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Basis Of Singaporean Spirit - People Power: A Wake-Up Call for Leaders around the World
[This book is printed in full colour]
You have heard and read books about Mr Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), the 'founding father of Singapore', and impressed with what he did for Singapore. But do you know that without supportive people, there is no way for him to achieve what he did today?
Picture this: During the earlier years, if we were to airdrop LKY to China for him to do what he did for Singapore, what do you think would happen? Well, more likely than not, he would be wiped out by the Cultural Revolution. Or let's airdrop him to America instead. Would he be who he is today? Unlikely, given his character, and in the democratic environment of America, he would be labelled as radical or even extremist and there would be riots every day.
Chinese Art of War believes in the 3-Powers for success: Right Time, Right Place and the Right People. Only when these 3 Powers are in harmony, would one be able to make huge achievements. LKY was a great leader who knew these and used these to his advantages.
You had read how great the timing was for Singapore's independence to coincide with China's Cultural Revolution; you had also read how strategic the location of Singapore is. Now, it is time to look at the 3rd Power - the Right People.
There are many countries full of admiration of LKY and the achievements made by Singapore and hoped to replicate this over to their countries, but they will find it impossible to replicate the recipe because they are lacking in one of the most important ingredients: The People.
This book investigates this "People Power" and guides you through the understanding of the Basis Of Singaporean Spirit (BOSS) - Written by the People, for the People. No matter whether you are a leader, commoner, celebrity, philanthropist, rich or poor, there is always something useful for you.
In this book, Basis Of Singaporean Spirit - People Power, the author combined his professional business consulting knowledge, with the vast knowledge of Chinese Wisdom to highlight the criticality of the "People Power" and the need for leaders to focus on the basis first - for when the basis is wrong, nothing will be right.
This is not the ordinary leadership book that 'reverse engineered' the success of somebody, and presents it as 'the model that he took'. This is a book on the basis of it all.
You can pay top dollars to employ the so-called 'best and most qualified' people, you can leverage the best methodologies, you can perform the most complex analysis and modelling, but when the basis is wrong, nothing will be right. Getting the "basis" right is of utmost importance in anything.
This book is based upon the issues and unhappiness in today's Singapore and extended to the global stage to highlight the basis of the problems. In the book, the author uses different case studies and business analysis to lead the readers down to the basis of it all.
The author also presented a comparison of Logical Analysis vs Statistical Analysis to demystify the credibility of Statistical Analysis. If you want to understand the games that politicians around the World are playing and how you can counter that, you need to read this book.
Throughout the book, the author highlighted key concepts, which he called "BOSS Wisdom" to share with the readers. These "BOSS Wisdom" are summary concepts that the author hoped readers can ponder over.
The chapter "Why Do You Want to Go to Heaven?" was initially written for Singapore. However, during the writing of this book, there were conflicts in the Gaza area. Thus, the author would also like to dedicate this chapter to the People of Israel & Palestine. This chapter will not resolve the conflicts, but the author hoped that the People can remind themselves about the "3-Powers training ground" the next time before they fight.
You have heard and read books about Mr Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), the 'founding father of Singapore', and impressed with what he did for Singapore. But do you know that without supportive people, there is no way for him to achieve what he did today?
Picture this: During the earlier years, if we were to airdrop LKY to China for him to do what he did for Singapore, what do you think would happen? Well, more likely than not, he would be wiped out by the Cultural Revolution. Or let's airdrop him to America instead. Would he be who he is today? Unlikely, given his character, and in the democratic environment of America, he would be labelled as radical or even extremist and there would be riots every day.
Chinese Art of War believes in the 3-Powers for success: Right Time, Right Place and the Right People. Only when these 3 Powers are in harmony, would one be able to make huge achievements. LKY was a great leader who knew these and used these to his advantages.
You had read how great the timing was for Singapore's independence to coincide with China's Cultural Revolution; you had also read how strategic the location of Singapore is. Now, it is time to look at the 3rd Power - the Right People.
There are many countries full of admiration of LKY and the achievements made by Singapore and hoped to replicate this over to their countries, but they will find it impossible to replicate the recipe because they are lacking in one of the most important ingredients: The People.
This book investigates this "People Power" and guides you through the understanding of the Basis Of Singaporean Spirit (BOSS) - Written by the People, for the People. No matter whether you are a leader, commoner, celebrity, philanthropist, rich or poor, there is always something useful for you.
In this book, Basis Of Singaporean Spirit - People Power, the author combined his professional business consulting knowledge, with the vast knowledge of Chinese Wisdom to highlight the criticality of the "People Power" and the need for leaders to focus on the basis first - for when the basis is wrong, nothing will be right.
This is not the ordinary leadership book that 'reverse engineered' the success of somebody, and presents it as 'the model that he took'. This is a book on the basis of it all.
You can pay top dollars to employ the so-called 'best and most qualified' people, you can leverage the best methodologies, you can perform the most complex analysis and modelling, but when the basis is wrong, nothing will be right. Getting the "basis" right is of utmost importance in anything.
This book is based upon the issues and unhappiness in today's Singapore and extended to the global stage to highlight the basis of the problems. In the book, the author uses different case studies and business analysis to lead the readers down to the basis of it all.
The author also presented a comparison of Logical Analysis vs Statistical Analysis to demystify the credibility of Statistical Analysis. If you want to understand the games that politicians around the World are playing and how you can counter that, you need to read this book.
Throughout the book, the author highlighted key concepts, which he called "BOSS Wisdom" to share with the readers. These "BOSS Wisdom" are summary concepts that the author hoped readers can ponder over.
