About Us
The Academia of Excellence is a global initiative centred in the UAE. It is a showcase for the region, one that will position our nation as a thought leader in what it really means to deliver human centricity:
To make every interaction an exchange of value.
It’s a holistic approach that looks at interaction and relationships from many perspectives:
As relevant to the way we work in the public and private sector as it is to the way we serve our cherished customers.
As relevant to our international partners and leaders as it is to our nationals
As relevant to those well advanced in the pursuit of excellence as it is to those who need a chance, a first opportunity.
Customer Excellence Academy - Changing the way we think
The dynamics of human interaction are profound - They affect so many things that are an essential part of our everyday lives.
- Who and what we value
- Who we are in the minds of others.
- The way that we choose where and how to spend our precious time and money.
- The way we make others feel.
- The way we go about our work – what we choose to put our effort into
- The degree to which we inspire and motivate ...& many more.
There can be no business or institution left on Earth that doesn’t at least recognise the need to understand and then engage fully with its audiences. It’s hard to imagine that anybody would disagree or deliberately adopt a different approach.
It stands to reason that no matter how sophisticated our use of technology and how great our processes and systems, ultimately we are at the mercy of the way we, as human beings, interact with each other.
The process of sharing anything between humans is engagement – whether good or bad. Through our interactions we form impressions that either attract, repel or are neutral. These impressions are primarily based on an emotional experience and chemistry that translates into something we either value or we don’t. Subsequent choices and actions we take match the perceived value with effort/investment.
Understanding this core idea is simple - Bringing the ability to make every instance of our dealings with each other, with our customers and partners a quality experience, and in a way that is right for any particular culture, is the real test of a human-centred enterprise.
Almost everyone speaks about customers and customer-centricity. Sadly they apply it as if the only real outcome is a transaction that leads to yet more profit. Profit made from people that the business barely understands.
CRM is now predominantly a strategy to ensure that everyone on the target list is a route to long-term sales and nothing much else. We understand that this is an extreme view and also recognise that profitability has to be a key aim to satisfy shareholders and investors. However we see evidence everywhere that suggests that the balance has tipped too far in favour of commercial gain. The resulting cynicism in the methods and the consultants earning their living from them is all around us.
It’s a simple fact that every one of us humans likes to be treated with respect and sincerity. Think about it…
- It’s the sales attendant who suggests we don’t buy the thing they are selling, or sends us somewhere else completely, with whom we form a more long-term bond
- It’s the colleague who plans their work around needs other than purely their own who we will go the extra mile for
- It’s the partner who is willing to join forces over a shared purpose who we will open the door of opportunity for and commit to working with
These examples touch on things that we really value, and it’s what we really value that drives our behaviour and our choices.
The Team with the Vision
Naveed Syed
C.E.O.
Academia of Excellence
With 18+years of chronicled success indriving benchmark-setting growth and expansion for globally focused fortune 500, turnaround, and start-up organizations, Naveed is recognized as an innovator consistently capable of creating new ideas and solutions to meet the most complex and ambiguous client needs and challenges. Naveed is well known to quickly crest the learning curve of unfamiliar subject matter, disaggregating problems and developing /executing strategies for solutions that add value to clients. Naveed has had great success in focusing on engagements involving strategy and operations, organizational effectiveness, and customer and channel strategy.
"In the race for excellence there is no finish line"
HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai