NBK Insider July 2009

insider

ΝΒΚΝΒΚΝΒΚΝΒΚ

© Public Relations Department

© PR Department NBK Holding 2009 Year 2—Issue 13 July 2009

VVVVVVVVVVVV I S I O N F O R T H E F U T U R EI S I O N F O R T H E F U T U R EI S I O N F O R T H E F U T U R EI S I O N F O R T H E F U T U R E

Celebrating Celebrating Celebrating Celebrating One Year of One Year of One Year of One Year of the INSIDER the INSIDER the INSIDER the INSIDER

Inside this Issue:

Pages 3- 4 NBK News Bulletin

Page 5 NBK Family Round-Up

Page 6 SAP Journey SAP Key Users Awarding

Page 7 U Matter “Innovate or die” by Dr. Nizar Issa

Pages 8-9 HR News

Page 10 Announcement Ask Your Management

Page 11 In Depth NBK ReadyMix

Pages 12-17 Special Report Left or Right Brained

Pages 18-19 Health

Page 20 Round & about The Human Condition: The good try

Dear Colleagues,

C ongrats! – Today marks the first year anniversary of our NBK In-sider. On behalf of NBK, we, at the PR department, thank each and every one of you for making this project a true success and benchmark of great and continuous team effort and commitment.

We shall take this occasion to speak to you about the importance of communications. In today’s world, we are overwhelmed with new means to connect, speak and share. We have a number of social media; technology is providing us with new gadgets and widgets every second of the day; we are turning to digital conferencing and shedding away the more traditional methods of meetings and debates but we tend to forget the most significant element of it all: COMMUNICATION. With all the amenities that your Blackberry, your second personal mobile phone, your laptop or your pager provide you with, you could be overlooking the importance of communications’ skills in all areas of your life. And here we find ourselves quoting the English novelist, Charles Dickens, saying: “Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.” With a quick search of an online dictionary, communications is defined as the act of transmitting or conveying messages, thoughts, ideas and feel-ings. But how can we do so successfully and effectively? Many times, we find ourselves failing to do something because there was a lack or misunderstanding in communication. Every type of relationships has its founding basis in communications If you can’t do properly then you might just be often prone to facing problems and challenges wherever you are and at any point in your life; and for that, we have three broad words of advice to you: 1. Don’t assume; make sure to research, to ask and to back your point of view with enough facts before jumping to conclusions 2. Take your time to clarify your point of view 3. Don’t think. Listen!! Acknowledge that disagreements is a natural part of any conversation Again, we thank you all for your brilliant commitment to the NBK Insider. We are deeply confident that the upcoming months will see further fruitful results. We look forward to receiving your valuable feedback and thoughts on our past 12 issues of the Insider so please feel free to drop us a line at [email protected] or call us on 4624438. Warmest regards, PR Department Team 2

EDITORIAL

3

NBK Insider

Issue 13 - July 2009

NEWS Bulletin

NBK READY MIX HIGHEST PRODUCTION RATE

“Concrete Commitment” The NBK Ready Mix Plant has been established in May 2007 with the aim to support the Al Wa’ab City project as well as the rest of the mar-ket. NBK RM utilizes two state of the art batching plants from Leibherr, Germany with a capacity of 100 sqm per hour as well as a huge fleet of trucks, truck mixers, cement bulkers and mobile pumps. NBK RM is a joint venture between Austrian Arabian Ready Mix Co., well-known for pouring the world’s tales tower in Dubai, and NBKS Group. Due to its unique location and capacity, NBK RM has been the sole concrete supplier for the Al Wa’ab City project as well as many other developments in Qatar. NBK RM employs around 150 employees and continues to view expansion and upgrading to be-come one of the top concrete suppliers in Qatar, with a keen eye to expand its reach and provide the best quality and service. A major millstone has just been achieved and celebrated last May as the NBK RM were able to reach the highest production capacity ever since its establishment.

