Author Archives: Sabah al-Binali

Negotiation: Defending Against the Concession Tactic

November 13, 2014 By in Negotiation Tags: ,
This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Negotiation

This article is part of the Negotiation Series.

Early in my career I got involved with a person who was supposed to be a partner but who in every interaction with me left me feeling used. Let’s call him Damien. It was easy for me to recognise when Damien was trying to manipulate me and I would refuse his requests. What took me time to understand was how to explain to my peers and stakeholders that Damien was not being reasonable and was in fact highly manipulative. It was only when I read the book Influence by Robert Cialdini that I finally understood the answer. Continue reading →

Negotiation Basics: The Missing Lesson

November 12, 2014 By in Negotiation Tags: 1 Comment
This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series Negotiation

This article is part of the Negotiation Series.

There are many books and articles that discuss contemporary negotiation basics and I won’t repeat what they have to say. My aim, instead, is to discuss how my experience differed from what I was taught about negotiating basics. This experience includes buying and selling companies, raising funds from investors and shareholders, entering into operating and equity partnerships as well as hiring dozens of employees. My conclusion is that game theory doesn’t apply to negotiating but psychology does.

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Monetising Business Opportunities

November 11, 2014 By in Entrepreneurship Tags: , ,

عربي

The ups and downs of a professional life, either as an employee and even more so as an entrepreneur, are quite often blamed on luck. If something positive happens it is good luck and if something negative happens it is bad luck.

his language is unfortunate as it implies that large portions of a person’s professional life are out of his hands. Although there are external events that are always out of a person’s hands, this does not mean that one has no control. Indeed, how one prepares for, recognises and responds to these events can alter the outcomes completely.

A helpful change in language can go a long way to improving one’s ability to manage unforeseen external events. Instead of calling them good luck and bad luck it is useful instead to call them opportunities and challenges. This small change immediately reframes the issue in a way that accepts the randomness of external events but still allows for the possibility that although the event is uncontrollable the outcome can still be influenced if not managed. Continue reading →

Successful Project Management at the Executive Level

November 10, 2014 By in Project Management Tags: ,

The dream: A management team meets to deal with an opportunity or challenge. After some discussion a decision is made. Goals are decided. A project leader is appointed. A short number of weeks later the project leader calls a management meeting to present his deliverables. Management agrees that the deliverables have been met. The project is closed.

The reality (you know where this is going, don’t you?): A management team meets to deal with an opportunity or challenge. After some discussion a decision is made. Goals are decided. A project leader is appointed. Time passes. Nothing happens. The opportunity starts fading, or the challenge gets worse. More management meetings are called. The team leader gives his excuses. Management update the goals. This cycle is iterated until the opportunity disappears or the challenge becomes a crisis. Continue reading →

Family Business: Acknowledging Core Challenges

November 9, 2014 By in Family Business Tags: , ,

عربي

Family businesses have been the private sector economic foundation of the GCC. Their financial strength and contribution to national GDP is obvious. Their challenges, however, are usually private, hidden behind a family wall of silence. True, there have been a few public blow ups, but everything else is discreet. This is a shame, as these wonderfully successful family businesses deserve to remain successful across generations and a necessary part of that is open debate and discussion on the challenges faced by these families. How else can you learn?

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My Zawya Story: Finale

November 6, 2014 By in Private Equity Tags: ,

This post is part of the My Zawya Story series.

Saffar sold Zawya to Thompson Reuters in 2012. I have been asked many times how we positioned such a sale and how early we planned for it. My answer to any private equity exit is: build a great company and the exit will come. Talk of IPO versus strategic sale versus financial sale is meaningless. If you build the company right then all those options will be available. Build it wrong and no options will be open. Continue reading →

Why SMEs are Survivors

November 5, 2014 By in SME Tags: ,

عربي

SMEs are a family’s lifeblood. They are built and run by families. They are not conglomerates with diversified business lines, they do not own monopoly agencies guaranteeing income, they do not have special connections to large clients securing lucrative contracts. SMEs are run by the blood, sweat and tears of the family members. If the SME fails then loved ones will go hungry. That is exactly why SMEs are survivors.

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My Zawya Story: Global Financial Crisis

November 5, 2014 By in Strategy, Strategy Cornerstone Tags: ,

This post is part of the My Zawya Story series.

The global financial crisis that broke in the latter half of 2008 was painful. At Saffar we had concluded negotiations on a partial exit of Zawya at a fantastic IRR but the crisis put an end to that transaction. The bad news continued as the crisis decimated Zawya’s core client group, financial services, and impacted revenue in multiple ways including a big decline in online advertising. We built the company and reached dizzying heights of success, where we about to now ride it all the way down again?

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The Principal–Agent Problem in Risk-Taking

November 4, 2014 By in Risk Tags: ,

The single greatest driver of business success is not a unique idea, innovation, marketing, networking, leading or managing. It is the willingness and ability to take calculated risks. There are many different definitions for risk but a useful one is: risk is the presence of an unknown negative outcome. Another point to make clear is that the key success factors are taking and managing risk, as opposed to simply the existence of risk. An example of this crucial point is the decision to introduce a new product is taking risk, whereas a new competitor entering the market is just the introduction of risk. Continue reading →

Adventures in the Money Markets: Godzilla's Return

November 3, 2014 By in Trading Tags: , , 1 Comment

In my post the Rise of Godzilla I explained how the UAE money markets work and the presence of a money center bank that I will call Godzilla. In my introduction I outlined a short squeeze that Godzilla had run against the whole UAE banking system, all fifty banks. In this article I will outline how a (then) midsize bank successfully fought off a bullying short squeeze by Godzilla.

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