IMSL, SLFI public lecture concludes

The Institute of Management of Sri Lanka (IMSL) with the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) successfully concluded its joint public lecture at the SLFI auditorium recently. The lecture was delivered by Hilmy Cader on the theme "Ensuring your business is trim and fit for tough times." Hilmy Cader is the Bahrain-based Global CEO and Senior International Consultant of MTI Consulting.

The theme selected for the lecture was quite timely in the context of the new developments in the current global economic crisis, and especially on how local businesses should get ready, if already not, to react to the global challenges. The seminar revolved around a thought provoking question; "Is your organization's reaction chop and cripple or trim and fit?

Hilmy Cader said that, "Enterprises have put on fat, when the going was good. In response to the crisis many organizations have indiscriminately been cost cutting, which may not be the long term solution." He said that the "underlying principle is that of 'Chop Vs. Trim' - with the argument being that organizations need to move from the 'Chop' paradigm of being indiscriminate, inward looking, cost-only focus to a 'Trim' paradigm of improving the agility of the organization, while remaining lean.

"We should not wait for tough times to think and act lean, it should be a part of the organizational DNA in bull and bear markets" was among his key messages shared with the audience. The lecture was well attended by management professionals as well as IMSL members.

The lecture was followed by discussions with the members of the audience.