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Book Review
When The Tribesmen
Came Calling

Rumaisa Khan- 18451

24th October, 2019
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Introduction
When Tribesmen came calling: Building an enduring American Business in Pakistan, is authored
by S. Qaiser Shareef. It was published in 2017 by Blue Ear Books. It is essentially a business
memoir that narrates the writer’s experience of setting up Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) business in
Pakistan.

The book begins by giving a brief background information of the author. He grew up in East
Pakistan and later moved to Karachi and Rawalpindi. The author belongs to a humble background
who held education in high regards. The author is a graduate of Middle East Technical University
in Turkey and holds an MBA degree from the University of Cincinnati. Right after graduation, in
September 1981 he joined P&G as a market research associate at the company headquarters in
Cincinnati, Ohio.

Over the course of the book, the author talks about P&G’s ways of conducting business, which are
based on principles of integrity and ethics. In various instances, the author was faced with the
opportunity to act unethically in order to get documentation work quickly in Pakistan, but he held
himself back due to his strong beliefs of good conduct and values endorsed by P&G. He would
face threats and delays rather than compromise on values his company stood for.

P&G has a unique hiring policy that it only inducts fresh graduates at entry level positions. Because
of this, P&G believes that it is able to outperform its competitors and handle challenges
successfully. Everyone who joined P&G business in any country had to start from the bottom and
work his/her way up. This ensured healthy competition among the young employees that only
maximized their potential. Consequently, by hiring only fresh graduates, P&G places huge
responsibility upon the senior managers to effectively train and groom them for positions of
increased responsibility they may encounter in the future. These senior managers were also
assessed on their ability to train young people well. It is because of its extensive mentorship and
rigorous on the job learning that P&G is also referred to as the largest business school in the world.
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Setting up P&G Pakistan

Author reached Pakistan in November 1990 alongside his wife, Naila and their two children. The
market for consumer goods in Pakistan was very small across all product categories that P&G had
to offer. There was already a strong presence of its competitors like Johnsons & Johnsons,
Unilever, and Colgate-Palmolive. The author described P&G as different from the rest because of
its strong belief in the company's potential to become over time. P&G accepted that it would have
to start small and gradually increase its market share overtime in the Pakistani market for consumer
goods. It took about ten months for the company to hire and train a small number of employees
and launch their first products. As is the situation of starting a business in most of the developing
countries, the author was faced a choice whether to succumb to the political pressures and agree
to bribery or to stand up to it. The author chose to follow the principles of ‘World-Wide Business
Conduct Manual’ (WBCM) even if that meant delays in their work processes. These guidelines
were not only followed by Mr. Qaiser, but emphasized throughout the organization across all levels
to ensure that P&G doesn’t compromise on its long held values. The book explains that according
to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), P&G was legally bound to operate ethically. Moreover,
abiding by the rules and regulations set by the FCPA only helped the company to conduct business
successfully. There was also a PVP: “Principles, Values, Principles” that the company followed
where violation of it would most likely cost the employees their jobs. Violation of PVP meant any
behavior lacking the requisite integrity as mentioned in the WBCM.

Building an efficient distribution channel was one of the challenges the author had to face while
setting up multinational business in Pakistan. Retail in Pakistan was a fragmented industry at that
time. There were approximately 500,000 stores in the country, out of which about 100,000 were
located in fifty large cities and towns. Selling products to these 100,000 stores was deemed crucial
for P&G’s success. Sales representatives were recruited and were trained according to the set
company standards.

By the end of 1994, P&G had launched its first soap brand, Camay and soon was to launch a new
product ‘Safeguard’. The issue of acquiring the trademark arose when the author found out that
the trademark belonged to a local company that was run by three brothers. After three month long
series of negotiations, P&G was finally able to gain ownership of the trademark.

The writer moved back to Cincinnati in 2002 and returned to Pakistan again in 2006 assuming to
post of country manager for Pakistan. The country’s dynamics had changed significantly and new
challenges emerged. The consumer goods business was growing at a fast pace owing to rise in
income levels of the people. The sales totaled to a $100 million and the target was to double the
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sales in the coming years. Pakistan had become a key player in the war on terror, Islamic extremism
was on the rise. Over the next few months of settling in Karachi, Mr. Qaiser met with Walter
Rogers, a foreign correspondent for CNN discussing the possible rise of extremism in the country.
In 2007, when Parvez Musharraf deposed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, things took a
sharp turn that caused much disturbance across the country until he was reinstated four months
later in June.

The book briefs about Pakistan’s strained relations with the US that further deteriorated after US’s
operation in Abbottabad in 2011 that took out Osama Bin Laden. The US had kept Pakistani
government oblivious of the raid that displayed clear lack of trust. Author puts forth the reasons
why common people were suspicious of US’s intentions.

Mr. Qaiser talks about how P&G Pakistan, following its reputation as a socially responsible
company focused its efforts on healthcare and education for the low income groups of Pakistan.
He frequently applauds philanthropic efforts of some individuals and organizations he worked
with. The book mentions that runs more than 100,000 schools across the country.’ Health Oriented
Preventive Education’ (HOPE) is also an example of an organization that has set up more than 300
informal schools in low income areas. ‘Rural Education and Development’ (READ) was yet
another example of an NGO based in the Northern areas to provide education. P&G donated funds
to READ after the 2005 earthquake that jolted most parts of the Northern areas. From this donation,
READ was able to set up four schools that served over 1000 students. The author worked alongside
on two more projects with READ in his tenure as country manager. In 2006 when a passenger
plane carrying 152 people crashed in Margalla Hills in Islamabad, P&G stepped in to help the
people who had suffered from this calamity.

