“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” goes the old French saying which is often used when a change does not result in an improvement in a certain situation. This still rings true as far as the current state of affairs at our Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry. It’s election time once again.
Although JCCI members soon will be called upon to cast their votes to elect new board members, the business community continues its call for a structural change within the chamber.
Businessmen are asking the organization to shed its old skin and reinvent itself as a pragmatic, forward-thinking public-private institution. I say that in all candor because we see the winds of change already touching many facets of Saudi life. In my opinion, the birth of electoral politics in Saudi Arabia has been a revolutionary turning point in our nation’s political development. More importantly, the series of national debates over the past year has served as an ever-present whisper, regardless of the municipal elections and the willingness of at least part of the Saudi elite to walk the path of reform, that many people across the Middle East yearn for the expression of people’s will as the proper origin of political power.
For many, this has been a major achievement in contemporary Saudi history as we begin to realize the economic necessity of reform to further enhance our place and competitiveness in the global economy
It is impossible for economic reform to make that transformation unless it is embraced and supported by other institutions, such as the Chamber of Commerce.
“Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will” was the title of the acclaimed book describing Jack Welch’s lessons in mastering change - and the principles he has used to revolutionize General Electric.
First and foremost, it called for top managers to analyze the work that needs to be done in times of change. So must everyone today in the public and private sector take ownership of that need for change to survive in such a brutally competitive business climate in which we now find ourselves.
All too often in our society, the public’s perception often is guided by clichés in the press giving us an overly simplified, distorted view of the real issues and their real importance in influencing our future national success and prosperity - either positively or negatively.
The obvious danger is that if we only pay lip service to the important issues now confronting us, we, the Jeddah business community, will never see the necessary changes we so desperately need to move our economic development agenda forward. Otherwise, our destiny will be in the hands of others, as Welch cautioned. We have many challenges and an equal number of opportunities ahead of us. On one hand Saudi Arabia is an ideal location for many businesses to grow.
The support of the government remains invaluable to pursue long-term developments that strengthen the Saudi economy and our businesses — not just regionally but globally, as well. In an age of rapid change, and the rhetoric of WTO the greatest challenge and also the greatest opportunity for Saudi Arabia is to be an integrator for businesses looking to penetrate the region.
While most acknowledge we have entered an economic era of globalization, we also must acknowledge that we have to maximize Saudi Arabia’s connectivity with growth markets. To fail to do so allows our more forward-thinking neighbors to capitalize on our reluctance, ironically with Saudi capital playing an important investment role in their economic successes.
If we truly have such ambitions, then we must strive hard to bring those strategic goals and initiatives to fruition.
The questions I pose are simple: What’s the role of organizations, such as the Jeddah Chamber in such strategic initiatives? Is it equipped today to undertake such an important role to support the private sector in its quest for business success? What are the organization’s key priorities today? Do board members feel at all accountable to their constituents, who pay annual dues only to find the benefits limited to a rubber stamp on documents attestation? As harsh as it may sound, many believe the Jeddah Chamber is more focused on an internal agenda than on the external agenda we industrialists, businessmen — and businesswomen, for that matter — need to excel and prosper.
I know of many Jeddah business leaders who share this view — especially those who have a strong commitment to public service in times when real economic and social changes are vital to the region’s development. They see the need to speak out and advocate the business viewpoint in shaping the policies of our country, and they see that the country’s chambers of commerce need to play a more pivotal role in shaping those future policies in this era of rapid business and industrial growth.
As for the Jeddah Chamber, it’s time for it to abandon its stodgy — elitist gentlemen’s club approach to preserving what has proven to be a woefully deficient status quo and appeal to the best and the brightest entrepreneurs for leadership and direction. The chamber should refrain from directing its focus and resources on real-estate deals or training centers, but rather to develop the chamber as a pragmatic institution capable of promoting the interests of its constituents, many of whom are young entrepreneurs yearning for the kind of institutional support so that their aspiring business ventures flourish.
The chamber must focus on nothing other than becoming the unified voice of the business community, aggressively advocating the business viewpoint in shaping policy, encouraging ethical business practices and ensuring the Western Region’s future prosperity, competitiveness and environmental sustainability. It should act as a catalyst for directly supporting private-sector initiatives as opposed to becoming an underperforming competitor to many private enterprises in the city.
Those who feel the chamber need not change are those who fear the most to lose in embracing it as they obviously have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. They may have sat too long in their comfort zones while the chamber ‘s contribution & performance toward the business community (and its’ constituents) dwindled over the years. It’s time someone rattles the cage!.
We are at a turning point: Will the Jeddah Chamber be poised into a future of progress and real change — or will it succumb to becoming a meaningless bureaucratic entity? Only the interest of the membership to promote change and the willingness of the leadership to accept change will determine which path it will take. I can only hope that we businessmen — and businesswomen — of Jeddah are up to the challenges ahead of us. We, after all, are the private sector, and the decisions toward enforcing change determine the course we, and our beloved city, will take. As all too often, “it’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
(Waleed Al-Banawi. a graduate in Managerial Studies & Political Science from Rice University in Texas, is an industrialist based in Jeddah.)
