Embrace change for a changed future

KARACHI: This is my firm belief that to survive in today’s highly competitive world, everyone needs to have the ability to embrace the power of change.

“Change” is not a new concept of specific to the contemporary world. A pre-Socrates philosopher Heraclitus, in 500BC, stated that “nothing is permanent but change”.

Change is a way of life and happens every day — mostly in small dosage. But, sometimes the change could be significant especially if it relates to technology and demographics. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, policymakers and rulers are seen towing the same line despite lack of positive results.

Leadership and change interwoven

A good leader will bring change that helps the society. It is his duty to inspire and mobilise people, motivating them to move forward. He pushes people to achieve something different and better than the current reality.

If you look at famous personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, you would see that they executed positive changes that impacted and improved the lives of millions of people.

Pakistan urgently needs to implement “change management” at every level of the society to tackle very serious external and internal challenges including a poor economic track record, lack of good governance, threats to security, political instability, corruption and nepotism.

Some deliberate transformations desperately needed to help Pakistan get back on a prosperous path include:

1. The need to stop following decades-old polices: If one is aware that a certain policy or strategy does not work, it is unwise to stick to it. A case in point is trying to “expand the tax net”, which is a critical factor in fuelling the country’s development engine. Taxing the same captive taxpayers in creative ways will not result in a higher tax/GDP ratio. Government will need to introduce structural changes — come up with a new strategy and target new sectors.

2. Reinvent the “incentive system” for bureaucracy: Bureaucracy is a two-edged sword. An effective bureaucracy acts as lubrication for the economic engine. On the other hand, an inefficient one hinders GDP growth and discourages investment. Currently, our bureaucracy is inefficient, sluggish and tainted. The fastest way to bring change is to incentivise correct behavior as well as to create discipline.

3. Bring change by using global success models: The world is passing us by as our economic growth falls to a crawl. One key source of growth in high populace countries such as India is development of the IT industry. In India, exports of software and IT-enabled services touched $62.6 billion last year. Our policymakers feel they already have attractive IT polices in place yet no visible change is seen in exports. It is about time we reviewed our decade-old IT investment policy and remodelled them.

4. Intellectual property will make a difference: Urgent change is needed to pursue an economy that is fuelled by innovation, growth and investment. This can only happen if Intellectual Property Rights are protected. If new ideas and original thinking cannot be protected, Pakistan will continue to struggle.

One of the biggest flaws of administrations is that they continue to follow old practices and try to solve problems using decades-old solutions.  It is critical that change is embraced as we look to usher in an era of progress and prosperity.

THE WRITER IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CORPORATE SECTOR AND A SUPPORTER OF MANY SOCIAL ENTERPRISES AND FOUNDATIONS