NASSER BIN KHALED AND SONS COMPANY BAGS BOSCH AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN THE RE-GION

Nasser Bin Khaled and Sons Company has been recently awarded the title of Runner Up 2008 as the Best Performing Dealer in the Automotive Aftermarket for the Arabian Penin-sula by Bosch Middle East. This title recognizes NBK’s auto-motive leadership in Qatar and the region. The award was presented by Mr. Stewart Kelly Regional Sales Manager and Mr. Subin Mohan Regional Sales Execu-tive from Robert Bosch Middle East to Mr. Ahmed Habib, NBKS GM, Mr. Samuel Zidan, Division Manager, ZEIN Auto-motive (Spare Parts & Accessories).

4

NBK Insider


NEWS Bulletin

NBK Bowling Tournament rumple continues

NBK Bowling Tournament continues in its ninth week. The tournament is getting so competitive with the teams aiming to be within the top three. The teams standing and on the top three places are Team 10 (Leah Rosello, Ronnie Villegas, Nick Pelaydon and Khaisam A.K) , Team 2 (Cathy Francisco, Dexter Javier, Omar Khalil and Leslie Cleofe) and Team 6 (Jonineth Cabague , Munther Al-Herbawi, Mahmoud Al-Moghrabi and Hani Z) consecutively. Good luck for all and we will keep you updated with the results in the next issue.

QAC LIVE ONLINE WITH NEW MITSUBISHI AND FUSO WEBSITE www.mitsubishi-motors.com.qa

Qatar Automobiles Company, recently launched its new Qatar-related website Mr. Khalid Abu Shaa’ban, General Manager of QAC said: “Digital is now a core driver of any business and a prime choice for retail transactions. The online pres-ence of any corporate entity is crucial to maintaining and strengthening its relation-ship with its stakeholders providing them with the opportunity to locate specific in-formation pertaining to their needs and interest.” The Website incorporates user-friendly features enhancing information dissemination, product and services reviews, availability, booking and evaluation Tracks the development of QAC with an overview of its current and upcoming initiatives and campaigns Provides links to various customer-service related departments

5

NBK Insider


NBK Insider wishes a Happy Birthday to:

NBK Family Round-Up!

