From a very tender age, Abbas Al Lawati, Assistant Manager-IS, ABB, inculcated a bottom-top approach to life and profession, which enabled him to grow as an efficient professional with multiple skills and diversified experiences .
When 10-year old Abbas went to the office of his grandfather’s agriculture business during his summer vacation, he had just wanted to have something to boast of to his colleagues and friends. He merely aspired to feel flattered by being seen sitting along with the managers of the company or hanging around with the chairman. But to his utter surprise, his grandfather sent him to the farms with a shovel which he said would be his tool for the rest of the summer vacation. At this tender age, Abbas was going through a steep learning curve which taught him the importance of having a bottom-top approach to life. Every summer, Abbas came back to the farmlands to spend his vacation with and learn from a wide array of people from farmers, office boys and cleaners to engineers, admin staff and managers.
These lessons drawn from the primitive nursery of life came in very handy for Abbas later in his life when he was confronted with life head on. “It made me understand the real value of each one’s role, however lower he/she is in the hierarchy, and respect their jobs,” says Abbas. “You cannot take even an office boy for granted because without him the whole office will turn into a mess. We always tend to look at the peak of a pyramid and pays scant regards to the basis which it was built on and which helps it stand aloft. Had it not been for the basis, there could never have been the peak.” He says the pyramid rightly symbolises the structures and hierarchies in our organisations and society at large, wherein the higher you go up, the more you can be seen.
Although Abbas stopped going to the farms after he went to Malaysia to do his Bachelor’s, these teachings of self-sufficiency stayed with him. While pursuing his studies in the university, he worked in a bank as a part time employee during his summer vacations. And later when he came back to Oman and was looking for a job, Abbas’s father declined to help him considering it unfair to use his influence to get a job for the son. Abbas feels that the way his father treated and brought him up has been tremendously instrumental in enabling him to take up the challenges of life and career face-to-face and in fostering leadership skills.
Later when he was offered the job of SAP specialist by PDO, Abbas caught the employer by surprise by forthrightly saying that before he accepts the offer he wants to know what SAP is all about and the nature of the job. However, during the two years in PDO, he obtained a good opportunity to have his hands on some interesting jobs engaging with different business functions. This was followed by a fruitful tenure in Sohar Aluminum where he was entrusted to lead a few ERP greenfield projects. Abbas joined ABB in 2010 where he currently works as assistant manager, IS.
In the next five years’ time, Abbas aspires to scale up his career ladder to become a chief information officer. However he does not want to limit himself to the IT, as he is equipped with multiple skills and diversified experience which will enable him to excel in any leadership role. He calls young Omanis to consider their job, whether it be in public sector or private companies, as a service to the nation. “Wherever we work, we are involved in the process of building the nation together,” he says.
Stepping out the comfort zone
Tariq Al-Lawati, Section Head-3G Optimisation, Nawras, believes that no goal is achieved without slogging the guts out and getting one’s hands dirty
This could not have been possible had Tariq not stepped out of the comfort zone of his office. He reminds youngsters to sweat their guts out if they really aspire to innovate themselves and achieve their goals. “You have to ensure that your job does not become a routine thing as it marks the death of your creativity,” he warns.
Tariq always believed that one has to be led by an undying urge to master one’s trade. “Give top priority to earn technical expertise. Money will come later, if you proved worthy of your skills,” he says. When he came back in 2004 from Australia having completed his Bachelor’s in telecommunications and engineering with a first class, the job he opted for was not the most remunerative out of what he was offered then. He was looking to start up his career at a place where he could enrich his technical prowess and build a strong foundation.
Three years in Omantel stood him in good stead offering him a lot of opportunities to prove his mettle as an efficient radio planning optimisation engineer. Within a short span of time he was involved in some of the biggest projects in Omantel at that time. When Omantel bid for the third license of mobile in Yemen, Tariq, who had then only one year experience, was the youngest member in the technical evaluation team. And later he was sent to Barcelona to attend the world mobile conference. This was followed by his involvement in the evaluation of 3G mobile network which was then the second biggest project in Omantel’s history.
Now after serving eight years in the telecom industry- three years in Omantel and five years in Nawras- Tariq wants to scale up new heights on the professional ladder and aspires to be in a senior and strategic position where he can contribute to the building of the next generation of leaders; but he firmly believes that technical competency is more important in any senior position.
Now after serving eight years in the telecom industry- three years in Omantel and five years in Nawras- Tariq wants to scale up new heights on the professional ladder and aspires to be in a senior and strategic position where he can contribute to the building of the next generation of leaders; but he firmly believes that technical competency is more important in any senior position.
The motivation and constant encouragement given by his parents have greatly influenced Tariq in his academic and professional success. Tariq dedicates all his achievements to his mother who has always been a role model for him in all walks of life.
Future aligned
Salah Al Battashi, IS & Comms Project Administrator, Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production is a firm believer in constant learning and growth
Can you give us a brief on your education and professional background?
