Remarks made by Farooq Kathwari at the American Committees on Foreign
Relations (ACFR) National Conference on May 11, 2007 in Washington
D.C.
Good Morning. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to
share my thoughts on the Consequences of Globalization. The subject
of globalization has always been relevant and more so today with
communication and information accessible to millions, if not billions,
of people. The accessibility of information and a major increase
in global trade have created great opportunities and also possibilities
of major conflicts. Expectations are being raised and major
migrations of people are taking place. Environmental concerns,
global health concerns and regional conflicts are on the rise. More
than ever the leadership of the world has to come together to address
these issues.
In this regard, I also believe that despite the
current challenges faced by the United States, we are in a unique
position to take the lead. Not only are we a major economic
and military power, but we also increasingly reflect the diversity
of the world and in fact, the United States is a microcosm of the
world community.
I would like to start by listing my own ‘wish-list’ of
the role of the United States in these challenging times:
- I would like to see a reversal of the collective resistance to
American leadership in the world.
- I would like to see the majority of the world admire and, to
a lesser extent, fear the U.S.
- I would like the United States to be seen as a positive influence
by the majority of the citizens of the world;
- I would like the U.S. to assume a major leadership role in many
international institutions such as NATO, the United Nations, the
World Trade Organization and institutions involved with global
security, global environmental issues, bio-diversity and energy
related challenges.
I refer to the above wish list as I strongly believe they will enhance
the well-being and security of the citizens of this great country
and also help the interests of peoples around the world. More than
ever our well-being is going to be directly linked to the security
and well-being of all the peoples of the world.
While reflecting on this subject, my own journey
from the mountains and valleys of Kashmir is part of the globalization
story. It
feels like yesterday when I arrived 41 years back – a period
that was tumultuous. I left for New York the day after India
and Pakistan announced a cease-fire to end the 1965 war over Kashmir. Being
in Kashmir was a difficult period and coming to New York was a relief,
a new life and an opportunity. I worked during the days in
a printing company in downtown Manhattan, and went to evening school
at the Graduate School of Business at New York University, majoring
in International Marketing. The school near Wall Street led
me to get a job with Bear Stearns and later Rothschild Inc. I
was fortunate to learn about finance and management from these great
institutions.
In Kashmir my main preoccupation at school was
playing and captaining a cricket team and other sports and I took
easier subjects like English Literature and Political Science. Growing up in Kashmir was
unique in many ways. We were living in an area of major conflict. Many
families got separated, including ours. My mother did not see
two of her children for 10 years and my father was away from home
for 17 years. Yet with all these difficulties we were taught
principles of patience, kindness, charity, discipline, honesty, justice,
moderation and reason – all attributes associated with Prophet
Mohammed (PBUH) and repeatedly mentioned in the Koran. For
us the Prophet was like a captain of the team, he led the team, he
was a political leader, a general, a teacher and he believed in justice
and action. He married his boss, a woman who was older than
him, and in fact she proposed the marriage to him. Prophet
Mohammed (PBUH) preached and practiced that the main responsibility
of leadership is to improve the welfare of their citizens. His
example was followed by many leaders and merchants who went to far
away places like Indonesia, Malaysia and North Africa to govern and
to develop trade and also to help spread the message of justice and
fair dealing. The merchants were followed by many great teachers
including many who are referred to as Sufis.
It is interesting that the poetry of the 13th
century Muslim poet Rumi is today the best selling poetry in the
U.S. Rumi’s
ancestry was from Western Afghanistan and later his family traveled
through Iran to Turkey.
When I arrived at NYU 41 years back, I lived
in Brooklyn, New York, and after adjusting to the shock of the
underground subway and its deafening noise, I observed my new home. What impressed me
about America was that people worked hard, they were honest, and
if you showed promise you got an opportunity to go forward. People
treated each other with more dignity and equality than I had encountered
in Kashmir – known for these attributes. I came to realize
the principles of good ethics are universal and in America, a country
of immigrants, its diversity was its strength and created a unique
culture in the world. But America was not without major
faults. I could not understand the treatment of African Americans
or Native Americans and that women had limited rights until recently. Yet
America had hope because of her principles derived from the Declaration
of Independence, the Constitution and particularly the Bill of Rights. And
for the first time in my life I was not living under the constant
shadow of pain that a conflict inflicts.
