In the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, the Dubai Global Conventions 25th World Congress on Leadership for Business Excellence and Innovation kicked off yesterday. The convention is being held by the Institute of Directors-India in association with Dubai Customs on April 20-22 at The Meydan, Dubai.

Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director of Dubai Customs, delivered a theme address at the opening session of the congress, in which he said that Organizations of todays fast changing world must innovate to be able to stand out and stay ahead of competition both in the present and into the future. The shortest way to leadership, he believes, is to think outside the box and to think differently. He quoted His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai as sagely saying: The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it. It isn't something you await, but rather create.

Outlining Dubai Customs own perspective toward organizational innovation both as a concept and as a practice, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih said that innovation doesnt only entail organizations creating new ideas and technologies but also improving on older methods and processes that proved working. Innovating efficiently, he said, requires leaders who have the skill and imagination to produce new ideas and who are able to generate change based on critical and creative thinking. Only then would organizations be able to move from a culture of process to a culture of innovation.

But for this 360-degree transformation to be successfully implemented across the board not only do processes and procedures have to be changed, mindsets have to alter as well, said Ahmed Mahboob. There is a crucial need to incorporate within our organizations a collaborative mentality towards innovation, engaging everyones creativity based on a positive innovation management that encourages teamwork and collaboration.
Dubai Customs chief further noted that Interaction within our organizations is very important in drawing together employees from different disciplines in a shared drive to co-initiate innovative solutions that can help us attain business excellence and higher public and customer satisfaction Innovation and technology development have always been a major factor in economic growth in many countries worldwide. The United Arab Emirates leadership has been very keen on setting strategies and mechanisms to harness the power of information and communication technology and make optimum use of its benefits to boost economic growth and community well-being while driving the UAE to become a global leader in innovation.

Speaking around the events theme Leading 21st Century Organisation through Innovation, Creativity & Excellence (ICE), Ahmed Mahboob went on to say: Dubai Customs views innovation and creativity with utmost attention in pursuance of its strategic vision to be the leading customs administration in the world supporting legitimate trade and its mission to protect society and support economic development through compliance and facilitation. We are keenly dedicated to meet the goals of the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Strategic Plan 2021 of establishing a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy, as further emphasised in the directives of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to mark this year 2015 as the Year of Innovation and in light of the National Innovation Strategy launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. At Dubai Customs we have put in place a four-pillar strategy to drive innovation within our organization. This strategy is centred primarily on developing: human capital, knowledge, technology and security.

The latest innovations, state-of-the-art technologies and systems put in place by Dubai Customs have remarkably helped speeding up customs processes and therefore boosting the UAEs and Dubais global competitiveness. Our nation ranked 3rd worldwide and 1st in the MENA region in the Efficiency of Customs Procedures Index from the latest World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015, stated Musabih.
Dubai Customs also prides itself on having an outstanding track record of world excellence awards, naturally due to its longstanding commitment to innovation and excelling performance. The most notable of these recognitions are the four categories of the 18th edition of DGEP in 2015, the grand prize from the Ideas UK Association in 2014, in addition to numerous Golden Peacock awards, to name but a few. For six consecutive years, Dubai Customs has released a sustainability report in accordance with GRI guidelines, which is the highest level of accreditation reflecting compliance and transparency on the organisations annual achievements.

Moreover, DCs client satisfaction mounted to 91.2% in 2014 compared to 89.2% in 2013, while employee satisfaction soared from 67.2% in 2013 to 80.4% in 2014, according to a survey conducted by the Executive Council of Dubai Government, in cooperation with an external research company.
Ahmed Maboob Musabih, Director of Dubai Customs, concluded that innovation should not be an end in itself, but rather a means to do better and achieve prosperity. Likewise, organizations should adopt excellence as a daily practice within their business operations in a nonstop journey to be distinctive and so remain competitive. It is imperative that government and private organizations continue to do all they can to make innovation and excellence a good habit within their business and work together to achieve sustainable growth and peoples happiness.

The 25th World Congress on Leadership for Business Excellence and Innovation is a unique platform for sharing excellence ideas and experiences between leading organizations from around the world. It aims to further nurture a culture of innovation and excellence towards business leadership and governance in both the public and private sectors. Challenges and best practices in trade and economic fields are to be discussed during sessions.
The 3-day conference discusses critical issues, including leadership challenges for inclusive growth, creating world class organization, risk and compliance framework for business sustainability, leading corporate transformation through fostering innovation and ideas management, and social innovation as a driver of economic growth.