Reading Time: 9 minutes Traffic laws save lives, and traffic-related deaths are preventable. No day or night in any individual’s life should end in a self-inflicted tragedy resulting from negligence or willful violation of the regulations.
Reading Time: 3 minutes This story captures part of the serendipitous journey of wise man Yusuf, from his childhood on a cocoa farm in Nigeria to his position as Director General of an international development finance institution. It’s a testament to the power of growth and the wisdom that comes from a lifetime of experience, demonstrating how we can shape our own growth and change to leave a lasting impact on the world around us.
Reading Time: 2 minutes The recent passing of David Crosby was a great loss to the music world and it brought back many such memories. CSNY as a Group was so much part of my life journey that losing David Crosby feels like losing someone who has been with me throughout my many years of growing up.
Reading Time: 7 minutes This is a story about two cousins who established the Distinguished Team of Volunteers, a volunteering program operating in Jordan since 2018. They believe each member of a community bears a responsibility towards the other.
Reading Time: 11 minutes Dr. Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem TO MANY CHILDREN, SCHOOL REPRESENTS A “SECOND CHANCE”—an opportunity to acquire a better sense of self and a better vision of life than was offered in their home. A teacher who projects confidence in a child’s competence and goodness can be a powerful antidote to a family in which such confidence is lacking and in which perhaps the opposite perspective is conveyed….A teacher who refuses to accept a child’s negative self-concept and relentlessly holds to a better view of the child’s potential has the power—sometimes—to save a life.
Reading Time: 4 minutes Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem THE HIGHER OUR SELF-ESTEEM, THE MORE AMBITIOUS WE TEND TO BE, NOT NECESSARILY IN A CAREER OR FINANCIAL SENSE, but in terms of what we hope to experience in life —emotionally, intellectually, creatively, spiritually.
Reading Time: 5 minutes Peter Drucker, Managing Oneself SIMPLY PUT, IT’S UP TO YOU TO CARVE OUT YOUR PLACE IN THE WORK WORLD AND KNOW WHEN TO CHANGE COURSE. And it’s up to you to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work-life that may span some 50 years.
Reading Time: 9 minutes People require a lot more support now than they did before the pandemic. In his book that keeps on giving, Managing Oneself, Peter Drucker raises these points that are very pertinent to what we’re going through: “Only when you operate from a combination of your strengths and self-knowledge can you achieve true – and lasting – excellence”. He tells us that in order to live a life of excellence, we must ask ourselves these questions: What are our strengths? How do we perform? What are our values? Where do we belong? What should we contribute?
Reading Time: 5 minutes On the topic of preparing students for the jobs of the future, Mr. Hesham Metwalli, a Public Policy and Education Reform advisor in MENA and Australia, has graciously accepted my invitation to share his views on what this means and looks like for the Middle East Region.
Reading Time: 8 minutes First Who, Then What? – get the right people on the bus, a concept developed in Good to Great by Jim Collins – is crucial if the lessons from the global downturn 2007- 2008 have managed to get engrained into our organizational cultures and processes’ DNAs. The stakes now are higher than ever. Persistent wrong hiring for an SME may lead to annihilation and its valuable economic contribution and job creation potential along with it.
