Mahtab Uddin Ahmed

While it is vital to introduce digital technologies to workplaces, it is equally important to identify the problem areas where they can be implemented. Let’s look at some of the recent digital trends which will impact workplaces in the immediate future.

On their way to lunch, the chief financial officer (CFO), the chief human resources officer (CHRO) and their boss stumble on a beaten-up but valuable-looking brass container.

I had the privilege of working with a good number of high-tech wizards in a recent event where I found most of the chief technology officers (CTOs) are upset that the IT budget has been slashed due to the looming economic uncertainties and the ensuing challenges in the banking sector.

Once upon a time, Nasiruddin Hojja was riding a donkey with his friend.

Mr Jones is a mafia leader who manages all his secret deals and finances on his laptop, which is his regular companion.  

It is common that when a boss cracks a poor joke, we all laugh our hearts out.  

At its inception Bangladesh had only a handful of successful corporate leaders and Mahbub Jamil was one of them. I cringe from using the past tense for Jamil Bhai. With his passing we have lost a great leader, mentor and friend.

Back in my university days, I had the privilege of learning a management theory which was of significant value later in my corporate years. It is called Johari Window for self-awareness, a technique to self-improve by knowing oneself better.  

I know of a deputy managing director of a financial institution who has a fascination for driving fancy cars, something that most young kids dream of.  

In our childhood home in the old town of the 1970s, we had quite a large number of domestic helps. The scale of domestic work was also at another level with a green backyard of domestic cattle and poultry, not to mention the endearing cats and dogs.  

One of the things that I learned while dealing with professional marketeers is that instant gratification is very important for any successful product promotion. But I often wonder why people prefer instant gratification.  

Don’t panic! Telecoms are not going anywhere! But technology will certainly be hugely disrupted with the advent of high bandwidth and low-latency satellite internet.  

As a CEO, I had once asked the chief procurement officer and the chief technology officer to deliver 50 per cent savings on radio network items for the implementation of an ambitious growth plan. They looked at each other in disbelief and told me that they had already squeezed the vendors so much in the last few years that it would simply be impossible.  

During a rural market visit a few years ago, I discovered, to my amusement, a keen interest in 5G penetration among the villagers. When I asked why they need 5G at all, as most did not have a smartphone, their shy excuses said it all. And why not, I urged them. There is nothing wrong with dreaming high.

Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market on Thursday to buy yen for the first time since 1998, in an attempt to shore up the battered currency after the Bank of Japan stuck with ultra-low interest rates.

A reporter once asked a corporate CEO about the secret of his success. His response was two words.

Since I started my consultancy operation, my initial focus was on the areas of digital transformation of banks.    

We all know about the funny story of Nasiruddin Hojja and his donkey.  

An irony of most third-world countries is that honest taxpayers pay more tax and need to be more compliant than those who tend to dodge the system. Not only that, often honest taxpayers even end up getting fined for non-compliance!  

A very interesting research was conducted in the US between two groups, one having won a million-dollar lottery and the other having lost a limb in accidents.