE GOAL
Goals must be clearly specified; otherwise, time and effort will not necessarily
be channeled in the right direction. Being clear about these aims will help to
identify changes needed.

2. REVIEW THE PRESENT SITUATION
If there is a discrepancy between desired goals and the current status of
affairs, planning activities to reduce this gap need to be considered. When
selecting a strategy, bear in mind peoples potential response. Consider if you
may need to overcome resistance to change.

3. RECOGNIZE LIMITING FACTORS
Human, equipment, and financial resources are potential limitations to
planning because they can restrain preferred courses of action. Study your list
of people affected, in groups as well as individually, specify positives and
negatives in detail and answer the following questions: -
Which key people need to be involved?
Who is likely to be enthusiastic about introducing change?
What worries may lead others to resist it?
Will people need new skills or training?


57
4. DEVELOP THE PLAN
To formulate a plan, it is necessary to consider alternatives, specify tasks, set
priorities, and assign responsibilities & accountabilities. This step involves
putting it all together so that the plan becomes a useful tool. Often, it is
worthwhile for a manager to consider if/then choices. When developing
the plan make sure to:
(1) Plan an outline of the necessary stages.
(2) For each task, set goals.
(3) Identify a strategy for achieving them, and estimate how long it will
take.
(4) Apply critical path method (CPM) to decide the order in which tasks
should be completed.

Nice To Know

Ensure that your overall plan and the plan for each stage answer the following
questions:
Why is change being introduced, and what results are expected?
What resources will have to be committed?
How will the plan be communicated?
Who will lead the program and its parts?
How will the program and its progress be measured and monitored?
What could go wrong?

5. IMPLEMENT THE PLAN
The final step in the planning process is to put the plan into action. To
implement a plan successfully, always make sure that participants must know
who is responsible for what. The action plans have to be positive and should
be :
1. Specific and clear. It is pinpointed:
(A) Who? (B) What? (C) When?
2. In logical sequence (to follow the model for sequence of actions).
3. Comprehensive (to include all of the things that need to be done).
4. Accepted as a personal responsibility (by the team members).
Critical path method (CPM)
A scheduling plan that represents a project
as a network with one time frame allotted
to each activity.


58
5. Specific date (when the action will be completed should be clear).
6. Visible to All (should be recorded on a flipchart for all to see).
7. Reviewed (The action plan should always be reviewed).

STEP 6: CREATING IMPROVEMENT TEAM

My belief has always been that building an improvement team is the key
factor in quality improvement. Managing through teams is the vehicle for
greater self-management, greater individual responsibility, greater creativity,
and continuous improvement.

If you ask me today what single accomplishment I am most proud of in all my
business life, I would tell you it is this - creating a strong improvement team
with a common purpose which had four basic functions:

1. To challenge ourselves to continually improve.
2. To find creative ways to solve problems.
3. To motivate and involve everyone.
4. To manage performance for continuous improvement.

Remember, the improvement team should have two main objectives:
1. To meet once a week to encourage continuous improvement, manage
performance and continually ask, Is there a better way to do the
job?
2. Encourage all employees in the organization to say Yes, theres
always a better way to do it.

BENEFITS OF GEMBA KAIZEN

The following are some of the benefits I have experienced when using Gemba
Kaizen concepts:
Improved personal and professional growth.
Improved financial results.
You dont pay the price for success, you enjoy the benefits of success.

59
Created dynamic work environments.
Increased morale, motivation and staff retention.
Led to implementation of higher-quality solutions.
Faster corporate growth.
Created dynamic, results oriented meetings, that make people want to
attend, participate and generate more ideas and solutions.
Happy customers.

In short, the results were succeeding for beyond my most optimistic hopes.

Now . . .
Stop and think about this for a minute. Certainly, you will agree with me that
Kaizen and Gemba management worth doing for organizations of all types
and sizes.


60

SECRET 3
Cont inuous I mprovement
Through Employee I nvolvement

In Conclusion
Continuous improvement through employee involvement is the single most
important element of successful business management in todays fast-moving
business world.

In a Nutshell
Make it a habit to be on the lookout for novel and interesting ideas that
others have used successfully. Your idea needs to be original only in its
adaptation to the problem you are currently working on.

Thomas Edison

Conclusion

61

62

CHAPTER 4

Benchmarking

[ Fourth Secret ]

Ideas that are carefully selected and implemented will improve an
organizations financial performance.

