"THE ART OF WAR" - QUOTES FROM THE LEGENDARY CHINESE WAR GENERAL SUN TZU

Unlike my previous posts where I have been critiquing material that I have read, the approach I have taken for this one is to obtain inspirational and educative quotes from the Great Chinese War General - Sun Tzu, from this book title. I hope that the sharing from it will draw crucial lessons for personal life and organisational growth. As Sun Tzu said, the Art of War is of vital importance to the state. There are five factors that govern the Art of War and these include:

a) Moral law which causes people to be in complete accord with their ruler so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

b) Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

c) Earth comprises of distances; great and small; danger and security; open grounds and narrow passes; chances of life and death.

d) The Commander stands for virtues of Wisdom, sincerity, benovelence, courage and strictness

e) Method and discipline are to be understood in the context of marshalling the army.

These five heads above must be familiar with every General. He who knows them will be very victorious and will not fail.  These should be the basis for deliberation and comparison when seeking to determine the military conditions obtaining.

The quotes derived include:

1." All warfare is based on deception. When able to attack; we must seem unable. When using our forces, we must seem inactive. When we are near, we must make the enemy believe that we are far away. When we are far away, we must make him believe that we are near."

2. "Hold out your baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder and crush him. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is superior in strength, evade him. If he is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united,separate them. Attack him when he is unprepared. Appear where you're not expected." These military devices , leading to victory must not be divulged before hand.

3. "The General who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The General who loses makes but a few calculations before hand. If many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations lead to defeat, how much more no calculation at all?"

4. "Though we have heard of stupid haste in war; cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare."

5. "Poverty from the state exchecquer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance but this causes people to be impoverished."

5. "Proximity of an army causes prices t go up and high prices cause people's substance to be drained away."

6. " The wise General names a point of foraging on the enemy. Use conquered foe to augment one's own strength."

7. "In war, let your great object be victory; not lengthy campaigns."

8. "The best thing to do is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.  Capture but do not destroy the army."

9. ""The highest form of Generalship is the baulk of the enemy's plans; next best is  to prevent the junction of enemy's forces; next in order is to attack the enemy's army on the field and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities."

10. "The rule is: Don't besiege walled cities if it can be avoided. It is costly in terms of logistics. "

11. "The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them. With his forces intact, he will dissipate the mastery of the empire and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will complete."

12. "The rule in war is: a) If our forces are 10 to the enemy's 1, surround him. b) If 5 to 1, attack him. c) If twice as numerous, divide our army into two. If equally matched,  we can offer battle. If slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy. If quite unequal in everyway,  flee from him."

13. "The General is the bulwark of the state; if the bulwark is complete at all points, the state will be strong. If the bulwark is defective, the state will be weak."

14. "3 ways a ruler can bring misfortune on his army:  a) Commanding the army to advance or to retreat being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. (Hobbling the army.) b) Attempting to govern an army in the same way he administers a Kingdom; being ignorant of conditions which obtain in an army - this causes restlessness in soldiers' minds. Employing officers of his army without discrimination; through ignorance of military principle of adaptaion to circumstances, shakes soldier's confidence.

15.The five principles essential for victory are:
     a) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
     b) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
     c)  He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
     d) He will win who prepared himself waits to take the enemy unprepared.
     e) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by Sovereignty.

16. "If you know the enemy and know yourself,  you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained,  you will also suffer a defeat.  If you know neither the enemy, nor yourself,  you will succumb in every battle."

17. Good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat and then waited for the opportunity of defeating the enemy."

18. "To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our hands. But the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. "

19. "A General who is skilled in defence hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes from the topmost heights of heaven. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking - a super-abunsance of strength."

20. "What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins but also excels in winning with ease. Win your battles by making no mistakes. It establishes a certainty of victory for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated."

21. "A skillful fighter puts himself in a position which makes defeat impossible and doesn't miss the moment for defeating the enemy."

22. "In war, a successful strategist only seeks battle after victory has been guaranteed whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory."

23.. "The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men. It is merely a question of dividing up their numbers."

24. "In all fighting; the direct method may be used for joining battle but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. Indirect methods, efficiently applied are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth;  unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like Sun and moon, they end but begin a new like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more."

25. "In battle,  there are not more than two methods of attack,  direct and indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to endless series of manoeuvres. "

26. "Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow,  decision to the releasing of the trigger. "

27. "The quality of a decision is like the well trained swoop of a falcon which enables it strike and destroy its victim. Therefore, good fighters will be terrible in his onset and prompt in his decision."

28. "Stimulated disorder postulates perfect discipline. Stimulated fear postulates courage. Stimulated weakness postulates strength."

29. "O Divine art of subtlety and secrecy; through you, we learn to be invisible; through you, inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands."

30. "The energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousand of feet in height. The clever combatant looks to effect combined energy and doesn't require too much from individuals., hence his his ability to pick out the right men and to utilise combined energy."

31. "Whenever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy,  will be fresh for the fight.; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy but doesn't allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him."

