business www.bahrainthismonth.com 41 January 2023 The pitfalls and mistakes of appointing inappropriate consultants Caveat Emptor. Some consulting companies will provide consultants who are temporarily appointed to facilitate full billing. A fill in consultant who may be just a space filler is common – it is like buying a donkey dressed up as a racehorse. Some individual consultants are like this as well – an expensive label on a cheap bottle. In almost every organisation I have been in, I have found the legacies of previous consultants – in cupboards full to the brim of often unrealistic, inappropriate, clumsily put together proposals and plans – none of which ever saw the light of day but were paid for in full - “A wonderful wardrobe of clothes presented most of which were out of fashion, out of season, too big, too small, wrong colour, wrong size or just plain bad. Having worked with excellent high-performance CEOs, witnessing the way each one generates the necessary support from service resources is educational. CEOs do demonstrate some similar characteristics such as being demanding, having high expectations and of course commanding honesty, loyalty, respect, and reliability. Of those that I have worked with, some stand out more than others and working for/with them has been an education of an unparalleled nature. They are clear examples that good leaders inspire, educate and enlighten along the route often lifting people with them as they rise. Salim Al Aydh over the years has epitomised the apex of professionalism in management and has always demonstrated what can be termed “the loneliness of the long-distance runner”. In all the years I have worked for and known him, he was an executive management force to be reckoned with, a champion of positive change and a challenger to the fiercest oncomers in any situations. His skill, experience, knowledge, calmness in crisis and exceptional memory coupled with top tier education and hands on working knowledge makes him a CEO of high energy, intelligence, and integrity and beyond reproach when it comes to ethics in business. Best Management Tool Observed – Relentless well-structured and managed internal collaboration meetings, and concise, relevant specific lines of questioning. Mutlaq Al Morished is a commanding figure with a matching personality who leads with a magnetic, confident, and inspiring charm, supported by substantial international academic achievement and historical management successes. Mr. Mutlaq demonstrates leadership at the highest level, uses logic and facts as steering points and is well respected and admired throughout the region and the international business community in his fields of expertise. He is also an active board member for several leading companies in the region. Best Management Tool Observed – Employee Empowerment. Consultants sometimes take on management tasks and activities that should be run by internal managers within a company and this is a sign of desperation. A good consultant should not manage, but rather advise on creating the management required from available resources. “Management in organisations is like a skin that needs to be scrubbed regularly to remove dead areas and keep the whole layer effective, functional, and healthy.” Salim Al Aydh “I like to encourage all the people at Tasnee to deliver their best and I try to find ways to support and empower them as do all the management at Tasnee.” Mutlaq Al Morished Salim Al Aydh, Former Senior VP and Board Member of Saudi Aramco, previously CEO of El Seif Contracting and the current CEO of Safari Group in Riyadh KSA Mutlaq Al Morished, Former President of Sadaf, CEO of Hadeed (SABIC), and the current CEO of Tasnee in KSA Those wishing to get in touch with Bill Grieve can do so via email: [email protected].
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==