The executive coach Liz Wiseman says many managers let the intelligence of their workers go to waste. Sammy Dallal / The National (w)
The executive coach Liz Wiseman says many managers let the intelligence of their workers go to waste. Sammy Dallal / The National (w)
The executive coach Liz Wiseman says many managers let the intelligence of their workers go to waste. Sammy Dallal / The National (w)
The executive coach Liz Wiseman says many managers let the intelligence of their workers go to waste. Sammy Dallal / The National (w)

Money & Me: Generosity is the foundation for prosperity


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Liz Wiseman, an executive coach and leadership expert, was in the UAE recently to promote her leadership manual, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. A former executive at Oracle Corporation and current president of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development centre based in Silicon Valley, she gives 10 per cent of her income to charity, a practice she believes underlies her success.

Are you a spender or a saver?

I'm a saver. My husband and I don't have a savings target as such, but we have a spending target. We have a certain amount of money we spend on the essentials of our life and everything beyond that we tend to save. I funded myself through six years of private school without a dime of debt, so I'm definitely a provident living/saving kind of person. My goal was to start my career without any debt.

Has your attitude to spending and saving changed during your life?

My attitude towards money has been pretty consistent. My whole life, I have been fairly money neutral. My financial goal has always been to have enough money so that it's never a worry, but not to have so much that it's consuming. That doesn't mean I can't earn a lot of money; just that I don't hold a lot of money, so it doesn't own me. This neutrality around money is probably unusual in my career. I've never asked for a raise or a bonus, or sought equity, but I've found that money has just come to me. When I was working as a fairly senior manager in the corporate world, I had a significant equity stake in the company and was able to retire with enough money that I never needed to work again. But that never was an active pursuit. My strategy has always been to do work I love to do and to do it well, to do it for the pure joy of working and making an impact. And by doing this, I've found money has come in far greater abundance than I could ever have hoped for. I have paid tithing my entire life, since I was a teenager earning money in a part-time job. I don't see it as charity, it's an acknowledgement that everything we have is a gift from God and it's simply returning back to the source of our wealth, giving back a little piece of what was given to me. I think it's this practice of tithing that has allowed me to maintain a neutrality around money and allowed me to pursue work more aggressively.

What upsets you more: wasting money or wasting time?

Time wasting for sure. To take that further, the thing that upsets me most is intelligence wasting. There are people who steal physical assets of companies and there are people who steal intellectual property, but I think perhaps the most insidious corporate crime is the manager who wastes the intelligence that sits inside their organisation. It's subtle, but I think it's rampant. And it makes me angry.

What do you enjoy spending money on?

I love to spend money on furniture. I like really nice furniture, rugs and things that have permanence. Also, my husband and I spend a lot of money, almost an irresponsible amount, on vacations. Not luxury vacations, but we are avid travellers and we take our four kids all over the world. Our seven-year-old son has his birthday in July, when we take our summer holiday. So far, he has celebrated it in Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico, Indonesia and Thailand. On his sixth birthday, he woke up in Guatemala and went to sleep in Belize and he spent his seventh in Honduras.

What is your idea of financial freedom?

Neutrality. I have four children and my hope for my children would be that they manage their money in a way that they never, ever had to make a life decision based on money. I hope they can pursue work they want to do and live where they want to raise a family, but that money never sub-optimises a decision. Having said that, you need a bit of money for this. Having none doesn't help you.

Do you have any financial regrets?

Not yet. There was a close call. I have an absolute love of the Maserati. I never had one, but I would love to own one. Three years ago, I had a little money sitting around and my husband said, "Liz, you need a new car". My car was fine, I had a Lexus, but he insisted and one day I saw a silver Maserati coupe. I looked at it and drove it and I thought, "Yes, that's what I'm going to do, I'm going to buy a Maserati". But after much soul-searching, I decided against it. Luckily. I had just hired my research partner Greg McKeown and a month after walking away from the car, the global recession hit. Had I bought that Maserati and used up our earnings, I would have had to say goodbye to Greg. So instead of the Maserati, I got Greg, and the year-and-a-half of research with him led to our book, Multipliers. When the book was published, he gave me a little model of a black Maserati with a note saying, "Thanks for choosing me over the car." I would choose a person over a Maserati any day.

* Jane Williams

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE

TV: Match on BeIN Sports

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

'Munich: The Edge of War'

Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5