My Interview with Boss Magazine

Here is some of the article that they published:

Pro-activity is normally understood very literally and very restrictedly. Pro-activity is actually a huge, huge attitude. Now most of us tend to do the opposite, and what happens is that without thinking and without anticipating, when things go wrong we start blaming everybody but ourselves

Razia Khan interviewed Andaleeb Abbas, the Chief Executive Officer of FranklinCovey, Pakistan. FranklinCovey is the global Leader in the field of Developing & Building Organisational & Personal Effectiveness. They are one of the world’s largest Training Companies and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Here is the link for the rest of the article.


They provide Training and Consulting services to more than 80 of the Fortune 100 companies, and to more than three fourth of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as thousands of mid-sized and smaller companies. They train approximately 1 million people every year and conduct over 1500 public and corporate programmes a month in more than 500 cities throughout the world.

Formed in 1997 through a merger of the Franklin Quest and the Covey Leadership Centre, the company had its foundations in the work of Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of global bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Mr. Hyrum Smith, author of The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management.

Their solution sets form a framework which inspires change and breakthrough performance. They focus on leadership, empowerment, organisational change, goal setting, productivity and execution, time and project management, teamwork and sales performance.

FranklinCovey started operations in the India & South Asia region in 2002. They began with a team of 3 individuals in two cities in India. Franklin Covey India & South Asia is amongst the most respected training companies in the region providing Effective, Committed and Value for money and efforts products and services.

Read more...

Session Review

This is my first review of the interview session with Mr.Covey in which he talks about Leadership and the 7 habbits.
Read more...

A Discussion with Covey on leadership authority

First ever LIVE coverage of Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s seminar on “Overcoming Challenges in Today’s Times” via video satellite link on 31st January 2009 at Sheraton Hotel Karachi & Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore

This is a one of a kind historical event in the management development history in the country where Dr. Covey will be sharing his groundbreaking and inspiring thoughts on how next level thinking can help tap the potential of every individual and company.

Read more...

Abuse and misuse of democracy

Abuse and misuse of democracy
By Andleeb Abbas

Published in DAWN: 25-05-08

SUSPENSE, mystery, thriller; these are some of the adjectives being used to describe the wheelings and dealings of the paired kingpins of Pakistani politics i.e. Messrs Zardari and Sharif. The drama, which has completely engrossed the whole nation and reduced it to a state of ‘to be or not to be’, has reached a somewhat whimpering end.In other words, we have a deadlock which actually means everyone ends up with less than before.The PML-N did not want the PCO judges, the PPP did not want an unrestricted Iftikhar Chaudhry, and the public did not want an adulterated mixture of a pre-/post-PCO judiciary.

