Interview 001 - Tamer Abu Qahouq - from Palestine

The CMC Global Institute has a podcast series where they interview members to learn about their experiences in management consulting. The first episode features Tamer Abu Qahook from Palestine. Tamer joined CMCGI in 2018 and completed his certification as a CMC in 2019. He has experience in industrial engineering, banking, operations management, and training. Tamer provides consulting services in Palestine and also cooperates with others in Jordan. He has successfully transitioned to online training during the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to complete 70 training courses in 2020. Despite the challenges of working in Palestine, Tamer emphasizes the importance of being aware of different fields and providing comprehensive advice to clients. He has successfully navigated these challenges and achieved notable success in his consulting practice. Welcome to the CMC Global Institute AudioCast Series, where we delve into the fascinating world of management consulting through the voices of our members. Each episode features a unique 20-minute interview, offering insights into the experiences and expertise of our diverse community. Join us as we uncover the personal stories, professional journeys, and valuable lessons learned by our esteemed members. Get ready to be inspired and connect with the heartbeat of our global network. Let me just first thank you for your candidness with this first interview of our members. We are honored here to have you in the CMCGI AudioCast. We have Tamer Abu Qahook, this is an esteemed member of CMCGI from Palestine, and our purpose with this first AudioCast, and we will be doing some more as the week goes, is to let everyone know everybody. So this is an opportunity to know Tamer, his practice, Tamer as a person, and what are the successes and the challenges that he faces in his practice and in his life. Actually, I would like to thank you for your continuous support at CMCGI, and it's an honor to me to be, let's say, the first AudioCast to be recorded, and I'm happy to be one of the CMCGI all the time. Thank you so much for you, also. So let's get into the important stuff. So tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been in as a management consultant? How long have you been EGI, and how did you get to us? Yeah, actually, I have been, let's say, fully involved and a member with CMCGI since 2018. It's like the, let's say, the real start with CMCGI. Before that, I heard and I started contacting CMC to be a member and to apply the regular and official forms. I have been informed by my friend, Mr. Nidal Udaat, about CMC. I know him personally, and he's very professional, and he presented CMC at that time very well, so he encouraged us, and he showed the value of CMCGI. So I started my journey with CMCGI, like I said, 2018, and as a member, and completed my certification in 2019. I had the certificate as a CMC since that time. Tell us a little about your practice. What do you do? You know, what is your specialty in management consulting? Being management consulting, such a broad field, we have many different specialties from different people. So where is your specialty, and not only from a technical perspective, but also if you have any specialty in industry-wise, it is also important for the public to know. Yeah, thank you. Initially, I am an industrial engineer with an MBA degree, also to complete the cycle, just to link the industrial engineering concepts with the Master of Business Administration. I have worked in different areas. I have worked, my experience came from working with factories in industry, working in banking sector, in operations management, and also working as a training and program manager in a training institute related to banking sector. So I have been involved in many managerial-side businesses and engagements, including process and business improvement, also, let's say, also analyzing the systems, software systems, supporting the business side. So I have been involved in analyzing processes itself, also software systems and their capabilities to support the businesses and the efficiency of the businesses. So I have been involved in software analysis, business processes analysis, and also some of the HR side experience, along with capacity building and programs, design and implementation, plus the training activities I have made. So I have been involved in developing and applying training programs, large and the huge training programs through regular analysis and others like process and consultation services for them to design the suitable program for them. Also involved in developing business processes, updates and improvements, along with business advisory for them. This came through, started since my graduation in 2000 from the first degree in industrial engineering, and it continues till now. I'm giving now consultation services and contracts with different clients, either private or semi-public, like local governments, like municipalities and other bodies, plus the private companies. Okay, and you are located in which city? I'm located in Palestine, in Ramallah, and I'll be a government. Okay, okay. Yeah, but also I provide my services in the West Bank because some of them are physically provided and some of them are remotely through online platforms. Okay, so in your practice, you not only do in-presence consulting, but also online as many of us do already. Do you keep your practice in the West Bank, or have you done or do outside the West Bank? Yeah, actually, the