Saudi Blog Camp – Change
I watched the saudiblogcamp yesterday, and I enjoyed it, it was the first, and not much info in it for someone who has been around the blogosphere for a while, but overall it was not bad, I give them an A for effort, but not for content. The event was organized by bloggers for bloggers, therefore presenting very basic information about blogging… well, to me at least was not that interesting. Again, I enjoyed watching it and kinda wished I was there, and for the first in what I hope will not be the last of these events, was not bad at all.
They saved the best for last, and Fouad, again in my humble opinion was the best speaker in the group, he didn’t move around or fiddle much, and spoke in a very easy and direct way, which brings me to the point I want to address… a point Fouad raised as to why he blogs (or used to, I guess), and why blog in the first place.
Change (as Fouad stated, Obama stole this word from him to use in his campaign 
). Fouad stated that he writes to create a sense of urgency, which is one of the steps of change management… and here is where I have to put my 2 cents (20 cents in Australia).
Change management is something I learned when I was doing my MBA, I was also part of implementing change in a large organization… so I can say a few things about change management (a little bit more than 20 cents, but I’m being modest 
)
Implementing change is not as easy as it seems, we struggle with that on a personal level when we want to change a bad habit (ask anyone who tried to quit smoking or tried to lose or gain weight, quit nail biting… etc).
“Change” has to have a goal, what is the goal of this change? Everybody has an idea of the change they want, but do we have a consensus on what change(s) we want? The cold war waged between the religious and the liberals? Or that between the different sects of Muslims in the country? Each have their own idea of where they want to see the country (and on a grander scale the Ummah) in a few years.
Without a goal, this call for change… is just whining/complaining/whinging/ and all the other words in the thesaurus.
India, a great country with great history, is looked down upon by many in our country/region, even though if you dig deep into the names of some of the grandfathers in the peninsula you would find many of them named Hindi (now only Turkey is common), India has nuclear weapons, and has a space research organization. And guess what, Indonesia also joined the race to space, and Fouad says “احنا قاعدين نستهبل“, yes “we” are dear Fouad.
I’ve seen our students either out or in the country, and you’ve seen them also… it is no secret… and I will not add to that, but those students are the ones running the government, the airlines, the phone companies… and everything in between in our country, and when going to those places… unless you find an old or new friend, you take a number and wait your turn.
Change needs predefined steps to realize the goal, taking any shortcuts will make the change project a failure.
Lets take a little break and listen to the late 2Pac say something “Change, shit… I guess change is good for any of us. Whatever it take for any of y’all niggaz to get up out the hood, Shit, I’m wit cha, I ain’t mad at cha, Got nuttin but love for ya, do your thing boy”
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Jul 03, 2009 @ 19:51:13
The country and the people are changing my dear Qusay. The requirement of the new Judicial and education systems dictates a different way of thinking and doing things for the people in charge of them.
Look around you whenever your back in Saudi. The mentality is changing. Laws are changing. Social behjaviour is changing. People are becoming more responsible in many ways.
Fouad is a great guy indeed. He is as frustrated as many others with the slow pace. But we can’t afford to speed it up if we really want it to work.
Time to go now (Friday prayer)
Jul 03, 2009 @ 23:22:25
SaudiAspire
The only constant in life is change, but who directs it? and why? and to where? The mentality is changing, but where to?
who has these answeres? the religious are saying that the liberals or seculars are trying to disrupt our morals and wish upon the nation a wave of immorality, the other side says they want us to go back 1400 years, yet they interpret those days as something they were not… its not a delicate situation… all I know is… those with money will find ways to hold on to it, and make more of it… it’s The Law of Requisite Variety.
