A Tamakkan Special: Film Screening of “Lemonade”
Dedra L. StevensonFilm Director, LemonadeLemonade is a short documentary about home schooling an adult with Autism in the UAE, in spite of the lack of services or support. It’s one family’s inspiring story of how they made the best of a bad situation and made their adult son, Ibrahim, very happy and productive. All people who suffer from mental disabilities should enjoy a happy and productive life which gives them a sense of purpose and belonging, and Ibrahim is a perfect example of how life can hand you lemons, but you can find the determination to turn it into Lemonade.Dedra L. Stevenson is an American born Emirati author and public speaker. Her trilogy, The Hakima’s Tale, is a fantasy fiction story set in Emirati culture and based on the lore of the region. Ms. Stevenson also conducts a vast number of writing workshops throughout the region, inspiring the writers of tomorrow. She lives in Sharjah with her husband and four children, and is an advocate for spreading Autism Awareness throughout the region.Promoted by Tamakkan About US EmbassyU.S. Embassy Abu Dhabi is dedicated to strengthening US-UAE partnerships in diplomacy, commerce, trade, regional security, education, art, and culture. The Embassy engages with a wide range of local partners to encourage broader and deeper understanding between the people of the United States and the United Arab Emirates. http://abudhabi.usembassy.gov/ STAY CONNECTED!Like us on FacebookFollow us on...
The Finer Points of Negotiation
Having trouble with negotiations with your peers and boss? Tamakkan together with INSEAD Abu Dhabi brought Giuseppe Conti, a recognized expert in the field of Negotiation to discuss how you can leverage your strengths in the corporate world to your favour. Previous Tamakkan Invitation below: A Premium Invite for the Tamakkan Season Finale UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF FATIMA BINT HAZZA CULTURAL FOUNDATION In Partnership with INSEAD Supported by ALDAR Presents THE FINE POINTS OF NEGOTIATION Learn how to play to your strengths! Increase your confidence and effectiveness! on Wednesday, 10 June 2015 at Al Mamoura Auditorium TOPIC: Gender Differences in Negotiation GIUSEPPE CONTI Negotiation Expert and Lecturer Giuseppe will share valuable insights on gender differences in negotiation, with a focus to make women more effective and confident. Giuseppe Conti is a recognized expert in the field of Negotiation and regular lecturer at top-ranked European Business Schools, including Cambridge, ESADE, HEC Geneva, HEC Paris, IMD, INSEAD, Oxford, RSM, and SDA Bocconi. Managers from over 70 different countries have attended his highly interactive and pragmatic workshops. About BrandMoxie BrandMoxie is a leading advertising and marketing agency that provides integrated marketing services including advertising, PR, strategy, research, publishing and production services. Established in 2004, BrandMoxie also runs its own CSR platforms. This includes Tamakkan, an initiative aimed at nurturing entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation, The Smovies, a platform for emerging filmmakers in the UAE, and the Dream Players, a programme aimed at nurturing creativity and the performing arts. BrandMoxie is also the publisher of Tempo magazine, a publication that focuses on creativity, innovation and social enterprise, and its online site Tempoplanet.com. For more informationvisit: www.tamakkan.com www.brandmoxie.com About FATIMA BINT HAZZA CULTURAL FOUNDATION Fatima bint Hazza Cultural Foundation was founded by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan to promote intellectual, creative and cultural endeavors and support cultural interaction that empowers people. The foundation aims to enrich the cultural scene in Abu Dhabi and the UAE in particular and the region in general through organizing open to the public colloquia and seminars, exploring further means of art and music, introducing more awards for illustration and art, and collaborating on a local and international level with similar entities, while keeping children literature and education at its very heart. The foundation is a realization of a bigger dream that started with Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza Arab Child Prize in 1997. For more information, visit: www.fatimabinthazzafoundation.com About INSEAD One of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas to change lives and to transform organisations. A global perspective and cultural diversity are reflected in all...
GETTING THE RIGHT ANSWERS
A multinational client approached us recently with a request for market research. The client had a sophisticated research platform that they use successfully in North America, and they wanted to replicate the results here. After studying their methodology and the survey form, we advised them (delicately) that they had the wrong survey, the wrong platform, the wrong environment and the wrong audience. We told them that we would be able to deliver the mechanics of the requirement (ie gather the information for them using their tools), but the data would be virtually useless to them. The client’s survey (a proprietary, “signature” questionnaire) was eight pages long, with complicated rating scale questions (very pleasant, somewhat pleasant, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, somewhat unpleasant, very unpleasant etc….) that needed to be translated into Arabic, Urdu and Farsi…and had to be administered via phone or email across a few markets in the Gulf. We explained that the cultural, demographic, linguistic, social and indeed, geographical, dynamics of this region required considerable modification to both the survey and the methods of gathering the data. Eventually, we worked together to deconstruct the “proprietary, signature questionnaire” into simple questions with direct answers, that maintained conformity and integrity across multiple languages. And we mapped out the locations that provided the most representative sampling possible and created a mechanism whereby the data would be gathered at the most productive times. The one universal truth in market research is that people everywhere do not like to participate in research. They do not like to be called at dinner time by a chirpy telemarketer asking them how they dispose of their household waste, and even less by a clipboard wielding interviewer promising “just a few questions”… We tried during the market research process with the client to guard against “interview bias,” a problem doubly compounded by the fact that we were dealing cross culturally and in multiple languages. We all know that it is virtually impossible to eliminate bias, but the most important thing is to be aware of these biases and to minimize them as much as possible. We identified certain biases that we needed to be especially mindful of in this instance. One was “moderator acceptance bias,” and this is where the respondent tells the questioner what he or she wants to hear, another is “leading acceptance bias” and this is where the respondent asks for explanation and the questioner starts putting words in the respondent’s mouth, and most importantly the “misunderstood question bias” and this is where the respondent doesn’t understand the question because of a different interpretation of the question due to the way it relates to...
