Dr Zoubir Yazid, Managing Director of ETS Global B.V., was one of the speakers during the VRC Midsummer Event 2012, in the Netherlands. According to Dr Yazid, worldwide operating organizations like his have to use every possible aspect of diversity to strengthen them. While doing this, it is important to be able to cope with ‘chaos’ and a continuously changing world, this applies even stronger for financials. “If you think you have all the answers, question your answers again.”
Like Darwin said: “Not the strongest wins, but the one who adapts best. Survival of the fittest.” In a huge interactive program Yazid demonstrates exactly that. He shows a stack of world maps. “What’s ‘wrong’ with this map,” he asks. “Europe is the centre.” This map is not an American map. They would have a map with the United States in the centre. This one from China even has a reversed orientation. “And there is something else ‘wrong’…,” says Yazid. “Exactly, it’s not in Chinese! Always be aware from which perspective you are looking at the world.” He shows another map: a map of social media-platforms. In that map, Facebook is the biggest empire. “A different reality is emerging,” says Yazid.
You can’t control everything
Let ‘chaos’ control your actions is Dr Yazid’s motto. “When did a day ever turn out exactly as you planned it beforehand? Exactly! Never… You can’t control everything.” As an example he takes his own company. “We are a Dutch company, we offer tests in France, I would like to do business with China, and the mother company is in the United States.” Borders are disappearing, especially with social media. Then he refers to several crisis: From the Arab Spring to the Euro-crisis. “Who knows the butterfly theory? A butterfly’s movement can bring change all around the world. We try to ‘catch that butterfly’, but we shouldn’t want to do so. Embrace ‘chaos’. Look around you. Look what you can use.”
Try not to come up with everything yourself
As a leader you have to know when you have to be led, concludes Yazid. Don’t try to come up with everything yourself. You can’t be successful if you hang on to your old patterns or ideas.” It’s a brave new world, says Yazid. “You can’t manage it. When I’m in China, I have to adapt to the people there. Turn around your own map. In the office I can be really disruptive. I turn things around when I think I have the answer. How can you look at it differently? Sometimes that is exhausting for my employees, but as a company we achieve more because we constantly adapt.”
Yazid concludes thanking Michiel Rovers, Chairman of the VRC, all the sponsors, the staff of the event, and all the guests. “Thank you once again to Global Resources Professionals for their strategic partnership.”
Source: http://www.marketing.etsglobal.org/EC/Zoubir_Yazid_Midsummer_Event2012.pdf
VRC Midzomer Event 2012 