out with qt
“When I say this is what I did for the last 10
“Being two
years and this is what I should do for the next
10, I should retire! Anyone who is trying to
protect an old (business) model will lose out.”
different people
at work and home is
schizophrenic” i t is refreshing to walk into a
‘corporate’ setup first thing on
a Sunday morning and see an
environment that screams ‘busi-
ness’ without the predictable
stuffiness.
An open office, hot-desking (no fixed
work stations), brilliant splashes of reds
all over, and staff who are dressed weath-
er-appropriate (light jackets and hardly
any neckties in sight), gives an instant re-
prieve from the sweltering heat outside.
At the in-house cafe, Vodafone-Qa-
tar CEO Grahame Maher sits down
for a chat with Managing Editor Vani
Saraswathi. Over a cuppa, he speaks
about business disasters and successes,
the journey from baking to mobile tele-
phony, dream rides and his family.
As refreshing as the business environ-
ment, is the man who runs the show. His
personal and professional mantras seem
to work in sync, and answers about one
could just as well hold true for the other.
Your career path has mean-
dered a long way from bak-
ing... you didn’t see a career in
that? No temptation when you
see an oven now?
No, no! When I look at the bakery now, I
am only looking at buying something.
I was at school, trying to work out what
to do next, and I couldn’t afford univer-
sity. I was working at the weekends in a
bakery to fund my motorbike racing hab-
its. My school’s advice was, firstly you
cannot afford to go to university; and sec-
ondly, you are not smart enough to go to
university; take a baking job, get a trade.
When we were at school, living in the
countryside, getting a trade was impor-
tant. So I did that, it was fun for a while,
but I didn’t like it much.
Then I got into a sales job, selling of-
118 Qatar Today
fice products. I applied for it, because I
had an expense account and a company
car with which I could drive all around
Australia. I lied about my age by the way,
but I got the job...
Then I went back to university and
studied Marketing, Sales and Finance.
I was kind of working out what I really
wanted to do. And what I really wanted to
do was run my own business.
I set up my own business, and I ended
up running six or seven businesses over
10-15 years.
What kind of businesses?
A couple in office products, faxes,
PABX... that’s where I had my first ex-
perience with mobiles. British Telecom
had introduced them in Australia. Around
Aus$7,000 – about QR20,000 per phone!
Couple of those businesses were disas-
ters, couple were successes. I started the
first Mobile Virtual Network Operators in
Australia.
You took your time choosing
your career path. You think
there’s more pressure on the
youth now to make a choice
quickly?
It’s tough. I have two daughters 25 and 22
years of age. Watching them is difficult.
They say, “but dad, you did this,” and I
go, “God no, don’t do what I did”.
What I’ve observed in business is that
lots of people doing engineering end up
working in something completely dif-
ferent. We sometimes think what we
study is what we should do; whereas I
think, just studying is important to get
a grounding.
I think general-ism is better than spe-
cialism. You need specialists, but it’s
good you have a generalist, who has
also got a specialty.
out with qt
People pick something to study, but
underneath that there is a natural style
of the person that comes out.
To my daughters my advice is, “Get a
degree, and then see what happens.”
You don’t have to get stuck on the
fact that because you did a HR or an IT
degree you have to work in HR or IT.
In business, particularly in a lot of the
smaller countries, you need an under-
standing of everything, actually.
How easy has it been for you to
come from Australia – where
irreverence rules, to here,
where the environment is rath-
er formal?
I came here via Japan – hierarchical and
formal; Sweden – egalitarian, but in a
personal sense very formal, you had to
hold the cup the right way and all that;
and Czech Republic – very formal, very
old European, their language has for-
mal, informal, real formal, minor formal,
semi-formal.
I think I am in a better shape to be in
different cultures than I might have been
10 years ago when I hadn’t had those oth-
er experiences.
And I think some of the fascinating
things about the Arab world is the infor-
mality. When you sit in the majlis there is
physical informality – I kiss men now!
The discussion in the majlis is where
decisions are made – and that’s very in-
formal. It’s about opinions, views and
discussions, rather than the American
style where it’s legal, legal, legal and
tough negotiations.
