“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ― Aristotle

As businesses, we strive for superior performance. Our commercial success, to a large extent, depends on the name we bring ourselves. With this in mind, many companies will turn to marketing efforts to build brand awareness. While this strategy undoubtedly has significant payoff, it is important for decision makers to secure a legacy for themselves through equally important means; ensuring quick responsiveness to market trends, adopting sustainable practices and supporting national agendas through company initiatives.

The notion of business excellence being an ongoing journey is one that we at Saeed and Mohammed Al Naboodah Group have instilled into the way we do business. Continuous improvement and diversification of services have characterized our operations since our launch in 1958, and this month we are proud to announce that we have marked our 60th anniversary milestone.

Over our years of industry experience, we have seen that a common mistake made by companies is to seize onto a successful business idea and attempt to achieve excellence in a singular revenue stream. However, what we need to understand is that today’s industries are characterized by rapid growth and constant change and therefore, awareness of prevailing market trends and ensuring company responsiveness to consumer demand is critical. Taking heed of this lesson ourselves, although our flagship construction business was launched in the 1960s, as the firm’s core business, over the years the company has diversified its services to offer its customers new and innovative solutions that continually meet the industry’s evolving needs. We have sought to expand operations across various business streams to now cover transportation, travel, electrical, fit-out, and our newly launched facilities management and renewable energy businesses.

Having said that, this is not a universal approach and the decision to expand cannot be taken lightly. Companies need to ensure potential new services or products fit in with the overall brand story and make business sense. Feasibility studies and market research are a helpful tool here.

At the same time as growing a business, companies must take into consideration the sustainability of their existing operations. Decision-makers need to start asking themselves; will my company survive over the next 60 years? How can we continuously improve business performance while thinking about long-term success? How can I create a landscape for excellence for the future generation? As a family business, sustainability is at the heart of our values. We recently formalised our approach to corporate governance and created a sustainability framework. We have issued our second report, in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Guidelines.

This strategy overlaps with the recent call for companies to support national agendas. As part of the UAE Vision 2021, the private sector has been awarded the opportunity to support the public sector in realizing the countries ambitions and enhancing the physical and socio-economic landscape of the UAE. This can be done through CSR efforts, investments in technology and knowledge-creation and even through improvements to theworkplace environment. For Al Naboodah Group Enterprises this has meant supporting UAE’s shift to a diversified economy and its long-term strategy to deliver economic and cultural solutions to contribute to the growth of the nation through our vast portfolio and commitment to our employees. Other UAE companies have taken different routes including advocating STEM education, promoting the UAE as a trade and tourism hub and developing home-grown technology.

Excellence in business is no longer a simple reflection of what our numbers say. As Aristotle eloquently claimed, excellence needs to be maintained as a habit. Operating in the environment we do, staying ahead of the competition requires strong brand awareness and a solid reputation. And this cannot be achieved in a year or two or even five. For us, our journey of excellence will always need constant effort, reevaluation and understanding of our future. Which is why through continued diversification, innovation and a strong focus on sustainability, ANGE is working to ensure another 60 years of success and more.