Total Pageviews
Friday, November 14, 2014
Is Criticising Pakistan justified . Read IG talks
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Flour Sack Challenge #floursackchallenge
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Things you must know before you start a business
10 Startup lesson you won't learn in school
10 Startup Lessons You Won't Learn in School
BY JEFF HADEN
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Leaders have to have friendly out look
Carlos Brito: "You Have to Treat People in Different Ways"
Carlos Brito is the man who engineered the surprise 2008 buyout of Anheuser-Busch and its iconic American brands and brought them under the umbrella of Brazil’s InBev. A Stanford MBA, the Brazilian-born Brito worked for Shell Oil and Daimler-Benz before joining Brahma, a beer and soft drinks company. Over the years, Brahma merged with other companies in Brazil and Brito’s career grew with it. He became CEO of InBev in late 2005 and CEO of the combined Anheuser-Busch InBev following the merger.
It’s almost a cliché to say that “people are the most important factor in a company.” Brito says that too, but he’s no pushover; he has a reputation as a tough-minded cost-cutter who does not sugarcoat bad news or a deficient performance. Addressing Stanford Graduate School of Business students at a View from the Top talk in November 2013, Brito outlined his formula for making a people-friendly company a successful company.
Be fair
Being fair to your employees doesn’t mean that everyone should be treated alike, says Brito. “Our definition of fairness is that you have to treat different people in different ways. That’s being fair. If you treat everybody the same, that’s unfair.” A business should be a meritocracy, and if that means sharp, young employees outperform their seniors, they will be promoted at Anheuser-Busch InBev. “That’s fair,” he says.
Be informal
Informality, says Brito, goes beyond casual Fridays and wearing jeans to work. It’s about creating structures that facilitate communication across traditional corporate boundaries. Instead of working in his own office, Brito sits at a large table with his direct reports close at hand. Other Anheuser-Busch executives follow suit. Why configure offices that way? “Because information flows. People can speak up. You don’t need to be booking meetings all the time,” says Brito.
Be candid
It’s not always easy to be straightforward with an employee, but talented people want to know where they stand, says Brito. At Anheuser-Busch InBev, Brito evaluates his employees twice a year, and in the same one-on-one, 90-minute meetings they evaluate him. Hesitating to tell an employee how to improve is a mistake; what’s more, it’s patronizing. “You have to tell what’s good, what’s bad, and how you can help him recover and get back on track.” That’s candor, he says.
Build a culture of ownership
Professionals are just trying to build their resume; owners are trying to build the company. For example, a U.S. company Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired had a three-year vesting period. “We said, ‘Forget it.’ That’s short term.” Brito increased the vesting period by two years. “If they’re going to be here for 30 years, what’s five years?” says Brito.
Reward success, not just strong efforts
Business is not a place where everyone gets a gold star just for showing up. Efforts should be recognized, but results are what should be rewarded. Normally, great results come with great efforts but the two are not necessarily the same, says Brito. Customers are only interested in what you deliver. Some companies that don’t produce high-quality results still pay bonuses; they still celebrate. “And that’s the beginning of the end,” he says.
Avoid executive status symbols
Brito flies commercial and stays in the same hotels his team stays at. He doesn’t have a company car or a driver or an office. Status symbols destroy the idea of an engaged group, he says.
Don’t sugarcoat bad news
No company really has a “feel good department,” but for Brito it’s a metaphor for reluctance to confront bad news openly and honestly. Some companies will take bad news and rebrand it as good news for the sake of morale. If a company has a “feel good department,” he says, kill it.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Pakistani Politics and the Army
PMLN’s government very successfully managed to see through the critical issues like installing big 3 i.e. The President, Chief Justice of the apex court and the Chief of the Army Staff. Moreover the economic issues are put on the right track , the World Banks, Asian Development Banks, IMF and other donor agencies are appreciating the efforts of the government on the economic front. The recent Pakistan development update launched by the World Bank on April 10th says, “#Pakistan’s economy is gradually improving. GDP growth is expected to reach 4% this year driven by dynamic manufacturing and service sectors.”
It is very encouraging and Nawaz government deserves a pat on back but it was quite disheartening to see the recent exchange of the statements between ISPR and the Politicians and how media added fuel to the fire. Now the debate has been picked up by the social media and one can imagine how things can shape up in societies where tolerance level is negative.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in this tenure appears to be a changed man and it has been observed that all major and critical issues are handled exclusively by him. This is good because ultimately, he is the leader and face of the PMLN and responsible for good, bad and the ugly.
It is very important that the perception of Government –Army rift should be dispelled by PM Nawaz Sharif himself and he should pay a ceremonial visit to the GHQ on his return from Boao, China.
Our political leadership should understand that Pakistan is passing through a critical phase on one hand the talks with Talibans is underway and on the other hand economic development has shown positive signs of recovery and at this moment opening of another front could be disastrous specially with army.
It is quite evident that important circle in Pakistan Army are not happy the way political leaders are handling the Musharraf case and Taliban talks, in recent television interviews General (Retired) Athar Abbas former DG ISPR in ‘Aaj Kamran Khan kay Shat “ at Geo TV on April 10th 2014 and Air Marshal (Retired) Shahid Latif in ARY program on April 11th 2014 clearly expressed their concerns, moreover Pakistan Army Retired Officers Association has just issue the press release pin pointing the General Musharraf trail. The situation is not that simple as it looks and must be dealt carefully.
Let’s look at the example of the Egypt, how Arab spring swept away everything and then the way Morsi has been treated later. We have to evaluate where Morsi went wrong and its repercussions.
It has been believed that social media was the catalyst in shaping up the Arab spring and now keeping in view the present situation in Egypt, where the Army Chief has become the President – how is not important here – where is the social media now, as well as free independent local and international media. Has anyone noticed this, has this situation been discussed in TV talk shows globally. These are the serious questions one must take note of.
We all love democracy and support the rule of law, we also love our brothers and sisters in armed forces let’s show respect to all institutions and avoid confrontation for cheep publicity.
The onslaught on Musharraf by the political leadership of PMLN may be right from their or political point of view but why PPP, PTI, JI etc are not supporting this argument and hence the perception derived from this situation is that PMLN politicians want to target the army and ensure that they never ever think of taking over.
Army takeovers can be stopped forever in a very simple way, that is if the political government can ensure good governance, economic stability, rule of law, respect for the institutions and sincere love for the country.
Prime Minister Nawas Sharif is heading on the same path and sooner or later it will be achieved, so no need for insecurities especially by the courtiers.
It will be heart breaking to see if the system fails just because of insecurities and nothing else.

