Yeoh Siew Hoon
March 23 to 28 was a cathartic week for those of us living in Singapore. It was the week we mourned the passing of its founder, Lee Kuan Yew.
In my 20 years living in this small island nation of 4.5 million people, I had never seen such unity and gratitude expressed for a man who took this place from a small fishing village to one of the world's greatest metropolises.
In that time, too, lots of stories emerged about him, his life, his work, and it was heartening to note the impact and influence he had on the world.
Henry Kissinger's tribute to him and Charlie Munger's comments in a YouTube video were two that stood out for me.
I suppose it is human nature that we never fully appreciate what we have until it's gone, but in that week, many of us took time to reflect on his life and what we could learn from it.
It certainly made me realize that in many ways, Singapore is like a start-up and the late Mr. Lee its founder.
Here are the 10 lessons I feel we could take from him.
1) Surround yourself with people smarter than you.
In Lee's case, he married a woman smarter than him. This is one of the points raised in the video of Charlie Munger. In his talk, Munger said that if we wanted to study a successful society, "study the life and work of Lee Kuan Yew. You'll be flabbergasted."
One example he gave was how Mr. Lee went against traditional Asian culture by not "marrying the younger woman with bigger boobs" but the smarter one. His wife was his collaborator and adviser throughout his life.
2) Don't get discouraged by the first setback. Reboot, and plough on.
When Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia in 1965, for wanting to pursue its vision of a state where all races were equal, Lee was devastated. The image of him breaking down after separation played over and over again during the week. However he wasn't defeated. He stuck to his vision but thought up a new model.
3) Be frugal. Every dollar spent is revenue.
Lee was known for his frugality. His house was simple, and he didn't make changes to it. Furniture remained unchanged. The best example of this frugality was told during the funeral service when former Senior Minister of State, Sidek bin Sanaff, spoke of a trip to China. Lee asked him if he had a coat for the cold. He said he would buy one, but Lee said, borrow one, don't buy. Then Lee asked him if he had boots, and he said no, and he would buy them. Same response: Don't buy. Borrow. And so he went off to China with a borrowed coat and a borrowed pair of boots.
4) Pay attention to details because they reflect on you and your business.
Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong spoke of how, when Lee relinquished the prime minister's role to him, he would appear at all functions before Goh. Even though Goh said it wasn't necessary at unofficial functions, Lee insisted, saying that people might draw the wrong conclusion: that he didn't respect Goh.
On another occasion, during a Chinese New Year ceremony, the firecrackers went off at the wrong time. Lee said, "If we can't get this right, how can we run a country?"
5) Set strong and clear values from the start.
Former Cabinet Minister S. Dhanabalan said that from the start, Lee wanted an honest, corruption-free government. That set the tone for all decisions.
6) Don't dictate. Argue and articulate to get your team's buy-in.
Dhanabalan said that contrary to perception that Lee just ordered and people followed him like sheep, the truth was that Lee argued tirelessly to get people behind him.
7) Act pragmatically, but be driven by ideals.
Again, contrary to perception that Lee was a "complete political pragmatist," Dhanabalan said was an idealist at heart. Pursuing his vision of a multilingual society, Dhanabalan said, was the act of an idealist. A pragmatist would have gone for the easier option.
8) Be a lifelong learner.
Lee took Mandarin classes all his life. On the day before he was admitted to the hospital, he had a session with his Mandarin teacher.
9) Collaborate, influence and stay relevant so you can punch above your weight.
Lee proved that size didn't matter. He ran a small business really: 4.5 million people on a very small island. But he knew who to collaborate with, how to build and nurture partnerships, how to influence those whose views and friendships mattered. And he did this by staying relevant and keeping up with the times, trends and issues.
10) Don't plan on running the show forever; have a succession plan.
Lee gave himself a long runway to develop a new generation of leaders. The man who took over the reins from him, Goh Chok Tong, spoke of that moment when Lee asked him to take over. He chose character, fortitude and ability over academic qualifications, Goh said. Some people were upset that they weren't chosen, but each decision was made after much agonizing. He believed in leadership renewal.