32. "Appear at point which the enemy must hasten to defend. March swiftly to places where you're not expected.  You can be sure of succeeding in your tasks if you only attack places which are undefended. You can be sure of safety of your defence of you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. That General is skillful in attack whose opponent doesn't know what to defend. He is skillful in defence whose opponent doesn't know what to attack. "

33.  "All men can see the tactics by which I conquer but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. Do  not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.."

34. "Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting . Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success."

35. "In war, the way is to, 'avoid what is strong,  and to attack what is weak. Military tactics are like into water; for water in its natural course runs away from the high places and hastens downward."

36. "The difficulty of tactical manoeuvring consists in turning devious into the direct and misfortune into gain."

37.  " Manoeuvring with an army is advantageous; with undisciplined multitude,  most dangerous."

38. "To be near the goal while the enemy is far from it; to wait at ease as the enemy is toiling and struggling; to be well fed while the enemy is famished - is the art of husbanding one's strength."

39. "To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect order; to refrain from attacking on army drawn up in calm and confident array; - this is the art of studying circumstances. "

4o. "It is military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy nor to oppose him when he comes downhill. Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen. Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy."

41. "Do not interfere with an army returning home. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe hard. Such is the art of warfare."

42. "When in a difficult country, do not encamp. In a country where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies. Do not linger in dangerously isolated positions. In hemmed-in situations, resort to stratagem. In desperate situations, you must fight. "

43. "There are roads which must not be followed; armies which must not be attacked; towns which must not be besieged; positions which must not be contested; commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed."

44.  "The General who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops while he who doesn't may be well acquainted with configuration of the country but won't be able to turn his knowledge to practical account."

45.  " In the wise leader's plans, therefore, consideration of advantages and disadvantages will be blended together. If our expectation of advantage be tampered with in this way; we may succeed in accomplishing the essential part of  our schemes. If on the other hand,  in the midst of the difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune. "

46. "The Art of War teaches us not to rely on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming but on our readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking;  but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. "

47. "Reduce hostile  chiefs by inflicting damage on them; make trouble for them and keep them constantly engaged."

48. The five dangerous faults ruinous to the conduct of War and which may affect the General are:
      a) Recklessness which leads to destruction.The
      b) Cowardice which leads to capture.
      c) A hasty temper which can be provoked by insults.
      d) A delicacy of honour which is sensitive to shame.
      e) Over solicitude for his men which exposes him to worry and trouble

49. "On the question of encamping the army and observing the signs of the enemy,
      a) Pass quickly over mountains
      b) Keep in the neighbourhood of the valleys
      c) Camp in high places facing the sun
      d) Do not climb heights in order to fight. It is so much for mountain warfare.
      e) After crossing a river, get far away from it. When an invading force crosses a river in its onward March, do not advance to meet it midstream. It will be best to let half the army to get across then deliver it across. If you are too anxious to fight,  you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross. Moor your craft higher up than the enemy; facing the sun.
      f) Do not move upstream to meet the enemy. That is so much for river warfare.
      e) In crossing salt marshes, your sole concern is to get over them without any delay. If forced to fight in a salt marsh,  you should have water and grass near you and get your back to a clump of trees. It's so much for operations in salt marshes.
      f) In a dry level country,  take up an easily accessible position with rising ground to your right and to your rear so that danger might be in front and safety lie behind. So much for campaigning in a flat country."

50. "While we keep away from such places, we must get the enemy to approach them. We should let the enemy have them on his rear."

51. "All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark"

52. "When the enemy is close at hand and remains quiet, he is relying on the natural strength of his position. When he keeps aloof and tries to provoke a battle, he is anxious for the other side to advance.  If his place of encampment is easy of access,  he is tendering a bait. Movement among the trees shows that the enemy is advancing. "

53. "Appearance of a number of screens in the midst of thick grass means the enemy wants to make us suspicious. Rising of birds in flight is a sign of an amvuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming. When there is dust arising in high column, it is a sign of chariots advancing. When dust us low but spread over a wide area, it betokens the approach if an infantry. When it branches out into different directions,  it shows that theparties have been sent to collect firewood."

54. "Humble words and increased preparations at signs that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to attack are signs that he will retreat.

55. "When light chariots come out first and take up a position on the wings; it is a sign that the enemy is forming for battle. Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot. Much runing about and soldiers falling into rank means the critical moment has come. When some are seen advancing and others retreating,  it is a lure."

56. "When soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint for want of food. If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves,  it means the army is suffering from thirst."

57. "If the enemy sees an advantage to be gained but makes no effort to secure it,  then it means the soldiers are exhausted."

58. "If there is disturbance in the camp,  the General's authority is weak. If banners and flags are shifted about,  sedition is a foot. If offices are angry,  the men are weary.."

59.  "When an army feeds its horses with grain, and kills its cattle for food,  and when men Do not hang their cooking pots over camp fires, showing that they will not return to their tents,  you may know that they are determined to fight to the death.  The sight of men whispering together in small knots or speaking in subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the rank and file"

60. "He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them."

