Business Leaders Malta’s third conference turned out to be the largest ever as around 350 chairmen, chief executives and managers packed the ballroom of the Radisson Blu Resort last Friday for the highly anticipated, thought-provoking annual event.
Eliminate negative thoughts. Perfect practice makes perfect- Mark Jacobs
Themed “One Second Ahead” to coincide with the Olympics and Euro 2012 scheduled for the summer, the event focused on the sporting principles that also apply to the business world. The programme focused on disciplines such as planning and preparation, the ability to change and respond to different situations, and leadership and managerial ability.
Business Leaders Malta is a network set up by Jugs@Malta, the events management company, Konnekt, the recruiter, and Mdina Partnership, the training and development firm. The conference is designed as a networking opportunity and brings business leaders from a cross-section of Malta’s commercial community together for a few hours to talk and do business after they are led to consider new ideas.
Attendance is by invitation only; 800 invitations were sent out this year.
Inspire chief executive Nathan Farrugia described how he planned and prepared for his successful gruelling record attempt to run 27 marathons in 27 European Union member states in 27 days.
Mr Farrugia, who has earned a reputation for pushing himself to ever-higher limits to fund-raise for charity over the past few years, admitted he was more concerned with how he and his team would travel from one country to the next in time to begin each marathon at 7.30 a.m. than with the physical demands.
In completing the 27-marathon challenge, Mr Farrugia made one million footsteps, burned 130,000 calories, was driven 15,000 kilometres, and raised €100,000.
Before setting off, he and his team meticulously planned the route for each marathon: team members would ride bikes equipped with satellite navigation equipment which Mr Farrugia would run behind with different running partners in each country.
The challenge had to engage and inspire as many followers as possible. Press and media events and interviews were set up in each destination, and Mr Farrugia wrote a blog throughout the challenge to keep benefactors and well-wishers updated. There was no money for marketing or public relations so the team used social networks as their communication channels.
Funding for logistics was secured from Kinder chocolate maker Ferrero after Mr Farrugia met the chief executive at an event in Malta and impressed him not only with his confidence that the attempt would be successful but also with how the team planned to meet their objective.
The father-of-two explained how a number of contingency plans had to be put into action when things went wrong and how the teams had to improvise when faced with sudden challenges.
“We faced strikes in Greece, we had vehicle and border problems, our sat navs were stolen, I ate inappropriate food at roadside diners, and got little rest,” Mr Farrugia recalled, as he threw in a damaged knee into the equation for good measure. “By marathon 11, my foot swelled twice its size but the tear healed as I continued to run. Rather than slow down, my times surprisingly improved consistently. The body is malleable and resourceful – it was able to accommodate such punishment.”
What drove him to carry him was passion and belief in the challenge he had set himself and he was determined to have fun doing it, he said.
“If you have done all the groundwork, you can relax,” he told the audience. “Have plan Bs, manage your risk. Ask yourself: ‘what is the worst that can happen?’ and cater for that. Visualise alternative scenarios. Be mindful, be a leader, and put things into perspective. Work on what is unique in your offering. Your preparation should be driven by the reason you do what you do.”
Mdina Partnership UK’s Mark Jacobs spoke about “winning attitudes” and the importance of a positive attitude and its impact. He described how people’s attitude swung from positive to negative – attitude, he said, is important but it is a state of mind.
Mr Jacobs emphasised how attitude was 70 to 80 per cent “responsible” for what people achieved in their lives.
“Attitude is both nurture and nature,” he explained. “It stems partly from our genes and partly from how we were raised. Think about how bad the situation is and put things into context. Eliminate negative thoughts. Perfect practice makes perfect. Find the positive – if you look hard enough, you will find it. Visualise where you are and where you want to be. The work you put in is the ‘tax’ you have to pay. Set goals. Look at challenges in steps not as a whole.”
Medserv plc chairman Anthony Diacono, who was on the panel last year to discuss change management, led a group discussion on managing and coaching. He was joined on stage by Island Hotels Group chief executive Winston J. Zahra, St Martin’s Institute of IT principal Charles Theuma, Jubilee Group chief executive Alex Scicluna, Go plc chief human resources officer Michelle Bonnici and Gasan Group chief executive Joe Gasan.
Ms Bonnici stressed how effective leadership was driven by integrity, trust and communication and by people who walked the talk. Their defining moment was often shaped by how they picked up the pieces, she said.
Mr Scicluna agreed, adding leaders had to be visionaries and achievers. People were not numbers and they excelled when they were motivated. He was the most specific when the panel members were asked to admit to a business mistake. A few years back, Jubilee Group embarked on a project to create Gozo’s own version of the Pirelli calendar. Expenses mounted, 6,000 copies were printed but just over 250 were sold. Faced with a room packed to the ceiling with paper, Mr Scicluna said he preferred to see the silver lining to the cloud – the project had introduced him and one of his brothers to their future wives.
Mr Gasan said leaders failed if they were negative; they had to be fair with their teams, admitting their mistakes and leading by example.
Mr Zahra emphasised how discipline was crucial and although a laissez-faire attitude had permeated some aspects of business culture over the past few years, the financial crisis seems to have reinvigorated people’s desire to achieve. His “one second ahead”, he said, came when the company took its greatest risk soon after 9/11 – it went ahead and took on considerable conference business despite the international hospitality industry bracing itself for the worst in global uncertainty.
Mr Theuma warned that young people seemed to lack the hunger to strive further – in business it was necessary to be audacious sometimes. He recalled how after his first attempt to obtain University of London affiliate status for his business failed he dared to ask for an explanation and years later succeeded in achieving his goal.
In a video message to the event, former Manchester United star and club ambassador Gary Neville described how manager Sir Alex Ferguson always kept the lines of communication open with all members of the squad. Sir Alex, he said, always explained all his decisions to players.
Man management and communication are key to good leadership; all good leaders have a presence and authority about them, he said. Sir Alex promptly dealt with weaknesses and made sure the rules and boundaries were clear to everyone.
“I have never been late for anything,” Mr Neville, a non-executive director of the Island Hotels Group, said. “If there was a bus leaving at a certain time, there was never any excuse to be late. Discipline is everything.”
In business as in sport, work ethic is crucial, he added. There had to be team spirit and professionalism, even if people struggled to get along outside the work context.
Juventus manager Antonio Conte, in a recorded interview, underlined the importance of leaders having the roles of coaches and managers, ready to pursue their ideas and implement organisational tactics and able to manage the external context affecting the team. Essentially, a leader’s attitude had to centre on the pursuit of excellence in every aspect.
Jugs@Malta co-founder Gianni Zammit kept up the Business Leaders Malta custom of wrapping up the event with a team-building activity. This year, the floor was split into four teams, each stretching from the stage to the seats at the back of the ballroom.
Every member of the team was to throw a stress ball into a square net on stage from their seat. Balls thrown from furthest won the team most points. Leaders appointed to each team had to quickly design a strategy they believed would be most effective and set a forecast. As scores of black, green and red stress balls rained over the audience towards the stage, some did find their way into the nets to shouts of delight, and applause. Business people then put their jackets back on and proceeded to a networking lunch.
Branding company BRND WGN and the Island Hotels Group were event partners. Melita, File Flatners and Debono Group sponsored the conference.