Speaking to the opening session of the 2013 CIBJO Congress in Tel Aviv, Eli Izhakoff, President of the World Diamond Council and Honorary Life President of CIBJO, dedicated his address to the subjects of leadership and responsibility in the in the jewellery and gemstone industries.
“A good deal has been written on these subjects in recent weeks, particularly in respect to the diamond industry, and not all of it has been complimentary,” he stated. It has been suggested that while we were ahead of the curve when the Kimberley Process was launched, we are now slipping back – preferring to rest upon our laurels, instead of being open to new initiative and projects.”
“So let us consider the subject: what is a leader?” he continued:,
The following is the text of Mr. Izhakoff’s address:
According to the Wall Street Journal Guide to Management, being a leader is less about process and more about social interaction. While a manager focuses on systems and structure, a leader focuses on people. Leaders do not simply define tasks; they assign purpose.
The entire CIBJO philosophy is based upon this. The organization does not impose nor enforce its rulings. It rather provides guidance and frameworks with specific end goals in sight. This is true in respect to the industry standards and accepted nomenclature contained in its Blue Books, as well as in its approach to ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, where the emphasis has been upon education.
At the end of the day, our community is made of autonomous individuals, each of whom has the privilege of deciding independently how he or she wishes to run a business. As leaders, we can provide them with direction, and we can initiate the development of common tools that will enable them to act in the manner that we suggest.
We are business leaders, not governments. We do not have at our disposal armies or police forces, courts of law or tribunals. We do not have the resources to monitor all that happens.
We work in an environment where common sense prevails. Successful businesspeople by nature are rational; they are not extreme. They will accept leadership if it is provided in the context of what they do, and what they understand to be true. This does not mean that their minds cannot be changed. But to do that, one needs to provide a coherent and convincing argument, presenting the facts in an open manner.
Successful leaders, in business like in politics, are rarely absolutists. They understand that people perceive truths differently, and that change is best introduced gradually, so that it can take root and not be rejected by the environment.
In our community, the rank and file are small and medium size businesses, whose first responsibility is to provide a decent living to their families and employees. They do not resent policies that are advocated by the larger players, but they are cautious. This is not an irrational approach, but rather an instinctive one that comes from a need to protect what they already have.
In the same way that smaller and medium size companies have only limited ability to compete with the larger-sized firms when it comes to discounting and the cutting of prices, the same is true when it comes to the creation of “so-called” voluntary monitoring and regulatory systems.
But I am not suggesting that we do not discuss such processes. Systems that protect our chain of distribution are important and relevant to our industry and our consumers in this day and age. But what I am saying is that we design them to be as inclusive as possible, and part that process is engaging the entire industry, irrespective of a company’s size, turnover, geographic location and personnel.
Leaders will be successful if their communities perceive them to be devoid of personal or narrow interests. They will be able to sway opinion if people are convinced that their primary interest is that of the community, and not just part it.
I accept the meaning of the statement that it is impossible to please everybody at the same time. But good leaders strive to do just that. That does not means that they should not take bold steps or break new ground. If they always play to the court of popular public opinion, then they are followers and not leaders.
But leadership is about style as well as substance, and successful leadership is about convincing people to do willingly what you suggest.
Business communities can take great leaps of faith if they have confidence in their leadership. Had it first been suggested in 1998, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, most probably would have been rejected out of hand by the industry. But five years later, after a long and inclusive process of negotiation, discussion and debate – and all within the context of the reality at the time – it was embraced by the industry.
As leaders we have the ability to do great things. We also have great responsibility.