What kind of a Manager am I?

Based on the "entrepreneur.com" quiz for evaluating management skills, below are my results. Not bad, but still room for improvement :)

Your Score Is: 67/83
Wow, you're some boss!
Your company is going to go far, and you're most likely poised to achieve much
success in the future.

Based on the following 15 questions:

1. If I had to switch places for a week with one of my employees, I would:
2. How do you feel about the company rules your employees have to abide by?
3. When it comes to working with your employees, which of the following
statements best describes you?
4. If my employees are doing a great job...
5. Generally, my office demeanor is...
6. When it comes to training or
encouraging ongoing education...
7. If an employee offers a suggestion or
new strategy idea...
8. In this order, how would you rank what's most
important to you and your business?
9. When there's a crisis in the
company...
10. I take constructive criticism from my employees...
11. When it comes to the computer equipment, workspace and other tools I offer my
employees: 12. How would your employees describe you?
13. When it comes to
making decisions, how do you think your employees would describe you?
14. Which of the following best describes the relationship you have with your
employees?
15. My company...

Team in Action

Press Release: 15 Moroccan cities Update on its way

GNAV's Goal of updating 15 cities by the end of 2006 is well on its way.

3 cities have been updated and at this rate we shall reach 500 000 POIs of Morocco's major cities by the end of december 2006. Everybody in the team has renewed their commitment for respecting the deadline.

Here are the 15 city updates to be released on digital format (1:5000):

• Casablanca
• Rabat / Salé
• Marrakech
• Fés
• Meknés
• Agadir
• Oujda
• Tanger
• Tetouan
• Kenitra
• Khouribga
• Mohammedia
• El Jadida
• Safi
• Beni-Mellal

GNAV team growing some more

The team is growing: We are now six people, Naima and Ghizlane El Haloui have joined us in the last couple of months.
Below is a picture of the wonderful growing Global Navigation team, I want to make a special thanks to Ghizlane who has really made a difference in the last two months in helping the team work better and smoother, she has taken care of so many details that we have been putting off for many months and which make a big difference ....
Thank you Ghizlane and keep up the good work, the whole team appreciates your hard work....

GNAV Mision statement for 2006 and 2007

For a startup, VISION is everything, SELF DIRECT YOURSELF AND YOUR COMPANY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, becuas during the hard times that vision is all you got...

After meeting with the whole team last week, here are our GOALS in the short/mid-term:
* Be the NORTH AFRICA leader in providing GIS DATA before the end of 2007...
* Reach between 3000000 dhs and 5000000 dhs in Sales by the end of 2007 (10dhs = 1Euro)..
* Through providing updated and accurate data, act as the catalyst in the development of the tracking, navigation and geomarketing sectors in North Africa.

Yes, very few companies in the region dare share such strategic information, but I do share it beacuse I believe in what my team and company are able to do..... And if it is for competition, I love it and I like to see more of it, it creates more value and more motivation for me .....

We made it through 2005, 2006 is but another challenge that we will overcome.... What is great is that I am very contagious, I have transferred most of my motivation and energy to the rest of the team.... :)

We have learned some key lessons in 2005 and here a few of them:
* Invest as much as you can in planning a GIS project.
* YOu can never invest enough on people.
* Maps are very time consuming and it is important to define very clearly the start ans the end.
* Write your goals down, talk about them everyday and get closer to them daily.
* Entrepreneurship is a Marathon, not a RACE.
* If you want to do business in North Africa, do it with Businesse, the public sector takes too long unless you have the right contact :( especially if you are a startup
* Keep up the positive attitude everyone likes it and everyone wants more of it...

Global Navigation team wishes you a Happy Holiday / Equipe de GNAV vous souhaite eid moubarak

Global Navigation team wishes you a Happy Holiday of Eid Al Adha
L'Equipe de GNAV vous souhaite bonne fete de Eid Al Adha

Hard work pays: Highlights of last month

Entrepreneurship is truly a Roller coaster and I sure am enjoying the ride.
In the last month I have been quite busy but on a positive note this time:
* We (Global Navigation) have received 3 Purchasing orders all at once (as they say, when it rains it pours :) Yes, theories, Business plans and all I have talked about in the last few months has been translated into real work..... Yes Hard HARD Hard work always pays off...... But you have to believe in yourself and your company first, then everybody else will follow.
* I have recently joined a wonderful Organization MAC: The Moroccan American Circle. It is a great way to meet people that share similar experiences (Moroccans who studied/worked in the US or vice versa). I have met many old friends, and got to know new ones. I take this organization very seriously and I think it will be very rewarding to all its members.
* The Global Navigation team is expanding, we have hired a new Engineer with yet a different background. (Ingenieur Agronome with 1 year GIS expertise in CRTS)
* Rekia (our Geology PH.D.) is managing 7 part tome technicians in the Field and I think she is learning a great deal about managing GIS projects on the field (I feel good about her development as well as my development in delegating such important tasks to members of the team.......
* Last but not least, I am signing an Agreement (Convention) with Faculté des science of HAssan 2 University. I believe this will be beneficial to the GIS students as well as to our company...


