Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a man that champions vigor, detail and discipline. So when he made an unannounced visit to some government offices this week, and found empty desks at the start of the work day, he was less than pleased, to say the least.
"Mohammed Bin Rashid went on a civil tour of government offices in Dubai this morning with the start of the work day. These were Dubai's municipality, the Land Department, and the Economic Development Department and its administration," wrote head of Dubai government protocol Khalifa Saeed on Instagram Sunday.
"Senior staff were absent," he added.
It is 7:30 am and the Sheikh is seen walking with slow, determined strides into an office where his own framed photograph sits on a table. It is eerily empty and Sheikh Mohammed doesn't need to say a thing to show his displeasure. It is a deafening silence punctuated by the Sheikh's footsteps.
In the second video, a fleeting, knowing nod at a framed photograph of him on the wall is as close as we get to Sheikh Mohammed really saying anything about the office no-shows. But it spoke volumes. Demonstrate your allegiance to Dubai in action rather than in the photos that adorn your walls, he seemed to say.
Another video shows him entering a more ostentatious office. It is decked out with a conference table, an 42" iMac monitor, and again, an image of him alongside UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The video, which was released on Twitter, showed that managerial staff would not be spared Sheikh Mohammed's silent reproach.
The 67-year-old ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the UAE is well-known for upholding attention to detail and strict work ethic.
Dubai saw many of these sorts of surprise visits from Sheikh Maktoum in the 1980s and 90s. It is efforts like this to promote high standards in workplace culture that are credited to Dubai's supersonic transformation from a desert city to a glistening corporate capital.