Dubai , U.A.E – May 26th 2009

CEO of Khidmah L.L.C (Khidmah), Mr. Sutton Turner addressed the Property & Facilities Management Conference on May 25th, held in Dubai at Al Murooj Rotana Hotel from 24 – 28 May 2009.

The Conference was arranged to benefit Facility & Property Management organizations by providing the latest information on integrated FM services and solutions, explaining how to involve Facility Management in property development projects, and providing an opportunity to network and meet with Business Partners. Conference was attended by the Key FM Organizations in the U.A.E.

Mr. Turner addressed the Conference with a presentation on "A Practical Services Strategy on Behalf of Asset Owners."  He shared his knowledge on the subject from his diverse experience in the real estate business.

"I am very pleased to take part in the Property & Facilities Management Conference. The opportunity to exchange ideas and strategies in this type of forum is so valuable for everyone involved,"  said Mr. Turner.  "I spoke today about what Khidmah has learned in the past year of developing and deploying a Services Management Strategy for Sorouh Real Estate, P.J.S.C and hopefully help other providers to serve their clients and customers better."     

Mr. Turner has more than 13 years experience in the real estate sector, where his particular expertise lies in the area of real estate management.  Prior to the founding of Khidmah, Mr. Turner was the Executive Director of Asset & Property for Sorouh Real Estate, P.J.S.C.  Before coming to the Middle East, Mr. Turner was President and Founder of a full-service real estate management company in the United States, where he managed more than 38 locations across 10 different states in the country, employing a team of 330 staff that delivered combined real estate services.  Mr. Turner also owned and operated a construction and facilities management company.

Mr. Turner is the CEO of Khidmah; Abu Dhabi’s first Emirati owned and operated Services Management Company which provides comprehensive services management to the finest properties in the world. Employing clear processes and standardized practices across all the properties, Khidmah is able to manage and maintain every aspect of successful, profitable development. Khidmah’s Services Management approach includes consulting, facilities and maintenance, leasing, security, cleaning, landscaping, health and fitness, customer call centers and an ever expanding list of specialized capabilities, all provided under a single point of contact. With highly trained employees, integrated processes and in-depth understanding of the people and properties they serve, Khidmah serves the vision of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

For more information on Khidmah, visit www.Khidmah.com

(From Wikipedia) Pruning is the process of removing certain aboveground elements from a plant; in landscaping this process usually involves removal of diseased, non-productive, or otherwise unwanted portions from a plant. The purpose of anthropomorphic pruning is to shape the plant by controlling or directing plant growth, to maintain the health of the plant, or to increase the yield or quality of flowers and fruits.In general the smaller the wound (smaller the branch that is cut) the less harm to the tree. It is therefore typically better to formative prune the tree when juvenile than try to cut off large branches on a mature tree.

People must be pruned to bear fruit. What does that mean? In leadership this analogy is very true. People must be trimmed or corrected/improved/strengthened/ trained/etc. in order for them to produce fruit or other leaders/more work product/better quality of work/etc. So we show today how people are like trees in that for them to be promoted they must be trimmed or pruned.

What is promotion?
(From Wikipedia) A promotion is the advancement of an employee’s rank or position in an organizational hierarchy system. Promotion may be an employee’s reward for good performance i.e. positive appraisal. Before a company promotes an employee to a particular position it ensures that the person is able to handle the added responsibilities by screening the employee with interviews and tests and giving them training or on-the-job experience. A promotion can involve advancement in terms of designation, salary and benefits, and in some organizations the type of job activities may change a great deal.

So very few, if any, of us does not want to be promoted. Every one of us is different. Some want to be promotion for title, others for Salary, others for Benefits, others for more responsibility, others for political power or influence.

However, I have learned that you must be pruned to be promoted. You cannot expect to be promoted without change. If you keep doing the same, these same things that have not gotten you to the next level (HNL), then you must change what you are doing (Pruning) to be promoted.

