|
|
Good Evening ladies and gentlemen and a very warm welcome to the sixth Surya 24 CT the boss Top 10 Business Excellence Awards. This year the awards are being presented only in the non financial categories. Giving up has never been an option for us at the boss… and our efforts in staging the awards this year gathered further momentum with the support of our panelists, advisors and our sponsor.
Looking at the audience tonight, having received words of encouragement and confidence over the past few days, I believe that despite these years of political and economic uncertainty… despite continued exigencies, hopes and fears, it is important to look at the long-term even as we continue to live in the here and now.
It may often seem that we are running a marathon without end… But we still want to have our businesses and enterprises up there with the very best, to be productive and innovative... to press on with our efforts to develop a more vibrant entrepreneurial culture.
Your presence here tonight reflects your spirit and determination to achieve organisational excellence, rain or shine. Perhaps it is this very inherent spirit of entrepreneurship that sees Nepalis through the most trying times.
The biggest economic challenge for every country is to maintain its position and prosperity in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Probably the most important challenge for business is the management of change. And these are times of change. However, we seem to struggle to keep our businesses alive – not because we are not competent enough, driven enough or innovative enough – but simply because the environment and political will in the country is not conducive for growth, or freedom.
the boss magazine is a commitment to the ideals of free and open markets. On the global map, Nepal is considered among the hardest places to do business. the boss was initiated as a catalyst of change – we question policies, provoke ideas and debates, generate reference material, advance ideas of individual liberty and personal responsibility, identify friends of freedom, build networks, find ways of doing business in a better way…
In many ways, much of the outcome of our work is intangible, but we are committed to change... a change towards prosperity… a change that encourages wealth creation… a change that knows that a better future awaits all if only the agents of change are allowed to soar the skies of opportunity unfettered.
In my journey with the boss, I have learned a huge amount about people — about behaviour and character; about the magic of difference, diversity and unpredictability, which is at the heart of real progress… about the fact that it is people who make the difference between an ordinary institution and something special. We carry your stories, we learn and we are empowered by them.
As I meet fellow libertarians across the globe, I have also come to understand that innovation is not just about generating ideas. Nor is it merely about interesting inventions. It is about bringing ideas to fruition – with commitment and concentrated effort to drive business forward.
In the work that we have been doing, and I hope we will be doing in the future, there is nothing absolute. The built environment is changing every day, societies are changing, tastes are changing, knowledge is changing, needs are changing… nothing is definitive and final.
I think what the Award has succeeded in doing, at least we hope it has, is to give momentum to the process of questioning, of inquiry — what do we know, what are our inherited competencies, what are the new capabilities we need, what does it take to become a winner, why must we encourage competition or celebrate achievement, how can we learn from our failures, how can we make a difference...
In moments of doubt - and I do have very many - I draw inspiration from the words of Steve Jobs -- Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. The only thing that keeps one going is to love what you do. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.
Jobs also said - Your time is limited, don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
Tonight, we’d like you to hold on to these words … I can, I will, I am…
Mrs Shalini Wadhwa, our CEO, is unable to be with us tonight due to personal constraints… her spirit is the driving force for us at the boss to achieve… For me personally, she has been the wind beneath my wings. On her behalf and that of the entire team, welcome again to the awards. Wish you a memorable evening.
|