Paul Maryan NBK Holding 12-Jul

John Jacob NBK Holding 15-Jul

John Mathai Puthoor NBK Holding 20-Jul

Ali El Said Mohd NBK Holding 10-Jul

Leah Rosello NBK Holding 20-Jul

Alan Atellin NBK Holding 1-Jul

Harun Rashid Tajul Islam NBK Holding 15-Jul

Asmaa Yousif NBK Holding 20-Jul

Leslie Cleofe NBK Holding 17-Jul

Michel Tranquilo NBK Holding 3-Jul

Mohamed Abou Zahrei NBK Holding 1-Jul

Hamdi Moustafa Ibrahim Abouelezz NBK Auto 15-Jul

Mirza Sani NBK Auto 10-Jul

Puthiya Veettil Bhaskaran NBK Auto 13-Jul

Kuttenkulan Karappan pushkaran NBK Auto 30-Jul

Naseem Khan Tajbar Khan NBK Auto 6-Jul

Senani Perera Perera Liyanage NBK Auto 16-Jul

Domingo I. Aguja NBK Auto 26-Jul

Chateesh Sundarsanam NBK Auto 21-Jul

Agosto Saguin Saguin Yurong NBK Auto 8-Jul

Nenita Vedra Asingho NBK Auto 25-Jul

Poovathur Govind Raj NBK Auto 21-Jul

Ruwani Pradeepika NBK Auto 23-Jul

Ramil Ganzon NBK Auto 6-Jul

Bassel Abou Hassan NBK Auto 31-Jul

Julius Condat NBK Auto 10-Jul

Ahmed Korrani NBK Auto 19-Jul

Henry Onyango Okumu NBK Auto 22-Jul

Ahmad Sharief NBK Auto 2-Jul

Fouad Howaiji NBK Auto 17-Jul

Elise Jheane Jimenez NBK Auto 9-Jul

Kolambo Ajith Kumara NBK Auto 7-Jul

Ghiath Maki NBK Auto 25-Jul

Eiad Alkhatib NBK Auto 1-Jul

Ali Yahya Class Leasing 1-Jul

Julius Ruiz Class Leasing 13-Jul

Victorino Chua Class Leasing 8-Jul

Nonong Crisostomo Class Leasing 31-Jul

Joseph Albert Gonzales Class Leasing 25-Jul

Jazzel Wang Class Leasing 21-Jul

Ahmed Toujani Class Leasing 9-Jul

Mark Bayaliss QAC 19-Jul

Tamer Abdel Hakim Mohamed Saleh QAC 23-Jul

Salim Solayman QAC 16-Jul

Mohammad Walid Al-Haj Mahmoud QAC 3-Jul

Mohammed Fowzan Sa'adeh QAC 22-Jul

Emad Dawali QAC 29-Jul

Loay Al-Nammoura QAC 11-Jul

Ahmed AbdelRazek Ahmed QAC 14-Jul

Magd Ahmad QAC 20-Jul

Mohammad Khader QAC 17-Jul

Abeypala Arachchige QAC 27-Jul

Eapan Oommen QAC 20-Jul

Oommen Oommen QAC 15-Jul

Chengali Sunny Kutty QAC 27-Jul

Dilum Gamarachchige QAC 1-Jul

Crisolgo Corido QAC 4-Jul

Mohammad Abu Jafar Abdul Jalil QAC 8-Jul

Leon Carstens QAC 18-Jul

Dionisio Antimano QAC 7-Jul

Chhabi Sapkota QAC 28-Jul

Ronie Vongiese QAC 4-Jul

Mickhael Asuncion QAC 31-Jul

Cristopher Alcantara QAC 2-Jul

Elezar gigante QAC 10-Jul

Sarah Umali QAC 30-Jul

Rajitha Suminda Galgana Acharige QAC 15-Jul

Kalyan Singh QAC 13-Jul

Moti Lal Bohara QAC 8-Jul

Kiran G.C. QAC 30-Jul

Herald Sta. Maria QAC 15-Jul

Micheal Ryan Merin QAC 29-Jul

Yuan Rafeek Bauharie Bosch Automotive 27-Jul

Daisy Perez Bosch Automotive 22-Jul

Apolonio Villanueva Bosch Automotive 7-Jul

Richard Allam Bosch Automotive 17-Jul

Jay Punzalan Bosch Automotive 9-Jul

Mohamed Hasan Bosch Automotive 23-Jul

Senadeerage Gunasekara Bosch Automotive 24-Jul

Howie Rogers Bosch Automotive 17-Jul

Tharanga Deupura Acharige Bosch Automotive 19-Jul

Santiago Contreras Bosch Home App 17-Jul

Madathil Parambil Abdu Doha Petrol Station 5-Jul

Mildred Guillemer Babao Doha Petrol Station 8-Jul

Bharat Bishowkarme Doha Petrol Station 26-Jul

Vindoh Hewa Fonsekage Doha Petrol Station 5-Jul

Leah Young Harley Davidson 25-Jul

Puzhankarayillath Kutty Heavy Equipment 9-Jul

Bishnu Sunar Heavy Equipment 3-Jul

Cris Manalo Heavy Equipment 25-Jul

Edwin Araya Heavy Equipment 2-Jul

Khum Prasad Heavy Equipment 30-Jul