How does this apply to leadership?
Above in the definition of Pruning it states: in landscaping this process usually involves removal of diseased, non-productive, or otherwise unwanted portions from a plant. In leadership, Pruning is the process of removal of non-productive and otherwise unwanted habits, characteristics, or weaknesses from the leader.
The purpose of landscaping pruning is to shape the plant by controlling or directing plant growth, to maintain the health of the plant, or to increase the yield or quality of flowers and fruits. In the same way, pruning in leadership is to shape the person/leader by controlling or directing the person’s growth, to maintain the health of the person and company, or to increase the yield or quality of work productive and leadership product.

A Leader bears fruit by:
1. Productivity in others
2. Producing other Leaders
3. Producing processes to grow more leaders and produce more (cycle of 1, 2, and 3 – builds momentum)

Illustration of a tree branch.
1. If you do not prune it, the branch becomes too thin. Then if growth does continue, when it starts to bear fruit, the branch is not strong enough to handle the weight and the branch is broken.
In Leadership, if you are not pruned/improved at a lower level, when the fruit comes or you are promoted to a HNL, you will not be able to handle it and you will break/fail yourself or the business.
2. If the branch breaks, it can cause an infection and can even kill the tree. So not trimming a tree and then allowing fruit to come – by not pruning, you risk killing the tree. By not pruning your leaders, you risk killing the department and even the company.

Takeaway Points: Promotion only comes from Pruning
1. Not Normal: It is not normal to growth of the branch or the person. Everyone just wants to continue to grow, or continue to do what he or she is doing and expect promotion. Promotion does not happen without Pruning.
2. It Hurts: It hurts, some more and some less than others. Yes, it does, no doubt about it. When you are pruned as a Leader that means you have to change what you are doing or focus on an area that is your weakness. That is not fun to do, but you must do it to be promoted. No promotion without Pruning.
3. Trust: Shows that you must trust the leadership and your supervisor who is the one doing the pruning. In pruning, the leader is revealing to you that you have a weakness. And in your old capacity, the weakness was ok, but to be promoted you must correct your weakness or it will not stand up to the weight of the next level (HNL) and the weight of the new fruit that will come. The branch will become heavy, and if you did not prune, the branch is too weak.
4. Change: Many times pruning is in the form of reprioritization by your supervisor/leader to get you to focus on what is important to get to the next level. This is many times hard, because it is a change from what you have been doing. But what you have been doing has NOT gotten you promoted, so pruning/change is required to get you to the HNL or next level.
5. Must Changes to Reach Max: You must be pruned to bear maximum fruit to reach your maximum potential.

So you want to be promoted? Then these are Questions you must answer yourself?
• Are you receptive to pruning? If you react with excuses and reasons for your weaknesses, you are not ready to be pruned.
• Are you seeking to be pruned? If so, when is the last time you asked your leader/supervisor what you can do to be better?
• What are you doing to take things off of your supervisor’s responsibility and add to yours? Do you know what is important to your supervisor/leader? Have you asked him or her? How can you prepare yourself to be promoted if you are not learning in your current role and assisting your supervisor in his/Her job?
• Will you allow someone to prune you?
• Do you understand that pruning hurts, and sometimes you must take a step backwards before you can take two steps forward?

If you did not answer “YES” to all of the questions above, you are not ready to be promoted – to go to a HNL.
Lead On!
Sutton

Today, Abdulla al Qamzi (Managing Director of Khidmah) and I visited a worker community built using buildings produced by Nowaisco International Modular Buildings. They are very well built and will provide excellent accommodations for the workers we have just interviewed in Bangladesh and India.

I have attached a couple of photos of the accommodations. They are all metal buildings with a flooring made of a tough concrete board. I believe they will last and have excellent insulation to cut down operational costs over the long-term.

