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ME 'must start investing in its people'

Manama, September 30, 2013

The Middle East's major resource for the future is its people.

That was the message from US leadership guru and business coach Dave Ulrich at a seminar attended by more than 300 senior businesspeople in Bahrain yesterday.

"The Middle East has seen great growth over the past 40 years from resources it has in the ground," Ulrich was quoted as saying in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"What is happening now is that its ultimate resource for the future is above the ground in the minds and the hearts of the people. Resources in the ground will deplete but the capacity and creativity of people through leadership will expand and grow," remarked Ulrich.

"In the Gulf states, the ultimate consumer of resources will be grandchildren. They will ask did our grandparents treat oil with respect and use it wisely. The answer depends on our sense of responsibility and how we managed leadership. Leadership is not what you do but what you leave behind," he observed.

Leadership, said the expert, was about what you leave for the next generation. "It is up to the Gulf to see that what we are leaving is a culture that is stronger for the next generation that enhances corporate competitiveness," stated Ulrich.

"Leadership is the way forward for the region and it involves developing human capital. It means developing leaders who become the company brand and are collectively developing what is the company vision and being part of it. That is the direction the region has to move for success," he said.

Ulrich is a professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

His one-day visit to Bahrain is part of a tour he is undertaking that includes seminars in Germany, Oman, Malaysia and Thailand.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Middle East | Invest | expert | Dave Ulrich |

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