Today was a work day – the first day of the congress I am attending which was kicked off by the Minister of Health for the United Arab Emirates. It was very formal – there was a red ribbon across the door of the ballroom where the opening session was held which was ceremoniously cut with silver scissors by the Minister upon his arrival.
It was very interesting and much of what I had read in “Understanding Arabs” paid off in terms of knowing how to interact. One of the pointers is that Arabs will not do business with you unless they get to know and like you. One of my meetings was with 4 administrators from a hospital group in the UAE. Afterwards I wasn’t sure how it had gone but I must have done something right as they tracked me down later to invite me to see their hospital tomorrow afternoon when the conference ends and then out to dinner. Especially nice as their weekend starts Thursday night.
I also met with a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that will may likely lead to some work over there, and I am having dinner tonight with 4 medical directors from the Ministry of Health.
I also had a chance to meet with some of the other solution providers. In the US and particularly in the Northeast, everyone in my industry knows most of the other people. This concept has now extended around the globe as I found one person with whom we know 3 people in common and another who grew up on 73rd Street and Central Park West. Small world!
Not a bad day at all.
On the food front, the breakfast buffet here is nothing like I have ever experienced. As they must cater to Middle Eastern, Western, and Asian tastes there was a grand selection of items, some of which I had never heard of and fruits that I had never seen. Don’t ask me what anything was – it was just delicious.
The conference’s lunch was at the hotel’s Italian restaurant and while nice and tasty, nothing to write home about (or blog about).
Dinner tonight will be at the hotel’s Iranian restaurant which is highly regarded in Dubai both for the food and the atmosphere. Aside from the 4 docs, I will also be joined by the managing partner of our affiliate firm here in Dubai. That actually led to another interesting tid-bit. I let the managing partner know what I looked like and what I would be wearing so that we could find each other in the lobby of the hotel. He responded with what he looked like and simply that he would be wearing a suit - as opposed to the traditional white garment and headress.
All in all a good day and I’m looking forward to a good dinner. Am starting to get just a wee bit tired so it is a good thing that Muslims do not drink – otherwise I would probably pass out half way through dinner as the lack of sleep starts to catch up with me.
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