Jul 04, 2009 @ 11:15:26
But it is a delicate situation my friend! However, the wheel is in motion…
Allow me not to go into Requisite Variety Law application in politics. It is too democratic for my taste
Saudi Blog Camp – Change « Qusay « Change Management
Jul 04, 2009 @ 16:52:54
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VandeNikhilam USA » Saudi Blog Camp – Change « Qusay
Jul 04, 2009 @ 22:47:12
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Jul 06, 2009 @ 03:53:15
Dear Qusay,
Thanks for following the Saudi BlogCamp. We tried our best but still we faced some technical difficulties.
Anyway, when I mentioned “Change”, I was talking on the personal level change. I remember saying “When your blog is dedicated about Mac & Apple, you are trying to spread the words and make a change in converting PC people to Mac.” Same thing for a Saudi girl who is blogging. She’s expressing her feelings and opinions and hoping for a “Change” in her world like Hadeel. When a Saudi lawyer is blogging, he’s telling us about his world and hoping to see “Change” in the judicial system as all of us.
The only people who are convinced about our current status as a country & society, and convinced that we are facing no problems or threat in the future are the ones who are benefitted from this status. And we’ll know who they are.
From my angle view, I can tell you most of the Saudis are hoping and praying for “Change” in most -if not all- our aspects of society: Education, Health,…
So, we are blogging for a “Change”. What Change? To Where?
We as bloggers and individual citizens know that we can’t make that decision yet. We are not partners with the government yet since we can’t elect our representatives. So, the government is the one who is doing all the thinking, studying, planning, implementing, monitoring, and leading the “Change”.
We have no idea where we are going. But most Saudis do have great respect and love for the King and do support him although we have no idea where we are heading. It’s like a father-sons relationship. It’s not really a government-citizen relationship as in other countries around the world.
Saudi bloggers as I see them are trying to “create a sense of urgency” about different things in our society. Every blogger is targeting something might be different than the other. We are criticizing the way we as society think and handle things. We also criticize government agencies of how they handle different services related to our daily life. Some of us are proposing ideas, projects, initiating efforts on small scale. That’s great as I see. We never were so honest and open in discussing our issues like now. Thanks for the revolution of Social Media.
I don’t see Saudis blog to brag about how great we are. I see them blogging for “Change”. I see them “creating sense of urgency” on many issues related to them.
John kotter put “creating a vision” as the third step after “creating sense of urgency” in first place, and “creating a guiding team” in second.
So, let’s keep creating a sense of urgencies for now. Let’s discuss our current status and future hopes/dreams. Let’s think out loud. This is more than enough for now as I see. Let’s get used to “dialogue”.
I’m not looking for remarkable changes now from the King. The government shake-up the king did with the new judiciary system, the new education reform system, women issues are good enough for now.
I just pray there is a plan
Fouad
Jul 09, 2009 @ 13:38:37
Qusay–excellent post! You’ve learned your change management well, not to mention your 2Pac.
Change happens without intervention, but positive change requires goals, a strategy and measurement of the results of implementation. Lasting change tends to happen incrementally, otherwise there is rebound and backlash. Blogging seems to be one of the tools for Saudis to create an intellectual breathing space and exchange of ideas that helps foster new goals, directions and strategies of implementation.
In my doctorate I wrote on change as beginning with the individual person’s self concept, based on a new understanding of collective and personal history, then moving to shared information with others, and finally to implementation of the change. The model derives more from linguistics, psychoanalysis (hope that isn’t a “dirty word” LOL), and the literature of decolonization by authors who were simultaneously intellectuals, creative writers, political office holders and activists (Pablo Neruda was one, Frantz Fanon another). However it is a model of historic change and redefinition by a culture and a country.
Qusay and Saudi Aspire–I must confess I looked up “The Law of Requisite Variety” with a certain amount of “Organizational Psychology” trepidation, only to find W. Ross Ashby (a fellow shrink) and systems theory (a favourite, intellectually and clinically). Thanks!
Fouad–I really enjoyed your comment and found it very realistic in building on the positives of King Abdullah’s initiatives, and creatig dialogue to open possibilities. Evolution is more permanent than revolution.