The benchmarking process is a way of involving the organization in looking
at best practices outside the firm to determine both what is possible and how
it is done. In its approach benchmarking can be related to the concept of the
balanced scorecard to the extent that it seeks to identify the direct drivers of
business performance, rather than to use financial outcomes as proxy.

If you want your business performance to improve significantly, you cannot
afford to ignore the importance of benchmarking. This is another valuable
step-by-step secret to benchmarking shows how performance can be
increased by making use of the benchmarking techniques that are helping to
transform organizations today. In the pages that follow, you will be shown
that it can be done. The story tells you how you can do it within your own
organization.

Enjoy! Its a remarkable success story.

What is Benchmarking?

Various organizations would define benchmarking as:
Benchmarking

63
A systematic and continuous measurement process: benchmarking is the
process of identifying, understanding, and adapting outstanding practices
anywhere in the world to help an organization improve its performance.

What Benchmarking is NOT:
o A one-time procedure. It is a continuous process.
o Simply copying the competition.
o Spying.
o Quick and easy.
o Only competitive analysis.

Purpose
To identify and fill gaps in performance by putting in place best practice,
thereby establishing superior performance.

When to Benchmark?
When organizations want to improve their performance, policies, practices,
philosophies they benchmark.

How to use?
There are three distinct types of benchmarking which can be used by an
organization progressively to simulate the improvement process.
1. Internal benchmarking This is the comparison between functions,
departments or a similar organization as a means of improving
performance.
2. Competitive benchmarking This is a cross-comparison within one
industry sector aimed at establishing best practice through the
identification of gaps between your own and your competitors
performance.
3. Comparative benchmarking This is the comparison across all
business sectors aimed at establishing best practice in all areas of
operation.

What to Benchmark?
Effective benchmarking focuses on areas that are critically important to
performance. These include:
Benchmarking

64
o Financial comparisons.
o Information technology.
o Areas strongly affecting employee or customers satisfaction.
o Development cycle times.
o Quality and service performance.

Why to do Benchmarking?
o Benchmarking has become a top management issue as it provides
objectively developed information that helps leaders, executives to
know where they stand versus competitors or other leading
companies.
o It helps the executives to focus on what should be done and then take
the right decisions.
o It provides information-containing insight in the gaps to achieve
desired goals.
o It builds the basis for recommendations on changes and
improvements, and like to close the gap .
o Competitive benchmarking compares an organizations performance
with that of its competitors and seeks to understand what drives best
performance.
o The benchmarking results serve as a basis for developing a strategy to
move forward with actions to achieve Best in Class project
performance.

To effectively benchmark, the following nine steps are offered
1. Identified what is benchmarked (a process, product, service, etc.)
2. Identify comparable companies.
3. Collect data to precisely define the target goal (benchmark).
4. Collect data to determine the organizations current performance
level against the benchmark.
5. Reduce the target to discrete, measurable, smaller steps or goals.
6. Train, as needed, any employees so that they can meet the smaller
goals (sub goals).
7. Periodically provide feedback and use appropriate, valued reinforces
for meeting the sub goals.
Benchmarking

65
8. Increase the sub goals so that they are getting closer to the target
goal.
9. Recalibrate benchmarks periodically.

My story with the benchmarking

My Fourth Secret . . Benchmarking Story

Each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share
a general responsibility for all humanity.

In the following, I will share with you one of my historic business
achievement in the field of humanitarian services. Early 90s during Somalia
starvation, I was given the responsibilities by the board members of Charity
International to be incharge of a fund raising program for Somalia. It was
two years program. Ill never forget my first day on that project. I should say
here, It was tough task due to (1) lack of experience I had and (2) strict
restrictions put by the government lawmakers. But I knew that the journey of
a thousand miles begins with one hard step, a road map, and smile.
Thank goodness while I was wondering what to do?.. How to do?.. When to
do?.. I remembered a sign a friend of mine sent it to me some time back. It
says:

THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE:

Those who make things happen.
Those to whom things happen.
Those who watch things happen.
Those who dont even know things are happening.

Certainly, I wanted to be the first type, those who make things happen. I was
asking myself this question, regularly and critically: How can we do what we
do better by learning from how others do? The answer was benchmarking as
it helps to determine the specific types of quality or productivity
improvements we should be making. After careful study and thoughts I
decided to use benchmarking due to the following reasons :
Benchmarking

66
1. It would help us to focus attention where attention is needed.
2. It is considered more than a one time measurement: benchmarking is
a tool for creating a learning organization.
3. Benchmarking produces positive results on bottom-line variables.
4. An estimated 70 percent of the Fortune 500 companies use
benchmarking on a regular basis.

