and now the boring part.......work life!

hey everyone, mike here. i figured that we could balance out the blog about the lunches, spa days and shopping excursions with some insight into work-life in qatar over the next couple of blogs..... and let me tell you, only 2 weeks into work and i have seen plenty.

firstly, the vision in the country is quite amazing. the leaders of the country seem to share this ethos that: (a) anything is possible, (b) let's not catch up to the west, let's leap frog over them, (c) we know our natural resources are going, but we are not going with them and (d) taking risks is part of the game. this vision really does permeate through the entire culture.

as kris as mentioned, i work with a new joint venture formed out of the qatar foundation (education city). the vision of the foundation is to transform the state into a self-sustaining, knowledge-based economy. no small task, but i can say that from what i have seen it is achievable, realistic and brilliant.

so, this vision affects my work environment directly. as part of our IT services business we are building a Tier-IV datacentre in the region to support education city, the various research universities in addition to providing leading technology/outsourcing services to the commercial sector. the scope of the project is pretty simple: use best-of-breed and state of the art technology to deliver the best, first of its kind facility in the middle east. COOLNESS. (for the nerds out there i will send some pictures shortly).

but, this vision cannot come at any cost (self-sustainability) and must support a viable business model. but, the biggest difference i can see with the west is that a quick return is not expected here, they accept a longer timescale to return on the investment if you can deliver the best option possible. aka. shareholders are not breathing down your next to return a specific ebit number quarterly. that long term vision allows more options and solutions to the problems. it takes some getting used to, but i like this model much better.

okay, last point of boredom and i will hand you back to the hamsters.....er......i mean kris. they are not afraid of two things here: taking risks and making mistakes. i guess they can afford both as they come down to cash, but it is refreshing to work in an environment where "blame" is not endemic. if you make a mistake (and i have made a couple) the only pressure you get it to make sure that it is corrected and the second solution delivers even more than the first. refreshing. but, it is the risk piece that i really like and it comes back to point (a).....anything is possible, so take a chance. don't get me wrong, risks are calculated (we aren't "hitting on 19"), it is just the aversion level that is lower. and let's face it, everyone loves a gamble especially when the stakes are high!!!!