Entrepreneurship – perhaps the most talked out and debated topic in current times.  When the universe conspires for us to remain in our comfort zone and maintain the status quo, leaving a corporate role to take on the entrepreneurial journey is an irrational act… an act that is driven by that X factor that each and everyone has to have – Passion!

But perhaps passion cannot be the sole driver of success even if it's the key igniter. Is passion and being a subject matter expert enough for being a successful entrepreneur? Is the energy and drive created by your unwavering belief in what you do enough to achieve the numbers or is there a more structured approach one needs to take in order to effectively channelize that passion for #commercial success?

In this episode of ARKcast, keeping in mind the entrepreneurial support ecosystem in UAE where entrepreneurship is genuinely celebrated and learning from my own journey of setting up  ARK People Solutions, I undertake a discussion with Ashwin Joshi, Head of the Dubai branch of Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, as he talks us through the process of harnessing the power of passion. For 5 years, Ashwin led the pre-investment and ecosystem development function at IIM-A's start-up #incubator and #accelerator and helped many early-stage founders.

Can #Coaching deliver instant #results?  In an environment where the appetite for quick results is super high, can coaching whet the appetite of business leaders and owners as a potential solution to address specific #development and #growth needs of their team?  Is it a solution that has been unjustifiably labeled as a soft approach that only delivers results over a longer period of time even though it may have the power to actually deliver and drive quicker yet sustainable results?

As businesses continue to #flex to adapt to a #newnorm, the role of leaders is changing.  Less of being a manager and more of being a #Coach.  However, #performance deliverables and #bottomline results remain paramount and ever important. 

Join me and our guest, Sam Eid, for the latest ARKcast where we explore the above questions and lots more.  Sam is a certified practitioner and life coach of NLP, mindscaping, access consciousness, timeline paradigm and hypnosis.  His career spans over two decades of mentoring and recruiting some of the best talents in mainstream media. 

 A key takeaway for us was just like any habit, to be successful, coaching needs to be made into a lifestyle and should become a part of our daily routine – whether at work or otherwise – it's not a switch that you can turn on and off!

Happydemic!  An intriguing and fresh take on the current challenging environment we are all facing and have been affected by – personally or at work.  The big question remains - can organizations actually adopt a “Happydemic” mindset and create an environment that is simply happy?  Or is it still considered too “soft” an approach that most organizations deter to enter into, lest it creates a culture of laid back, lackadaisical, irresponsible people especially in a market climate where every organization is trying its level best to financially survive and be viable.

 Employee happiness at the workplace has always been related to once a year engagement score – which seems to be more of a tick-box exercise to fulfill a KPI rather than actually do something about it.  A shift to regular – even daily feedback – is happening and the role that a leader plays in ensuring and creating a happy culture is paramount.  Then again, perhaps the choice to be happy or unhappy lies with us.

In the latest episode of ARKcast, I speak to Larissa Redaelli, Happiness Master Coach and an international author who recently published her book – Happydemic, which is a reflection of her personal experiences and journeys in the quest to find her happiness and in the process, has created models that enable everyone to take charge of their own happiness.  The impact on organizations is undeniable as we all know happy employees = happy customers but does it really translate into an actual part of an organization’s strategic plan?

The revolving door of employee turnover has been an ongoing challenge for businesses - large and small, globally and closer to home, here in the UAE too. Sooner or later, leaders will have to shift their mindset and start looking at employees as co-creators of the business; vs.' CTC'. In the Hospitality and Service Industry, employees sit at the intersection of a business and the customer or guest experience; which makes hiring and retaining the right talent even more important.  After all, everyone has talent – but it's about finding the right talent!

Aligned to ARK’s Philosophy of Hiring Right for Success, host Aseem Kapoor recently caught up with entrepreneurs and ARK Affiliate Partners Sumeet Nayyar and Kyriakos Tzampazidis who share a similar passion of success through hiring the right people and harnessing the power of AI to help leaders across the Service Industry find, hire and retaining talent more suited to thrive in their organizations' culture.

Tune in to the latest episode of ARKcast to find out how AI aides the decision making process and is a great enabler in identifying talent with the right skill-set; predict with almost 60-70% accuracy the likelihood of their long term stability, productivity and performance, which eventually impacts bottom-line and help save costs attributed to high employee turnover.

At one time, organizations could compete heavily based on product differentiation. A better, more luxurious, efficient and sleeker product could create its own niche and build its identity; that may well still be true for some industries. In reality though, for most, it's a crowded marketplace today. For one product, you have multiple options available in the market with marginal differences only. This leads to confusion and decision paralysis for a customer. 

Many hospitality and service brands also compete on the basis of price, product, location, etc; with the recent battlefront being "delivering a great Customer or Guest Experience". But whilst many brands claim or leaders believe in this, it seems to seldom translate.

As #RoveHotels now gear up to open their 7th  hotel in Dubai, ARK's Chief ARK-itect Aseem Kapoor catches up with Paul Bridger - Head of Operations for Rove Hotels. Paul came on board in the early stages of the brand development and plays a key role in how the brand is positioned today, within its own white space in the mid-market segment.

Right from the start, it was clear - what would help a brand like Rove to leave a mark, would be the experience they deliver. Again, typically whilst having a great product is crucial, mapping a great experience takes a lot more than just looking at all your touchpoints and seeing the world as your customers would. The glue that holds it together is your People - something that's often overlooked. But for Rove, or "Rovesters" as they proudly call themselves, is that secret ingredient that would bind the whole experience together.

Tune in to our latest episode as Paul Bridger chats with host Aseem Kapoor about how his team of Rovesters 'Go Beyond Borders', which sets the brand apart and hold its own ground, in a market place that has a plethora of options for travellers to choose from.

#CustomerExperience #Dubai #Travel #hospitality

The Food & Beverage industry in the UAE particularly restaurants are undergoing a massive reset. From unsustainable restaurant to customer ratios and a short supply of talent affecting the service experience; lack of understanding and aligning a brand's DNA to operator or owner's goals; lease negotiations and high rents, to diversifying revenue streams and the case for online food aggregators. What changes should restauranteurs and owners or operators make to thrive in the next normal? 

In Episode 2 of ARKcast,  host Aseem Kapoor catches up with KoenTheunis - Founder & Partner of RBnH Solutions; a Food & Beverage consultant and industry professional for 18 years in  Dubai with popular casual dining brands under his belt including  - Yamanote Atelier, Atisuto, Wise Kwai, Ostro and The Fish House. Tune-in as we discuss how the restaurant service industry can impede these challenges; and what key steps must be taken by the industry to build a deeper community connection to address the changing future of the restaurant industry, enabling us to come out of this stronger and better - together!

COVID-19 has caused a shake-up so sudden, that it defies comparison. But amidst the chaos, there's always a silver lining. #Upwork's recent 'Freelance Forward: 2020 Report' highlights some interesting findings on how a significant number of Americans continued to #Freelance amid the pandemic and contributed $ 1.2 trillion to the economy. The increase was partly fueled by an influx of young, highly-skilled professionals transitioning from full-time jobs to full-time hustling or freelancing and seeking alternatives to traditional employment. On this maiden episode of ARKcast, we chat with Laura Garton - an independent Learning & Development professional whos' journey from a full-time corporate role to an independent freelance consultant, has been nothing short of inspiring!