However, that is what happens when you are looking to please everybody and appease no one.In this chaotic climate of conspiracy, the two men who matter the most with regard to the positions they occupy, i.e. the president and the prime minister, have apparently mattered the least. The president, visibly weakened, is now hanging on to the last political straw playing his American card to survive, while the prime minister, knowing that his days may be numbered, is unwilling to look beyond 100 days to make any meaningful commitment. Both are busy securing themselves, rather than concentrating on bailing out the country from the terrible crisis it is going through.This unholy alliance — where the philosophy of all-for-each and each-for-all prevails — is a recipe for the convergence of vested interests and manipulations. This surface convergence hides deeply rooted differences of direction and vision which will keep on surfacing as the political heat is turned up from time to time. The postponement of the by-elections with the apparent collusion of Rehman Malik and Musharraf was just the beginning of a provocation which led to unresolvable differences between the two mega stars of this soap opera titled ‘Democracy’.Democracy does allow differences of opinion. As long as there is a common goal and purpose, differences of opinion actually lead to synergistic benefits where each party ends up with more than it could have if it were alone. That is precisely why the PPP and PML-N had done so well in the elections. The common goal was to come into power by winning a majority in the elections.However, the elections were not an end but a beginning — the beginning of seeing differences surface over many issues. The reason for this friction is that the commonality of purpose has disappeared. While the PML-N is hugely anti-Musharraf and pro-Iftikhar Chaudhry, the PPP is averse to the chief justice and ready to compromise with the president to appease certain foreign forces.The beauty of democracy is that it gives an opportunity to the people to vote for a government and thus to have a say in selecting their representatives and influencing all decision-making. This supposedly makes the government representatives accountable and answerable to the people.However, this process requires a mature public which carefully assesses the pros and cons of every decision. Democracy is not a foolproof system and is especially vulnerable when its principles are challenged.Authority belongs to the majority, but where the majority is unsure, divided and desperate, the choices it makes may not be in its own or the nation’s interest. This is what the PPP is hoping to cash in on — thus for it, democracy still means ‘divide and rule’.Mr Zardari and Gen Musharraf do share some common interests. Both the PPP and Musharraf are inclined towards the White House and would like to toe the American line. It is clear that Zardari and Musharraf would not risk having a chief justice like Iftikhar Chaudhry who could challenge any decision they took and would rather have a docile figure bending all laws to accommodate their many illegitimate designs.However, alliances based on protective and insecure grounds normally end up on opposite sides, as neither party has any real intention of creating a genuine winning situation for the other.Thus Zardari and Musharraf, who have a lot of skeletons to hide in their political cupboards, are just performing a rearguard action to ward off the uncomfortable intrusion of the media, judiciary and civil society to cover up a past riddled with moral deviations.The uncommon yet common interest of all three players is the acquisition and retention of power. However, Musharraf will shamelessly claim ‘Pakistan first’, Zardari ‘roti, kapra aur makan first’, and Nawaz Sharif ‘justice first’. They are all now truly on test to prove whether democracy is a game of compromising on principles or one that entails sacrifices.Mr Sharif has taken the lead to prove his point by removing himself from power. Only time will tell whether that is a short-term political impulse or a long-term principled stand. The good thing about Mr Sharif’s move is that the true colours of each party will be on display when the immediate issue of justice reaches its compromised solution. Shallow characters lead to personality cracks which reveal the snarling faces and clenched fists of these very people who have been smiling ear to ear and thumping hand in hand. There is great danger of these grins turning into grimaces and of mudslinging and the blame game resuming.Democracy is not a term for compromising on principles, neither is it a game of getting on with all and sundry. It is not a licence to agree with the disagreeable; it is not about allowances for chronic bureaucracy; it is not a justification for non-performance; it is not an excuse for breaking promises. Democracy does not mean empowering the already powerful. It means empowering the people who have entrusted the leaders with power, and respecting and honouring their aspirations and expectations even if it means sacrificing personal interests and taking on local and foreign power-brokers. It is the misrepresentation of democracy which has given rise to the belief that in this country democracy cannot work — a philosophy which each autocrat loves to promote. The fault does not lie in the democratic approach but in its twisted manipulation and implementation.It is time that the people of this country did not spare the abusers of this approach and ensured that all these fake democracy claimants were exposed, blunted and made politically impotent. This may be difficult and tedious, but it is possible if the voice of the nation shows determination to put an end to this trend.

The writer is a consultant and CEO of Franklin Covey.andleeb@franklincoveysouthasia.com

Read more...

