Chapter 15: Why We're Here
Consulting; new to her--routine for me
15.09.2022 - 15.09.2022 106 °F
Chapter 15: Why We're Here
September 15, 2022
When we came to Dubai half a year ago in February, it was at the invitation of the organizers of a conference who wanted B4 to speak on the potentially controversial topic of lab grown diamonds. She did that. Futurists embrace the concept, traditionalists reject it. However, one must call to mind the hind-sight errors of Kodak, Nokia, Blockbuster, Blackberry, Sears, the entire taxi-cab industry, One-Hour Photo, Television networks, Cable TV and countless others to understand the potential pitfall of "missing the boat." Who is in the eye of the storm today? B4 would tell you automobile manufacturing and retailing are both on that list. "If you don't Uberize your business, you will be Kodaked," is only one of her lines. Another: "You go in as a peacock but go out as a feather duster."
Her remarks, perpetualized on YouTube, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TUU_mZPAcE) attracted a lot of attention. One attendee was an acquaintance of 25 years earlier who now holds a different responsibility here--running a chain of retail jewelry stores similar to what our lady has been running. Intrigued by what she had to say in the forum, he invited her here to consult. Given that the idea of selling lab grown diamonds requires a knowledgable and motivated sales team, I was asked to tag along as a trainer. So, "post-retirement," here we are.
B4 in a conference room under the gaze of Sheikhs offering expertise regarding her extensive experience with Lab Grown Diamonds.
Lab Grown Diamonds? What's that? Diamonds can be grown over millions of years far beneath the surface of the earth under both extreme heat and extreme pressure. They are mined diamonds, or MD. Or, because of "recent" amazing technological leaps, diamonds can be grown over a few months here above the surface in a laboratory--again, under extreme heat and extreme pressure. In some ways similar to plants, they are LGD, lab grown diamonds, grown from a sliver of an existing diamond: a seed. Much as you and I can get ice from a glacier or from our freezer or a flower from the wild or from a greenhouse, diamonds can now be had from different origin points.
"Isn't that moissanite or cubic zirconia?" you might inquire? Oh, no. Lab Grown Diamonds are chemically, physically, optically and atomically identical (the U.S. Federal Trade Commission so states) to mined diamonds. They are not "synthetic" nor "artificial" nor "simulated." They are "so identical" that even under a jewelers loop or microscope, you cannot discern the difference. They say, "I Love You" in the exact same way that mined diamonds says "I love you" with one significant difference. For the same amount of money, you can buy a diamond of identical quality that is considerably larger if you opt for "Lab." They must be--and are--proudly so labeled. For those who wonder about diamond origin or don't like dirty mines or are concerned with "sustainability" or don't want the earth to be disturbed, LGD are clearly preferable. For those who want a larger diamond that delivers the same sparkle and love, again, LGD are clearly preferable. "Who wants smaller? Raise your hand," she asked a group of our client's sales associates. None went up. In the interest of full disclosure, growing diamonds in a laboratory requires a lot of electricity. To fully validate the sustainability minded, these labs should be in locales where renewable energy has replaced fossil fuel energy.
B4 was, in the United States, a very early adopter of LGD and in a short time became what we believe to be the global leader in per-store sales of LGD. Note the term "global leader." I emphasize that because I am so proud of her. Anyway, if you're not in competition with her company because you do business only elsewhere, there is nobody on this planet from whom you can better learn or from whom you can avoid mistakes, or from whom you can get a head start than from our girl. That's why they asked her to come halfway round the world.
So, here we are in Dubai for nearly a month.
The phrase I learned here 'same same but different' is 100% true. I had no idea what I was getting us into when we agreed to come over here and consult. I have never consulted and never envisioned myself doing so. Help out friends, sure; but not truly consult. Take away number one is retail is retail and the same principles apply. The differences are from the significantly different consumer audience, not the running of the business. On the first, we have undergone a crash course and continue to learn as we go. On the second, I've been doing it for the last 50 years so not so hard. It's been an interesting learning for me to see how the sausage is made in a retail business in another country. The gold business for instance is vastly different than the US; probably the biggest difference of them all. The price of gold by law has to be visibly posted on an electronic board where the price changes as the gold price changes. Gold is bought by weight and the price per gram seems to be fixed by a cartel of sorts. The margin is abysmal. The diamond business and fashion businesses are pretty close to those as we know them in the US; slight variations but not huge. The brand image of the company and its positioning is also a difference to learn. How a company manages their assortments to a consumer audience that is radically different from area to area and ethnic segment to ethnic segment is also interesting. In the US we think primarily about different mall and channel types and if segment to ethnicity we think we are really advanced. Try thinking about Dubai, Abu Dhabi, other UAE Emirates,Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar. One has to think about all the differences in which religion, customs, and superstition plays a big role. Example, Arab men will not where a gold ring because it is bad luck. For them the ring has to be silver or platinum. For Arab women the superstition doesn't apply. Go figure, i have no idea why. In the end, these are warm friendly people who want to succeed, learn, and grow. They have been incredibly open and welcoming. The gratification of being able to help them is huge. We feel greatly invested in their success. Their big launch was moved up a week to happen while we are still here. We're as excited as they are to see that happen.We are supremely confident they will have a great success.
When I sold my company, I assumed that I was finished professionally--that any form of training was clearly in my rear view mirror. For that reason, I did not hesitate to sign a non-compete with the people who purchased what I and my team had so successfully created. I checked the contract language. The non-compete is clear and absolute in that it only applies "in the United States." I am not being paid for what I am up to here, nor is B4, our motivation is the experience of living in Dubai for almost a month and the cultural experience that provides. It's another adventure. But I wouldn't be doing it if I thought I was inviting trouble legally, ethically or morally--even in the slightest. We are clearly not in the United States.
That brings up another point of concern to the trainer in me. What are the cultural differences when selling by and to Arabs, South Asians, Indians and all the varied people who come into the client's stores? Is what we do in North America going to work in the Middle East? We are learning about that as we go and the differences are in some ways profound and in other ways non-existent. It sure is fun. For me, the business of training has always been not only about teaching but also about learning.
I get my kicks watching B4 work. Her expertise is extensive. When she talks, people listen. In the photographs above, we see her with the client CEO on a LinkedIn television broadcast, one of several groups in training classes and, my favorite, a photograph taken in Saudia Arabia where a group of Saudi's is watching and listening intently to our girl.
After these many encounters, the participants give the ultimate compliment by saying something back to her that proves they not only heard but internalized what was said. As a consultant, that's the emotional compensation you get. It's intangible but oh so meaningful. And, as nearly as I can tell, what over the years became clear to me is only now becoming apparent to her. Being a corporate person in retail, she did not experience the sale of knowledge--she gave that away. For me, having no tangible goods to offer, that was all I had to sell. And, for sales people in particular, knowledge is of value as great as is the product they sell. They provide for themselves and their families by selling rather than making things. If you help them to sell more you raise both their emotional job satisfaction and also their standard of living. That is no small thing.
Another personal bonus is that I am sitting in on meetings where I get to hear her discuss things about which I am normally uninvolved and, I learn, woefully uninformed. Her breadth of knowledge and ability to interact on an elevated level is being more fully understood--even by me. In particular on this day--my birthday--this is fun to watch.
And then, there was a surprise for me. At our training class, I was presented with a birthday card, a donut with a candle and I was the recipient of a special rendition of "Happy Birthday," sung in Arabic and finished off by a traditional Arabic “Zaghrouta.” In English, that is an “Ululation”--an extended, vocalization of trills made by a rapid back-and-forth tongue movement--one I cannot replicate. I was both humbled and honored by the gesture.
