Valuable Life Lessons from My Mentor
“When the student is ready,” says the ancient Buddhist proverb, “the teacher will appear”. This was certainly the case when my paths crossed with Mujahid Hamid, my future mentor and dear friend, all those years ago. It was 1986 in Karachi, and my career in luxury hotel management was in full flight. The Sheraton had opened my eyes to opportunities further abroad, as far away as Australia, and it just so happened that Mujahid, who was a top-level executive at Unilever at the time, had just returned from a work assignment in Sydney.
I walked into Mujahid’s office seeking his guidance and insights on career opportunities in Australia; little did I realise that I would be walking out with much more than that. I felt an instant rapport with Mujahid and viewed him akin to a wise elder brother. That first meeting with Mujahid back in 1986 was one of those sliding door moments. His sage advice on business, the nature of success, and life more generally have had a formative impact on my professional and personal life. It would be the start of a lifelong mentoring partnership and friendship.
Mujahid’s approach to mentorship is not so much instructional but reflective, or as he articulated in my book, “It’s about being a mirror and a guide”. His ability to actively listen and ask questions that matter is immeasurably constructive. Undoubtedly, his mentoring methodology has influenced how I coach promising young up-and-comers in the business world.
Mujahid continued to be an invaluable sounding board as we established our trade and distribution business, first in Darwin and then in East Timor. It was incredibly important to have someone in my corner who saw the opportunities (as opposed to only the risks) in East Timor as it was on the cusp of independence. He shared my optimism and not only believed in my vision but aided in clarifying it.
As Mujahid has always said, clarity and doing what you love is key to business success. As he remarked at my book launch, “Success is not easy to come by; it is elusive, and it is very important to be able to have clarity of what you want to do in life…[and] with that vision, you must have the ability to be able to strategise and implement that and to [translate those ideas] into action”. When clarity is combined with resilience to endure challenges, the flexibility to strategically pivot, and personal and professional loyalty, business not only survives but thrives.
Mujahid played a pivotal role in clarifying our vision for East Timor Trading Group (ETTG). He was of the same mind as Peter Anderson, our trusted business consultant in Darwin who had been advising us since the early days of our export business. He recommended leaving the comfort of our beautiful Australian home to protect our intellectual property in Dili and set up our own distribution centre in the capital. Mujahid agreed with Peter’s advice and further advocated that we go ‘all in’ by immersing ourselves in the community where our business was based. The establishment phase of the business was critical, and we needed to be on the ground.
To this day, Mujahid’s mentorship continues in an informal and formal capacity as a trusted confidant, board advisor to ETTG, and performance coach to our CEO and my son-in-law, Sam. The impact of his mentorship cannot be neatly quantified, and my gratitude and respect for his guidance cannot be overstated.
A Strong Heart—An Autobiography in Progress is available for purchase in all good bookstores and online at Booktopia or Amazon.