UAE Innovation Month: Sheikh Zayed and EQ

The term ‘innovation’ has become so ubiquitous, yet we do not yet have a clear, common definition. Ask ten experts, and you will get ten definitions - some quite practical and others conceptual. There are some basic contours, however, where textbook definitions and practical applications overlap: creativity, novelty, improvement, and value creation are just a few. I challenge us to add one more ingredient to the mix: placing emotional intelligence (EQ) at the center of innovation. In my last post, I discussed some of the values of HH Sheikh Zayed - one being his belief in developing human capital. Innovation as a principle of the UAE is fitting as innovation is about improving the lives of people. As such, we need to retain the human values and characteristics that cannot be supplanted by technology. As we celebrate UAE Innovation Month, let us think not only about the UAE’s role in defining and applying innovation but also in our potential to inspire a human-centric innovation legacy, one our founding father believed in.

Innovation is not just about gadgets and technology; - it is also about thinking outside of the box — thinking critically — and also, achieving balance between traditional ways of learning and new methods that are attuned to the importance of emotional intelligence. Since, and even before, 1971, the country has experienced several changes and a rapid increase in development. Sheikh Zayed, along with the rulers of the other emirates, had to adapt and innovate to figure out how to navigate a world that is constantly changing. He invested in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and business sectors, but more than that - he invested in people. Thus, this innovation month we need to ensure that our youth receive well-rounded training and education to thrive in this new age of technology. While ‘hard skills’ are crucial for success, we cannot afford to lose sight of skills that cannot be automated. These include flexibility, teamwork, empathy, curiosity, relationship-building, and creativity. These ‘soft’ skills can be nurtured through an arts and culture education. They are also instilled through initiatives such as the moral education program that HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed put forth this past school year. In this new digital age, EQ is just as valuable as IQ. Thus, the moral education curriculum emphasizes the values needed to succeed in an interconnected world: tolerance, mutual respect, and conscientiousness, values HH Sheikh Zayed instilled within our foundation. This is truly an innovative approach to education and much-needed today.

Boiled down to its purest form, innovation is about championing bold ideas that work and improve people’s lives. The formation of the UAE came out of necessity and common interest, but it was a challenge. HH Sheikh Zayed viewed the idea as essential to the growth and development of all seven emirates, and he, alongside HH Sheikh Rashid, championed this idea. It required bravery, and as we see today, became a success. In the UAE, we believe in maintaining this value of courage and creation of new ideas, and we think it is imperative that there is an equal playing field for ideas where the best and the brightest can shine. This month, events and initiatives across the Emirates are taking place to celebrate innovation and ingenuity. One such example is the launch of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Settlement Challenge, which invites applicants — from all backgrounds and origins — to push the limits and envision sustainable models for working and living in space. Another example, in the cultural sector, is the launch of the world’s first highway gallery — right here in our backyard at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. In our efforts to increase cultural engagement in the UAE, we thought: instead of bringing people to the art, how about we bring art to the people? And we did.

In a stroke of good fortune, Innovation Month overlapped with this year’s World Government Summit, a highly anticipated, large-scale brainstorming event that identifies best practices in governance as they relate to futurism, technology, and innovation. When most people around the world think of government, the last thing they think of is innovation. But in the UAE, we want innovation and government to become synonymous. We want sluggish bureaucracies to be a thing of the past. In fact, here, government institutions are often the first testing grounds for new technologies and innovations in the country — including best practices in cultivating emotional intelligence.

Last year, for example, the UAE’s Minister of State for Happiness and Well-Being deployed “chief happiness and positivity officers” to the Haas School of Business, the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, the Oxford University Mindfulness Center, and the What Works Center for Wellbeing in the UK to receive training in how to cultivate happy, mindful, and positive people and organizations. This program was innovative in and of itself and underlines the point that the well-being of people must be prioritized in order for any work or technology to succeed. Behind each technology we incorporate into our ministries and institutions, there is a belief in increased transparency, accountability, and cultivating self-awareness in public sector employees.

Innovation can only be successful and sustainable in the long run if it is focused on people. This was something HH Sheikh Zayed knew and understood, and in the Year of Zayed, this is something we must keep in mind when discussing innovation. When building innovation models into any business or entity, it is important to develop a flexible, nimble, forward-looking model that incorporates EQ in the process and final product. This is just as important for the artist and designer as it is for the engineer. The energy of Innovation Month is contagious; and as this month ends I'm proud to have to witnessed the various Emirates and entities using this energy as fuel to carry on our founder’s legacy of developing ideas, products, and initiatives that focus on improving people’s lives.