I started my education at the Royal Guard of Oman Technical college. It’s a college where you enter at grade five and start learning the basics of engineering from the seventh grade. It is a tough school, but I graduated from high school with a score of 93.5 percent. I had two options, one was to join SQU or to go abroad and pursue my higher education. I got a partial scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education and as a result I joined the University of Reading in UK and studied computer science. On my return I joined BankDhofar in 2005 and supported them with their ATM networks. After a couple of years I joined British Gas (BG Oman). In 2010 British Gas closed down and once again I was at a crossroads with the option of either accepting BG Oman’s golden handshake, which was a Ministry of Manpower requirement or to accept a scholarship that I was offered by the US Department of State to go to the US and continue my education. I accepted the golden handshake and then went for higher studies to the US. I got my Masters degree in information technology from the Florida Atlantic University. I joined the Information Systems and Telecommunication Projects department of Oman Oil Exploration & Production in December 2011.
You are 30 years old and have achieved a lot at a young age, what has enabled you to succeed in life?
There is nothing unique to me, I am a determined person and my parents have always inspired me to have infinite ambition and all the credit for what I am today, goes to them. I also made the most of what my country had to offer and that’s the message that I would like to pass onto everyone. For example, I joined the Royal Guard of Oman Technical College, which is an initiative by the armed forces. I went to do my bachelors on a scholarship from the government. The jobs that I did were the result of the great economy that the Sultanate has. The second scholarship from the US department of State was a result of Oman’s friendly foreign policy and the high esteem that the Sultanate enjoys in the international arena.
Oman today presents many opportunities, youngsters need to go out and explore the various avenues available for them to succeed. If you see lately there has been a push towards entrepreneurship. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has addressed the need to foster entrepreneurship and the government is willing to support youngsters in starting their own enterprise. Omani youngsters should study themselves, find out what they are good at, their strengths and then find a middle ground between what they like and what they are good at. It is also important to study the environment to see the available opportunities as it is important to align one’s goal with that of the country.
Who have been your mentors or role models in life?
My parents are my muse, they have always inspired and encouraged me to do the things that I wanted. When it comes to learning professionally, I learn something from everyone with whom I interact. Learning in a continuous pursuit and it need not necessarily happen from a manager or mentor but you can learn from anyone.
Banish the fear of failure

Positive attitude and a can-do approach has helped Kaab Al Kharusi, Section Head – Process & Quality, Nawras to scale new heights 
Can you give us a brief on your education and professional background?
I did my diploma in software engineering from the Higher College of Technology and then moved onto process management, becoming a certified process manager in IP. After that I got a certification in project management. I recently finished my diploma in International Leadership Management and I am doing my bachelors in information systems from Gulf College with Stratford University. I started my career at Grand Hyatt’s customer service department, after working there for nearly eight months, I started my studies, but quit my course midway as I got an opportunity with Nawras. I started as a customer service champion in Nawras and after a year got an opportunity to get into process management as a process manager specialist and since this was a full-time job, I had to leave my studies.
How has your experience been with Nawras and what have you learnt over the years?
Nawras is an amazing place to work and I have learnt a lot working in the company. I do not like calling myself a manager, as I see myself as a leader. I do not like telling people what to do, I usually do it and make sure that people follow. There are a lot of psychological things that come into play, when you are leading people across a business. In Oman, unfortunately, people see the workplace as a place to get money and become famous, but they do not bother about what satisfies them. For me waking up in the morning and knowing what one is supposed to do that day is the most important thing. Satisfaction comes in different ways for different people. For some people it is money, fame etc, but for me it is more about changing people and that’s what satisfies me. It can be changing people’s perspective towards their work environment, achieving goals or towards life in general, how can you make someone smile for the whole day though there is bad news coming their way, how do you make people sit at work for 10 hours instead of eight without complaints and in a way that they are happy to be there. Luckily, till now I have been doing a good job of it.
Being a leader has been difficult for me because in Oman, if you are young, and as I am only 28, people do not think that you can be mature and responsible. I have 13 people reporting to me now, out of these 10 people used to work with me or were senior to me. It took me six-to-seven months to observe others and to see how people are, what they like, how they work and then I slowly starting to interfere with their work without making them feel awkward, so it was a long process.
What are your other interest and hobbies?
I am an outdoor person and spend a lot of time in the open. I recently ordered a Kayak and I am eagerly waiting for it. I like camping and we do a lot of desert crossings. I am a certified diver. I own an off-road quad bike and do off-road biking. The best place to camp near Muscat is Sifah, as one can do a number of activities like snorkelling, diving and spear fishing there. Unfortunately, the weekend is too short.
What advice would you like to give young Omanis, who are looking at embarking on a career?
Youngsters need to understand themselves, their purpose in life and they should recognise that they have to make their own destiny. You should wake up in the morning saying I am going to be a happy man today, irrespective of whatever happens. This helps you as that’s how you take energy and change it into positive energy. The other important thing is not to have the fear of failing or falling. You don’t learn to walk without falling, mistakes make you creative.