A sweet addiction

I can't believe that January is almost over. Apologies that I haven't been blogging much, but it has been a busy time at work, and weekends have been busy too. Although I do have to admit that there have been times when I could have been blogging, but I decided to play Candy Crush Saga instead.

I'm sure you all know what Candy Crush is, but in case there is someone out there who doesn't, it is a "match three puzzle video game" (thanks Wikipedia), which in March 2013 apparently had an average of 46 million users a month. I'm rather late to the party, I've been aware of it for some time but have avoided downloading it as I had heard how addictive it could be. However that all changed a couple of days before Christmas when Ann (mother-in-law) persuaded me to have a go. Thanks Ann! ;)

From that moment I was hooked. Christmas and New Year passed in a blur as every spare moment (and some moments that weren't strictly spare) was spent playing, and this has continued throughout January although at a much reduced level as I have had to work as well (how inconvenient!). I've managed to make reasonable progress, enough to keep me returning anyway. And for those wondering, and I've had at least one email asking, you know who you are ;), yes, in the early days I did pay 69p once or twice so I didn't have to wait for my lives to build up again, but my total spending has been less than £3, and since returning to the UAE I have not spent a penny.

Away from Candy Crush our weekends have settled into a routine during January, usually involving doing something with friends on one day, and spending the next recovering. Two weekends ago we hosted a dinner party, which seemed to be a great success, although the song selection on Spotify did cause one or two tensions as the evening went on. This was due to the men (obviously) choosing proper music, but the ladies objecting to most of our choices as they didn't involve Gary Barlow, or couldn't be danced to.

Anyway the evening finished without major incident, other than one person landing flat on their backside whilst "dancing", and two people ending up with scraped knees due to forgetting about the steps outside our front door as they left. Needless to say the three individuals concerned were all female!

Last weekend some Australian friends on the compound decided to celebrate Australia Day with a "Aussies v Pommies" sporting challenge, involving cricket, netball and basketball. They had rounded up a number of their sporty mates, whereas the plucky English (plus a token Scot, Welshman and French man) were somewhat thrown together. Whilst we put up a brave challenge, unfortunately we were very narrowly (honest) beaten in all of the matches. We shall be better prepared next year, believe me, but it was a great afternoon and evening.

Action shot from the netball match

Work continues to be busy but in a good way. I'm splitting my time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai due to my new role, and continue to meet a wide variety of clients and targets. In the last week alone I've met organizations in the following sectors: health, education, dairy, retail, hotels (I knew my degree would come in handy eventually!), financial services, manufacturing, government, and night clubs. I certainly can't complain about the variety, and the important thing is I am really enjoying it.

Arab Health Exhibition in Dubai this week

Yesterday I did a 2.5 hour presentation at the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, sharing my thoughts on audit committees, a relatively recent concept for the UAE. I wasn't sure whether I was going to be able to fill the time but there were plenty of questions from the audience so in the end it wasn't an issue, indeed I could probably have gone on for another hour! I managed to attract an audience of about 60, and got some really positive feedback, which I am really pleased about.

Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce

Jo and the kids are fine, having settled back into their routines. Flossie's reading is really coming on, Archie is enjoying playing touch rugby (despite rarely touching the ball, bless him), and Henry has relaunched his film career (see trailer below). Jo is as busy as ever, out and about exploring new parts of Abu Dhabi amongst many other things, and seems to be emerging as the social hub of the compound, the person who knows everyone, and everyone knows her.

That's all for now, I'll try and post a little more regularly from now on.

Thanks for reading as always.

 

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Doing Business in the UAE: Part 1

I'm conscious I haven't blogged much about life at work in recent weeks, so thought I would remedy that this evening, with a few reflections on my first three months with BDO (cannot believe how quickly time is passing).

The first thing to report is that everything is going well, and despite the odd frustration, I am very much enjoying the role. It goes without saying that I'll always be grateful to PwC, because I learnt a huge amount there which is helping me now, but I have to say it is refreshing to have respect for, and feel appreciated by, those I report too, and good to wake up in the morning looking forward to work (most mornings). It seems Jo was right (how annoying!) when she used to tell me I'd be happier in a smaller firm.

Turning to the "odd frustration", the main one is the approach to procurement in some public entities. In theory everything is done strictly by the book to ensure that no firm is given an advantage. In reality it is clear that once bids are in, in some (many?) cases the incumbent (usually one of the big four who have dominated the market for many years) is given every opportunity to reduce its fee as far as is needed to keep hold of the work. Why they would want to do this given how low some of the fees must be, I don't know, but they clearly have their reasons. Of course this was not unknown back in the UK, but it is definitely worse here.

Despite this I'm pleased to say that we have a steady stream of work coming in, and lots in the pipeline, so there is plenty to keep myself and the team busy.

Like in the UK, the key to success is winning work outside of formal procurement processes, and the key to that is having great relationships with potential clients. Relationships are critical wherever you are in the world, but I suspect few places more so than the UAE. For example, it is hard to get meetings with many senior officials unless you have someone who can introduce you, and when you do get in front of someone, it is important to invest time in earning their trust rather than going for a hard sell too quickly. It can sometimes be the fourth or fifth meeting before you can really start talking business.

The first meeting usually includes some local customs, especially if it is with an Emirati. First you exchange business cards, I have never given or received so many! And it is not a matter of just taking someone's card and putting it in your pocket, you must treat it with respect by showing a genuine interest in it. Most cards are in both English and Arabic, and I had an embarrassing moment in my early days when my host informed me that the Arabic translation of "Lead Partner, Abu Dhabi" was incorrect, although he didn't tell me what it actually said (I dread to think!).

At the same time you will be offered some Arabic coffee, served in small cups. Even if you hate coffee, you shouldn't refuse or your host could take offence. It is quite bitter to taste but I'm getting quite partial to it now, it is caffeine at the end of the day! Your cup will be refilled until you indicate you have had enough, which it is fine (I think) to do after just one cup.

The rest of the meeting will then consist of chit chat, in my case mainly asking how I am settling into the UAE and subjects like that, and only right at the end - if at all - will talk turn to business. If it does turn to business, this is a good sign, and usually means a deal can be done pretty quickly.

It seems that time has caught up with me, and I need to stop for this evening. I'm not sure if I'll get chance to add more to this post this week so I will publish it, and do another work post sometime soon.

As always, thanks for reading.

 

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