The other evening on an Emirates flight to Riyadh, I asked a good friend of mine, “What should I write my next book about?” After a little bit of back and forth and debating a few ideas, he suggested, “You should write it on what Dubai Inc. would do if they ran your country or company.”

Basically, he thought it would be interesting to see how Dubai’s leadership approach would be applied to modern-day business and governmental challenges. His idea dug deep into my mind and made me wonder, “What would the 12 leadership habits from my book ‘Leadership Dubai Style’ look like when helping governments and businesses with today’s growth demands?”

The habits centre around three key themes: 1) Ambition — Seeing what others don’t. 2) Courage — Being brave to choose a “what is possible” strategy and stick with it, and 3) Execution — Delivering more than promised, ahead of time, 100 per cent of the time.

Frankly, the world could use a dose of ambition and courage. Economical and business confidence is shaky right now as many leaders are projecting flat to low single digit growth going into 2016.

Let’s glance back into history to learn what Dubai might do if they were running your company next year.

By 1984, Dubai Airport was growing so quickly that Dubai’s leaders decided to ask Bahrain-based Gulf Air, the darling of the GCC region, to increase the number of flights to the city. Somehow, demand for seats still outstripped supply, despite the region’s economic woes and the ongoing Iran-Iraq War.

Given that Dubai was already Gulf Air’s most profitable centre, and the airline operated more flights to Dubai than any other destination, leaders thought for sure the answer would be “Yes, absolutely!”

Instead they received a resounding “No”. In fact, Gulf Air threatened to drastically drop the number of flights into the city, which would cause Dubai to lose valuable capacity.

Gulf Air’s move wasn’t to be ignored, nor were Dubai’s leaders about to give in to the airline’s demands. Leaders faced an impasse: Should they stick with their original strategy of welcoming everyone — “open skies”— or give in to Gulf Air, possibly negatively affecting the economy?

The real question was: Should Dubai stick with its century-old strategy of creating an environment for others to succeed? Or allow just one airline the opportunity to do so?

Dubai wouldn’t do it. Dubai is a place that allows others to come and succeed, even when it creates competition.

“I was in the Intercontinental Hotel one afternoon in late 1984 and paged to answer the telephone,” recalled the late Sir Maurice Flanagan, then director and general manager of airport service company Dnata. On the line was His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, who was then the UAE Minister of Defence.

“When did you say was the date on which we should launch an airline?” His Highness asked. Flanagan never figured out how Shaikh Mohammad knew he was at the Intercontinental having coffee.

“October 25, Sir,” Flanagan said, referencing the release date of autumn/winter schedules. There had been talk about Dubai starting its own airline, but the general sentiment was that Gulf Air would back down, as their position was financially unsound.

“Thank you,” replied Shaikh Mohammad. And abruptly the line went dead.

Then came March 25, 1985 — the day Gulf Air acted on its threats and dropped the number of weekly flights to 39 from 84.

Days later, Flanagan was summoned to Zaabeel Palace. “I’ve looked closely at your proposal for an airline,” said Shaikh Mohammad. “How much money do you need?”

“$10 million,” Flanagan said, “although others were talking of $40 million or $50 million.” Ten seemed like a nice, safe sort of number!

“Here’s a cheque for $10 million. Tomorrow an account will be opened with the National Bank of Dubai where this can be deposited. Now, don’t come back and ask for any more money.

“You must operate without any government subsidies. Don’t expect protection from competition because you will have no protection.”

From year one, Emirates Airline had to be profitable.

Instead of giving in to Gulf Air’s threat, Dubai’s leaders took a far bigger risk, which would prove to be much more profitable in the years to come.

Starting an airline in the midst of a regional war, shaky economic conditions, and on a shoestring budget in a competitive industry only comes from a true hunger, real ambition. When you’re hungry, you’re willing to do what a satisfied person deems unreasonable and impossible.

What is perceived as risky outside of Dubai and holds others back isn’t so here.

Ambitious leaders take risks. They are obsessed with their strategy and are willing to do anything, within the boundaries of the law and their ethics, to make it happen. When a leader is hungry he or she has a big risk appetite, making you risk more than others think wise.

The writer is a CEO Coach and author including the latest ‘Leadership Dubai Style’. Contact him at tsw@tommyweir.com