EVENTS TO REMEMBER

 

The clubhouse itself is probably Brian Johnson's best known design. It features on the Emerati 20 Dirhams note. Back in the day my office band played several gigs there. Very special memories.

I count myself very fortunate to have been part of this remarkable practice for more than 20 years now and leading the BIM initiative for most of that time. Brian has many skills. His design sense and ability to manage clients impressed me very early on. Clients can be their own worst enemies at times but he can usually steer them away from the rocks.

 

 

But the biggest takeaway from last night is the team spirit that he has cultivated at GAJ over the years. The work environment in Dubai can be quite harsh, but the atmosphere at GAJ has always been very positive.

Thanks to everyone there for contributing to a great evening.

 

Well this is interesting. Sorting through my old diary folders on Onedrive, I came across my tenth anniversary at GAJ. So half-way through the Dubai adventure with all its ups and downs.

To mark that milestone I was allowed to choose a set of key players from my BIM team and take the out for lunch. As it turned out this was my last "all you can eat" splurge before I was hit by a diabetes diagnosis and catapulted along a crash diet to lose 33kg in 18 months.

Apart from my huge stomach, the memorable feature about this group photo is those faces. People who I was very proud to know. Quite diverse in background, personality and role, but each one a star performer in their own right. Apart from me, they have all moved on to success with other companies. More power to them.

Soon after this I embarked on a series of "BIM breakfast" talks. It was a monthly event, and my first effort was entitled "seven stages of a BIM addict" Where do creative thoughts come from? I was not a natural performer, either as a musician or a public speaker, but I forced myself to try and somehow I discovered surprising and spontaneous talents within myself.

As an aside, I have just embarked on another radical restructuring of my diet to reverse the gradual upward slide of the last couple of years. The diabetes has not yet come back, but all the same I need to lose 10kg to get back to a healthy weight before I retire.