Leaders

Negotiating a deal for high stake scenarios is a challenging task. Especially when it comes to political and diplomatic negotiations, it is important that they are in able hands that have the ability to drive them to success. For the past 20 years, Schranner Negotiation Institute has been advising clients including the UN, global corporations and political parties in difficult negotiations. The WE magazine engaged in a conversation with Karma Kassem, Director Schranner Negotiation Institute to know more about the company and its core philosophy.

Take us through your early educational journey and prior industry experience that you bring to the table. What are some critical business lessons that you learnt through your prior industry experience which are still a part of your approach to leadership?

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business. I have always been interested in the business development and setting out the overall strategy of various companies I worked with. I started my career in FMCG companies after university but later on joined a cyber-security company for 5 years as the Regional Sales Director specializing in threat Intelligence platforms, threat detection services and risk assessments services. You don’t need to be an expert in one field to become a leader. I joined a cyber-security company with 0 technical experiences. One thing that has always been a part of my job was negotiations, which is the main reason for wanting to join Schranner Negotiation Institute and helping our clients to develop their negotiation policies and capabilities.

As the Director of MEA at Schranner Negotiation Institute, what are the various roles and responsibilities that you currently shoulder at the firm? What are some of the most challenging aspects of your current role and how do you overcome them successfully?

As the Director of Middle East, I am mainly in charge of setting the commercial strategies and drive sales growth in every part of the business. Schranner Negotiation Institute is highly known in Europe, the U.S and Asia markets. With the support of my colleagues from our headquarters office in Zurich, we align on the planning, development and implementation of Schranner’s work in the Middle East ensuring program quality, impact and coherence with the values, principles and organizational and regional strategic plans.

One of the most challenging aspects is controlling yourself in a negotiation especially when you’re emotionally attached. Our concept is designed in such a way that one can lead a negotiation and ultimately manoeuvre any difficulty that you may be faced with while understanding your ounce of character, people are either the ‘’fight’’ or ‘’flight’’ type.

“I work with a great team that strives hard and con-sists of industry experts; each of them play an integral role in the development of Schranner negotiation institute in all regions”

As one of the primary leaders within the organization, how are you driving growth for Schranner Negotiation Institute within the MEA region? What is your guiding leadership philosophy?

If you’re in business and want to be successful, growth development is the most crucial part for any business. In my opinion, it’s a combination of internal and external factors. It’s a complex blend of expertise, experience, reputation and capability. I work with a great team that strives hard and consists of industry experts; each of them play an integral role in the development of Schranner Negotiation Institute in all regions. I try not to miss an opportunity to generate new business or recurring business from current clients all while working with a full fledge team.

How is Schranner Negotiation Institute looking with their new office in Dubai and what are the future plans for expansion in the Middle East?

It’s been an amazing road for SNI so far and we’re working on transforming organizational negotiation capabilities with companies in several GCC countries through our Dubai office.

We are planning to do the N conference in Dubai in 2022, the world’s leading forum for negotiations hosted by SNI. It has been inspiring global audiences at venues around the world for over a decade and has historically welcomed attendees from Fortune 500 firms and industry giants, as well as scholars, academics, authors, and thought leaders. Guest speakers included politicians, celebrities, CEOs, and pioneer of their respective fields, each sharing with participants their invaluable insights and experiences on negotiations.

In a world where things change constantly how do you keep yourself well aligned with the periodic evolutions occurring in the industry and the tech world?

Like it or not, every industry changes, it always has and it always will. You can either get with the program, or you can overlook and ignore changes and let other people pass by you. One of the simplest things you can do is read research reports or solution guides. Put them on video mode if you’re not a fan of reading. Depending on your industry, your audience, your goals, and even the size of your company, different tools and metrics will be important to you to identify trends. Have you heard the saying: ‘’If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room?’’ Well, I like to be surrounded by smart people and attending the right conferences and industry events is always a must. For Example, at Schranner Negotiation Institute, we offer conferences once a year that depends on the topic highlighted in that year. With the spread of COVID-19, we have adapted a hybrid customized program. You keep yourself aligned and up to date. We also have young team at the company that is responsible for teenage programs who we know are always on trend and can share their ideas for future growth.

As a successful business leader with vast experience what advice would you present to young women and girls who aspire to become business leaders themselves in the future?

Our CEO, Matthias Schranner has developed a Women’s workshop called ‘’I DO IT MY WAY’’, women from all walks of life and industries come together to learn, inspire, network and blaze a trail into the future. My advice would be for women to identify their unique talents and utilize them, understand what they bring into the work environment and make sure their voice is heard to enable success. You need to set your priorities and believe in yourself. Time management is also an important ingredient, even if you don’t have time, you need to make time. Try to think outside the box and always listen to what your clients want and create it even if they don’t exist.

Karma Kassem, Director, Schranner Negotiation Institute

Started out with a bachelor’s degree in Business, Karma has always been interested in business development and setting out the overall strategy of various companies she has worked with. In her current role as the Director of Middle East, she is in charge of setting the commercial strategies and driving sales growth in every part of the business.