1. 10x10: A Case Study
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Panel Members
 Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor and Chairman of the Board, SAGIA
 Steven A. Mills, Senior Vice President and Group Executive, IBM
 Robert Reynolds, CEO, Putnam Investments
 Deborah W ince-Smith, President & CEO, Council on Competitiveness
Key Bullets
Takeaway
 10x10 is an amazing achievement, but the program is just the beginning. Saudi
Arabia needs a continued focusing on innovation to drive the country’s prosperity.
Issues (Main Talking Points)
 Amr Al-Dabbagh gave an overview of 10x10’s successes and outlined a plan for the
Economic Cities:
– 10x10 began in 2004 by asking the question “what is the one thing we must do
right to win.” The answer was to be competitive.
– The NCC was created to be a catalyst towards achieving this goal.
– Phase I of 10x10 was to lay the foundation and establish a common language of
competitiveness in the country.
– While the 10x10 missed its target of “10th” it has still been a resounding success.
 Steve A. Mills encouraged leveraging human capital within the next phase of
competitiveness:
– IBM encourages its employees to constantly consider themselves as students,
and works diligently to build a culture that values and utilizes the skills they
possess. This mindset is not only necessary in IBM, but also KSA when it thinks
about its next steps.
Robert Reynolds outlined four important benefits from 10x10 including; economic
diversification, building on Saudi Arabia’s human talent, promoting innovation
(“talent will be the oil of the 21st century”); increased openness to new ideas; and
a hunger for continued improvement (“refusal to ever be satisfied”)
 Deborah W ince-Smith drew linkages between her own background and SAGIA:
10x10 A Case Study_Notes_25 Jan 2011 © 2010 Monitor Company Group, L.P. — Confidential

2. – In 2004 she was asked how the US can better compete; she realized that
innovation was the answer. Her organization achieves this by focusing on four
intertwined pillars: talent, technology, investment and infrastructure.
– She believes the US’s future needs to rebuild its manufacturing sector, which
many service companies serve. Focusing too much on services, as the US does
today will prove unstable in the future.
Recommendations
 Ensure the Kingdom’s population is willing to take risks and are not afraid of failure.
 Ensure the private sector leverages the gains of 10x10.
Problems, Challenges and Threats
 Ensure policies and changes are embedded.
 Create opportunities for people to come to KSA not just for business meetings
(become an attractive place for everyone: artists, doctors, authors, businessmen, etc)
Key Quotations
 “This is not the end of the story, the way forward is even more interesting.”
 “Talent will be the oil of the 21st century”
 “W hat has been amazing is SAGIA’s refusal to ever be satisfied”
 “Competitiveness is a journey with a beginning, but it never has an end”
10x10 A Case Study_Notes_25 Jan 2011 2 © 2010 Monitor Company Group, L.P. — Confidential