I have had the privilege of leading Ethan Allen,
a classic American brand, for the last twenty years. Ethan Allen is celebrating
its 75th Anniversary this year. The company started as a manufacturer
of furniture supplying its products to independent dealers. When
I took charge in the mid 1980’s, Ethan Allen needed major re-invention. The
product designs were no longer relevant, the marketing and manufacturing
needed a major overhaul. The challenge was to change the image
of this well established enterprise with 90% brand recognition. And
as often happens, the management at the company was comfortable with
their status and felt there was no need to change.
Ethan Allen was a well known brand. However, to have continued
success and remain a leader, we also had to become relevant for the
changed environment and take steps to become a preferred brand. Reinvention
means taking a fresh look at the problems and challenging assumptions
of the past. In going through any major reinvention one must
understand and expect that generally, ideas are first rejected, and
then tolerated, and finally there is a chance of acceptance. Reinvention
is key to continued vitality of any institution or nation and takes
place either unconsciously, which is most of the time, or consciously
which obviously is the preferred method. I also believe it is the
responsibility of leadership to establish the overall environment
and guidelines under which the enterprise will operate. Every
institution or nation is defined by the culture that the leadership
creates. Debates and priorities are shaped by leadership and
if the leadership fails to take the opportunity and responsibility,
the vacuum gets filled by people with louder voices and often with
extreme agendas.
Today Ethan Allen is a changed enterprise and
a global enterprise. As
you know, much has been written about management and leadership principles. I
have been impressed by the Universal Principles of Ethics that are
part of all religions of the world and also enshrined in the principles
that founded this great country. These shared principles inspired
me to establish our own set of “instructions” which we
call the Leadership Principles and can be found on our website www.ethanallen.com. The
Ethan Allen Leadership principles have helped us to create a unique
culture which has developed a team of 10,000 highly motivated associates.
During the last 20 years, we have made it a point
that these principles are discussed in large and small meetings
and most of our senior management is asked to write about the implementations
of these principles as part of self-evaluation. A major portion
of our incentive compensation of senior managers is based on their
adherence to these principles.
I would like to particularly focus on three leadership
principles that have guided us. First, the word justice is not often used
in business enterprises. We know that injustice results in
conflicts and dis-motivation causing lack of growth for an enterprise
or a nation. The second principle to keep in mind is
that arrogance is often the cause of failure. We believe that
leadership has to set an example by working hard, being innovative
and most importantly, conducting themselves with humility. The
third principle is managing change. We emphasize that change
creates opportunity and needs to be managed. Having lived in
the mountains in my childhood, and still hiking as a hobby, the mountains
taught me that reaching the summit needs an appropriate pace. Going
up too fast often results in altitude sickness, which can be fatal. The
solution most of the time is to come down, stabilize and then climb
again. Unfortunately most people do not like to come down and
often end with a disaster.
I also believe good governance is good for profitability. At
Ethan Allen, during the last fifteen years, we have consistently
performed at the highest profitability levels in our industry and,
in fact, in most industries.
That brings me to the issue of the importance of good governance
and the need for partnerships at a global level. The world is small
and getting smaller. Communication and information are raising expectations
and if these expectations are not reasonably met, will cause major
issues and conflicts. We know the universal principle that our performance
is judged by the expectations which we create or are created for
us. Those of us who are running public companies or are working in
the public domain, know that quite well. We must understand that
our long term welfare in the United States will increasingly depend
on helping raise the standards of living around the world. We are
already confronted by issues due to migrations of people. These migrations
are taking place due to many factors including political conflicts,
rising expectations, lack of economic opportunities and, in my view,
lack of good leadership. We must reject the notion that globalization
means that we would do well to not pay attention to the welfare of
the citizens of this global village. Migrations are taking place
from South to North America, from Asia and Africa to Europe and from
rural areas to urban areas. The migrations from rural to urban areas
in many faster developing countries are creating major social conflicts,
health issues and challenges to the environment.
