offering a big plot of vacant land for sale to multinationals. I raised this proposal to the board and took control of every step that followed--contacting multinationals, negotiating and dealing with details. We soon signed a memorandum of understanding with Cemex Cement of Mexico. We tailored the deal such that half of the sale price of the plot would be paid in cash by Cemex, so we could pay off the government dues. The rest of the price would be used as our equity participation in the proposed plant. Cemex's lawyer demanded a tripartite agreement between Cemex, the government and us. By accepting the offer, I made the most fatal mistake of my career. Our lawyer informed me that a tripartite agreement involving a foreigner for land transfer had never taken place in Bangladesh; the government was reluctant to transfer government property to foreign-owned companies. But I still opted for the tripartite, figuring that there was no legal bar for the government to enter into such agreement. An alternative to the tripartite was offering Cemex a bank guarantee for the amount of their involvement. But that looked risky, and we were already running behind time. There were several other advantages of the tripartite. It would cut our costs by saving us from double registration, and once the tripartite was signed, Cemex could easily follow through without much effort from us. We spent about ten months and got the proposal through all desks up to the economic relations committee, only to be rejected by the cabinet, the highest policy making body of the country. By that time Cemex lost its patience and pulled out of Bangladesh. Gone were our hopes of releasing our asset from the government.I had failed in making the decision. I failed because I did not understand that working with bankers would be easier than working with bureaucrats. I failed to recognize that political interests are at times more valuable than economic interests. However, I have learned a valuable lesson-- in desperate situations, the most feasible option is often the best option. What are your career aspirations? How will you get there? As a citizen of a developing country with a considerable amount of wealth, I feel compelled to use my abilities to benefit my country and my company. First, however, I need the proper training. My goal is to change the corporate culture in this country, to expand and to devise the most effective management system for our business. I want to take our business to new heights with modern management practices and techniques that would in turn help my country leap forward and reach at least the Asian standard. I want to help my company stay competitive in this free trade era. I want to help grow value-adding manufacturing facilities. In short, I want to prepare our business and our country to face the challenges of the 21st century. In order to reach my goal, I need the proper intellectual equipment. I believe the MBA of Harvard Business School will offer me just that. The program will teach me different approaches to effective management of the operation of manufacturing facilities. I also hope to develop more creative strategies for competition. By broadening my understanding of the global marketplace, I will be better suited to match our capabilities to the market needs. More importantly, I believe an MBA at Harvard will expose me to state-of-the-art business practices, conventions and techniques. I hope to make contacts with world-class companies. In order to survive, my country needs a change where corporates will do what the state is failing to do now -- taking care of the society. And I want to be an architect of that change. With proper education and training, and with time and further experience, I am certain I will soon be able to put my creative ideas into work.