Roberto Aran Heavy Equipment 19-Jul

Tabroni Bin Kasram Intech 29-Jul

Sunil Kumar Jathan Intech 22-Jul

Raj Kumar Ojha Intech 5-Jul

Ucip Bin Ujang Intech 15-Jul

Jang Bahadur Nishad Intech 15-Jul

Bhacesh Ghelani Intech 5-Jul

Tembhare Prakash Chaitaram Intech 10-Jul

Hewa Aracharig Manakish Al Basha 2-Jul

Tarek Mohd jarkho Metropolis 20-Jul

Noriel Mendoza Metropolis 1-Jul

Salimuddin Bashar Michelin 12-Jul

Ernesto Domingo Michelin 23-Jul

Joel Jamora Michelin 15-Jul

Rolan Dizon NBK Fashion 31-Jul

Nizar Issa NBK Medical 9-Jul

Khaisam Al khams NBK Medical 27-Jul

Hazem Jaradat NBK Medical 18-Jul

Maria Elena Quiocson NBK Medical 6-Jul

Cenon Marmol NBK ReadyMix 30-Jul

Arnulfo Tapic NBK ReadyMix 15-Jul

Tirso Cali NBK Real Estate 3-Jul

Allan Cardiel NBK Real Estate 4-Jul

Jefferson Sulapas NBK Real Estate 28-Jul

Marwa Agouza NBK Real Estate 17-Jul

Ananda Jeewandarage NBK Trading 2-Jul

Lakshman Pulukkuttige NBK Trading 2-Jul

Joseph Agustin NBK Trading 23-Jul

Moideen Peediyakkal NBK Travel 19-Jul

Felimon V. De Los Santos NBK Travel 23-Jul

Ravlito Alvaran NIC 6-Jul

Abdel Kader Ghalaieeny Prime Ride 5-Jul

Von Silvester Sibayan Quiksilver 16-Jul

Czareenah Mangrubang Select 9-Jul

Mary Rose Hernandez Select 15-Jul

Catherine Cabiles Silver Cafe 24-Jul

llewelyn Minerva Silver Cafe 11-Jul

Sanath Udayanth Silver Cafe 17-Jul

Sarath Thubadeniya Silver Cafe 17-Jul

Ralph Alitagag Silver Cafe 8-Jul

Dinesh Amarakoan Silver Cafe 12-Jul

Mohamed Musthafa Silver Cafe 8-Jul

Essam Mustafa El Azab Smart Repairs 19-Jul

Honorio Escobedo Smart Repairs 3-Jul

Jennylyn Casquejo Smart Repairs 5-Jul

Julie Duque ZAI 5-Jul

Sayed Afifi Ziebart Kuwait 18-Jul

Alexander Ramos Ziebart Kuwait 10-Jul

Nandhakumar Vettekudath NBK Holding Senior Accountant

Mohamed Abdel Monem NBK Holding Junior Accountant

Nelson Javier Kawasaki Spare Parts Coordinator

Safaheer Sally Class Leasing Driver

Ramzy Ghobril H-Deco Chief Accountant

Sherif Ghali NBK Real Estate Service Coordinator

Perumalraju Ganapathy NBK Trading ICE Plant Operator

Abdul kareem Mytheen NBK Trading Pump Operator

Abdul Vakayil NBK Trading Heavy Vehicle Driver

Selladorai Ramesh NBK Trading General Helper

Chhabiraman Mishra NBK Trading General Helper

Padam Kafle NBK Trading General Helper

Jayasundara Mudiyanselage NBK Trading General Helper

Krishna Bhattarai NBK Trading General Helper

Arjan Kumar NBK Trading Heavy Vehicle Driver

Nuwan Mudiyanselage NBK Trading Heavy Vehicle Driver

Rakesh Kumar NBK Trading Pump Operator

John Senapathige NBK Trading Heavy Vehicle Driver

Lakshman Pulukkuttige NBK Trading Heavy Vehicle Driver

Wewala Wewala NBK Trading Batching Plant Operator

Nasser Bin Khaled welcomes new

assets to the family

Krishnan Shriram ERP Project Executive NBK Holding

Philippe Leclercq Marketing Manager NBK Auto

Ali-Al-Aiassa Workshop Manager NBK Auto

Mohamad Ziad Chati Sales Consultant NBK Auto

Mohomad Ismailge Mechanic QAC

Hassan Mneimneh Assistant Store Manager NBK Fashion

Sana Hasnaoui Sales Assistant NBK Fashion

Julieta Jarlego Sales Assistant NBK Fashion

Rona Abou Rjeily Project Development Executive ITG

Bosko Stojanovic Procurement Manager H-Deco Qatar

Elanie Molle Executive Assistant & QC H-Deco Qatar

Basoah Benjamin Kofi Foreman H-Deco WLL.