Yes.... A lot of things are happening...... I will try to keep you guys posted despite my busy schedule....

Have a great one, and do not forget: HARD WORK really pays off :)

Cartographie, Maps of Morocco here are some samples

MAP 1

MAP 2

MAP 3

MAP 4

MAP 5




Many of you have asked me what exactly we do in Global navigation. We collect data of all kinds for Morocco (Maroc) and North Africa. Below are some snapshots of the cities we have.
Our data is in Digital fomat (arcGIS, Mapinfo, Intergraph...etc) which means that it can be used for many applications such as:
* Geomarketing
* Business GIS
* Vehicle Tracking
* Navigation
....etc
Map 1: City Map of Marrakech / Carte de la ville de Marrakech
Map 2: City Map of El Jadida / Carte de la ville d'El Jadida
Map 3: City of Casablanca / Carte de la ville de Casablanca 1
Map 4: City of Casablanca Neighberhoods / Quartiers de la ville de Casa 2
Map 5: City of Casablanca / Carte de la ville de Casablanca "

Secrets of succesful entrepreneurs... A good sign..

Read what successful entrepreneurs say in the link below....... Very ineteresting they seem to all agree on many points.... Some of them even sound like me....
It looks like "GLOBAL NAVIGATION" is on its way :)


http://www.entrepreneur.com/hot100/listings/0,6868,296117-2005-0,00.html

Give Givve Give ..... Then may be you may take... At least gain the good relationship with your customers....

Here is a great lesson I just realized this last week. In Business, or in life in general, one has to give a lot and then expect to take.
Most young companies think by just being there purchasing orders will start coming and they hope to get them within the first few months of the creation of the company. Yes they will come, but in order for that to happen I think one has to get in the habit of giving in the following ways:
* Give Advice to your potential customers as if you would do for yourself.
* Try to truly put yourself in your customers shoes and see what they really
need.

If for example they are too looking for a customer try to connect them with the people you know and whom can be their customers. Once they are at ease with you and they start seeing all they can get from you I think the good relationship is built..... Purchasing orders then become just a little detail because now the foundations are there: "The exceptional Relationship they have with you"...

Business Cards are ready...

Business cards are ready.... Let the profesional Networking begin :)

Maps for Tourism development

While making a web serach on this first day of Ramadan, I found this excellent research paper on the necessity for maps in tourism development.
Enjoy:
http://office.geog.uvic.ca/mapsandtourism/chapter2-6.html

The team is growing..... The heat to get our first Purchase Order is on... :)

It has been slightly more than a month since my last posting, but it was for a good reason. Many milestones have been accomplished:

1. We have moved to new location (Map to be displayed soon)
2. The team has now grown to three full time employees
   

• GIS Data Specialist: (Rekia Bouatmani, Ph.D.)
• Responsible for Data Collection and GIS Projects.
  
• Graphics Designer: (Sanaa Bouassami, Graduate from college Lasallae)
• In Charge of custom maps that we are developping internally as well as those for cutomers (we are still at the propositions stage at this time)
  
• Me: (Fayçal Chraibi, BS University of Houston)
• In Charge of Business development of the company which includes amongst many responsabilities:
• Training,Recruiting, Sales, Marketing, Management, Accounting, Operations... etc.

As you can see things are getting a lot of fun, but until we have our first purchasing order, the heat is on.......

Global Navigation Logo is here, any feedback?

L'importance de la "Communication"

Après l’apparition de l’article de Menara sur Global Navigation, le taux des personnes qui ont visités mon blog a passé d’une dizaine de visiteurs par jours à plus de 300 visiteurs par jour…. J’ai eu quelques propositions de partenariats / Clients potentiels et beacoup de mails d’encouragements.

Les nombreux emails que j’ai reçu après l’apparition de l’article m’ont ouvert l’esprit sur de nombreuse opportunités il y a eu même des bons de commandes potentiels…
Conclusion : « Communicate : it is good for business » ……

Je prend cette opportunité aussi pour remercier mon ami et journaliste de Ménara Ssi Rachid Jankari qui a pris l’initiative d’écrire l’article.

Why Maps? Is there much business for Maps in Morocco?

Lately many people have been asking me what do I do exactly.