61. "Too frequent rewards indicates that the enemy is at the end of his resources. Too many punishments betray a condition of dire distress. When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it's a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce."

62. "Soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory"

63. "If in training soldiers, commands are habitually enforced,  the army will be well disciplined. If not,  it's discipline will be bad."

64. "If the General shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed ; the gains will be mutual."

65. "Accessible terrain is ground that can be freely traversed by both sides. On this one, be before the enemy in occupying the raided and sunny spots and carefully guard your line of supplies.. then you will be able to fight with advantage."

66. "Entangling ground is that which is hard to reoccupy after its abandoned. If the enemy is unprepared; you may sail forth and defeat him. But if the enemy is prepared for your coming and you fail to defeat him, then return to being impossible; disaster will ensue."

67. "Trmporising ground is that on which neither side will gain by making the first move. In this ground,  even if the enemy offers an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth but rather to retreat thus enticing the enemy in his turn; when part of his army gas cone out; we may deliver our attack with advantage."

68. "Narrow passes are grounds you should occupy first, and strongly garrison and wait for the advent of the enemy. Should the enemy forestall you in occupying pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned."

69. "Precipotuous heights: If you are beforehand with your adversary,  you should occupy the raised and sunny spots and there wait for him to come up. If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him but retreat and try to entice him away."

70. "Position of great distance from the enemy: If the strength of the two armies is equal,  it is not easy to provoke a battle. Fighting will be to your disadvantage."

71. ""The six several calamities an army is exposed to but are not arising from natural causes are:
        a) Flight: Happens when I'd one force is hurled against another ten times its size, other factors remaining constant."
        b) Insurbordination when common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak.
        c) Collapse: When officers are too strong and common soldiers too weak.
        d) Ruin: results when higher officers are angry and insurbordinate and on meeting the enemy,  give the battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment; before Commander-in-Chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight.
        e) Disorganization: is as a result of the General being weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men and the ranks are formed in a haphazard manner.
        f) Rout: Happens when the General; unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one; or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one and neglects the place of the picked soldiers in the front rank.
These are the 6 ways of courting defeat which must be carefully noted by the General who has attained a responsible post.

72. "The natural formation  of a country is the soldier's best ally; but the power of estimating the adversary, of controlling the forces of victory  and shrewdly calculating the difficulties,  the dangers and distances constitute the test of a Great General. He who knows these things and in fighting puts his knowledge to practice will win his battles. He who knows not nor practices them will surely be defeated. "

73. "If fighting is sure to result into victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it. If fighting will not result into victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler' s bidding."

74.  "The General who who advances without covering fame and retreats without fearing disgrace; whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service to his sovereign; is the jewel of the Kingdom."

75. "Regard your soldiers as your children and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as tour own beloved sons and they will stand by you even unto death."

76. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt. If you know heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete."

77.  "If, however, you're indulgent; but unable to make your authority felt, kind-hearted but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable; moreover, if quelling disorder;  then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children, they are useless for any practical purpose."

78. "The experienced soldier; once in motion, is never bewildered, and once he has broken camp; is never at a loss."

79. "The Art of War recognises nine varieties of ground:
         a) Dispersive ground is where a chieftain is fighting in his territory. In this ground,  do not fight. Inspire the army with unity of purpose"
         b) Facile ground is when a chieftain has penetrated into hostile territory but to no great distance. When in this ground, Halt not. See that there is close connection with all points in the army. "
         c) Contentious ground: Imports great advantage on either side. When here, attack not but hurry up your rear.
         d) Open ground: here, each side has liberty of movement. When here, do not try to block the enemy. Keep a vigilant eye on your defences.
         e) Ground of Intersecting highways forms the key to three contiguous states, so that he who occupies it has the most of the empire at his command. When here,  join hands with your allies. That is, consolidate your alliances."
         f) Serious Ground: When an army has protracted into the heart of a hostile country; leaving a number of fortified cities in its rear, this gives rise to serious ground. When you cone to it, gather in plunder and try to ensure a continuous stream of supplies."
         g) Difficult ground: This is one with mountains, forests,  rugged steeps, marshes and fens - All country that is hard to traverse. Keep steady on the March when on this ground and keep pushing on along the road."
         h) Hemmed in ground: is reached through narrow gorges,  and from which we can only retire by tortuous paths that a small number of the enemy would suffice to crush a large body of our men. The enemy's stronghold is im the rear and narrow passes are infront. When on this ground, resort to stratagem. Block any way of retreat"
          i) Desperate ground: On thi sground, you can only be saved from destruction by fighting  without delay. On this ground, fight. Proclaim to the soldiers the hopelessness of saving their lives."

80. "If asked how to cope with a Great host of the enemy in orderly array, and on the point if marching to attack,  I should say, "Begin by seizing somethingthat your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will."