Reem-Al-Salebi Sales Executive NBK Projects

Saranapala Arachchilage Truck Mixture Driver NBK Ready Mix

Alexander Sumera Waiter Prime F&B

Ram Prakash Giri Washer Ziebart

Nasser Bin Khaled wishes farewell and the best of luck to the family

NBK Insider Issue 13 - July 2009

SAP JourneySAP JourneySAP JourneySAP Journey

SAP Journey June marks the completion of our first round of the SAP In House Training program. We continue to build the momentum of this initiative by recognizing the efforts of the em-ployees who have greatly contributed to the success of this project – the core team, our Key Users. On June 16, 2009 a special recognition ceremony was conducted where our DCEO awarded all 11 Key Users for their contribution towards this program and a job well done. Key users have shared their knowledge and enthusiasm with their col-leagues by delivering successful training session to approximately 100 line users during the initial phase. Training sessions for the different SAP modules are ongoing; for any inquiries or re-quests for training, please contact the Human Resources Department – Training Unit.

6

7


MATTER

U-Matter! NBK invites each and every one of you to

share their thoughts, views and points of interest

on a monthly basis.

U-Matter! NBK invites each and every one of you to share their thoughts, views and points of interest on a monthly basis. This month, our colleague Dr. Nizar Issa shares some very interesting views on innovation.

W hether you want it or not, it is coming at you and you have to do something about it. It is change. What is change and how would you respond? Old classic school motivation for “change or die”: Find Facts, Fear then Denial. Before trying to change, find the source problem. Facts should be compelling to motivate change. Change is dictated based on fear. Then, it’s denial asking why motivation for change didn’t work. New school internalization for “change and thrive”: Relate, Repeat, Reframe then Bonus. Form a new relationship that inspires and sustains hope, connect with others to understand the change process (relate), through this relationship learn new habits and ways of thinking that promote change and keep working on the change (repeat) until you can internalize the change (reframe). Small victories get you through the repeat process (bonus). Change could mean extinction if companies didn’t re-spond properly. Best response is done by using innova-tion. Corporate innovation is the remedy for change, but what kind of innovation? Innovation can be with either defensive or offensive strategy; out of fear or the will to surpass? Innovation is quite a challenge in good times and won’t be an easier job in hard times like this global economic down turn. Only companies with the right kind of innovation will succeed over the coming decade.

Innovation moves at high speed, companies that don’t keep up will be left behind to their fate. Competition is ruthless and is the driving force for today’s market, if you’re not moving and innovating, you’re not standing still, you’re moving backwards. You are big and successful and up on top; your battle is not to fight to stay there. Nobody is ever on top, it is a continuous fight to be bigger, better and stronger. Being defensive deprives you from the first mover benefit; you are only reacting to change out of fear or because it was forced on you. Believe it or not, defending yourself means you received the biggest share of punches. It is a well known strategy that attack is the best way of defense, just do it and use the offensive strategy. This fight is inevitable, start it and deliver the biggest share of punches. Innovation is to come up with new ideas, new ways in do-ing things, new approaches, quitting old habit before it hurts you. You have been smoking for the last 10 years. You know that smoking kills. What are the odds? Unfortunately, it is 9-1 against you actually; change your behavior even in a life or death situation. Same applies for change or die & innovate or die; fear of extinction is not the best motivator. It is the will to exceed, precede and pioneer through inno-vation and excellence and take it from me “better innovate than sorry”. Inspired by: Corporate innovation and entrepreneurship: Art Boni, George White, Tome Jones, George Fetcher, Mohammad Dobashi. Change or die: Alan Deutschman. The business of innovation: Maria Bartiromo, Mel Kar-mazin, Suzy Welsh.