One such conflict is displacement. I am privileged to chair
the Board of Refugees International, an advocacy organization based
here in Washington DC. It is a tragedy that over thirty million people
are today displaced from their homes and the number is rapidly growing. The
latest tragedy is in Iraq where millions have been displaced from
their homes. Also we are just comprehending the potential impact
that global warming can have on populations living in major coastal
cities around the world. If the global warming continues at
the levels we are experiencing, there are estimates that millions
could be displaced around the world.
In addition to the environmental and other issues
relating to globalization, we have another major issue to contend
with: the perceived conflict between the U.S. and the religion
of Islam. This perceived conflict theory is largely based on the
assumption by some that the Judeo-Christian and Islamic value systems
are violently opposed to each other. It is important to note that
this belief is held by a vocal section of the populations of non-Muslims
and Muslims. This assumption of inherent conflict is misleading
and inaccurate for several reasons. First of all, the religion
of Islam is a continuation of the messages that came from Judaism
and Christianity. It is the third Western religion in the Abrahamic
tradition, and it is based on the same fundamental principles as
Judaism and Christianity. Secondly, we cannot ignore the role that
vested interests play in pitting of “us
vs. them”. Throughout history, various religions have been
used to justify all sorts of violent actions – including slavery,
genocide, and colonialism. Let us not forget that promoting “Islam” as
opposed to the “West” is a political tool that is all
too easily manipulated. We must reject the view that Islam, as a
religion, is not compatible with democracy and rule of law. The fact
remains that the underlying ethical principles of Islam are in conformity
with the principles on which this great nation was based. I again
refer to the common values of mercy, charity, social justice, living
peacefully with the various peoples of the world and the use of reason.
I would further argue that people all over the world want to improve
their economic conditions and to live with better governance. With
access to information these demands will increase.
Furthermore, I am deeply concerned at the increasingly confrontational
and the narrow attitude of the leadership in many parts of the world.
In most instances ego, arrogance and lack of common sense is determining
the course of action causing great harm to millions of innocent people.
The main responsibility of leadership is to shape the debate and
priorities and that while safeguarding national security they do
not create an environment of fear. No individual or society, in my
opinion, can prosper and grow while living in fear or reacting in
anger.
The world is getting smaller and to confront the major issues we
are faced with, there is an urgent need to create partnerships of
world leaders, community leaders, business leaders and of political
and religious leaders.
- In this regard, let me give my perspective on the important role
that Western Muslims, particularly American Muslims, can and must
play in facilitating dialogue on the common ethical values we all
share. We must help to form networks that encourage meaningful
involvement in the political process. In this regard I am co-chairing,
together with former Secretary of Labor and former member of Congress
Lynn Martin, a task force called the American Muslim Task force
organized by the Chicago Council for Global Affairs. After about
eighteen months of deliberations, the Task force report is due
this June. This report will outline a number of initiatives that
can be taken for and by American Muslims to get more involved in
the domestic political process and also to be a bridge in projecting
common ethical values.
- There is an immediate need for the world’s important leaders,
representing different regions and religions to meet. These leaders
should include those we agree with and also those we disagree with.
These leaders must clearly state that challenges faced by our global
village should be resolved under the umbrella of our shared ethical
principles. I believe this group should meet regularly and
the process institutionalized.
- Similarly, there needs for a special meeting of the senior-most
religious leaders of various faiths. They must also work together
to help shape the debate towards reconciliation and focus their
energies on areas that unite us.
I would like to add here that for fruitful discussions,
dialogue must be characterized by three features. One is the absence
of coercion, with all parties agreeing to treat others as equal.
A second requirement is for participants to respond with empathy,
to think someone else’s
thoughts and feel someone else’s feelings. The third requirement
is that dialogue must be concerned with bringing forth peoples’ deep-rooted
assumptions in order to overcome misunderstandings. There must
be genuine desire to work together in partnership.
Thank you once again for the opportunity to share my thoughts with
you this morning.
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