Asher Bohbot, CEO of fast-growing JSE-listed IT services group EOH, arrived in SA from Israel at the age of 27. Born in Morocco but raised in Israel, today Bohbot heads up one of SA’s largest and most respected IT companies as an engineer turned businessman who believes work life and personal life are all part of the same life and that neither should be squandered.
My Definition Of Success | Success means the creation of a strong organization, capable of making a meaningful difference in the economy and society we operate in.
Strong organization means sustainability, clearly defined culture, strong value system, adds value to all its stakeholders and an organization that will continue to strive and grow after I have gone.
In the early years, success meant only economic success and sustainability, with time the “bigger picture” came into play.
I Am Driven By | What drives me is the creation of the organization described above.
A Key Talent | The most important characteristic of mine which was critical to our success was the ability to consider all aspects of the business and specifically people impact on any change we thought of individually. Most envisaged changes did not take place precisely because of it. The deep understanding of the impact of change on people is critical. No matter how strong the impact of change on people you think – it’s always much higher…
In other words, always consider the people first.
Humans hate change particularly, they will act as if they accept it, but they don’t.
Principles I Live By |
Refer to 10 Commandments
- Respect everyone
- Give space
- The more you trust, the less disappointed you will be
- We all want to be acknowledged
- Always put yourself in the other guy’s shoes
- Try and help your fellow-men, it’s hard for all of us
- Be positive, walk away from the negative
- Forgive, don’t hold grudges
- Give the benefit of doubt
- Lead with Conviction
Dealing With Doubt | Most of our decisions in life carry a measure of uncertainty. We are never 100% sure, but we have to decide.
We may have doubt, we accept them, but we proceed to decide even if it is a 51/49% decision.
We may get it wrong – But we have to live with our decisions. When we take the wrong decision or wrong action we must quickly move to forgiving ourselves. Forgiving ourselves is crucial for us to move on for the next decision. If we don’t, our decision-making capabilities will diminish, and we will become an ineffective humans and managers.Having doubt is very natural – Deciding in spite of it – Is the strength!
The Best Advice I’ve Received | The best advice I have ever received is to have the ability to accept what did not happen or happened and move on. No regrets, no dwelling on the past, no agonizing. “It is what it is” – If it happened or not – It’s for the better.
Advice On Building Wealth | The advice to someone who wants to be rich is that he or she will not be rich…unless they strive to be the best in something – Then they will become rich as a by-product. Federer did not become the best tennis player so he will be rich, he just wanted to be the best tennis player and that made him rich.
On Inspiring Others | People never work for others, so the latter achieve their goal. People work to achieve their own goals. Motivating people is giving them the opportunity to set their own goal and work towards it. The overall organization’s goal must be broken into numerous individual goals for people to drive.
The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | I would like to leave the legacy of the organization described under question 1.
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