“Innovate or die” By Dr. Nizar Issa


8

The Microsoft Excel Basics Training is our next training milestone.

Continuing with our “Booster Shot” sessions, in July 2009, we will offer the Microsoft Excel 2003 Basics training program. The target participants of this training are those who work with spreadsheets, tables, graphs, and charts together with basic formulas that will help them speed up their work through automation. The objectives of the training are:

1. Create your first workbook a. Create a new workbook b. Enter text and numbers c. Insert and delete columns and rows

2. Learn how to perform calculations and simple automations a. Enter formulas and create basic math calculations to add, subtract, multiply, and divide b. Use cell references in formulas so Excel can automatically update results c. Use functions (prewritten formulas) to automate your work

3. Modifying a worksheet a. Manipulate data with filters and sorting b. Formatting your worksheets c. Protect your data

4. Learn how to create visuals from your data a. How to create charts and graphs b. Get your data on paper

5. Getting Help in MS Excel 2003 Stay tuned for the training invitations sent by Human Resources during the month of July. See you in training!

A Culture of Progress! – HR Thoughts, At a Glance

More HR and development news on the way in the upcoming July 2009 issue of NBK Insider!

Pilar Proctor Human Resources

Development and Performance Management Specialist


9

New Hire Orientation On 3rd June 2009, 37 new employees attended the orientation program held at the NBK auditorium Participants were given an overview and history of our organization, how it played a big role in the development of Qatar, and the in-dustries, products, and services that NBK offer to the community. Participants also learned more about living in Doha and had the opportunity to meet fellow employees from other divisions and department promoting camaraderie and belongingness in the NBK family. Let’s join hands and welcome our newest team members and provide them with all the help they may require!

Summer job for Qatari students program starts in July Continuing with our community outreach program, NBK will offer once again a summer work program for students. Starting July 1

st, NBK will host at least four Qatari Students who will be as-

signed to different divisions. The objective of this program is to foster the development of future generations by providing students the opportunity to gain work experience during summer in vari-ous areas.

Dr. Nizar Issa bags awards for innovation; brings to NBK the titles of Best Technology Venture from QSTP and Best Business Venture from QBA. Let’s congratulate our colleague Nizar, Sales Manager at Medical Equipment- Projects Promotions on winning 2 prestigious titles following his innovative “Robot Gas Pipe Inspection” project which he provided as a business solution model for the LNG industry. Nizar led his team to the finals of the CMU Business Venture Competition which was sponsored by the Qatar Science and Technology Park and the Qatari Businessmen Association. Nizar graduated from Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar, Tepper School of Business - class 2008-2009. Kudos & more power!

A Culture of Progress! – HR Thoughts, At a Glance


10

This section of the Insider is dedicated to each and every team member; it is your channel to share your concerns with your man-agement and have all your inquiries answered. We have added this section to encourage upward and downward communications among staff and management. Your questions will be delivered to the right people in total confidentiality and anonymity; therefore please feel free to send us your thoughts, ideas and queries to [email protected] Kindly note that this section is dedicated to corporate-related questions that are of general benefit to all the staff at NBK. For any PERSONAL inquiries, kindly drop us an email at [email protected] and a specialized HR employee will an-swer your inquiry within 24 hours.

NBK Insider Issue 13- July 2009

INDepth NBK ReadyMix

Concrete Commitment

11

NBK Ready Mix is a joint venture between the Nasser Bin Khaled Group and Aus-trian-Arabian ReadyMix; which is one of Arabtec Contracting Company’s subsidiaries, a leader in the GCC construction and contracting industry. Since its inception in January 2007, NBK Ready Mix has grown quickly into one of the top companies in its industry. From its base in Al Waab City, and in partnership with Austrian Arabian Ready Mix UAE, the company has supplied concrete to many world-leading projects, including the world’s tallest tower. NBK Ready Mix is also among the first companies to receive accreditation from the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), the world-leading audit association specialized in the ready mix business, and continues to maintain compliance with the ACI product quality code.