81. "Rapidity is the essence of war; take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness,  make your way by unexpected routes and attack unguarded spots. "

82. "Principles to be observed by an invading force:
         a) The further you penetrate in a country, the greater will be the solidarity of your troops and thus the defenders will not prevail against you.
         b) Make forays in a fertile country in order to supply your army with food
         c) Carefully study the well being of your men and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength.
         d) Keep your army continually on the move and devise unfathomable plans.
         e) Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape; and they'll prefer death to flight. If they'll face death, there's nothing that they might not achieve. Officers when in desperate straits lose sense of fear.
         f) Prohibit taking of Omens and do away with superstitious doubt. Then, until death comes, no calamity need to be feared. "

83. "The Principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach."

84.  "A skillful tactician may be likened to a Shuai-jan. Now, the Shuai-jan is a snake found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head and you will be attacked by its tail. Strike at its tail and you will be attacked by its tail. Strike at its middle and you will be attacked by both head and tail. Asked if the army can be made to imitate the Shuai-jan, I should answer, YES. For the men of Wu and the men of Yùeh are enemies; yet if they are crossing the river in the same boat, and are caught by the storm; they'll come to each other's assistance just as the left hand assists the right."

85. "The skillful tactician conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man by the hand."

86. "Soldier's disposition offers an obstinate resistance when surrounded; fights hard when you can't help self and obeys promptly when he has fallen into danger."

87. "It's the business of the General to be quiet and thus ensure secrecy.: upright and just and thus maintain order."

88. " The General must be able to mystify his officers with false reports and appearances., and thus keep them in total ignorance. By altering his arrangements and changing his plans, he keeps the enemy without definite knowledge.  By shifting his camp, and taking circuitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose. To muster his host and bring it to danger- thus may be termed the business of the General. "

89. "It is precisely when a host has fallen into harms way  that it is capable of striking a blow for victory."

90."Be stern in the council chamber that you may control the situation."

91. "Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose."

92. " Persist in hanging on the enemy's flank and you'll succeed in the long run in killing the Commander in Chief"

93. " If the enemy leaves a door open,  you must rush in. First exhibit the coyness of maiden until the enemy gives you an opening. Afterwards,  emulate the rapidity of a running hare and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you."

94. " To carry out an attack with fire, have means available. Material for raising fire should always be kept in readiness.. Very dry season is proper season for making attacks with fire.

95.  "When fire breaks out inside the enemy's camp, respond at once with an attack from without. If there's an outbreak of fire but the enemy's soldiers remain quiet, bide your fire,  do not attack. When the flames have reached their height, follow it up with an attack if that is practical. If not, stay where you are."

96. "If it is possible to make an assault with fire from without, do not wait for it to break out from within. Deliver your attack at a favourable moment. When you start a fire, be to the windward of it. Do not attack from the Lee ward. A wind that arises in daytime lasts long but a night breeze soon fall's."

97. "Those who use fire as an aid to the attack show intelligence. Those who use water as an aid to the attack gain an accession of strength. By means of water,  an enemy may be intercepted but not robbed of all his belongings."

98. "Unhappy is the fate of one who teiwa to win all his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating a spirit of enterprise; for the result is a waste of time and General stagnation. The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead. The good General cultivates his resources."

99. "Move not unless you see an advantage. Use not your troupes unless there is something to be gained. Fight not unless the position is critical. If it is to your advantage, make the forward move. If not,  stay where you are."

100. "Anger may in time change to gladness. Vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being. The dead can never be brought back to life. Therefore,  the enlightened ruler is heedful,  the good General is full of caution. This is the way to keep the country at peace and an army intact."

101. "What enables the wise, sovereign and good General to strike and conquer and achieve things beyond reach is foreknowledge. This foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits. It cannot be obtained from experience and not by any deductive calculations."

102. "Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men, hence the use of spies."

103."  The five classes of spies are:
        a) Local spies: When you employ the services of inhabitants of district.
        b) Inward spies: When you make use of the enemy's officials."
        c) Converted spies: When you get hold of enemy's spies and use them for your own purposes.
        d) Converted spies: These do certain things openly for purposes of deception while allowing our own spies know them and report them to the enemy.
        e) Surviving spies bring back news from the enemy's camp.
When all these five kinds if spies are all at work, none can discover the secret system. It is called, "The divine manipulation of threads." It us the Sovereigns most precious faculty.

101. "It is that with none in the whole army are more intimate relations to be maintained than with spies. None should be more liberally rewarded. In no other business should greater secrecy be preserved. Spies are the most important element in war because on them,  depends an army's ability to move. Spies cannot be usefully managed without a certain intuitive capacity. They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.  Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth if their reports. Be subtle,  be subtle and use your spies for every kind if business."

102. "Enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out and tempted with bribes, led away and comfortable housed.  If a secret piece of news is divulged by a spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man to whom the secret was told."

103. "It is through information brought by the converted spy that we are able to squire and employ local and inward spies. It is owing to his information that we can cause the doomed spy to carry false findings to the enemy. It is by his information that the surviving spy can be used and appointed on occasion."