Here there’s formality in religion. Then
there is some of the cultural formal-
ity, and the family structure too is really
nice. Some of these things is what I think
the West has lost. Europe is better than
America. In each country I spend time in,
Qatar Today 119
 out with qt

balance.
Maher turned his entrepreneurial skills to developing and launching one of the I am a big fan of the guy who wrote
first Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) in Australia. He and his business The Seven Day Weekend, Ricardo Semler,
partner sold the company to Vodafone in 1996. It wasn’t long before he was lead- who says in his book, ‘why is it ok to send
ing the team in Vodafone New Zealand. He has travelled on a Vodafone passport, emails on a Sunday, but not ok to go to
to Australia, Sweden, Czech Republic, and now Qatar. the park with your kids on a Tuesday.’
These days when he is not working, he prefers to hit the road with his feet rather He says work-life balance is doing
than on his motorbike; he loves long distance running. He also loves exploring the what you like, when you like. If that
world with his wife Jenny and daughters Jessica and Kate. means working all weekend and going to
the park on a weekday, it’s ok, what’s the
I leave better. we have with us our stuff, is home. We’ve difference?
moved a lot. I would advocate for a balance the
What do you hope to leave We sit outside by the pool in the West person feels comfortable with, and al-
behind? Bay Lagoon, it’s like a holiday every week- lows them to be themselves. Instead of
I guess the main thing I would like to end – it’s a good life. We are very comfort- being someone at work, and someone
think is that, we are helping Qatar in its able here. else at home, which I think is difficult.
evolution and journey to where the coun- However, the difference for all countries If I act differently in the two places,
try wants to go. And to have some posi- that are going through a growth period of I am schizophrenic. And the Western
tive impact with what I’ve done. lots of expats is that it doesn’t have that World drives schizophrenia, frankly.
What I will leave behind, and it’s tough feeling of home, as everything is transient. That’s why so many people have heart
every time I leave a country, is a bunch of It feels like a bit of Hong Kong and Singa- attacks and break down. If they are a
new friends. Facebook is really good for pore 20 years ago. tough, demanding b****** at work,
that, to be able to stay in touch. Important It’s easy as an expat to come in. The and go home and are nice to their kids –
to keep that alive. big challenge going forward is how to it’s weird. If you can just be human, it’s
make the transition from a country that good... that’s my opinion.
And there are those who say is growing rapidly with a lot of inter-
technology erodes relation- national expats, to people becoming What is the toughest deci-
ships... ‘Qataris’. People have been here for 20-30 sion you have had to make,
I disagree. Things like Facebook are prob- years, and are still not ‘Qatari’. in your career?
ably recreating relationships that disap- It’s the same in Australia, where there Probably when I said ‘yes’ to go
peared... I think technology enables rela- was nobody there 200 years ago, but all to Sweden to run the business. My
tionships. People in India, China and Africa kinds of nationalities went there, and they daughter was in her last year of high
are using mobiles, and if that didn’t exist, are now locals. school, and my wife was going to stay
they would be limited in who they kept It’s a difficult challenge for Qatar as to in Australia for that year. I was liv-
in touch with. The interesting thing about how to do that without losing its local iden- ing alone, for eight months, on the
emails is how senior citizens are using it to tity, without losing control of the core as- other end of the world. I wouldn’t do
keeping in touch with their family that has sets of their country; because Qataris are a it again. For anybody.
moved away. minority.
If people think it replaces face-to-face It’s a long answer to ‘does it feel like Any other regrets you would
interaction, sitting down in the majlis and home?’; for the country, when they get that like to share?
talking, that’s where I think they are wrong. right, when people actually make it home, Heaps. How long have you got?!
It doesn’t have to. then it will be stronger. I make lots of mistakes and i’m happy
When I sit in the majlis here, everyone But I’m having a ball and enjoying it. to continue to try and make lots more.
is on their mobile phone anyway! I am like I regret some of them, but not to an ex-
‘talk to me’... Career women are often asked tent that I worry about them. It’s more
Jokes aside, I think it enhances rela- about work-life balance. You like how do I fix that. When my wife
tionships. And you have the choice of think we need to address this and I were living in New Zealand, my
pressing the red button and switching off. to men more frequently? older daughter was in her last year at
People are addicted to the Blackberry, but Work-life balance is a personal thing. school and was about to start university.
it’s not Blackberry’s fault, YOU have the When I judge if someone is having a We were moving to Australia, and she
addiction. work-life balance, it should not be ME wanted to stay and finish school. We
that’s asking that. It should be US as an agreed. There are times, when we won-
Does Qatar feel like home now? organisation saying we believe in that der if it would have been better for her
I’ve been here for 18 months. My wife, balance. But if someone wants to work to come with us. Do I regret it? No. But
Jenny, and I say where we both are, where all the time, that may be their work-life we do talk about it.

