LEAD 2016 Pakistan: Seminar held on leadership, strategic management

Local speakers, American leaders share insight on decision-making skills

KARACHI: Over 150 corporate executives, senior bankers and young professionals gathered on Wednesday evening at the Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP) to hear business leaders speak about leadership and strategic management.

A corporate leadership seminar titled ‘LEAD 2016 Pakistan’ brought together local speakers as well as American thought leaders via a live simulcast of LEAD 2016 from Tennessee, United States.

Speaking on the occasion, former CEO of Phillips Pakistan Shahid Zaki said the role of a leader had undergone a drastic change over the last few decades. “A true leader influences others by helping them set and achieve goals while allowing them to be more effective,” he said.

According to former CEO of Gillette Saad Amanullah Khan, culture, attitude and trust are the three ‘rocks’ of organisational excellence. “When organisations work well, they allow ordinary people to do extraordinary things; successful organisations do not depend on individuals to be perfect in order to succeed. Instead, individuals have to be perfect together as a team.

He said Gillette had recorded little growth for six years before he joined the company as CEO in the mid-2000s.

“Half the team had left Gillette, supply chain was fractured, our media presence was zero.”

Along with his team, Khan embarked upon an ambitious plan for growth called ‘Mission Dugna Tigna.’ He vowed to grow business exponentially because, he said, the low base allowed the company to expand rapidly.

Despite the financial crisis that ensued soon after him taking charge at Gillette, Khan said the company managed to achieve the kind of growth he had envisioned for it. “Values should be the foundation of every strategic decision,” he said.

Addressing the audience, Indus Hospital CEO Abdul Bari Khan said he was fortunate to be a citizen of Pakistan where people were selflessly generous. He noted that non-stop donations had enabled the hospital to provide best-quality, free medical care to needy patients without any discrimination.

The international panel boasted of many prominent personalities, such as Devin C Hughes, Arthur Bloom and Stephen M R Covey, who spoke about global leadership and leveraging advanced decisions-making skills.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th,  2016.

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