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 We recently
asked Dave Robinson, CEO of Gulf Hill & Knowlton, about
working in the Middle East. Hill & Knowlton EMEA won
a Stevie® Award for Best Multinational Company in The
2006 International Business Awards
As a European living and working in the Middle
East, what do you miss most?
The rain and the
cold. Even living in Greece prior to the Middle East we used
to have a good deal of seasonal rain and proper winters. The
Middle East—and the Gulf in particular—lacks both. The result
is beautiful sunshine all year round, but one does miss the
rain! On the work front, however, there is little that I
miss. By and large, business is less bureaucratic, and
there is less interference from government both in terms of
regulations and, more importantly, taxation.
What would you miss most about the Middle East if
you had to return to Europe or North America?
The
dynamism of a fast-growing emerging PR market. The growth
rates experienced in this part of the world are but a dream
for most European countries, and the excitement and challenge
that goes with sustaining such growth is something I would
definitely miss if I were to return there.
What advice or useful tip would you give to someone
who is just starting out in business in the Middle
East?
Try and keep a balance between your
professional standpoint and the need to adapt to the local
environment and business culture. In the Middle East people
respect you when you are flexible and adaptable, but not when
you sell out. Patience is a virtue—perhaps the chief
virtue required for working here. But relationships are
everything—trust, loyalty, and humanity are as important here
as professionalism, timeliness, and expertise.
What book are you currently reading?
I
typically read several books at once, picking up whichever
takes my mood. At the moment I am reading The
Responsibility Virus: How Control Freaks, Shrinking Violets
and the Rest of Us Can H Arness the Power of True
Partnership by Roger L. Martin, Neither
Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson, and Father
of Dubai: Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al-Maktoum by Graeme Wilson, which is the
biography of the former ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid.
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1-800-GotJunk of Vancouver, BC
Canada is a Stevie Award winner for Best Communications Team
in The 2007 International Business Awards. The team was
honored for its work over the past year generating a large
number of publicity hits for the company, including
appearances on many popular television programs.
