And on to Muscat in Oman

After a successful visit to Dubai at the CEO Conference I went on to Muscat in Oman. This was my first visit to Oman and I was really impressed by how this country is also developing and moving forward. Whole areas of Muscat have been torn down and rebuilt. I was taken to see the Palace and the royal ship in the harbour.

I was speaking at the Oman Chamber of Commerce and the delegates were business people from the business community. I was slightly concerned that I would not be understood and how the message would be relevant to their country and their situation.

I need not have worried. They were able to understand me and loved my session. One way I judge a session is by how many questions people ask, and we had to cut the questions because we ran out of time. So it was a success and they were delighted. They gave me a beautiful gift and I spent the afternoon in a Soek, which is a tradtional market.

My week in the Middle East

This week has been hectic with very little sleep but at the same time a great experience. On Saturday afternoon I flew to Dubai and arrived on Sunday morning at 3am. On to the hotel and finally into bed at 4.30am. We were being picked up at 9am!!!!!

I was speaking at the CEO Conference being held at the famous Jumeirah Beach complex. There were CEO's from America, China, UK and the Middle East. It was great to be speaking with people I knew and have the chance to catch up with them.

A wonderful event organised by James McGee in Dubai included a visit to the construction site of the tallest building. A visit to the Palm and a boat ride around the construction site.

Probably the highlight of the event was meeting and talking to H H Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum who is the man behind A1 Motor Racing. A visionary man who has a deep passion. He is an interesting businessman and I look forward to seeing him again in the future.

I also met a lovely man, Thomas Power, from UK who runs an excellent internet site www.ecademy.com and he was a pleasure to get to know. I hope this was the start of a long friendship. It was great to get to know Reg Athwall a lot more and of course my good friend and loony Scouse, Guy Levine. It is always facinating to listen to Rohit Talwar and chat to him about the future trends.

So now I am in Oman and tomorrow I talk to the Chamber of Commerce. I met the President of the Chamber today and got to know a bit about the country and the challenges and opportunities of living here.

More update at the end of the week