Call for White-collar Sufism in Congress

Turkish Daily News - Ankara, Turkey
Thursday, November 15, 2007

Istanbul: In a world of increasingly blurred borders, the profile of a private sector manager changes rapidly and shifts toward better communication and empathy as well as stronger, more efficient team-work, said managers and experts during a panel discussion on the last day of the 16th Quality Congress yesterday.

Curiosity, tolerance, patience and courage are the four characteristics of an international manager, according to Coca-Cola's Eurasia advisor, Cem Kozlu.

Kozlu pointed out the tolerance philosophy of the Sufi poet Yunus Emre as the “compass” of an international manager.

Tolerance and embracing differences are common characteristics of the Sufi philosopher Mevlana Jelaladdin Rumi and Italian philosopher Francesco Petrarca, Kozlu said, highlighting the crucial importance of understanding cultural differences.

“Listening, but sincerely listening” is the key to go beyond cultural barriers, he added.

Giving an example from his Vienna days, Kozlu said that he confronted a serious cultural resistance. Learning that employees were calling him a “carpet trader,” Kozlu organized a meeting in the Vienna military museum, with the paintings illustrating the Ottoman siege of Vienna and discussed history.

Research Baltaş presented on the changing definition of leadership indicated that employees think developing relations and providing a participatory management are more important qualities than others like determination and competence in a manager.

Characteristics like egocentricity and rudeness are regarded as negative for a manager in any culture, Baltaş concluded.

How a company could be profitable and at the same time, contributing to social causes was the main theme of the speech by Peter Baker, CEO of international cargo giant TNT.

“If you want to manage quality [in the services sector], you have to manage the motivation of your people,” he said.

[Picture: Francesco Petrarca (July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374), from the Cycle of Famous Men and Women c. 1450. Detached fresco. 247 x 153 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Artist: Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (c. 1423 - 1457). Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch].