METATRENDS: A Leadership Publication of Meta

SPECIAL Edition 5

Legacy of Two LeadersWe Never Know Till The End

Suharto unconscious after multiple organ failure
i

How I dropped my bad habits describing Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew on smoking, drinking ii and how to live a long life. The biggest punishment a man can receive is total isolation in a dungeon, black and complete withdrawal of all stimuli, thats real torture. MM Lee Kuan Yew These were the headlines that dominated the front page of The Straits Times on 12 January 2008. Personally, I find it ironic to have both men in their mid-eighties hogging the headlines for different reasons. One, ex-President Suharto of Indonesia, struggling to stay alive after a series of organ failures, and at the same time trying to fend off charges of corruption. The other, former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, urging young people with advice on aging healthily, and who is always admired for his incorruptibility. Looking at both men made me reflect on the question of legacy. Leaving a great legacy is the most challenging task of leadership. How do we build a legacy of greatness? 1. Great legacy is a legacy of friendship Both were good friends. Being a good, dependable friend must surely be an important aspect of legacy. It is the ability to give oneself to another. Over three decades, they have been regional partners and had smoothened out many tensions and ironed out many differences. I was very moved that MM Lee paid a surprise visit to his old friend, Suharto, whom he extolled, It is sad to see a very old friend, with whom I worked closely over the last 30 years, not really getting the honors he deserves. He remembers his friend. 2. Great legacy is a legacy of translating vision into reality Ask not what you can achieve, but what you can contribute. Peter Drucker Both Suharto and Lee were visionaries. They came into leadership during times of great crises: the former when Indonesia was in very dire political and economic difficulties, while the other during the time of the British withdrawal from Singapore and Malaysias ouster of Singapore from the federation. They both had visions of economic development and political reform. Both became their nations Fathers of Modern Development because they were able to translate their visions into reality by mobilizing their people and implementing economic reforms that changed their nations. It is interesting that MM Lee compared Suharto to General Ne Win. He opined, The former picked a team of competent administrators and economists while Ne Win did his own way and looked to socialism. Just compare Indonesia to Burma. Look, same time, 1962 Ne Win, 1965

Suharto, both well-endowed and rich countries. Who is better off? Who deserves to be honored? iii Much credit should go to Mr. Suharto for what he had done for Indonesia and the region. Ex-President Suharto has been called The Father of Modern Indonesia and Father of Development. MM Lee is also the The Father of Singapore. Singapore is what it is today mainly due to Lee Kuan Yew and his incredible team of passionate and highly competent leaders. MM Lee paid him the highest tribute and honor, when he said, He gave Indonesia progress and development. He educated the population. He built roads and infrastructure. And from Sukarnos iv Konfrontasi and other foreign policy excesses, he stabilized international relations. Indeed, much credit must be given to Suharto for what he had done for Indonesia. But at the same time, you cant help but feel sorry for the man. His was a life of controversies. I am sure he feels a broken man, not able to bring to fruition what he started out to do. He is still being charged for corruption. All because of a fatal flaw the lack of integrity. 3. Great legacy is a legacy of great integrity The similarities between Suharto and Lee Kuan Yew stops here Moral Integrity. Suharto was charged with embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars of state funds after he quit office, but the government later dropped the case due to his poor health, although he still has to fight a civil case. I like Max DePrees definition of legacy, A legacy results from the facts of our behavior that remain in the minds of others, the cumulative informal record of how close we came to the person we intended to be. What remains the in the minds of many Indonesians is the fact that Suharto led a corrupt regime and had many terrible excesses, despite all the political and economic successes. MM Lee recognized, Yes, there was corruption. Yes, he gave favors to his family and his friends. But there was real growth, real progressWhat is a few billion dollars lost in bad excesses? He built hundreds of billions of dollars worth of assets. Deep inside every human heart, there is a yearning for integrity. So, it is not surprising that many Indonesians dont remember his contributions. It is very revealing for MM Lee to say, I want to pay this tribute to him, and I came here. It is sad to see a very old friend, with whom I worked closely over the last 30 years, not really getting the honors that he deserves. What do people remember you by? What will be the summation of your life? How close have we come to being the person we intended to be? I am sure Suharto never intended to be remembered or had wanted people to remember him this way! How to leave a great legacy? A legacy is a consequence of pattern of behavior, a consistent worldview, abiding priorities, imbibed values, embraced convictions, a quality of life and an inspiring vision. Peter Chao 1. Courage to renounce bad habits and embrace good habits In his speech on the issue of ageing and living well, MM Lee revealed how at each turning-point of life, he had to make choices to stay alive and become a better leader.