The dilemma of leadership

The dilemma of leadershipBy Andleeb Abbas

Published in DAWN: 05-06-08

TOO many ‘leaders’ spoil a country. That is what the new political soap opera serial on the media is displaying. With every episode ending in the suspense question of ‘who will do what to whom’, the show has revealed some interesting aspects of the leadership styles of the major actors in this action-packed drama.
Leadership by desperation: Adopted by Musharraf, this requires one to be shamelessly oblivious of the pressure in the buy-time, buy-people style. Silence can be interpreted more than just consent — a revelation made by the president’s latest political posture of disappearing from the limelight and playing the predictably desperate game of conflict and conspiracy. The philosophy of the president seems to be that if you cannot hoard power yourself, try to dilute the power of your opponents. The best way of doing so is by fragmenting the cohesion of the power brokers.In this case, considering the election results, it had to be the PPP or the PML-N. With a history of conciliation and reconciliation with the PPP, it was but natural to play on common interests and goals and make it look like a win-win for the two of them. In this context, the appointment of Rehman Malik as interior advisor and Salman Taseer as Punjab governor is proof that the PPP will tolerate him as long as it serves their interest.Thus Musharraf’s style of leadership believes in team-breaking rather than team-building.Leadership by default: The PPP philosophy is based on collaboration and cohabitation with all who would go along with ‘their’ agenda. The agenda, of course, is driven by Asif Zardari, PPP leader by default. Zardari, given an almost unimaginable opportunity of ruling the country by the untimely death of his wife, has made the most of it.He has a past riddled with controversy and corruption. Titled as Mr 10 Per Cent earlier on, he has faced several corruption cases. The deal struck between Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf was mainly based on the NRO which has over a period of time cancelled all cases against Zardari.So with Mr Musharraf it is a mutual corruption-condoning agreement which led to using the post-PCO judiciary for the dutiful waiving of all conditions which did not suit Messrs Musharraf and Zardari, whether it was the graduation condition for contesting elections or making the illegal PCO legal for the president.Zardari has a rather loud and obvious leadership posture. His melodramatic reading of Benazir Bhutto’s will was so exaggerated that most people thought it was more fiction than reality.His abrupt chumminess with the MQM was almost too breezy to be taken seriously. His mysterious departure to Dubai and London and holding of long parleys have given a lot of material to the media to keep viewers hanging on.However, all his high-sounding declarations have been found to be short on substance and consistency. These actions show his political immaturity, as he seems to have been trying to play too many cards at the same time; in the end it is his impatience to hog all what is suitable for him which will be his eventual undoing.Leaders who change their statements and stance chameleon style are bound to lose their credibility.Leadership by Emotion: Nawaz Sharif, on the other hand, has been capitalising on anti-president and pro-chief justice public sentiments. The fact that he shares with Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry a common history of taking on Musharraf and then being punished by him for it, is at the moment in his favour. He has sensed that the judges’ restoration issue has given him a kind of popularity that he would not have dreamt of when he came back to the country and any deviation from it will make him fall into the same category as Musharraf and Zardari.This is an ideal opportunity for him to differentiate himself from the lot. His interest in restoring the judges also rests on the hope that in return for this favour he may be able to get Musharraf’s third-time premiership restriction waived.However, a style based on personal vendetta rather than public interest is always vulnerable to reverting to the older pattern of failing to rise above selfish designs when it comes to using the same ground rules for one’s own performance.His real test of leadership will come if he has to take on the PPP as the latter becomes more and more inclined towards the PCO judiciary.At the moment, the protest by his party against the PPP’s politically compromising behaviour is muted.But as the intentions of the PPP become obvious, Mr Sharif will have to prove that his disengagement from the power centre was not just a political ruse to pacify the public, but an actual principled stance designed to prove that he will not compromise on commitments.Effective leaders need to possess the three ‘C’s, i.e. clarity, courage and commitment. Clarity of vision, of purpose, of stance, of actions is what sets the path for others to follow.Unfortunately, the game played by most of our leaders is to create confusion, ambiguity and chaos, where they leave the public guessing about their next move. This gives rise to uncertainty, gossip and speculation, eroding confidence in the future of the country.Another leadership requirement is the courage to uphold all that is true and to have no hesitation in sacrificing personal interests for the public good. Unfortunately, our leaders lack the moral courage to stand foreign and personal pressure and often give in to the temptation of going for a quick fix even if it means sacrificing the national interest.A leader true to his commitments is one who honours expectations and fulfils all claims made to the public. Commitment, as interpreted by our leaders, is temporary statement-mongering, where the memory of our leaders is so short that they are consistently denying, degrading and dismissing anything they had promised during their frenzied political campaigning.Without clarity, courage and commitment we will always have leaders going through the political revolving door, where they enter from one side and exit from the other, only to enter again.Unless the complete exit of all morally handicapped characters is ensured by the public, the drama of finding true leaders will continue to have a tragic ending.

The writer is a consultant and CEO of FranklinCovey.

Read more...