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Choice of values

Companies, whether they are well-established or newly arrived fresh starts, always primarily have to focus, at the strategic level, on what values they seek to send out to their investors and prospective client base.

For those that have been going for years the decision is made that bit harder by the fact that the brand's current customer base already has its own idea of the strategic direction in which it expects the company to go.
An example of this is highlighted by this month's cover interviewee Mark Dunhill. As he explains, in the Japanese market the brand became a victim of its own success with traditional businessmen and grew alienated from its primary customer base.

In order to realign the brand's image in that market with the perceptions of itself that it is seeking to put forward globally, the label is instigating a ‘back to basics' campaign.

To do this the group is striving to get back in touch with founder Alfred Dunhill's values of original luxuries for the ‘young-at-heart,' with shop redesigns, marketing campaigns and the introduction of new ranges of accessories.

This constant need for companies to reassess their position is something that all corporations need to go through on a regular basis, whether they operate primarily in the retail sector or not.

New enterprises are in the slightly easier position of being able to set out their corporate values with no direct influence from the outside market.

Zabeel Investments' Executive Chairman Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi is an example of one of the prime young motivators at the centre of the current regional push for success.

Although outside market forces are not influencing him and his team to establish the group's guiding values, his social conscience plays a role.

As a member of the Young Arab Leaders' Organisation, Al Hashimi is convinced that the region needs people to stand up and make a difference. To this end, as one of a number of initiatives, Zabeel and partner companies have launched scholarship and mentoring schemes for UAE youths. As he says: "We have to do something, it's our duty."

He is also aware of his duty to the group, to ensure quality of implementation and delivery with every project that they undertake.

And this need to provide the best results is what links all companies regardless of their primary industry category, size or length of time in the marketplace.

And this is also why the choice of, and constant focus on, core values should be at the heart of every strategic decision.

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