main activities are in Palestine, inside Palestine, but I have some cooperation with others. It's like cooperation with friends in Jordan through some businesses. We have some discussions about improvements and one-to-one coaching and mentorship and advice. I have been involved in some committees to improve some standards for businesses related to friends, one-to-one coaching for my friends who are starting their businesses as trainers. So I have been asked to give them some advices and coaching regarding to improve their, let's say, business model, how to do it. But regarding the online, it's one of my, let's say, happiest things I have improved through the institutions I worked with because before COVID, I started to use online platforms like Zoom before even COVID to overcome the barriers between places inside Palestine. And once the COVID arises, before it came to Palestine, I had the package, the online Zoom package designed for our institution, which I was working with, started to do the business, the trainings using Zoom to do the services using online. And I'm honored that I'm the first one who succeeded to spread it widely here and it has been common now. OK, OK. Since we are in the chapter of talking about the practice, you are located in a very challenging location, let's say, because Palestine is, it has very unique characteristics. And very unique challenges being a city that is, that has very political challenges. So from the perspective of a business owner, as a management consultant, what are your main challenges and what are the best successes in running a consulting practice in that difficult environment? Actually, yes, I do agree. It's a challenging place, but it comes through all the concepts of the processes and concepts of CMCGI, because you have to apply all, during the, let's say, consultation processes and phases, you have to apply all tools you can, you can have through external to internal awareness. You have to be aware of all aspects of the, of everything, not only for the business, but also for political, let's say, risk-wise, other issues. You have to be aware of it. The challenge, the major challenge, the additional one is that you have to have, you have to have the knowledge of different fields. You have to be aware of different fields, because the client will expect that you can give him an advice that covers different fields. He thinks that you have the magic stick to give him the advice for economical, business-wise, financial, and also political. You have to give him advice that covers all the scenarios, which also, if we want to be realistic, the real consultant should take into consideration all these aspects. And if he cannot do it by himself, he has to formulate a team with all the required capabilities. But in Palestine, I'm not talking about the big, big companies, which they are little in Palestine because of the size of Palestine, but they need you to know a lot of things and to give them different advices. And this is a challenge because you have to be aware of that. Okay, okay. From the side of the triumphs, do you have a memorable experience regarding a special project that you hold dear in your heart for the satisfaction or the difficultness that you have to pull out in order to comply with the project? Do you have any memorable projects that you remember close to your heart? Yeah, actually, there are different things to be kept in your memory, but because of the COVID, let's say, period and the difficulties we face here in Palestine, it was difficult. It was a difficult time to complete or to go on with your business. I was a training manager at an institution, training institution, and it was the challenge that you have to keep going your work while you are not allowed to go outside your home. So I have started from even before the COVID arrived to Palestine. I have been prepared by having the, let's say, the online package. But I have started to analyze the situation and to start to build the scenarios and to convince all the stakeholders, showing them the, let's say, the results of my analysis regarding the benefits and the restrictions of doing the training and the program, continue your training program online. So the more memorable thing is that I have succeeded in that year. In 2020, I have succeeded and managed 70 training courses during the first year of COVID. Yeah, and these courses, you know, COVID has arrived to Palestine in February. We have started to recover our business, to do online businesses, online training, or starting from June, May or June. So from May to June till the end of the year, I have managed to complete 70 training courses plus three or four diplomas, which was very successful in this challenging period. Okay, okay. Um, I have managed to apply the, let's say, I'm sorry, to apply some of the consultation techniques using the diagnosis and using action planning and doing the scenarios and just to build, let's say, to rely on these concepts while convincing other stakeholders to accept the concept of online training because it was very challenging. Okay, okay. I bet. But the numbers are very good. You know, it's a high, a very high number of courses that you were able to pull out. Let's talk a little, if you wish, about summer personality. How is, you know, how do you define yourself? Are you married? Do you have kids? What are your hobbies? What do you do when you are not consulting other companies? Yeah, personally, I am married with two kids. I have my daughter, six years old, and my son is three years