Well in short I am in the Map Making Business. Maps in Morocco, what for? you may ask......
So, here are 10 good reasons businesses / individuals in Morocco should start using Maps:

1. If you are into marketing, Custom Maps are a great way to promote your business because your customers will refer to them very often. They are much more attractive than regular brochures.
2. A lot of business is lost due to the fact that people do not know how to get to a specific place. Maps help your customers get to you very easily.
3. Maps help you do business faster and save you time and money
4. Each major event happens in a place. So a map can help you make better decisions.
5. If you are a Big company it helps you in better understanding your customers, your market share and your most efficient way of working.
6. If you are looking to better know what is around you, not a better way than to use a map....
How much do moroccans know about Morocco? It is not suprising to see many tourists that come here and who know more about Morocco than Moroccans.. I think a big secret for that is their use of maps :)
7. Today's maps or (GIS: Geographic Information Systems) allow you to pu many layers of date in the same geographic area in order to fnd out the best conclusions about specific issues.
8. Maps are easier to understand than raw data or charts.
9. People like maps, so put them on your websites. Most websites in Morocco lack good quality maps.
10. And Finally good MAPS are very attractive... They are one of the very few products that sell themselves :)

First things First / Starting the week on a very positive note

Time is running / And Time is money in any company...... A good enterpreneur should always ask: What has been accomplished in the start-up phase? or better: What has been accomplished so far in order to make this little baby a success?

I remember listening to the following advice in an audio book: "The 100 mile journey is made out of single steps, just make sure you are always walking towards your goal". I try to always make sure that every hour and every minute I spend during the working day is on the way to make my start-up a successful company.

Yes, may be not too much has been accomplished yet, but for sure I have gotten into the good habit of trying everyday :) And I will hang in there for at least the next two years Inshaa Allah :) And I have no doubts more results will follow :)

So, Morocco, here I am, ready more than ever to confront every challenge you are about to continue on giving me........

Global Navigation is recruiting.

Global Navigation is recruiting.... If you know a good, motivated person with characteristics below, let me know at faysal.chraibi@gmail.com
I am looking for (Hire date: August 1st 2005):
1. Graphics Designer (Infographiste). Interested in designing Maps. Good skills in Adobe (Illustrator, Photoshop ... etc.)
2. GIS Technician: In charge of digitizing/integrating geographic data on a project basis.
Knowledgeable in ESRI Arcview/ArcGIS or Mapinfo

Thanks for your help my dear friends

Partenariats... Win / Win... Que tout le monde gagne

Trouver les bons partenaires peut être une tache très difficile mais très critique pour le succès d'une Start-up. Je pense que dans le monde des affaires au Maroc nous avons une grande difficulté à travailler ensemble entre sociétés (petites et moyennes).

Je me rappelle que dans la première Start-up que avions crée (mon frère et moi,) nous avons essayé de trouver des partenariats avec des sociétés qui travaillaient dans des activités complémentaires aux nôtres... Après plusieurs essais, Il s'est avéré que ces sociétés ne nous comptaient pas en temps que partenaires bien qu'ils parlaient de partenariats, ils nous considéraient plutot comme acheteurs potentiels de leurs produits car ils ont détectés un besoin. Certains essayaient de nous faire un peu peur avec les difficultés potentielles que nous pouvions rencontrer si on lancait notre nouvelle solution/produit.

L'un des partenaires potentiels était au moins honnête. Il m'a dit: "Je vous le dis directement, votre projet je compte le faire moi-même alors pour être honnête, je vous considère comme concurrent".

Avoir vécu cette expérience il y a 2 ans n'a fait que me donner envie à trouver les bons partenaires et les « Do’s and Don’ts » d’un bon partenariat.

J'ai aujourd'hui entamé un partenariat avec une personne qui a beaucoup d'expérience dans le domaine de la Cartographie. Je suis très optimiste et je pense que cette fois c'est la bonne.... Dans 6 mois je vous donne la réponse....

Création SARL... ET avancement du Projet.....

Eh oui, ça avance....
* Site Web a été crée la semaine dernière.
* SARL en cours de finalisation.

On a opté (Mes associés et moi) pour une SARL sous le nom de Global Naviagtion.....

Le site web est en cours de construction: CartesDuMaghreb.com. Je note à remercier un bon ami à moi qui m'a aidé a hoster mon site sur son serveur au Canada. Merci Jamal...

Cette semaine on travail en parallel sur le development de la Carte de la Ville de Marrakech.. Une fois que c'est finis c'est la partie commercial qui va commencer à 100%. A Travers la carte, je decouvre beacoup de Noms/Regions de Marrakech que je n'ai jamais connu. Ca fait plaisir de travailler sur quelque chose qu'on aime dans son propre pays d'origine :)

Wish me luck...