104. "The end and aim of spying in all its fine varieties is knowledge of the enemy. His knowledge can be derived in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence, it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality. "

Although the definition of War,  as it was in the days of Old, where the Great Generals like Sun Tzu fought and then philosophized or even vice versa, have since greatly changed, many of the principles still apply today. The compilation of these quotes, it is hoped, will add value to the personal and societal battles being fought in our current society. I, thus commend it for your mental nutrition



Peter Katuramu is passionate about Serving Society in a bid to cause community transformation. A seasoned book critique,  Peter e is an Oak Seed Alumnus of the Institute for National Transformation,  Uganda. He is also a member of the Rotaract Club of Hoima Kitara which is proudly sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hoima Kitara.  For the year 2017/18, he is serving as the Club  Administrator. By classification, he is an Industrial and Organisational Psychologist with expertise in Human Resources Management,  Human Resources Development,  Organisational Development, Research, Training and Development.
+256701291315
ptrkaturamu@gmail.com.
P.O. Box 19, Hoima, Uganda
East Africa

THE MENTALITY OF JACOB AND HIS DESCENDANTS, ISRAEL: DRAWING THE RELEVANCE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRESENT DAY EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

BASED  ON THE BIBLICAL STORY OF JACOB DEPARTING FROM LABAN -GENESIS 30: 25 (NLT)

It is citical that the context of this lecture is understood well before the principles are drawn and that is why starting with the Biblical narrative is very necessary.

THE TEXT

"Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Please release me so I can go home to my own country. Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and Let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you."

"Please listen to me," Laban replied. "I have become wealthy, for the LORD has blessed me because of you. Tell me how much I ow e you. Whatever it is, I'll pay for it."

Jacob replied, "You know how hard I've worked for you, and how your flocks have grown under my care. You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you through everything i have done. But now, What about me? When can I start providing for my family?" 

"What wages do you want?"Laban asked again.

Jacob replied, " Don't give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I'll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep ad goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. In the future, when you check the animals you have given me as my wages, you'll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock, any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen from you."

"All right," Laban replied, "It will be as you say." But that very day, Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the vlack sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, who took them on a three days journey from where Jacob was. Mean while, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban's flock.

Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that is where they mated. And when they  mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled and spotted. Jacob separated those lambs from Laban's flock. And at mating time, he tuned the flock to face Laban's animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban's.

Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. But he did not d this with the weaker ones, so the weaker ones belonged to Laban and the stronger ones were Jacob's. As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.

CHAPTER 31

"But Jacob soon learned that Laban's sons were grumbling about him. "Jacob has robbed our Father of everything!" they said. "He has gained all his wealth at our Father's expense." And Jacob begun to notice a change in Laban's attitude towards him.

Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the Land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there and I will be with you."

So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock. He said to them, "I have noticed that your father's attitude towards me has changed. But the God of my father has been with me. You know how hard I have worked for your father, but he has cheated me, changing my wages ten times. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm. For he said, "The speckled animals will be your wages, " the whole flock began to produce speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, " The stripped animals will be your wages, " then the whole flock produced striped young. In this way, God has taken your father's animals and given them to me.

"One time during the mating season, I had a dream and saw the male goats mating with the females that were streaked, speckled and spotted. Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, "Jacob!" And I replied, "Yes here I am."

The angel said, " Look up, and you will see that only the steaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen how Laban has treated you. I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made your vow to me. Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth."

Rachel and Leah responded, "That's fine with us! We won't inherit any of our father's wealth anyway. He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. And after he sold us, he wasted the money you paid him for us. All the wealth that God has given you from our father legally belongs to us and our children. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you to do."

LESSONS AND PRINCIPLES

a) It is critical to transition from a "consumer" mindset which is comfortable to the "producer" mindset which demands hardwork.

When Jacob asked his employment relationship with Laban to be concluded, he was just implementing a simple principle, thus, "When you stop being a consumer and you go on to producing, terms of engagement change." For Africa in general and Uganda in particular to transform, we must be willing to transform our desires from those that consume other people's finished works to producing our own. We import all sorts of finished products and yet export a few. Although he had long been comfortable with good wages from Laban, Jacob made a critical mindset shift when he decided to join the ranks of a producer and leave the comfort of a consumer.

b) Freedom is demanded by those who have exhibited faithfulness.

While giving approval to Jacob's decision to leave, Laban made the exit conditions difficult.  It is important to note that, "Freedom is never given, It is taken." In fact, it is demanded. However, you do not and must not demand freedom until you have been faithful where you are. It is through your faithfulness that you will create your capacity(skills) and networks to help you when you launch out. Be faithful with the skills you have and it shall be the lauchpad that God will use when you take the bold step to launch out on your own.

In our society today, there are many people who desire to short circuit or leap frog their way to success and good performance. They are not interested in going through the process of learning the processes, procedures and principles required to move them to and sustain them at the top. Many people are also guilty of desiring new responsibilities without giving an account of their stewardship at previous postings of responsibiliy. As long as they can pay their way up the ladder, it doesn't matter. This is wrong. The principle from the story of Jacob tells us that the only people with a right to demand freedom are those who have been faithful or who have a track record of faithfulnes at their previous posting. Anything short of this spells inadequacy or incompetency.

c) Faithful employees are not let go easily.

