Gaining Insights from History

Welcome to the 117th edition of “In Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit reply and let me know what you think.

Story of the Week: “Gaining Insights from History"

I recently had dinner with Nikhil Patil, CEO of GO plc, Malta’s leading telecom provider, and some key members of his management team.

It was one of those conversations you wish you could record. Nikhil is the kind of leader who doesn’t just make you think… he lifts your thinking to another level.

While many business leaders rely on market research to guide their investments, Nikhil takes it a step further... he immerses himself in the history, culture and human stories of the places where his businesses operate. For example, he has studied centuries of Cypriot history to understand the roots of our country’s culture, values and people. This isn’t just academic curiosity on his part: it is a deliberate effort to respect the context in which people live and work.

By understanding how a civilisation has developed over time, and what shapes people’s thinking and behaviour today, he gains insights that go far deeper than data alone. This helps him truly connect with colleagues, collaborators and customers, building trust and guiding bold, respectful investments.

His leadership model is a simple yet powerful one: he empowers his team with the freedom to take decisions and ensures that they are supported by a strong sense of psychological safety. This means that, as long as decisions are taken in line with the company’s core values, any ‘mistakes’ are not punished but, instead, understood and supported.

The only guidelines he asks his people to follow are these:

• Demonstrate customer obsession
• Act as a single, unified team
• Act as an owner

He rewards these behaviours in a beautifully simple way: every time a colleague praises someone for living these values, the person in question receives a €30 voucher from Klikk Ltd, one of GO’s newly acquired subsidiaries. Moreover, there are no limits on how many times that can happen. These expressions of praise are then shared on the company blog for everyone to see, learn and appreciate one another, thereby creating a rich tapestry that shows how Go employees live the corporate values.

It is no surprise that Klikk is now moving forward with bold promises under this refreshed leadership – same-day delivery at no extra charge, free installation and even a no-questions-asked philosophy (not policy) of exchanging returned goods within seven days, regardless of their condition. Such commitments reflect the same spirit of boldness, fairness and genuine customer care that Nikhil Patil has instilled in all his teams.

Great leaders go beyond running businesses… they immerse themselves in their people, in culture and in stories. This is how they build trust, creating an environment where bold decisions feel safe. Nikhil Patil exemplifies this kind of leadership.

Words of Wisdom

“If you don’t know history, it’s as if you were born yesterday. If you were born yesterday then any leader can tell you anything.” Howard Zinn

“We have to be willing and able to familiarize ourselves with the way people of other cultures think and perceive the world around them, but without losing our own standpoint in the process.” Roman Herzog, former President of Germany

A Question to Ponder, dear friend.

Do you actively try to understand the history and culture of your colleagues or employees? How has that helped you build a stronger workplace?