HOW TO DEVELOP AND REFINE YOUR COMPANY’S MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS
So you’re thinking of developing your vision and mission statements, or refining your existing ones? Good for you. But you need to think… is this something genuinely integral to your company’s business strategy, or just something that will look pretty in a plaque in your reception area? Unfortunately, a large number of companies (and some we confess are our own clients) have nice sounding vision and mission statements that don’t really filter through their organization and have diddly squat to do with their “raison d’être” (reason for being). You probably know some yourself… their vision/ mission states ‘customer service’ and then you call them and get a dumb receptionist who puts you on hold for 10 minutes and then forwards you through three departments before you finally get a dead dial tone. That’s why you should ask yourself if your vision and mission statements are for real. If you’re not really sure, then grab yourself a couple of aesthetically pleasing mission and vision template statements off internet sites (some offer them free), but if you’re serious then read on… Visions should be articulated at the top, and they should define why the company is in business. The vision should include broad intent and aspirations for the future. It should have an enduring quality and have the ability to inspire. Remember this will be the battle cry that will rally your entire company to fight for you, so take time to do it well. Where you get into more concrete purpose and direction is in the mission statement. It gives guidance to the company and motivates staff by defining priorities. If you want a kick-behind mission statement then get it as close to specific as you can, and make it relevant to your stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, employees, partners and vendors. So what should you keep in mind when drafting your mission statement? In our client strategy workshops we emphasize the need for a key theme around which everything revolves. “Everything” includes four elements: value, realism, specificity and optimism. The flavors of mission statements vary depending on the company. Yours will depend on the industry you’re in and the type of company you want to be. Some companies choose short term goals and then tweak their mission statement frequently, and some state longer-term objectives. In today’s climate, and especially in rapidly evolving industries (say technology), we recommend short-term goals that are adjusted at least quarterly to be able to address new business opportunities. (Some brash top end internet companies even do it monthly!) Companies in more static environments also need to review and revise their vision and mission statements periodically....
INTELLIGENCE IN BUSINESS
“BizBox” – Is it a brochure, a flyer or a sales kit? Often at BrandMoxie we have a client who comes to us asking for a ‘brochure’ without a clear strategy on what the piece of marketing collateral is intended for. Here we offer insight on how to fine tune your marketing collateral to fit your specific business needs. Usually marketing literature are required to help a customer make a buying decision. Because the development of such material can be costly in design, content creation and production, it is important for the business to determine the kind of ‘collateral’ required to achieve the specific business goal (which is almost always to convert a potential customer into a real customer). The “Hand Out and Leave Behind” Brochure As the name suggests, this is the brochure that you leave behind after your contact with the prospective customer. This brochure provides a good outline of your products and services and with it the specific benefits it offers the customer. It is important that your copy is punchy and has a clear ‘call to action.’ It also has to be relevant otherwise your ‘leave behind’ brochure will probably be left behind in the garbage bin! The “In Response’ Brochure This is the brochure that you send when someone is interested in your product or service and you want to provide information that could help them make a buying decision, basically to take them to a ‘stage two.’ This brochure should list all the strong benefits and features to persuade the customer, and hopefully close the deal. The Catalogue This is ‘brochure’ that is a listing usually in photos and prices. It is important that the catalogue does justice to the products otherwise it is best that it should be produced at all. So the quality of the photos and printing are immensely important to market the products. Such catalogues can be expensive to produce, and distribute, if they have many pages. These days ‘catalogue’ dependent businesses produce small printed versions and ask customers to browse more expanded online versions. The Point of Sale Flyer This is usually located strategically at retail points, and usually come in the form of a quick and brief read – often a flyer – to help the customer progress towards the buying decision as they come close to the ‘buying window.’ Or it is something the customer may scan over quickly and take with them to read at home. For the flyer convenience, visibility, attractive design and brevity of copy are all important. The Direct Mailer Sometimes a marketing strategy calls for a direct mail campaign, and this...