At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the entrepreneurship world. As part of this endeavour, we invited a seasoned entrepreneur – Dr. Haseebullah Mohammed for an exclusive interview with us. Dr. Haseebullah is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Business Coach, Speaker, Author, Philanthropist, Advisor and Mentor. Let’s learn more about his inspiring journey, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
We are aware of your contributions to the ecosystem; talk us through your background and your journey, please;
My professional journey so far has helped me cross-pollinate ideas across a wide variety of professional and community services including marketing, education, corporate training and personality development training while also writing articles on a wide variety of subjects.
After getting a Gold Medal for MBA from Pune University I joined the Pune college as an Asst. Professor in English. Thereafter, I qualified in the Maharashtra Public service Commission exam in 1978 and was appointed as the Dy. Registrar, Government of Maharashtra.
In 1982, qualified for an exam with Caterpillar USA and was appointed as Sales Administrator and deputed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I learnt computers on my own and started teaching computers as a community service for a nonprofit organization based in Jeddah. Soon after, I was nominated to the International Indian School Managing committee which had 2000 students and around 200 teachers. This again was a not-for-profit organization for the benefit of 2000 Indian boys and girls from KG to Xth.
In 1988, I appeared for a competitive exam for the United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Services and was selected as a Sr. Marketing Manager and sent to Washington DC and Boston for training and probation. Due to my knowledge of Arabic, I was assigned to the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Sr. Marketing Manager to promote US food products. In my 10 years of service, I was promoted several times with my final title being that of an Asst. Director. I was responsible for increasing the imports from the USA to Saudi Arabia from 1.6 billion dollars to 5.8 billion dollars in 10 years of service.
I joined the India Forum, an elite voluntary organization under the Indian Consulate umbrella of educated and Professional Indians and was nominated as its president within two years. I Joined KTT, a community service organization and was nominated as a Trustee and carried out several community projects for the under rivaled amongst Indian community.
However, during all these years, my main passion has been public speaking, teaching and training and therefore, when I returned to India in 1999, I started an Educational consultancy and took up corporate training assignments for multinational companies in India and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
I did a diploma course on Emotional Intelligence and wrote several digital books on Marketing and emotional Intelligence while completing my PhD in Management in 2002. I started getting visiting professor positions in the USA, UK and China and in 2008, I joined the Beijing Jiatong University China as Chief Advisor and consultant for EFMD’s “Deans across frontiers” program.
In 2009, I returned to India and set up a business school, the Academy of Management studies, duly recognized by Osmania University and approved by All India Council for Technical Education. I ran a successful MBA college with an intake of 240 students and have been writing, teaching and giving corporate training in India, Saudi Arabia and western countries ever since. As a trustee of Khak E Taiba Trust, I supervise a range of community service projects in several parts of India for the weaker section of the community.
I launched my first major book “What’s on your mind” an anthology of poems, newspaper and magazine articles plus Facebook blogs on 9th June 2022. The book will be launched again in Jeddah Saudi Arabia on 24th June 2022.
How did you discover your passion?
My passion is teaching and writing and I developed this passion by winning several interschool, intercollegiate and intervarsity competitions in debates and youth festivals.
My passion is to bring a change in the lives of other people and to share the knowledge I acquired through years of learning and experiencing with the widest range of people, subjects and environments.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I am 67 years old now. The very idea that I am still in a position to better the lives of people I interact with drives me to do better each day. I believe in the ATM of relationships. Each of us has been given an ATM of compassion, love, sympathy and an urge to be of help to our fellow beings.
I believe in keeping my ATM loaded so that I do not get a message “not enough balance” at the end of my time or at my time of need. So, for me, the ATM of relationships with fellow beings is of prime importance, whether it be teaching assignments, writing or community service.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My Father, Late Shafiullah Mohammed who was an upright Police officer and who inculcated the values of being humane and honest in life. My other source of inspiration is my children Dr Babar Zamaan, PhD, my second son Aamer Gibraan a very humane business person, my daughter Dr. Tamanna Kavish, an excellent paediatrician based in the USA and yes, my youngest son Nader Rehaan a marketing strategist who is also responsible for compiling my latest book.
I would also like to mention the sincerity and dedication of my late elder brother Dr. Qudrathullah Mohammed PhD. And last but not the least a very supportive wife Shaheda Jabeen, who has been a pillar of support for the past 41 years.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
There are a few:
> Humility, no matter who you deal with
> Reading every day
> Taking risks and challenges without consideration of time and age
> Hard work
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
The urge to keep myself well-read and keep myself knowledgeable at all times is what keeps me going. The need to bring change in the lives of as many people as I can either through social work or by sharing of knowledge which I possess.
I do not look up at those who have but at those who don’t; not at those who have been given all the privileges of life but at those who are the underprivileged. I would like to leave this world with hope and better days to come.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
(1) Humility
(2) Share what you have – knowledge and skills to as many as possible
(3) Keep striving irrespective of results.
(4) The hunger to learn – every day, every moment.
(5) Community service.
(6) Experimenting with new avenues of challenges.
(7) Never give up.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Never stop learning from books, reading, inspiration and experience of others.
Build up a good ATM of relationships with siblings, relatives and people around you.
It’s never too late to learn. Challenge yourself, don’t get into your comfort zones. Life is a perpetual struggle with of course leisure and good times. Never give up. Being humane is the most important aspect of human life.
Last but not least, we are excited to know that your book just got published! Please tell us more about it and what’s the message?
The book “WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND” IS A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES WRITTEN IN VARIOUS LEADING NEWSPAPERS SINCE the LAST 40 YEARS ON A RANGE OF TOPICS. Some of the articles dating back to the 1980s are quite prophetic.
To give an example, I had written an article for a leading newspaper “Arab News” back in the 80s – that in the next decade or so humans will become slaves to technology. A prediction which proved right in two decades and is still relevant. It also has some poems which I penned in my early years.
Briefly put, it is an anthology of ideas and thoughts from the past, present and for future. When you open your Facebook the first question it asks is “What’s on your mind” – so some of my blogs on Facebook have also been included in the book, which also is the title.
The subjects in the blogs range from human values, Marketing, politics, social dilemma and anecdotes. It is an easy-to-read book which can be read at random – each topic is independent to the other. The book actually was compiled by my children and I owe its success to their hard work.
The main message in the book is ‘Man was created to leave a footprint which can not be easily erased; a footprint of compassion, a footprint of cherished values’.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