NBK Ready Mix at every level is staffed with highly specialized and experienced personnel operating to international quality standards including the BS, ACI, ASTM and AASHTO. At NBK Ready Mix Concrete, we provide our customers and our community with high-quality concrete at competitive prices, with unmatched service and a commitment to continuous improvement. Our true value offering lies in our experience, our equipment and our human resources, and we champion these by investing in training and development, moti-vation and quality management to ensure we provide excellence at all times. Innovation and integrity are the foundation of our customer relationships, and we will work ceaselessly to build on them by integrating the best emerging technological and operational enhancements and remaining true to our mission.

R E A D Y M I XR E A D Y M I XR E A D Y M I XR E A D Y M I X

Issue 12 - June 2009

NBK Insider Special Report

12


13

Issue 13 - July 2009 NBK Insider



14


15




16


17

Issue 13 - July 2009 NBK Insider

NBK Insider HEALTH

18


19


NBK Insider

20

ROUND & about The Human Condition:

The good try by Alan Weiss, Ph.D., CMC – Founder, Summit Consulting Group

At a ballgame I attended not long ago, I was seated in an upper, covered deck behind home plate. The ballpark was packed, and the scoreboard stats showed that the pitcher was throwing at just under 100 MPH. A batter swung and fouled the ball back slightly to the left of our position, but even with our row. I'm not sure of the physics, but the ball still had to be traveling at 75 MPH. Its tra-jectory took it right into the hands of a fan that, fortunately, had seen the entire thing. Not so fortunately, he dropped it, the ball took two bounces, and dropped into the deck be-low us. Not so surprisingly, the crowd around him booed lustily, as if the leftfielder had just dropped a routine fly. Everyone laughed, including the guy who made the unofficial error. But it was emblem-atic: A good try is, well, just not good enough. We applaud the winners. With rare exception, we forget about second place, about the also-ran, about the "almost made it." With the sole exception of the almost equally-legendary War Admiral, no one discusses (and I can't think of) any of the horses that finished sec-ond to the illustrious Sea Biscuit.

They are not even footnotes in oral history. We don't remember the vice presidents, nor the seconds-in-command, nor the understud-ies, unless they ascend to the top spot. I'll grant you that some of the American Idol run-ners-up go on to major careers, but I'll also make a case that just appearing in the top ten means you've won a great deal already. Upon finishing eighth of eight boats in the Olympics one year, the coach of the Harvard 8-man scull commented, "There's nothing wrong with being the eighth best in the world." Maybe, maybe not, but it's certainly not as memorable as being the first. I understand that not everyone can be first or best, boat, racehorse, or human. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least be trying. I don't believe anyone goes to the Olympics shouting, "Let's go for the bronze!" or "It's not whether we win or lose, it's how we play the game!" I don't think that attitude would have gained Mary Lou Retton that "10" in one of the most highly pressured single vaults of all time. Michael Phelps didn't say, "I've got four gold medals, the rest will just be gravy." That guy who almost caught the ball took things in stride and will probably tell the story a thousand times or two. But wouldn't it be better if, when he told the story to his grand-children, he was then able to say, "But I caught it, and here's the ball for you to keep...."

Issue 13– July 2009

ΝΒΚΝΒΚΝΒΚΝΒΚ insider

NBK insider NBK’s monthly Internal E-Newsletter

Issue 13—July 2009

Publisher: Public Relations Department Website: http://nbks/PR/default.aspx

Chief Editor [email protected]

General Inquiries and participations [email protected]

All rights are reserved for NBK Holding Pubic Re-lation Department. All published articles are properties of the re-spective owners.

Documents

NBK Insider July 2009