Around the same time, Islamic extremism was gradually taking its hold on the country. The Red
Mosque insurgency in Islamabad in 2007 was the first instance which made it clear that the
extremists could resort to large scale violence. He gives a brief account of a gathering he attended
in 2007 that included senior business executives as well as top military corps commanders. General
Parvez Musharraf was also present. This dinner changed Mr. Qaiser’s opinion of Musharraf who
felt deeply disappointed in him as he saw him as a leader who could not surround himself with
advisors that would be brave enough to speak the truth to him about matters, instead of blindly
praising each and every action he took.

Significant events are mentioned such as National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2007 that
granted amnesty to political party leaders; Nawaz Shareef and Benazir Bhutto, the assassination
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of Benazir Bhutto prior to the election that spread chaos in the country. PPP won the elections and
Benazir Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari took over.

In May 2008, an unfortunate event occurred that shook the author. He was attending a conference
meeting hosted by Pakistan Board of Investment in Islamabad when he received a phone call. One
of the company vans that was carrying employees back from the plant on the outskirts of Karachi
had been hit by a hail of bullets, injuring three and killing one employee. After this incident, P&G
staying true to its promise of security and safety, upgraded their transport vans to bullet proof ones
to prevent any such occurrence in the future.

The author mentions some of the issues that P&G Pakistan faced while working in Pakistan. Lack
of political uncertainty brought about by constantly changing government and taxation policies.
Another concern for Mr. Qaiser was to ensure that nothing compromised the reputation of the
company, since bad judgement on his part or misconduct of his employees could reflect badly on
P&G’s international reputation. He was very careful that none of his female employees had to face
any harassment from their male colleagues. Consequently P&G Pakistan was rated as one of the
top companies for females in Pakistan. Security was another grave concern. In 2010, there was a
rise in robberies in the vicinity of their office. Many employees had been robbed of their
possessions, including laptop computers. The author had to resort to disallowing employees from
taking their work laptops home, which meant in the case of strike or city wide closure, they would
not be able to work from their homes.

The 2008 Financial Crisis emerged in the US and slowed down the market. Moreover extremist
groups in Pakistan such as the Taliban wanted to move the country towards a more ‘Islamic way
of life’. By mid-2008, Taliban had begun to exert their influence on Swat valley. The Government
conveniently kept ignoring this issue until they were forced to take action against them. A military
operation ensued that lead to displacement of over two million people. P&G contributed for the
refugees in the form of PuR (fresh water) through READ, Pakistan Medical Association and Save
the Children. The author remembers this event as one where the people handled such a troubling
situation with grace and courage.

In 2009, inflation in Pakistan had gone up to about 24% and food inflation went up to 40%. There
was a large income disparity in the country. The only way that the author felt he could help people
in poverty was to invest in charitable causes, which he gracefully contributed. It was a bad year
for P&G overall as its sales significantly declined by 20% and profits from previous years had
been gone.
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The author and his wife went for Hajj in November 2009 that proved to be a spiritual and
inspirational journey for him. In 2010, the business in Pakistan stabilized and it turned out to be
one of the best years with a growth of about 30%. That same year, Mr. Qaiser sought early
retirement from P&G Pakistan. He handed over the responsibility of P&G Pakistan to Faisal
Sabzwari in 2011 and moved to Seattle after ensuring that Mr. Sabzwari was familiar with the
market dynamics.
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Analysis and Conclusion

‘When the Tribesmen came Calling’ beautifully covers a range of topics such as politics, culture
and religion and how they influenced business. It is an interesting read that had me gripped to the
book until the last chapter. It presents a very realistic picture of how it is like to set up a
multinational business in a developing country.

Issues that are common to Third World countries like bribery, corruption, unstable governments
and at times terrorism often come in the way of running a business and the author overcame them
each time, with integrity and vigor. The author mentions some principles that P&G Pakistan
followed, such as being mindful of local cultures, commitment to applying the best business
practices of P&G to Pakistan, and avoiding short-cuts and giving personal favours. I agree to all
the above insights because I believe that this is what differentiates a good company from the rest.
It is easy to twist and tweak long held company policies while operating in a developing country
where lawlessness and corruption runs rampant. Sometimes it is the circumstances a company
faces that compels it to act unethically. But as the author proved otherwise, there is always a way
around this that doesn’t compromise integrity and good work practices.

This book serves as a good example that one can set up a profitable business in tough
circumstances where anything can happen in the next moment, if he/she is determined to remain
true to the principles of ethics and good conduct. It also shows excellent leadership capabilities of
Mr. Qaiser Shareef who showed resilience in the face of hurdles that came in his way. The readers
who are young managers can take inspiration from Mr. Qaisar Shareef on how he handled a
multitude of issues while operating as country manager in Pakistan, ranging from uncomfortable
encounters with locals asking for bribes and favours to issues concerning physical safety of his
employees amidst era of extremist groups and terrorism in Pakistan.

Details

When Tribesmen Came Calling: Building an Enduring American Business in Pakistan.

ISBN: 978-0-9990951-0-2

Publisher: Blue Ear Books

7511 Greenwood Ave N, Box 400, Seattle, WA 98103 USA.