It's time to review some of the things I've picked up on while consulting and training companies across the UAE in September. Here are the three big takeaways: 1) Many companies struggle to attract good quality talent, which appears to be the case in many industries. I think companies need to focus on making themselves more attractive to candidates. 2) We always hear about how tough "the market" is, but the fact is - there are still companies that are successful. Businesses have to ask themselves what they could do differently, instead of blaming the market.

3) People find things more valuable if they have to pay for them. The same goes for training and development.