As the year drew towards a close, I was thinking about the waves and the troughs of the diverse markets we oversee. The dizzying pace of change, numerous factors coming at one with lightning speed, and the urge to keep moving in case something is missed.

After nearly three decades of playing cat and mouse with my golf-obsessed father, I trundled down to the course with him on a sunny February afternoon. Truth be told, I was more looking forward to a nice walk and a long catch-up than the game itself.

Life happened, and my course outings were intermittent at best thereafter. But somehow I started finding the time for it, to the extent of even going to the driving range in the middle of the Dubai summer.

As an entrepreneur, and a headhunter at that, we deal with loads of information and emotion through the day. With markets facing headwinds and restructurings, job losses, lowered salary scales, the emotional weight is real. The mind needs places to land.

In the long hours spent on the driving range with my father, an ex-Army officer who has seen his share of world turmoil and life, in his easy-going manner, he said: see, golf will improve you as a person and as a leader, on a few simple counts.

Firstly, play the game because you enjoy it.

Secondly, if your competitor has played better than you, enjoy that also, and mean it.

Thirdly, pause and play. Don’t take shot after shot without checking your stance and direction.

And finally, he quoted Bobby Jones: “Golf is a game played on a 5-inch course, the distance between your ears.”

— Anjali Samuel, Managing Partner