Lee Kuan Yew

We have continually to draw out younger leaders to fulfil the roles played by the traditional community leaders. Those with the higher social conscience must come forward to give of their time to get things done for the community. This is one of the strengths of Singaporean society, the absence of class divisions. It grew from our immigrant history

read Iacocca: An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca

In the minds of the people of Asia and indeed of Africa, it used to be believed that independence was an automatic solution to all men’s ills and that with independence would come prosperity and glory. The need for a sound administration and an economy that ticks was never thought of by anyone other than the few who had to govern.

Self-analysis is always fraught with risk, and there is the danger of patting oneself on the back unduly, but the attributes I would cite are the same ones that I repeatedly hear from those I interview on my show: Luck. There is no doubt that successful leaders seem to have luck along the way. It was a chance encounter that led to my interview with

Lee Kuan Yew, the longtime prime minister of Singapore, came to power by latching on to a pro-communist movement, usurping its rhetoric, and seizing control of it. Once in power, he turned on his communist allies, not only discarding them but in some instances jailing them.