Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Thursday, 29 May 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
natural disasters and social and economic turmoil being seen around the world more frequently, the ability of a business to not only survive in such an environment, but also to adapt and operate successfully is an essential skill factor.
This was the focus of the 37th CIMA Business Leaders Summit 2014 that concluded at the Cinnamon Grand yesterday, and featured a line-up of business thought leaders from all over the world brought in to share their experiences on the summit’s theme ‘Sustain Ability: Imagine. Implement’.
With ability being a broad concept in today’s context where leaders look at shaping mind-sets, business models and industries, making them fit for purpose in the volatile economic environment, the CIMA Business Leaders Summit aims at shedding light on sustaining ‘ability’ of individuals, organisations, and the country as a whole so they are geared to adapt to the opportunities of tomorrow.
Delivering the keynote address on the inaugural day was Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund CEO Qazi Azmat Isa who spoke on the topic of ‘Sustaining National Competitiveness’ using examples from his organisation which, since its inception 14 years ago, has successfully built up a microfinance scheme in Pakistan’s rural areas to rival that of Bangladesh. With his fund having already disbursed over 6 million microcredit loans, in addition to supporting education, skills development, healthcare training and basic sanitation infrastructure development in rural villages, Isa’s fund has made a massive difference in both poverty alleviation with its efforts designed in line with the country’s own Millennium Development Goals.
The ‘Virtuous Circle’
Isa elaborated on the concept of the ‘Virtuous Circle’, a process that involves a very esoteric approach to driving and sustaining ability by increasing its relevance to its stakeholders. This is practiced by the PPAF in its programs that reach millions of disaffected people in Pakistan’s rural communities that live in VUCA (Volatility Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) environments.
“One of the mandates that was given to us was to actually develop this sector and 14 years and two back to back evaluations by the Economist Intelligence Unit later, it has now stated that Pakistan has the third best microfinance sector in the world; be it the regulatory environment or be it the business environment, and this in a country which has a lot security issues. So the lesson here is that one needs to have the passion and the commitment and the knowledge to be able to create an institution, and along the way you need to also build good relations and networks.”
Isa explained that the primary investment that the PPAF makes is in institutions. It acts as an apex institution that works with institutions that they recognised were “for the poor and who in turn work with organisations that work for the poor”.
This is clearly defined by the Virtuous Circle of ‘Ishq’, ‘Ilm’ and ‘Amal’. “So the three things when you combine form the virtuous circle of ‘Ishq’, ‘Ilm’ and ‘Amal’. ‘Ishq’ is the passion, ‘Ilm’ is the knowledge and ‘Amal’ is the action. So this is what drives PPAF and you know, this thing is very simple. I was wondering a few years ago about what it is that drives us and this is where this paradigm emerged and this emergence always happens whenever you’re close to nature perhaps where there is clarity of thought. I think that it is absolutely essential. For anything to happen you must have ‘Ishq’. It actually means ‘profound love’ and that is an essential ingredient but it is not enough. You have to temper it and form it using ‘Ilm’, which is the knowledge, and then it all bears fruit through to Amal, the action.
So how does this compare with a VUCA environment? Elaborating on his point, Isa said: “Bob Johnson said ‘the best VUCA leaders are characterised by vision, understanding, clarity and agility, which is the flipside of VUCA’. So what he says is that volatility can be countered by vision because vision is more vital in turbulent times. Leaders with a clear vision of where they want their organisations to be, can better weather volatile changes but we know that vision only comes from within; from passion (Ishq). Then he goes on to say that uncertainty can be countered by understanding. The ability of a leader to stop, look and listen. Complexity can be countered by clarity, the process to make sense of the chaos.
“Uncertainty and clarity equals ‘Ilm’ or knowledge. Always never rest, always seek what is because things keep changing and we need to be relevant. That is the second part of the virtuous circle. And finally ambiguity can be countered with agility; the ability to communicate across organisations and to move quickly to apply solutions. It’s about doing it, it’s about the action; it’s about the ‘Amal’.”
All three he said – ‘Ishq, Ilm and Amal’ – form the continuous virtuous circle that will force each other and help sustain ability. “In a sense, balancing the harmony between the heart, head and hands. This is the virtuous circle.”
Renewal
However he cautioned that this alone is not enough as there needs to be a constant state of renewal at which the centre of that renewal must be the human heart.
“Unfortunately as mankind has progressed, the head has come to dominate and our hearts and hands have been dictated to by the head. We have come to see the earth and all other things on it as subservient to us. We have corrupted the earth and exploited it to serve us. Humans are less than 250,000 years old on the planet. Our history began 8,000 years ago, the birth of Jesus only 2,000 years ago. All these milestones are a virtual speck on the history of the world which is 4.5 billion years old and yet we behave as if we have arrived from some other place and live on the earth whereas the truth is that we live in it, and this in spite of the fact that the central doctrine of all great religions or spiritual teachings is to see the manifestation of the almighty in all things. In this we all have a covenant to fulfil.”
Negation of self
The only way Isa explained that an organisation can find this union with a larger self or reason is through an attempt to negate its ‘self’.
“We were talking about the virtuous circle being in constant renewal and at the heart of the renewal is the human heart. So how do you keep renewing the heart? It has been proved that the heart is not only an organ, it’s where emotions come from, where your intuition and your other senses come from. To make sure that the heart is in renewal is to live through this negation of self. That is the only way that you can find union with the universe.
“So the path begins with this negation of self, ego, of colour caste creed and religion, for it is only through this negation that one can achieve union with the greater reality and reconnect to the soul through its original abode, its beloved. When the ego is negated and one is driven by the love of those who he serves, in their service he becomes one with them. There is a famous quote by the Prophet who said ‘die before you die’. It’s basically the death of the ego which makes you connect with the universe.”
To reach this stage he said a great effort is required and there is one way, a shortcut of sorts, which is through love – through ‘Ishq’. When Ishq, or love, fires the soul, the mundane has the power to transforms itself into the exceptional and the transient into the everlasting at which point the whole universe then becomes a mere reflection of the face of the beloved.
“Jean Paul Sartre said ‘In love, one and one is one. This love drives the search for the knowledge of the beloved and every action for the beloved’. This is how you sustain ability, to keep the quality of the heart. So each one has to discover this and how do we do this? We do this through a process called immersion which is for us the beloved is the person we serve, to stay close to them and stay relevant to their lives.
“I guess what I’m saying to each one of you is that you must rise to serve a higher purpose, remain close to what you love and let your actions be driven by this love. This love is what will give you the vision that Johnson talked about. One that will help you chart the true course. It will drive you to hone your skills and to serve the beloved better; prime you into action and sustain your ability.”
In conclusion, Isa said: “In this crazy world and this constant search for something new, you have to be grounded in your values, and I think that is what will ensure that whatever course of action you take is the right one.”
