Feisal Nahaboo and Dr Stephen Covey (Author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the world’s most inspirational and ground-breaking figures are heavily indebted to those who went before them. This is very much the case for Feisal Nahaboo, business pioneer and founder of the Overnight Multiple Merger Group (OMMG). He has recently spoken candidly about the effect of working with Dr Stephen Covey, author of arguably the most influential business book of all time, ‘The seven habits of highly effective people’. Here Feisal shares some of his experiences of this formative period in his life.
“I met Stephen about 6 years after founding the largest accountancy network of its type worldwide. During the period from 2007 onward, I was heavily involved in helping over 400 accountancy owners to integrate up to 40 new products and services into their practices, and make millions of pounds more. Naturally, I’d read Stephen’s book and was blown away by his wisdom. Then, our respective agents contacted each other, and Dr Stephen Covey personally invited me to work with him. I leapt at the chance.
I did ask him why he chose me of all the business people in the world. He replied that he’d been impressed by my ‘out of the box’ thinking, and the way I’d disrupted a stagnant accountancy industry to encourage them to do so much more than just crunch numbers with tax and accounts work. He said I had an ability to surpass most with my thinking and willingness to implement and achieve things, and was impressed by the loyalty and admiration I’d garnered from accountants. Then came the bombshell: he wanted me to join him on stage and co-present some inspiring business conferences with him.
I was around 32 years old, with a lot of success under my belt, but I’d never presented to large audiences – and not those made up of top executives of blue chip companies. My crowd at the time was small, and owner-managed, businesses. And here I was, invited to lead seminars with one of the world’s most successful business advisors and arguably the no 1 bestselling business author of all time. So, understandably, when it came to it I was a little nervous. But he took me aside and coached me in the dressing room, building up my confidence and really just making me feel full of his belief in me. It was almost like he was my father, definitely a father figure. He took a liking to me and guided me with a steady hand.
Then we went out on stage and worked so well together, we were a dynamic duo. The first event we conducted was hosted at the London Hilton hotel, covered by Sky news and watched by millions. It was one of the best experiences of my life. And the more we ran such events, the better it got, as I really found my own style.
Now, every time I walk out on stage – be it to an audience of young entrepreneurs, the press, or members of one of my overnight multiple mergers – I silently thank Stephen, who has sadly passed, and want to make him proud. I miss him sorely but thank him for the contributions he made. He has changed many lives. Having benefited from his support and direction, I can now continue his legacy through my own work – disrupting industries with my world-first overnight merger model model.”