Lead On!
Sutton

We “Started” service today in Bangladesh and then going to three cities in India. We interviewed and skills tested over 1200 candidates in 5 days. It was awesome.
It is just the beginning however, of bring good quality service oriented workers to the Emirates to make Khidmah’s Vision a reality.
Click on the link below and enjoy the trip with us.

Lead On!
Sutton

What makes a leader a leader?
“Focus”
“a high level of activity inhibition (self control)”
“anyone who influences a group toward obtaining a particular result”
“a commitment to persist”
“ a person who does things right and more importantly does the right things”
Just because an organization has no single leader…does not mean it has weak leadership….group leadership can be effective.
“a leader must have drive, achievement, motivation, ambition, energy, tenacity and initiative, honesty, integrity, self-confidence”
“a leader has power”
Power = Concentration (Focus)
Concentration= Elimination of Distraction
Distraction= Mismanaged Commitments

Are these traits or characteristics that leaders are born with or can they be learned?
What is a “born” salesman?
Things to Try:
1. Capture everything on your mind—business and personal. Sort it into three categories
a. Is there some action I can take on it and if so what is the desired outcome?
b. Is it a useful reference that I can both retrieve and use in the future?
c. If neither a nor b then it is trash and should be discarded.
2. Keep track of the actionable items by reviewing periodically and do the actions identified.
3. If two or more people meet then actionable items, people responsible and delivery dates should be assigned. There always needs to be an agreed upon next step.

Mark Airhart, Director of Support Services

20 April 2009 – Abu Dhabi, UAE: Sorouh Real Estate PJSC, the leading Abu Dhabi-based master-planner and developer, today announced the launch of Khidmah, a comprehensive services management company. The joint venture company, established in conjunction with Capital Investment LLC, will offer property consultancy, facilities, maintenance, leasing and re-sales, cleaning, property management, landscaping, health and fitness, and a customer call centre all under one roof.

Khidmah will provide these management services to Sorouh, Capital Investment and their customers, as well as to home-owners and property investors on other developments.

The company is led by Managing Director Abdulla Saeed Al Qamzi and Chief Executive Officer Sutton Turner and expects to reach more than 150 staff by the end of 2009.

Mounir D Haidar, Chief Executive Officer of Sorouh, said:
“The launch of Khidmah follows a long and detailed planning process and is yet another example of how we are planning to meet the needs of our customers, from purchase all the way through to moving in and living in our properties.

“Khidmah offers all the services you will require, whether you are a homeowner requiring maintenance of your home, or an investor wanting help in leasing and managing a set of properties.”

Ali Al Mansoori, Managing Director of Capital Investment LLC, added:
“As Abu Dhabi’s first Emirati-owned services company, Khidmah will bring a unique understanding of the market. It has been able to combine this local expertise with the talents of world-class individuals in the senior management team.

“There is a real gap in the market for this type of company and we are confident Khidmah will attain a market leadership position.”

Khidmah’s property leasing services have also started operation, through dedicated website UAE2Let.com, which contains a searchable database of properties throughout the UAE.

-Ends-

About Sorouh Real Estate PJSC
Abu Dhabi-based Sorouh Real Estate PJSC is one of the UAE’s leading property companies, with more than AED 70 billion worth of projects under development in the UAE and internationally. Established in June 2005 with a capital of AED 2.5 billion, Sorouh is now one of the largest real estate developers on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Working in master-planning, master-development and property related fields, Sorouh has some of the region’s most important developments underway, including Abu Dhabi’s Lulu Island, SHAMS Abu Dhabi on Reem Island including The Gate District, and alghadeer Sorouh on the border of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, all developed in close cooperation with the Abu Dhabi government and its Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.

For more information, please contact:
Olivia White
Four Communications Group Abu Dhabi
Tel: +971 55 980 1124
sorouh@fourcommunications.com

Khidmah LLC, an emirati-owned and operated services management company located in Abu Dhabi, has hired Mark Airhart to lead the company’s Support Services Division. As Director, Mr. Airhart will oversee the company’s Finance, Administrative, Team Services, IT and Marketing departments.