There is an advantage of keeping good and faithful employees. No employer celebrates when a good and faithful employee leaves. Employers like Laban, are willing to give productive and faithful employees any perks or blank cheques as long as they stay. No wonder when they are asked, "Just mention, what do you want?" For many people, this would be an opportunity to ask a "fat" salary, cars, mansions or whatever it is that they deem valuable to them.

At World stage, in many Internatonal conferences and meetings, representatives of many African nations are comfortably negotiating for more salaries, cars, aid and all sorts of "petty comforts" while Africa is rotting away. It is also a shame when people sell their children, sisters, brothers, friends, etc into prostitution and all sorts of enslavement just for petty conveniences.  This is the Laban mindset which causes people to view their chldren and relatves as commodities to meet their selfsh ends. For the transformation of the Cradle of man, this must stop and we must create an environment where every person of age can produce, add value to their work and lobby for market for their products. This is how we can now speak of free trade.

When Jacob was asked to name his price, he declined and instead asked Laban for a new contractual relationship where both are Patners instead of the former arrangement where one was inferior to the other. For as long as Africa negotiates from a standpoint of "Weakness" and not strength or patnership, then others will, always perceive us as slaves and treat us as so.

d) Achieving your destiny requires risk.

Jacob had a destiny. Destiny has to do with purpose. He understood that the time he was living in required a transition. That is why he had to leave Laban's work place. The birth of Joseph signalled to him that the time for hanging onto the convenience of a salary and perks was over. It was transition time from consumerism mentality to production. Little wonder that the name Joseph means "God has removed my distress... May the LORD add yet another son to my family." 

It is critical that Africa and specifically Uganda undestands what time it is for her otherwise, Jesus will weep over us like he did over Jerusalem because they did not understand the time of their visitation (Luke 13:34). The ignorance of the church is responsible for the enslavement of Africa. We must transition from the mentality of waiting on "more aid and grants" and move to our destiny where we speak to others like partners. This is especially so because Africa has much more than what others out there have. No other place on earth is as resource endowed as Africa. We must break free from the "slavery" mentality" and replace it with the "Jacob mentality." This is our destiny but it is risky business. We do well to remember that like Jacob,
"CHANGE AGENTS ARE GALLANT RISK TAKERS." Leaving a secure job and go on your own yet you have a  family to look after is a great risk.

e) Case for a paradigm shift:

Jacob had to make a critical paradigm shift especially in his attitude. The way in which he viewed Laban and how he viewed the work he did had to change although Laban and the animals didn't change per se. Jacob's mental picture of the environment had to change if he was to make a critical shift from consuming to production. For example, He had to mentally elevate himself and see himself as a potential partner in the franchise of Laban. He had to view himself as an equal to Laban in all things for them to partner. This involved hardwork. If Laban had a PhD, Jacob had to elevate his reasoning to that level or beyond. Jacob had to specialize his skillset in order to maintain a competitive as well as a comparative advantage over Laban and his sons. This would guarantee him a market. To arive at this, he had to transition his mental attitude to

"MY SEASON OF EARNING SALARY IS OVER. I AM ENTERING A NEW DESTINY. FROM NOW ON, IT IS NOLONGER A MASTER-SERVANT RELATIONSHIP BUT A PARTNERSHIP. Mr LABAN SIR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, CASE CLOSED.
Africa needs to have a mental shift like Jacob did if we are going to see transformation on our continent. Shall sons and daughters of man's craddle rise to the ocassion and break the continent free from the spirit of servanthood to make way for our uniquenness as Africa using a new thought pattern?

f) New contractual Arrangements

Jacob told Laban that if he desired to have any business relationaship going forward, it was to be on a new arrangement. The old arrangement of wages was done away with, the new contract was to deal with a seed. That is, loan me your spotted sheep and goats. In otherwords, in the patnership arena, "I give you what I have that you need, in exchange for what you have that I need."

This is a mindset that will create new Africa. We should stop the habit of accepting pennies in exchange of our resources(both human and other natural resources). We need to rise to the ocassion and start negotiating favorably with what we have in order to get what we need. We must put in place and support structures that show strengthen our credibility and faithfulness. In so doing, we shall be able to adopt Jacob's mindset who said to Laban and I paraphrase, "I will keep your flock on a NEW CONTRACT.  If you want me to do a business with you, I do not want wages but a seed. Loan me your spotted sheep and lamb."

