Hi Readers,

There I was on a weekend trip to the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean. I was super prepared travelling with a carry-on that contained my sandals, shorts, jeans, fresh underwear and toiletries all adhering to current global airport security requirements.

I checked in online to save the hassle of doing so at the airport, which in this case was Munich, Germany. My flight was via Barcelona, Spain with a two hour layover and then onto Palma De Mallorca.

At Munich the security was as expected, with belt off, watch off, jacket off, laptop out and walk through the scanner. No beeping so all clear and my possessions were kosher too.

However, I was only asked to show my boarding pass to the attendant at the x-ray machine but no passport. I boarded the plane with only the boarding card being scanned with no requirement for the passport.

At Barcelona airport I wandered around the retail malls of the airport and took some refreshments before boarding the flight to my final destination. Again no passport or ID card required only my boarding card. Having only carry-on luggage I walked straight out of the airport in Palma again without any border control.

Having had a wonderful, albeit short weekend on this sunny isle I departed back for Munich. At Palma the only person who looked at my passport was the check-in attendant. At the security checkpoint only my boarding card was requested but my 100ml liquids bag was not checked or required to be out of my carry-on bag. I boarded the plane with only my boarding card being requested.

My return journey was via Madrid Barajas which in my view is a horrible airport for a capital city. The flight from Palma was delayed and thus I had less than an hour to get to my Munich flight. However, in Palma they could not give me a boarding card for the Munich leg.

At Barajas I run to my gate for Munich but the flight is delayed arriving due to Spanish air traffic controllers strike - again. I am told by an attendant that I need to go out and check in to get my boarding card.

I walk out of the departure gates to check-in and get my boarding card (passport shown) and walk right through security without any further need for my passport. The next time I show my passport is at the car rental company in Munich airport.

My story just shows the total lack of security consciousness at European airports, especially when both Germany and Spain have experienced terrorist acts in the past. I could have been anyone and my 100ml liquid containers could have been used improperly.

So my question is, how secure are your business premises, property and people? At the end of the day airports and airlines are businesses. Currently, I believe the security approach at airports is topsy-turvy and a major re-think needs to be executed to offer safe, speedy and comfortable transition for passengers.

I believe security consulting will be a major area where expertise will be required and growth in the future. This is itself will create jobs and opportunities making airports and airlines even bigger employers around the world.

Shah

Hello Readers,

Do you know when it is time to hang up your hat? Does anyone know when they should walk away and look at a new purpose in life?

I am seeing more and more that the answer is a resounding "no". Over the last few years I have come across numerous individuals both within teams that I have partaken in and client people who just don't know when to quit.

These individuals believe that they still know what they are talking about and have a dogged tenacity in their abilities to deliver. Yet, in reality they fail to give any value either in quality or quantity.

I believe it comes down to the fact that people do not have other interests or are so narrowly focussed that they do not see in what other way they can serve humanity. That service of humanity could be anything, anything that makes use of one's unique talents, skills and passions.

Take Michael Schumacher returning to F1, in my opinion "big mistake". Now he is critisized as a former champ who keeps crashing into other racers trying to jeopardize their efforts. So when he does eventually stop, that is what he will be known for rather than his previous championship status.

My message is evaluate yourself regularly as you reach the top of your game and if it is time to go, do it gracefully and find another purpose.

That's all for today

Shah Alam

Good Morning from my desk in London.

It's a glorious summers day and the ash clouds have abated for some weeks now and flights are resuming normality over the UK, apart from the disruption BA is suffering at the hands of the unions.

My thought for the day is about management inaction and why some companies put people in power who are unable to take the necessary steps to make change happen.

There are some managers who head up organizations but lack any form of leadership. They see the issues in front of their eyes and yet they prevaricate about what the consequences of those isses. When they communicate to their teams they beat their chest and talk tough and demand tough action. Yet, they do this and say it often that people become numb to their chest thumping. The usual comments are "Ah! he's like a dog without a bark".

The only way to overcome this when performance is lacking or actions not taken is to make an example of an individual or two. A leader can only coach, guide and mentor so much. There has to come a time when a clear message has to be communicated that if an individual does not perform then they will be fired, demoted or moved sideways.

In today's tough economic climate such decisions should not be stretched out over a long period of time but a common three strike rule could be used. If no action is taken when performance is below par then the leader will be seen to be weak and over will lose liking and respect.

Senior managers have no time to be caught like "deer in the headlights", they have to be seen to be decisive and action oriented. People look for strong leaders who have the vision, the focus and drive to take them to the next level of corporate success.

Shah Alam

Good afternoon everyone, today I want to talk a bit about change and what it entails.

The implementation of any change program within a business is a serious matter. Many experts will spout soundbites to impress their audiences with "change or you will go the way of the dinosaurs" or "change is the only constant" amongst others, without clarifying what they mean.