Abu Dhabi, UAE – April 30, 2009
Khidmah, LLC, an integrated services management company based in Abu Dhabi, today announces the hiring of Mark Airhart as Director of Support Services. Mr. Airhart joins Khidmah as Director of Support Services, where he will bring extensive organizational experience and customer knowledge to the company’s management team.

Mr. Airhart will lead the Support Services Division for Khidmah, where he will oversee the company’s Finance, Administrative, Team Services (Human Resources), IT and Marketing departments. He brings over 30 years experience in building delivery organizations that satisfy customer requirements and provide shareholder value, as well as leadership in developing electronic payment and check processing, document management and information systems capable of managing thousands of transactions and customer interactions across a broad range of services.

Prior to joining Khidmah, Mr. Airhart served as Vice President of Computing and Network Services at Symcor Corporation, one of North America’s largest business outsourcing companies, where he managed a staff of 125 with annual budget of $40 million. Previous leadership roles also include Senior Vice President positions at two major corporations, overseeing 300 employees with a $20 million annual budget and 400 employees with an annual budget of $50 million. Mr. Airhart holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Ball State University (USA).
Khidmah provides comprehensive services management to the finest properties in the world. Employing innovative processes and proven practices across a range of services, Khidmah is able to manage and maintain every aspect of successful, profitable development. Khidmah’s Services Management approach includes consulting, facilities and maintenance, leasing, security, cleaning, landscaping, health and fitness, customer call centers and an ever expanding list of specialized capabilities, all provided under a single point of contact.

For more information on Khidmah, LLC, please visit www.Khidmah.com.

Since Khidmah is posed for massive growth and we are currently hiring a large number of team members, YOU need to ask yourself – “Who are you surrounding yourself with?  Are they ‘Improving’ Team Members?”

We need to ask the following questions concerning adding people to our Khidmah Team:  Does the candidate do all of the following?

1. Improves the Team.
   We must know our team’s weaknesses and needs in the future.  Each new member needs to add something to the team, wheather it is skills, knowledge, experience, etc. that currently is needed or will be needed for team success in the future.
2. Improves you as the Leader.
   Ouch!  This is a tough one for most leaders – YOU MUST KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES AS A LEADER AND SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE BETTER THAN YOU AT YOUR WEAKNESS!
   Yes, as a leader you have a weakness.  You might not admit is, which is another weakness.  What are your weaknesses?  Do you know?  When you know your weakness, add someone to your team that is really good at what you are not.  Here is a good tip:  Whatever you hate to do – find someone that it is there passion.  That team member should be your right hand person.
   During our meeting, I discussed how our Director of Services is really good at technical and operations of buildings.  One of my weaknesses is the techinical and engineering components of a building.  My weakness is his love and passion.  So he complements me as the leader and improves our team.  I am personally and professionally learning from him each and every day.  He is giving me a great education in my area of weakness.  Neil improves me.
3. You can Improve them.
   When you look at the new candidate, can someone on your current team improve the candidates weaknesses?  Again, as stated above, we all have weaknesses.  So can someone improve the candidate and make them better because they joined Khidmah.  The answer must be Yes.  If people are progressing and moving to new levels in areas of their weaknesses, they will more enjoy their position and more enjoy contributing to the vision and mission because they are personally benefiting from the relationship.
   One of the things we do at Khidmah is give every new employee the Birkman Test that shows people’s natural strengths, likes, and interests.   It also shows how they handle stressful situations.  These tests are then given to their Leader and to the new employee for learning by each.

LEADERSHIP PIT FALL: If I hire good poeple that are better than me at my weakness or even in general, then they will make me look bad and I will be replaced by them.  THIS IS FALSE!  Absolutately and completely!