In your former employment or aid-dependent relationship, you developed expertise required for the new journey. Like Jacob, you shall be able to say, "My righteousness (expertise) will answer for me in time to come." Righteousness in this case can be expanded to refer to my faithfulness, ability, skills, and my knowledge will answer for me. However, it should never be a bitter end of the former relationship. When announcing our transition to a former employer, we should do it in a manner similar to this, "Thank you for the privilege, education. I feel it is time to move on to new challenges."

g) Invitation to son-ship

In the heat of difficulty and hardship, servants take to flight, sons fight and contend. For example, When Moses became of age, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh. He preferred to identify with his own countrymen in slavery. Sons take charge of the future while Children depend on others to feed them. For Jacob, the Father-child relationship that he had with Laban had to give way for Jacob to contend with a new spirit and heart of a Son and not the timid soul of a slave. His was a lneage of men of faith and as a son to Isaac and Grandson to Abraham, it was only a matter of time before he could rise up and take responsiblity of a true son. He discussed his new wages in light of his faithullness to his work and not to the apparent "glitter" of the blank cheque and perks before him. Can your previous assignments speak of your credibility and fathfulness? The nations of Africa need to realize that although Israel is commonly referred to as "God's first born," they too are sons waiting to be born. The patriachs of Israel give us a blue print of how this happens. We must desire to create a record, a legacy and a standard that can speak for us wherever we go. We, like Jacob, must be glad to refer to it. The Headmaster of the High school I attended once told us, over morning assembly, "If no one else is willing to blow your trumpet, take it and blow it as loud as you can."

h) Hardship is often breeding ground for invention and innovation.

Laban removed everything that Jacob asked for and gave them to his sons. All the animals Jacob had asked as start-up capital were taken by Laban's sons.  Laban separated Jacob's request from him within a three days journey. Laban's challenge to Jacob was simply thus and I paraphrase, "Let us see how you will survive without me."  Is that not wickedness?

Today, there are many employers, who for want of their employees' stagnation deny them their wages and benefits. At nation level, countries which demonstrate a given level of ability to cater for their own needs are given all sorts of names by the so called "world powers." Many are thrown into civil unrest and thousands of their citizens are killed and dsplaced.  In this mess, their assets in foreign institutions are stolen in the name of "freezing assets" and as their citizens kill each other in the ensuing political contestations, these "world powers" siphon out their resources at very cheap prices or even worse, at no cost at all. This is typical of the Laban mentality which benefits from the pain of others with no willingness to making a fair compensation or reward. To Britain, which colonised a large chunk of Afirca, Africa is still a child that needs them for nurturing. Independence was just a change of slogan to, "Yes you are a brother, but you are not a man."

There is no doubt that Laban stole in order to put Jacob at a disadvantage. However, this did not dissuade Jacob. NOW THAT THE OPPORTUNITY HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU, WHAT DO YOU DO?

Jacob saw this as an opportunity to invent and innovate. He got Almond trees. He crafted the spotted and speckle on a tree back since Laban took them away. The initial arangement was that the animals given to him as a loan would reproduce after their kind. Now that Laban had given them to his sons, Jacob had two options. Either to mourn his loss and use it as an excuse why he did not progress or to innovate his way out of the dilema. The former is appealing to many people and nations. For people, they stay at the same post in life because dynamics in the environment changed significantly and put them at a disadvantage. They have scars, and all sorts of evidence to show any avaliable sympathisers. Many nations of Africa, too are ready to show the scars of slave trade, colonialism, coruption and all sorts of excuses to explain why they have never transitioned to modern economies after many years of their independence.

The example of Jacob tells us that innovation is a better way. In their book Start - up Nations: The story of Israel's Economic Miracle, Dan Senor and Saul Singer note that Israel, having realized that their nation was founded near very hostile neighbours who slapped all sorts of economic sanctions against them, did not sit back and sulk. They innovated ways how to survive and prosper in such a region which had a hostile climate and equally hostile climate. To date, they are among the countries with the highest export volumes for fruits and other agricultural products. In the same book, Shimon Peres wrote that, "The seeds of a new Israel grew from the imagination of an exiled people. We have to create ourselves anew and discover the riches of scarcity. The only capital at our disposal was human capital. Kibbutz became an incubator and the farmer a scientist. They are also a technology hub albeit the hostile neighbors it has had to bear with various wars it has had to fight...
Agriculture in Israel is 95% sciebce and 5% work."

Jacob too, also had to innovate ways of using what he had(Laban's flock) to get what he desired (His own flock). It involved a lot of hard work. He had to study Laban's animals, know when they mate, and move the poplar sticks to a position where they could be seen by the mating animals. In case they mated at night, Jacob had to leave the comfort of his bed, and keep watching to make sure that they mate while looking at the sticks. In case, when mating, they turned their backs to the sticks, Jacob had to move the sticks to a new location where they could see them. In case the animals ran away from the watering area to mate from another place, Jacob had to chase after them and bring them back. As their number grew, so did such and many other challenges multiply.  Hardwork was a citcal part of Jacob's life in his new role as Enterpreneur. It affected not just his pay but his family relationships. Imagine leaving your wife and children at mid-night to go and catch up with animals probably matin! He had to anticipate where the animals would be mating so that he set the poplar for them to see.