120 Qatar Today

 out with qt
Of Men...
Jack Welch or Warren Buffett?
Jack Welch. I admire them both. Buf-
fett is a fantastic investor. Welch is an
operator, therefore runs businesses. I
understand operators, rather than in-
vestors. I deal with both, but I am an
operator.
Who inspires you?
Nelson Mandela.
Business-wise?
Ingvar Kamprad, the owner of Ikea. I
was lucky enough to spend time with
him when I was in Sweden. An amaz-
ing man.
...& Wheels
Owned
A Honda 600 (I used to race motocross
with sidecars. A crazy Australian sport).
As a brand
The Harley Davidson (One of my role
models as a brand is the HD. What they
do in terms of branding is fantastic. Last
year I was at the HD museum, and it was
a fascinating experience. But I don’t like
their bikes.)
As a ride
Ducati. My favourite ride bike. My wife
...Gizmos
iPhone or Blackberry?
Blackberry. But it’s because of corporate email
use. If not for that, I like some of the other smart
phones, like the iPhone, that have nice features like
picture storage etc.
122 Qatar Today
...Books
Maher recommends
Firms of Endearment:
How World-Class Com-
panies Profit from Pas-
sion and Purpose by
Rajendra S. Sisodia (A
book that hasn’t received the publicity
it deserves)
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by
Richard Bach (A classic first gifted by
my father. I have both the original and
several other copies)
The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revo-
lutionary Book that Will Change the
Way You Do Business by Clayton M.
Christensen
Good to Great by Jim Collins
The Seven-day Weekend: A Better Way
to Work in the 21st Century by Ricardo
Semler
Maverick!: The Success Story Behind
the World’s Most Unusual Workplace
by Ricardo Semler (A very interest-
ingly written book)
says, if I get one of that I would kill my-
self. I would like to believe I can still
race, but I am too old!
How has the regulation pro-
cess been in Qatar?
Dr Hessa Al Jaber, Secretary General,
ictQatar and the regulatory process here
have done a really good job, in a very
short time. The license process started
just three years ago, and we are already
in operation. I think that’s impressive.
This was more planned and thought
out, than it was in Eastern Europe after
communism. That was crazy. From being
controlled in a communist environment
to being regulated, and all sorts of cor-
ruption issues. That I haven’t experienced
here and it’s a significant difference.
There are days with the government
here, when it’s ‘Inshallah, Inshallah, In-
shallah’, and it’s slow. But it is honest,
trying to do the right thing, and actually
making pretty quick progress. Some peo-
ple expect it to be more mature than it is,
it’s only a couple of years old. There’s a
lot to learn now. There are two competi-
tors actually in the market, there will be
test cases... we will see how it works.
People ask if it’s really a regulators’
rule. My view is: It’s absolutely a regula-
tors’ rule. And the government is abso-
lutely adamant on real competition and
evolution of the market.
How quickly should mobile te-
lephony innovate to keep pace
with online developments? Is it
keeping pace or merely jump-
ing onto the bandwagon?
Communication is a key human require-
ment. Whether it’s fixed, mobile or inter-
net, from a customer’s perspective it’s
just communications. We will continue
to see things change as fast, or faster than
before.
But I think our industry struggles when
the business model changes. It used to be
just fixed telephony; then mobiles took
over fixed line almost completely, then
the internet, and things like Facebook...
all devices of communication.
What’s critical for us is how we navi-
gate all this.
At times, I worry about is when we
think we know the answer. When I say,
this is what I did for the last 10 years and
this is what I should do for the next 10,
“I think some of the fascinating things
about the Arab world is the informality.
