Experts Dr. Stephen Covey and his son Stephen to speak at conference in Riyadh

The conference director, Purva Hassomal, says:

"It is not enough, in a world where established financial institutions disintegrate, global markets plummet and international economies become unpredictable to be just 'good enough'. We expect more; we need more; and today's business climate demands more - and that is, to be better than 'good enough'. It is essential to be distinctive, to stand for excellence, to be the provider, employer or service of choice - in short, to become great."

The Coveys, world-renowned management gurus, directed attendees in their pursuit of 'greatness' with their latest thinking on the importance of trust and execution in the international business environment.

Dr. Covey will examined how leaders build trust within their organisations through execution in today's global economy. "If leaders do not execute well they lose their economic base; if leaders do not operate based on principles they lose their voice, their power," explains Dr. Covey. Today, as many as 70% of strategies fail to deliver.

Having a brilliant strategy is one thing, but having a strategy that works and can be executed by the people inside the organisation is something totally different.

Dr. Covey argues that the inability to execute is a universal problem that has been defined as one of the greatest challenges for business today.

Building executable strategies has never been easy even for the most experienced directors, but Dr. Covey will focus on developing executable strategies that simply work.

He discussed the 6 principles of execution: Clarity of goals; commitment to goals; translation of goals into action; enabling the right people and teams; synergy of communication; trust and processes; and accountability for achieving or not achieving.

Dr. Covey believes that organisations that are 'great' and are able to execute are 50% more profitable than their peers. They grow more than twice as fast as their peers and win the loyalty of all stakeholders. Those companies achieve the rewards that come only to those who have truly paid the price to excel.

Stephen M.R. Covey believes that trust is a hard edged economic driver because it always addresses speed and cost. When trust decreases, speed decreases and costs rise. "Trust is the very basis of the new global economy, and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees and constituents is the essential ingredient for any high-performance, successful organisation," explains Stephen.

Stephen will prove that trust is a learnable and measurable skill that makes organisations more profitable, people easier to promote and relationships more energising.

The Coveys developed and deployed these skills through their own business, thus propelling it to new heights. Stephen M.R. Covey is the former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which became the largest leadership development company in the world.

Under Covey's direction, the company grew rapidly and profitably, being recognised as one of the US's 500 fastest-growing private companies by The Inc 500 list.

As President & CEO, Covey nearly doubled revenues to $112m. During that period, both customer and employee trust reached new heights and the company expanded throughout the world into over 40 countries.

Recognised as one of Time Magazine's 25 most influential Americans, Dr. Stephen Covey has dedicated his life to demonstrating how every person can truly control their destiny with profound, yet straightforward guidance. As an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organisational consultant and author, his advice has given insight to millions.

The event will take place on 18th April 2009 at the InterContinetal Hotel in Riyadh and on 20th April 2009 at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai and is sponsored by Philips & Dulsco.