One of the aspects of change many do not realize is that it is difficult in the best of circumstances let alone when the parties concerned are happy and willing. The level of difficulty increases exponentially when people are involved and where people have been in the same situation doing the same thing for decades.

Change and the following improvement do not come easy. The basic premise of change is that to improve, we must continuously change.

In physics however, for every action (change) there is an equal and opposite reaction. People by nature resist change, i.e. they will look for excuses, wait and see etc. The reason they do this is that change takes them out of their comfort zones.

Therefore, the more change there is the greater the resistance, the greater the resistance the more difficult it is to improve (change).

This is a vicious circle and can have serious consequences for any business or individual or even a country.

People tend to hide behind excuses such as past practices, politics, procedures etc. rather than change. Within any organization there are also a host of barriers that prevent improvement, such as inconsistent direction, poor management, skepticism, lack of trust and not invented here excuse.

I am going to do my own spouting now;

"there is nothing permanent except change and if you do what you always did, you will get what you always got"

So what can make people change?

• Pain - emotional, financial, tragedy
• Despair - over a long period of time
• Discovery - constructive change is possible

Breakthrough comes when theories, concepts and philosophies are passed on as knowledge, then understanding and finally skills lead to breaking down of barriers.

Paradigms are "rules" we apply to certain situations to let us predict how things will be, that is rules of success. The key message is don't let YOUR paradigm become THE paradigm, because paradigms can CHANGE.

When a paradigm changes everyone goes back to zero. Past success is no guarantee. What is impossible today may be the norm tomorrow.

Change must be driven throughout the whole organization, that is: people, process, product

Managing complex change requires

Vision > Skills > Incentives > Resources > Action Plan > Change

However, many corporate leaders today want change to have happened yesterday. Well, it's a little bit late but not too late. I like the story of the ant and grasshopper, the grasshopper fiddled away the summer months and when winter came starved. Whereas the industrious ant worked throughout the summer and was able to store enough supplies to survive the winter.

We are still in a global recession and many more companies will continue to fall by the wayside, and those that are surviving are implementing cost cutting initiatives, change programs, six sigma etc to counter the effects of the recession. However, just like the grasshopper when good times were had they did nothing to prepare or protect themselves when the economy were to head south.

Now that companies are taking the lead to make a change, they want it to take effect instantaneously. Well, effective long-term sustainable change does not happen overnight. It requires thought, it requires planning, it requires expertise, it requires the inclusion of all within the company and last of all it takes time. Most large scale financial benefits of any improvement may not be realized for six to nine months after the action has been taken.

So my question to businesses is, do you have the patient to ensure long term successful change to take place within you organizations?

A Band-Aid ain't gonna work in todays business environment

Till the next time, I say adieu.

Shah Alam

Newspapers, news channels and other news media are reporting that crime, especially theft has been increasing since the econimic downturn.

We hear in London for example, every other week a bold and daring raid on jewellery shops in broad daylight in fashionable areas of the city. One particular street that has been hit is Bond Street, where the premier designer labels have their flaghsip London stores.

Fraud and petty theft in the workplace is up in the UK and I am sure this is being replicated throughout the globe.

No one is immune to this current malaise of stealing property from retailers, employers and those who own such worldly goods as camcorders, iPods, expensive cars etc.

The economic downturn has created a forced repatriation of migrant workers from cities in the sand such as Dubai, Kuwait City and others in Southeast Asia who rely on workers from less developed countries. These workers go back to their countries without any hope of work in their native lands or a swift return to the so-called gold paved streets of developed nations. Eventually some of these people may resort to crime to feed themselves and their families.

The reality of the crime of theft hit home to me last night.

My parents having retired spend their time mostly in the north-eastern hills of Sylhet in Bangladesh. My father purchased a place in 1979 and built his dream home. In the last 30 years he has never had any problems of thieves breaking into his place even when the place was locked up and empty whilst they were in the UK.

However, last night they became a statistic and were robbed of some minor possessions, the usual camcorder, mobile phone some cash etc. Fortunately they weren't harmed or harassed.

But these are signs of the times and thieves are venturing into wealthy expat suburbs and villages where the pickings are rich.

Another, example of the times was a recent voluntary return home by a South Asian family from New York. The husband and father of the household was the main breadwinner, he lost his job late last year, subsequently his house was repossessed and he went bankrupt. With no immediate job prospects he returned back to his native country with his wife and two kids and will live out two years there until the job market is stronger in the US.

Some immigrants have a choice which is quite refreshing that allows them to sit out the recession in a country where they have land and an income which will pay for a lifestyle that costs very little in comparison to the West, whilst others have nothing to come back to and may resort to crime.

I think this recession is affecting every person on this planet in one way or another and here we are witnessing one aspect of the dark underbelly of globalisation.

But hey I am an eternal optimist and I think in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan etc where law enforcement and crime resolution is a joke, there is a great need for private security firms to step in and provide a service that is much needed.

Till the next time

Shah Alam