With the above genuine reasons I have created a mental vision and
purpose for the project as Greek proverb says: Well begun is half done.
After spending sufficient time days and nights in visualizing the project and
deep analysis of market-place, its competitive position, and its strategic
direction. there were five challenges I wanted to overcome before starting :

1. Re-establish charitys mission as customer-focused.
2. Need competitive and cultural transformation.
3. Build leadership team and give the work force sense of purpose.
4. Embracing new ways of thinking and working.
5. Certifying the accuracy of financial reports and adjust financial
strategy in response to change.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

With a very limited human and financial resources I had created a focus
team to help me to achieve the above five goals and implement the
benchmarking project. The following actions were recommended to achieve
my target and meet the challenges:
1. Charitys managers and department heads must work together to re-
establish charitys mission as customer-focused. (more than just
money).
2. Plan a training/development programs to all staff through people
management (most people call it human resources management).
3. Set monthly Progress Meetings with the board members to
maintain their support and commitment to the project. The meeting
used to be called LT meeting (Leadership Team Meeting).
4. Use six thinking hats techniques, which was created by Edward de
Bono who is widely regarded as the leading authority in the direct
teaching of thinking as a skill, to embrace new ways of thinking.
Benchmarking

67
5. Improve Finance and Accounting systems and change from the
exiting software Dac-Easy to a tailored made software program to
have timely and easy access to the information to boost our decision
making skills.

How did we turn things around?

Man who says it cannot be done should not
interrupt man doing it. Chinese Proverb

The next morning I called up Mr. Muhammad Nureni, an upper level
manager at Charity International, who was incharge of Somalia in the
projects department. Nureni is an extraordinary person of enormous talents
and one of the main heroes of this book. I invited him down to my office for
a cup of coffee and a chat. I shared with him my dream and explained to him
in detailed my thoughts, plan, and vision toward the project and my decision
to use benchmarking as a tool to help us improve our services and achieve
our goals as well as our big financial goal. He said, This is a very strong
dream. It wont be easy! Great if it works!

Its mine. Ill do anything and everything to win, including bending and
breaking the rules! I said. Confidently.

Rashid, this is crazy He said. It may eat you up.

Um . I was hoping you would help me?

Yes, but ..?

Hmm, I am not afraid. First of all, we have to do it together. Its for you
for your people in Somalia.

. . . . .
Fear is overcome by doing what we fear to do I said.
I . . I dont know, Rashid, It may take sometime.

Are you with me on this?

You bet I am, Rashid?

I looked at him with both eyes. My voice sounded strong.
Benchmarking

68

He started to be excited and shown great interest to help me out. But he
raised a concern about our limited experience and resources. I appreciated
his point of view and told him with our commitment we can make a
difference as the wisdom says : It is batter to light a candle than to curse the
darkness. Isnt it?

He looked at me for a long time, stroking his beard, then he said at last, Yes.
It is time. Lets do it. Rashid, Go on your journey.

Together

Yes, together. He said.

I looked at him and gave out a big laugh and said; Thats interesting. I love
building businesses So much to do.

That was it. I was pumped up. We shook hands warmly and agreed to work
out a plan. He went back to his work with a big smile on his face, and I went
to my office thinking about our conversation. It has been a really tough day.

The route to benchmarking

Once you know why, youll figure out how
Ancient proverb

How we did it?

Muhammad Nureni, who had been quite wary of the idea originally,
supported my decision and was excited about it. While this was a wonderful
start, I recognized the need to run our business with values of trust, openness,
quality, and creativity. To be truly successful, we would have to do things
that would shake the place to its roots. My mind spun with so many details,
all of which seemed so critical at the time Once you know why, youll
figure out how.

Benchmarking

69
We need a new way of managing our businesses; one that is flexible and not
tied to specific departments; one where people can be used to the best effect;
where they do counts more than the department of function they come from.
This applies from top to bottom and no one can ever say, I wont do that, its
not my job! Everybody has to feel free to talk with anyone about anything.
Change is built into the way we work.

After seeing the charitys work environment was good enough and all of
the organizations employees pulled together to meet the challenge before
them. To start the project we started believing in the dignity and creativity of
every individual who work here. We must deal with reality, and work within
its constraints.