That provides a most poignant insight to leaving a great legacy. It is the courage to abandon bad habits and embrace new habits. Legacy is indeed a consequence of pattern of behavior, abiding priorities, imbibed values, and embraced convictions. On why he quit smoking, Lee said I had a case in Kuching, Sarawak. So I took the flight and I felt awful. I had to make up my mind whether I was going to be an effective campaigner and a lawyer, in which case I cannot destroy my voice, and I cant go on. So I stopped smoking.But I made a choice and said, if I continue this, I will not be able to do my job. On why he decided to stay in shape, One day I was at the home of my colleague, Mr Rajaratnam, meeting foreign correspondents including some from the London Times and they took a picture of me and I had a big belly like that, a beer belly. I felt, No, no, this will not do. There was only one way it could go down: consume less, burn up more. Wow! Thats great leadership the willingness to make difficult choices, cut out bad habits to become a better leader. It is these small decisions and patterns of behavior that make a difference to ones effectiveness. 2. Passion to engage the world, give yourself to people and a cause far greater than yourself Talking about the single most important lesson in his life, MM Lee championed, The most important single lesson I learnt in life was that if you isolate yourself, youre done for. The human being is a social animal, he needs stimuli, he needs to meet people, to catch up with the world. v You much have an interest in life. We need to give ourselves to people. If we live self-absorbed lives, as MM Lee said with great conviction, The biggest punishment a man can receive is total isolation in a dungeon, black and complete withdrawal of all stimuli, thats real tortureIf you want to see sunrise tomorrow or sunset, you must have a reason, you must have the stimuli to keep going. In other words, Stay interested in the world, take on a challenge . Give ourselves to a cause far greater than ourselves. In summing up the legacy of his life, the late Peter Drucker humbly said, What I would say is I helped a few good people be effective in doing the right things. The truth of the matter is, he helped more than a few people, who helped many others! Thats indeed a great legacy. One final thought: many of us start well. We may never know how we end until the end! John Ng, Ph.D President Meta
vi

*******************************
Tel: (65) 6419 5255 Fax: (65) 6227 7170 Email: john@meta.com.sg For past articles on MetaTrends, please log in www.meta.com.sg How do we build strong, healthy relationships in the team? Read Enhancing Relationships...Glue of the Team Learn the Real Business in Building Leaders. Read T.E.A.M. Factors in Shared Leadership Learn when conflicts become bad. Read Is Conflict Always bad? (Part 2)

Suharto unconscious after multiple organ failure. Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters. Reported in the Straits Times, Jan 12, 2008, p 1. Singapore Press Holdings Publication, Singapore. ii How I dropped my bad habits. Reported in the Straits Times, Jan 12, 2008, p 1. Singapore Press Holdings Publication, Singapore. iii MM Lee flies to Jakarta to visit Suharto in hospital. Azhar Ghani, The Straits Times Jan 14, 2008, p 3. Singapore Press Holdings Publication, Singapore. iv MM Lee flies to Jakarta to visit Suharto in hospital. Azhar Ghani, The Straits Times Jan 14, 2008, p 3. Singapore Press Holdings Publication, Singapore. v Stay interested in the world, take on a challenge. MM Lee Kuan Yew, in a speech at Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition. Reported in the Straits Times, Jan 12, 2008, p H 9. Singapore Press Holdings Publication, Singapore. vi MMs keys to living long and successfully. Lee Siew Hua reporting on MM Lee Kuan Yews speech at Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition. Reported in the Straits Times, Jan 12, 2008, p 3. Singapore Press Holdings Publication, Singapore.