The chapter "Why Do You Want to Go to Heaven?" was initially written for Singapore. However, during the writing of this book, there were conflicts in the Gaza area. Thus, the author would also like to dedicate this chapter to the People of Israel & Palestine. This chapter will not resolve the conflicts, but the author hoped that the People can remind themselves about the "3-Powers training ground" the next time before they fight.
216 pages, Paperback Full Colour
First published September 7, 2014
435 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 27, 2014
A very thought-provoking book. Instead of the usual way of defining leadership, the author goes all the way down to define the basis of it. As the author stated: "The basis is of utmost importance, when the basis is wrong, nothing will be right."
In order to prove the importance of "basis", in the first chapter, the author leveraged his professional experiences to walk through with the readers on a case study in great details and explained why you could still fail terribly even if you had paid top dollars to employ the so-called 'best and most qualified' people, leveraged the best methodologies, performed the most complex analysis and modelling.
And the reason for this failure is simple - "when the basis is wrong, nothing will be right."
The case study that was presented perfectly illustrated this point.
For those interested in understanding Chinese Wisdom, this is a good introductory book. One of the key concepts discussed is the 3 Powers: Right Time - Heaven Power, Right Location - Earth Power, and Right People - People Power, which the author demonstrated its application throughout the book. The author then followed with the explanation of Steve Jobs' phenomenal success using the 3-Powers and guided the readers to Jobs' People Power - the often overlooked but very important aspect in the 3-Powers concept.
If you are tired of constantly reading books that analyse the success of people and organisations (after they had achieved it) and summarising it as 'the model that they took', you should take a look at this book, which investigates it from the "basis" perspective.
The author also drew reference to Steve Ballmer, and highlighted his failure as CEO of Microsoft simply because of not understanding the basis of Microsoft.
Other bases that were touched upon include: Basis of a Political Leader, Basis Of Organisation, Basis of Wisdom, Basis of Philanthropy, Basis of Harmony, Basis of Government, etc.
And of course, not forgetting the most interesting basis of all, especially to all Singaporeans - The basis of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's contribution. In the book, the author guided the readers down to the definition of this basis. The author claimed that this basis that Mr Lee Kuan Yew did is something that even Sir Stamford Raffles could never achieved. Once you know this "basis of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's contribution", well, there is no way for you to rebut this statement.
The author then moved on to highlight that this is the very basis that every Singaporean must seek to protect in order for Mr Lee Kuan Yew's contribution to be remembered in history, else, as the author summarised: "… the whole lifetime that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had devoted for Singapore will all be wasted - Whether there had been a Mr Lee Kuan Yew or not, will be of no consequence to Singapore."
The book is based upon the unhappiness in Singapore; however the analysis and knowledge are equally applicable on the global stage. Other unconventional thinking includes questions such as: "What Do You Want to Achieve in Life?", "Why Do You Want to Go to Heaven?” and others. The conclusions made in the book will blow your mind off. If you belong to the rich and powerful, the chapter "Why the Poor Hates the Rich?" is for you. After reading that chapter, it will change your future thoughts and behaviours.
This is a must-read for those intending to look at things from a fresh new perspective.
In order to prove the importance of "basis", in the first chapter, the author leveraged his professional experiences to walk through with the readers on a case study in great details and explained why you could still fail terribly even if you had paid top dollars to employ the so-called 'best and most qualified' people, leveraged the best methodologies, performed the most complex analysis and modelling.
And the reason for this failure is simple - "when the basis is wrong, nothing will be right."
The case study that was presented perfectly illustrated this point.
For those interested in understanding Chinese Wisdom, this is a good introductory book. One of the key concepts discussed is the 3 Powers: Right Time - Heaven Power, Right Location - Earth Power, and Right People - People Power, which the author demonstrated its application throughout the book. The author then followed with the explanation of Steve Jobs' phenomenal success using the 3-Powers and guided the readers to Jobs' People Power - the often overlooked but very important aspect in the 3-Powers concept.
If you are tired of constantly reading books that analyse the success of people and organisations (after they had achieved it) and summarising it as 'the model that they took', you should take a look at this book, which investigates it from the "basis" perspective.
The author also drew reference to Steve Ballmer, and highlighted his failure as CEO of Microsoft simply because of not understanding the basis of Microsoft.
Other bases that were touched upon include: Basis of a Political Leader, Basis Of Organisation, Basis of Wisdom, Basis of Philanthropy, Basis of Harmony, Basis of Government, etc.
And of course, not forgetting the most interesting basis of all, especially to all Singaporeans - The basis of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's contribution. In the book, the author guided the readers down to the definition of this basis. The author claimed that this basis that Mr Lee Kuan Yew did is something that even Sir Stamford Raffles could never achieved. Once you know this "basis of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's contribution", well, there is no way for you to rebut this statement.
The author then moved on to highlight that this is the very basis that every Singaporean must seek to protect in order for Mr Lee Kuan Yew's contribution to be remembered in history, else, as the author summarised: "… the whole lifetime that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had devoted for Singapore will all be wasted - Whether there had been a Mr Lee Kuan Yew or not, will be of no consequence to Singapore."
The book is based upon the unhappiness in Singapore; however the analysis and knowledge are equally applicable on the global stage. Other unconventional thinking includes questions such as: "What Do You Want to Achieve in Life?", "Why Do You Want to Go to Heaven?” and others. The conclusions made in the book will blow your mind off. If you belong to the rich and powerful, the chapter "Why the Poor Hates the Rich?" is for you. After reading that chapter, it will change your future thoughts and behaviours.
This is a must-read for those intending to look at things from a fresh new perspective.
Displaying 1 of 1 review