BOOK REVIEW FLASHES OF THOUGHT

BOOK REVIEW FLASHES OF THOUGHT Author: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Publisher: Motivate Publishing Place and publishing year: Dubai, UAE 2013 Number of pages: 144 ISBN: 978-1-86063-356-0

I did know much about Dubai and UAE until I met two of my colleagues during an executive program at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. I was intrigued by their story about Dubai and UAE, and the way things function there as well as the way they represented their country. At first stories I heard about Dubai seemed to me like a fairy tale but very quickly I realized that was reality for which is most responsible their leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and people who accept his stances and the way of living. Therefore, I decided to read his book Flashes of Thought.

Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is considered the founder of systematic strategic planning in the UAE Government, and he has pioneered many innovative ideas in the public and commercial spheres, both locally and nationally. In 1995 he became the Ruler of Dubai, and he was elected Vice-President and appointed Prime Minister of the UAE in 2006. The book Flashes of Thought was founded on a dialogue at the Government Summit that was held in UAE in February 2013. The book represents a collection of concise messages, ideas and thoughts presented in 36 chapters with the main aim of pointing out the role of government in working towards the well-being of people, and observing government as an authority at the service of the people and not the authority over the people. The foreword of the book was written by Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

In the first chapter author is explaining what really government's job is. In his opinion the government's job is to achieve happiness for its people, and they are government's first, second and third priority. He sees the government as an active part of society, never as something that is separated and isolated. The government works for the people, achieves its objectives through the people and measures its success through their satisfaction. The mission of the government is to please its people and to build the promising future for their children.

Sheik Mohammed bin...