"A far-sighted statesman and a lion among leaders. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's life teaches valuable lessons for everyone" said Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.
"He was a visionary statesman whose uncompromising stand for meritocracy, efficiency and education transformed Singapore into one of the most prosperous nations in the world...His wisdom and leadership will be remembered by people all around the globe" said IMF Director Ms. Christine Lagarde.
These are few of the quotes from world leaders on the demise of Singapore founding father Mr. Lee Kuan Yew aged 91 on 23-Mar-2015.
Little did I hear about its founding father until I got the opportunity to live, work & raise a family in Singapore for past 20 years. Now I have got to know more about this remarkable leader and some insights which I feel can be very useful for Small & Medium Sized Enterprises.
Singapore, a third world country was claimed as one of worst slums of the world after World War II. With no natural resources it has been transformed into a first world country within a generation. In over 30 years after independence it has not only become as a buzzing metropolis but also well known as medical / financial / education hub, world renowned for its public transportation, airport and sea port, hosting numerous sports / seminars / music events. Overall and all it is considered as one of the safest places to live & least corrupted in world. An underdog but influential in world arena.
All the above is one man dedication & direction, he is none other than Lee Kuan Yew. Taking the driving seat of Singapore when it was expelled from Malaysia as an independent nation in 1965, he set the priorities right and steered in the right direction with one destination, a successful Singapore. The only resource then & even now Singapore has is its human brain power.
Being a third world country then, none would want to invest on Singapore. So his first priority was a clean government, clean & educated Singapore with appropriate infrastructure. He and his team brought in world renowned housing scheme which made every Singaporean responsible & accountable. They implemented schemes for having a greener Singapore and schemes to make education more affordable. They built world class transportation system. This brought in foreign investments and made an industrious nation. They ruled by law.
Singapore depended fully for its water supply from Malaysia & Gas from Indonesia. Over the past 30 years new water, water reclamation, desalination, rain water conservation has made Singapore more self sufficient for water. The jurong cavern LNG bunker has made more self reliant for energy. Changing vulnerability to strength is an important underdog strategy.
Singapore is a country with multi racial, various religions & languages spoken. Is fully a cosmopolitan city. Need right controls in place to manage these differences. Today SME's compete on global level and a much needed lesson is to have proper measures to manage cultural differences more effectively.
Lee Kuan Yew was as a visionary, pragmatic, honest, dedicated who believed in a meritocratic society. In essence he is the true Iron Man who lived by his convictions. The foundations he has built Singapore is strong and will allow his legacy to follow.
Lee Kuan Yew way of developing the little red dot has many valuable lessons for SME's on leadership, underdog strategies, prioritizing, integrity, marketing positioning, succession planning, meritocracy, processes, strong fundamentals, preserving the core. These are all key success factors for any Entrepreneurs and SME who aspire to be grow & sustain. While we take lessons from his life let us also pray for his soul to rest in peace.
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