old now. I'm family oriented. I love my kids a lot and they own me. So yeah, they own me. So they can take whatever they want just when they hug me. I have, I'm family oriented. I have friends that I hang with them when I'm free with no work. I like to read some, let's say, management articles, but this will be related to working activities and to career development. For my free time, I like to spend my time with my family, either at home or go outside. I like to watch, let's say, TV and go with my friends. Nowadays in Palestine, you cannot do picnics as you want. So you can overcome this with, compensate your kids with social gathering, with in-house activities, and this is great because it's one of my favorites to be with my kids. That's very nice. Looking forward, do you have any future aspirations in terms of your career, your plans for the future? What do you look forward to in 2024, 2025? Yeah, I hope that I can start my own business and also to have an exit step to provide some services and cooperate outside Palestine. So I have inside and outside services. I wish I will do, and I hope I will do it, to cooperate with other parties outside Palestine and plus inside Palestine. This might, let's say, shorten the next two years to be available outside also. Okay, okay. From your perspective as a consultant, as a successful consultant in Palestine, what could we do in GI better or more that is meaningful to you? Yeah, I hope that we can do an exit step. Actually, it might be my fault if you do so, but I did not hear about it. It might be one of my shortcomings. I wish if we can go next steps with all consultants all over the world to have, let's say, capacity building sessions, online sessions to increase their capabilities in consultation, practicing, scuffing cases, showing real cases, remove the names, remove the real data, showing real application of the CMC, let's say, concept and procedure processes, do enhancements for them in different fields, let's say, having sessions, training courses. It's like one of the benefits that we do expect from CMC GI as members to have sessions, online sessions, pre-sessions to be. Also, to increase their capabilities because we have been lucky to have practice in certain issues, but we want to make sure that we are doing it right. We are continuously providing the services in line with the right concepts of CMC GI, and we are not out of the scope. Also, to increase our consultation capabilities and experience of having real cases from others and also to reshape and refresh our notes. Plus, having a, let's say, a database for the consultants to be shared in different countries, to be involved in real projects, to promote our members, to be consultants in other countries, to share their experience, to, let's say, to be, to formulate teams that can get benefits from the database and go through consultations and to promote the members to others, to other countries and also worldwide. This will come as a next step of reshaping the skills and enhancing and refreshing the skills of the consultants. Let's say it will be not, it will not be made very fast. You have to do it gradually by, let's say, sharpening the skills and making sure that they are all in the same line with the concept of CMC. Then go a further step to promote those consultants, these consultants to others worldwide and to start to have real benefits from being members at CMC GI. Okay, okay. Any closing, any closing thoughts that you would like our listeners to hear from your experience as a CMC GI member? Yeah, actually, it's one of my thoughts that we took support from volunteers through our journey to have our CMC certification. So it is obvious that we have to pay back ethically to support others in their journey to have their certificate, either by mentorship or by assessment side. It is really a great journey to be part of this voluntary work, voluntary task, because it's a great feeling to be a voluntary volunteer with others. Also, you will find yourself meet different mentalities, new experience, and very, very excellent and kind people through mentorship, through assessment. So you'll increase the knowledge you have, you will see different approaches, different projects, new ideas from others. This voluntary work will enhance your feelings, and it's like the result of being supported by voluntary volunteers who help you to have the certificate. So you are doing the same to others, but also you get benefits by having more experience. You are observing other cases. So it's a good journey. And you have to be involved in this great, great journey and voluntary work. Thank you, Tamer, for 30 minutes of your time and a peek into your life and into your practice. So thank you very much. And we'd like to have you soon back. I'm very happy. I'm glad. Just yesterday, I have been involved in a voluntary work with CMCGI. I was the lead assessor for one of our new colleagues in the CMCGI. So it's great. And I'm here all the time. Thank you for being in our first audio cast. It's an honor to me. It's an honor to me, sir. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the CMC Global Institute Audio Cast Series. We hope you found the insights shared by our member both enlightening and inspiring. Stay tuned for more episodes where we continue to explore the diverse perspectives and rich experiences within our global consulting community. Don't forget to visit our website for more information and resources. Until next time, keep striving for excellence in the world of management consulting.