Business Management Experiences

1. Winning On and Off The Track
By Phil Richardson,
Director, Retail and Leisure Projects,
Yas Island.
Recently I had the privilege of discussing the success of Ferrari in
attaining multiple World Championships with both its former CEO and
Team Principal, Mr. Jean Todt, and it’s Chief of Operations, Racing
Department, Mr. Mario Almondo. As an avid F1 fan, as well as being a
businessman, I have always had a strong interest in learning about the
business processes that led to their many successes, and when I shared
that with Mr. Todt, he arranged for me to meet with Mr. Almondo right
away. This was my opportunity!
What followed was a “million dollar” management seminar for me with
Mr. Almondo providing detailed insights into the internal team
workings that have led to their success…even more than I had hoped
for! But best of all, since we are in such close collaboration with them
for the development of the first Ferrari World, Mr. Almondo has very

2. kindly agreed to allow me to share what I learned with you, my fellow
Aldar colleagues!
Often, the most powerful insights are amongst the most simple to
express but the most difficult to apply, especially consistently. But it is
that consistency which makes them potent, and Ferrari is rigorous in
maintaining it.
The key principles by which Ferrari operates follow: One of the most
important is:
“Do not delay a decision until tomorrow that can be made today.”
While this may seem like it can be easily followed, human nature often
intervenes and too often we may be inclined to delay our choices for a
variety of reasons. We rationalize that doing so won’t likely have a
negative impact on outcomes for our company (or for our personal
lives), but in the pressurized environment found in F1 racing, not only
does every day count, but often so does every 100th of a second!
Delaying a decision regardless of the level at which it is taken can be the
difference between success and failure. And often it is those decisions

3. taken (or not) at the “lower” levels of an organization which are most
impactful. Take for example, a draftsperson working on the basic
outline of a part of the braking system. If a choice of direction has to be
made, and that choice is not made simply because the urgency of doing
so is not recognized, then the negative downstream effects in respect to
meeting those all important third party deadlines called Race Days can
be momentous. This is especially true in an environment which is so
relentlessly competitive as F1 Racing. Every team is striving to develop
an edge over their rivals. This effort is inevitably comprised of many
advances, and with many different elements, and any improvement, no
matter how small, can make a winning difference.
The next principle is Ferrari’s unrelenting pursuit of excellence which
reveals itself in every way. For example, intensive ongoing research is
essential to their advancement and so the contribution of innovative
ideas is encouraged from everyone on the team, which is then provided
to their research group for evaluation. Those which are selected result
in a reward to their originator, through recognition by his or her peers,
for their positive contribution towards helping the team to succeed.

4. The respect that is shown for the roles and contributions of one’s
colleagues is fundamental to the building of a strong team, which is the
third principle that is very obviously fundamental to their success,
which is teamwork. Working together professionally allows the proper
consideration of proposed action so that a consensus can be formed
efficiently in support of the right decision. Naturally bad decisions taken
in a timely manner can be as damaging as delayed good decisions so it is
vital to ensure that proper consideration is always given to the expected
(and unexpected!) outcomes that may arise before implementation.
“What you see is likely only the tip of the iceberg” Mr. Almondo says,
“and you must always give due consideration to what lies beneath the
surface.”
One needs only to see the precision and speed with which Ferrari’s pit
crew works to service their cars during a race to realize the value of
working very professionally and in synchronization with one another to
promote their common success. And so it is that this principle is applied
at every level of the organization and with every person equally
involved and respected.

5. This leads to the fourth principle by which Ferrari lives, namely that
everyone in their organization is vital to their success. Their strong
commitment to including people on their team who come from every
culture around the world has led to the very best ideas being brought to
the table. “If you want to win, you must be at the leading edge of
technology and so you must take a global approach to securing the best
talent and ideas available to you” Mr. Almondo says. “This can make all
the difference.”
In its efforts to succeed, Ferrari believes that everyone must receive
clear, complete and frequent communications from the company. No
one is left out of the information loop and thereby disabled from
contributing effectively…everyone knows the direction in which the
whole team is headed so that all needed efforts can be synchronized and
focused for maximum efficiency. The deep involvement of everyone on
the team and their dedication to these principles leads to maintaining
their winning record.
So what can we take away from this fascinating insight into the inner
workings of such a successful enterprise?

6. Our business environment has many similarities with that in which
Ferrari operates. The prosperity of Aldar is determined by how our
people deliver on the promises of excellence that the company makes to
the world. Excellence is a requirement, not an option, in our every day
business lives in order to meet the expectations we have developed in the
general public and with our shareholders that we will produce the very
best quality products and services. And the world is truly our stage
since we have defined ourselves as a world-class organization, based on
involving the best ideas and best practices gathered from around the
world through our multi-cultural team makeup. And we can’t forget
for a moment that this same commitment to excellence is the norm in
other high quality organizations, some of whom are our competitors.
Accordingly, for us to progress, we must continuously look at our own
business processes to ensure that they measure up to those of other
world class organizations such as Ferrari so that we too can reach and
then remain at the top of our game.

7. We must all ask ourselves “Are we making the necessary high quality
decisions every day in concert with our respected professional colleagues,
and without delay?” When we can answer that question with a “YES”,
every day, then we are truly measuring up to the high expectations of
our stakeholders and of the world.