Tamer Mustafa, Founder and CEO of Out of Z Box, participated in Narrative Summit’s series of digital talks entitled “Reshaping Norms”. The talks were broadcasted across Narrative Summit’s various social media platforms, featuring local and global experts discussing the impact of COVID-19 on different sectors.
The event also tackled how the pandemic will reshape the future of the economy, social life, and technology, both locally and globally.
According to Mustafa, there are four models of entrepreneurs that arise during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The first of which is the “casualty” model, who surrenders to the surrounding circumstances and puts the blame on the crisis, and this model is usually the kind whose business fails under difficult circumstances. The second model is the ‘wishful survivor’ personality that does not allow the surrounding circumstances to affect the progress of his or her business and exerts all effort and financial support to maneuver out of the crisis. The third model of entrepreneurs and leaders is the ‘mitigator’ who realise that such crises will recur and work towards coexisting with them without negatively affecting their business and brand in order to achieve minimal loss.
Mustafa discussed how only those who are privileged are able to see in the dark and excel at turning dark times into opportunities through which they can change their business models.
The fourth and best model, however, for a businessman is the one who is able to cope with crises and deal with them calmly and rationally. “We can liken this model to a ‘salamander’, who has the ability to immediately recover from any injury and regenerate its cells, which is the key feature of the leader model for businessmen and entrepreneurs, namely their ability to recover from crises and adapt to the current situations, no matter how difficult they can be,” Mustafa stated.
Despite his presence in the business field for 25 years, Mustafa still maintains the spirit of startup entrepreneur. A big part of this is because his company is mainly working on creating campaigns that revive and re-introduce brands in a new way that keep the startup culture alive. “Therefore, the ‘new beginnings’ mode of thinking is what creates a continuous challenge represented in the possibility of continuity and renewal, as well as overcoming difficulties and viewing tribulations as opportunities for renewal and change, whether in the work system, the team, or the way of thinking itself,” he added. “Only those who are privileged are able to see in the dark and excel at turning dark times into opportunities through which they can change their business models,” said Mustafa.