The process of benchmarking
A couple of weeks later, I made the decision to implement the benchmarking
tool. I have loved every minute in the process. I spent countless hours
working with our team. It took us three months of hard work to implement
the benchmarking process, and implement it well. We gain all of the benefits
of benchmarking while investing less time and money by using the nine step
approach to our benchmarking, each step of our approach provides
substantial practical guidance about how to apply and is explained separately
in the following : -

Step 1 : Self-Assessment

This was the first step to : -
o Assess own performance and potential for improvement
o Identify strengths, areas for improvement.
The self-assessment was initiated by asking these questions:
o What are we doing?... Where are we now?
o What should we be doing?... What should we not be doing?
o Where do we want to be?
o What do we need to do to get from here to there?... What should we
be doing next?
Benchmarking

70
The answers to the questions helped us move forward to establish an action
record - who do what and when? In other words, It was time to move on.

Step 2 : Establishing the performance gap

After successfully completed the first step we found out that we had a
negative performance gap: which means we were performing below the level
of best practice! We did not feel bad about it. I looked around and said to
myself, everything will be fine. As ancient proverb holds: Best is to know
and know that you know. Next best is to know that you dont know. Third
best is knowing, but not realizing it. Worst is not to know that you dont
know.

This piece of wisdom certainly motivated us to establish the performance
gap. To assist in the identification of what should be benchmarked a series of
questions were recommended, most of which are reproduced below.
o What factors are most critical success factors?
o What areas are causing the most trouble?
o What factors are responsible for customer satisfaction?
o What are the competitive pressures?
o Which functions represent the highest percentage of cost?
o What functions have the greatest need for improvement?
o Which functions have the greatest effect or potential for
differentiating the organization from competitors in the market place?

Step 3 : Decide what to benchmark?

This is probably was the most difficult part of the whole benchmarking
process. We defined three levels of benchmarking : strategic, operational
and statistical. Strategic benchmarking deals with benchmarking culture,
people, skills and strategy. Operational benchmarking deals with
benchmarking methods, procedures and the business process. Finally statical
benchmarking is the numerical or statistical comparisons of company
performance.

Benchmarking

71
We decided to take the challenge and go for the three levels at the same time.
It wasnt an easy task to do but we really enjoyed doing it.

Step 4 : Which organizations / companies to benchmark?

Since we did not want to have so many companies to benchmark with and to
stay focus we short listed the ones whose processes are best practice and
doing similar activities. Some of them where the UAE Red Crescent, Red
Cross, and some other local and international charitable organizations. The
internet was the main source of information.

Step 5 : Building Benchmarking Team

Team Members:
In the interest of sharing the workload and also as an aid to acceptance and
communication of the benchmarking, a team was the recommended
approach. A benchmarking study usually involves six to eight hard-working,
bright people including benchmarking champion who must be
knowledgeable about benchmarking. We decided to have six sharp
members. and I was selected by the board of directors to be the project
champion and the team leader. Two main responsibilities were given to me
(1) provide direction to the benchmarking team. (2) and help the team avoid
mistakes and to retain their focus in crucial early stages.
Time:
o Most benchmarking initiatives take between three and six months to
get off the ground, and occupies about 25% of each persons time. It
took us little bit less than three months as our benchmarks were few.
o A year is a good operational window to start seeing some initial
results, we had experienced early results in the third quarter of the
implementation due to the leadership support we had from the board
and the commitment made by the team members.

Benchmarking

72
Team main responsibilities:
Following were the main five top responsibilities given to our team members:
o The team should have strategic plans and suggest benchmarking
priorities.
o The team should know precisely what they want to learn from others.
o Team should focus on specific areas for improvement.
o Team to setup a network of benchmarking representatives in each
department who can implement an agreed policy and report back
quickly if problems are encountered.
o Team to document the work so that changes can be logged in an
orderly manner and the resultant efficiencies recorded.

Step 6 : Data Collection and Analysis

Gathering data smart and painlessly as possible was our motto. Theres
information on the market, in very detailed form. We found loads of
information on the web. The difficulty was pinpointing the useful bits but
since our benchmarks were few we didnt find difficulty to pinpoint the
useful ones.