When you sit in the majlis there is physi-
cal informality – I kiss men now.”
I should retire! First, in this industry, the
window is two and three, not 10 years;
and secondly, what we will be doing in
the next three years is not what we are do-
ing now.
Anyone who is trying to protect an
old (business) model will lose out. How
long can you survive on an old business
model? I don’t know... There is a great
book called The Innovator’s Dilemma
and it talks about how industries change,
how complete industries disappeared.
They used to have the 8” disk, and ev-
eryone said the 51/2” floppy would never
replace that. Soon as it got cheap enough,
the people who made the first went broke;
then the 3” disk got the price-quality mix
right, and they won. Now these guys
don’t exist anymore because we have
USB sticks. Within 20 years, four compa-
nies went broke, because they held on to
their old technologies. Same will happen
in telecommunications.
So is censorship, in all its facets,
‘holding on’ to the old model?
Wow, that’s a big question. No, I think
censorship has its place. But censorship
has a place when people take responsi-
bility for their own censorship. So con-
trols, which is the debate around China,
is where I see censorship getting between
politics, religion and stuff, and trying to
force things.
If I am a practising Muslim and I want
to be able to see content related to that, I
should be able to do that. Or something
else of that nature. And then responsibili-
ties as a parent – I feel parental guidance
is important.
I think understanding the political and
cultural environment, and understanding
the country is really important; we are
working in the Middle East in a Muslim
country, and have to be aware and con-
scious of that. Therefore I think there is a
role for government censoring processes,
also.
What about censoring
technology?
You can’t censor technology. It’s impos-
sible. Remember when sharing songs on
the internet was illegal? Now Apple is
making a lot of money out of it. They put
a business model around it, put the rules
right... they are now using the regulation
of the music industry. All they did was
take something that was illegal and make
it legal.
It’s very clever. Looking for the next
business model? Look at something that’s
illegal, make it legal, and you make a lot
of money.
Is there a pattern to communi-
cation that overrides other cul-
tural differences?
If you look at it as a Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs, we all need to eat, breathe, love, and
we all need to communicate.
So I think communication is at the basic
level of Maslow’s Hierarchy.
Then what we see is things like mobiles
are growing faster in the emerging world
than in the mature world. Many of the peo-
ple in China make their first phone call on
a mobile, same in India and Africa... they
don’t even know what a fixed line is. Be-
cause it was never built in the rural parts.
Then you have SMS. People were saying
it would never work. How wrong was that?
Messaging requirements that allow you to
communicate without speaking, but is per-
sonal That’s email, SMS, IMs, Twitter.
These are just basic needs. It doesn’t
matter what language it is, it doesn’t matter
what culture it is.
Your company is known for its
out with qt
innovative branding. What’s
your take on brands that don’t
deliver, and great products that
fail to brand itself?
Branding is not advertising. When I think
about branding, I am thinking about EV-
ERYTHING we do. Be it having a chat
with you, through to our ads, our custom-
ers, what we do in the shops.
Companies get it wrong when they think
advertising is branding, and they can do
what they like. It’s like saying ‘trust us, trust
us, trust us’ and then putting your customers
off. A company is just like an individual.
If I say ‘you can trust me’, then take your
recorder away, you are not going to.
Behaviours that companies have will
reinforce their brands or their image.
Some companies get it exactly right,
like a Harley Davidson, like an Ikea –
they deliver what they promise.
But when they get it wrong, they ad-
mit it. Most companies would say “how
can we spin this to make it sound bet-
ter.” Just tell the truth, “We screwed
up, we got it wrong, I am sorry.” So
many companies don’t do that. Ones
that do that, generally build stronger
relationships.
Closing thoughts?
When I was first asked by my Chairman
to come to Qatar, I said, “Where is that?”
And then I said, “No way”.
Now I am glad I listened to one of my
mentors who said, “This would be a good
thing for you to do, you will learn a lot of
different stuff, and it will be a great expe-
rience.” He was right. I’ve learned a lot,
and continue to do so. It is a fascinating
experience of a different culture, a dif-
ferent religion, with a fascinating history
and an amazing future it is trying to build.
Opportunities like this don’t happen very
often. So it’s quite special
Qatar Today 123