Let’s discuss what is the downward spiral of NOT hiring Improving people that are better than the leader.  This is what happens when  the three objectives above are not met:

• Leader decides that he cannot hire people that are better than him.  He wants to keep control of the company/department and make sure he  is the smarted person in the room.  (THIS IS WHERE THE PROBLEM STARTS)
• At first, the leader can do everything, but as the company/department grows, it puts more and more things on the desk of the leader.  The leader begins to work weekends and late nights.  Before long, even with working the weekends, things are not getting done.
• The pressure/stress builds on the leader – the leader is doing things they are not good at which takes the leader extra time and energy.
  From my example of me and Neil:  Looking at the technical part of buildings is easy for Neil and comes second nature to him.  However, if Neil were not a Leader of the Khidmah team, then I would be spending time looking at the technical aspects of the buildings that we manage.  This would be very stressful to me and take additional time and energy vs. what it would take Neil to perform the same task.
• The Leader becomes the controller, and not the leader.  He begins to manage and not lead.  If the leader does not have people surrounding himself to delegate tasks to, they become the bottleneck and begin controlling everything.
• Because the leader has no one surrounding him, he does not empower anyone to make decisions.
• High achieving people looking to join the company see noone empowered and thus decide not to join.
• High achieving people within the company, see noone empowered and see the bottleneck and leave the organization.
• With high achieving people not joining the organizaiton and high achieving people within the organization leaving – there is a depletion of good talent to grow the company – again adding to the focus/pressure/stress on the leader.
• With a depletion of talent, there comes a depletion of quality of work or service from the company.  The company begins to not meet its objectives and which increases the pressure on the leader.
• More work and responsibility for the leader which means leader is unable to think or make decisions strategically.

Basically, all of the above, lead to one of two things (or both) – the leader leaves the company or the company/department fails.

So now that we have discussed what we want to avoid and how not surrounding yourself with “improving” team members , let’s talk about the right way of doing it.

• Leader correctly assesses the team and himself.  Again, this is an Ouch.  It hurts, but if you don’t look at yourself and the organization to assess what it correctly needs, you are wasting your time.  The leader determine what is needed and recruits based on weaknesses of the team – Improves the Team; Improves the Leader; and You Improve the new team member.
• Leader makes a decision to hire people that are “better than he  is.”
• As these new team members are trained and begin to understand the Vision and Team Culture, the leader is able to give away or empower them to ”take things off his plate or responsibility.”
• As the leader is able to give things to the team members, he is able to focus on leadership of the team and the strategy on where the team is heading.
• As the team members are given more responsiblity, they are encouraged to take “ownership” in the process and begin to work in their area of strength.
• High Achievers from outside the organization are drawn to the organization because of the success, and they see people being empowered – increasing talent coming into the team.
• High Achievers within the organization are encouraged that they will have the opportunities within this organization to rise to their next level - increasing retention of good talent.
• Momentum begins to build from inside the organization with empowerment and recognition.  With momentum, people are able to do more because of the positive sysnergies that exist.
• The leader with more time to focus on leading begins to see new opportunites for the developing and growing team, and more ways to use the team for the companies benefit.  These new opportunities allow new team members the chance to lead, thus building more momentum.
• The company no longer depends on the leader to do anything more than lead (which is his job).  The team is strong, allowing people to leave the company without causing the company to suffer.
• The leader is recognized for allowing the team to grow and additional opportunities are open for the leader within the company.

As we discussed in our meeting, this cycle builds on itself and has a life of its own.

One key takeaway that we discussed at the end of this training was – Leaders must be continually giving away responsibilty and empowering people in order to grow.  The example above on how NOT to lead was based around the leader taking on more and more duties and resposiblities – but thereby causing the bottleneck.  However, the correct way is just the opposite, the leader surrounds himself with good talented people and continues to give away responsiblities and “power” to allow the organization to grow.

Hope this helped someone!

Lead On!

Sutton