Step 7 : Set the plan

Our team started the planning process by what is called Q-8 Scheme, which
is a set of eight questions must be answered before getting started in planning
process.
Q-1: What is the objective of this planning effort?
Q-2: Why is this objective meaningful?
Q-3: Who will be the implementer and the audience of the plan?
Q-4: How will they achieve the objective and evaluate results?
Q-5: When will the implementation be most effective?
Q-6: Where will the activity/event be most effective?
Q-7: At what cost, in people, time and money will the plan work?
Q-8: To what benefit, overall, is the plan directed?

Benchmarking

73

Step 8 : Implement & Monitor

The next stages of the benchmarking process require that the plan to achieve
the first target be implemented and monitored. This step is very important
because we know for a fact that plan that is made and not implemented is
worse than no plan at all.

Our monitoring process was done through our weekly progress meetings
where every thing was documented, shared, and logged.

Step 9: Recalibrate benchmarks periodically

This was the last step in the process. Whenever we needed to improve we
used to recalibrate benchmarks and documented the changes during our
review progress meetings.

So, Was the Benchmarking worth implementing?
Without a doubt. This was a very important and successful project. My
decision has had positive and profitable results. Not only has the Charity
International benefited financially, but the trust and moral of the organization
have been strengthened considerably.

I cant give specific numbers, but I know we were able to raise more than one
million dirhams in less than a year. One million might not sound like a lot
when we talk about money in the Charity Projects, but in those days, it
remains a lot of money.

I remember that day when my chief accountant rush to my office telling me
that our cash flow was great and we have exceeded our financial target for
Somalia. I cant describe to you in words my feeling that day.
Simply, tears of joy came to my eyes.

Instinctively, I found myself on my knees thanking Almighty Allah for
bringing me to this achievement. I was humbled.

Benchmarking

74
I am fortunate, because I have learned quite a lot about myself since those
days, and about the world, and about right and wrong, and consequences and
principles and values.

In short, I was excited. I have discovered my hidden talents.

A hard beginning maketh a good ending.

Beside experiencing a big performance improvement almost in every
business process there were many other non-financial benefits we had
enjoyed. I must admit here that I have been fortunate to work for the Charity
International during Somalia starvation. My hard work and commitment for
two years during the project life cycle paid off I was awarded honorable PHD
from National University of Somalia for continuing service to humanity. The
other good news was that Mr. Mohamed Nureni who was the project
manager had a remarkable appreciation; he has been selected recently by the
new Somalia Government to be the Minister of Ministry of Health.!!... What
a reward!

If you are interested in implementing benchmarking in your organization try
to avoid the following Pitfalls and threats to new process implementation.
o Lack of senior level commitment (leadership)
o Lack of resources (cash and manpower)
o Not enough data
o Benchmarking team lack of direction
o Benchmarking too many processes at the same time.

Benchmarking

75

SECRET 4
Adapt ing Out st anding Pract ices
Anywhere in t he World

In Conclusion
The first Test of leadership: Turn around and see if anyone is following you.

The final Test of a leader: He leaves behind him in other men the conviction
and the will to carry on.

In a Nutshell
Facts, when combined with ideas, constitute the greatest force in the world.

Conclusion

76

One Last Note

I said at the very start that this book would be about some of my leadership
secrets. In these pages, I suppose I have given some account to my secrets
and my personal philosophies and values. At the core of my secrets is this
conviction: Quality, innovation, flexibility, forward-thinking and a big S for
service. These are in addition to a competitive price policy the success factors
which will determine our future.

Good luck and good journey!

Dr. Rashid Alleem

One Last Note

77

Thank you

My dear reader, I want to thank you for investing you
precious time in reading this book, you honor me
greatly. I wish you all the health, happiness, and
prosperity that one joyous life can hold.

See you at the top!

: < (127)
] :,. :.,: . 127 [

Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art
the All-Hearing, The All-Knowing.

[Al Baqarah : 127]

Pleas e take part in this work by conveying your comments to ALLEEM
Learning Center through E-Mail, Fax, or Mail address. Thanks for Sharing!
Thank you

78

Your Opinion Matters!

Dear Reader,

Thank you for being a loyal reader of
ALLEEM Books. We are working hard to
make ALLEEM Books better and better
and we need your input.

We welcome any comments you may have
about how MY LEADERSHIP SECRETS
might be improved. Let us know too if you
disagree with any of the points made or have
any correction we want to hear your views.
Write to us at alleembs@emirates.net.ae
All e-mail to us will receive a reply.

Thank You. We hope to hear from you.

Your Opinion Matters!

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