ARE YOU A NO-EXCUSE LEADER? IN THIS SEASON, AFRICA EITHER FOOLS ITSELF OR GETS TO DO WHATEVER WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.

i) Results are worth it:

In spite of the challenges, the life of Jacob shows that the results were worth the hardword and the sacrifice. I quote, " As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys." This was earned through hardwork. Jacobs application of these principles saw him out - compete Laban. In fact, because of Jacob's resilience, hardwork and committment to his destiny, he was able to attract God's liking and support. It is why in Chapter 31:12 God spoke to him and gave him a revelation. This is what encouraged Jacob to work even harder.

In light of this, I believe that God has many ideas to reveal to Africa and I believe he actually reveals them. The problem is that there are only a handful of people who are willing to do whatever it takes to make those ideas work, like Jacob did.

Shall you be the man or woman who stands out to be the difference for the sake of Africa?

For God and my Country

God bless the Pearl of Africa. God bless the cradle of man.

By Peter Katuramu

Peter Katuramu is an Oak Seed and Vice President of Class 17, INT Uganda

peter.katuramu@yahoo.com

Much of what is shared in this article is extracted from a lecture given by Professor Vincent Anigbogu, The Director General of Institute for National Transformation(INT) International at the 3rd Biennial INT Conference held at Silver Springs Hotel, Kampala - Uganda from 2nd to 6th November, 2015.

"INT is not just a training institution, It is a Transformational institution that nurtures no - excuse leaders of Responsibility, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence who will play an active role in leading their families, organizations, communities, nations and Africa to their highest level of performance and achievement in God."

For more visit www.intuganda.com

THE EXAMPLE OF SINGAPORE AND LEE KUAN YEW AS AN INSPIRATION FOR TRANSFORMATION FROM THIRD WORLD TO FIRST

                          Introduction:

Few gave tiny Singapore much chance of survival when it was granted independence in 1965. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial trading Post is a thriving Asian Metropolis with not only the world’s number one airline, best airport, and the busiest port of trade, but also the World’s fourth highest per capita real income? Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita.

The 2014-15 Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) prepared by the World Economic Forum defines competitiveness as a set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. The level of productivity, in turn, sets the level of prosperity that can be reached by an economy. The report’s index ranked Singapore 2nd out of 144 world economies with a general average score of 5.65/7 maintaining its 2013-14 position behind Switzerland. The global Competitiveness Index measures performance of economies on three sub-indices namely:

a) Basic requirements sub-index comprises of pillars such as Presence of
Institutions (effective legal and administrative framework); Effective and efficient Infrastructure; Stability of Macro-Economic environment; and Healthy workforce and Basic Education
These are referred to as, “Keys for Factor- Driven Economies.” In this category, Singapore came 1st worldwide with a score of 6.34/7.

b) Efficiency Enhancers sub-index comprises of Higher Education and Training; Goods Markets Efficiency; Labor Market Efficiency; Financial Market Development; Technological readiness; and Market Size. These are referred to as, “Keys for Efficiency Driven Economies.” In this category, Singapore ranked 2nd worldwide with a score of 5.68/7.

c) Innovation and Sophistication factors sub-index comprised of pillars such as Business Sophistication and Innovation. These are described as, “Keys for Innovation Driven Economies.” In this Category, Singapore ranked 11th
Worldwide with a score of 5.13/7
The Legartum Prosperity Index sets out to measure the prosperity of a nation in comparison with other world nations, by using eight core pillars of prosperity. In the 2014 rankings, Singapore had an overall prosperity rank of 18th/142. She performed as follows on the identified pillars in comparison with 142 world economies studied:

a) Economy (2nd)
b) Entrepreneurship and Opportunity (12th)
c) Governance (13th)
d) Education (22nd)
e) Health (18th)
f) Safety and Security (14th)
g) Personal Freedom (40th)
h) Social Capital (45th)

For an economy which celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2015, what triggered such development among a people who started out with such challenges as race/ethnic riots; instant exit of the British military support, hostile neighbours to mention but a few? What really happened to this nation for it to turn around in less than 2 generations? And what of the other Asian Tiger economies; how did they come to be? In this book, Lee Kuan Yew, the Founding Prime Minister of Singapore and the man who was at the centre of this change provides an eye-witness account of this journey with his pen covering a lot of what happened in the background that gave birth to Modern day Singapore, specifically and Asia as a whole.

Dr. Henry Kissinger in the foreword to this book states that, “Every great achievement is a dream before it becomes a reality and that Lee Kuan Yew's vision was of a state that would not simply survive but prevail by excelling. Superior intelligence, discipline and ingenuity would substitute for resources. Lee Kuan Yew summoned his compatriots to a duty they had never previously perceived: first to clean up their city, then to dedicate it to overcome the initial hostility of their neighbours and their own ethnic divisions by superior performance. The Singapore of today is his testament.”

Lee Kuan Yew was a man who left a mark in his generation and our time and he left an accurate record to show, at least in part, how he and his colleagues did it. Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great, asserts that greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and effort and the account of Lee Kuan Yew suffices a lot of evidence to back this statement.

My critique of this book will focus on providing issues that I agree and/or disagree with and provide the reasons why. I shall also provide some key lessons that I picked from his leadership that I feel are worthy taking home for leaders interested in National Transformation. This is because he clearly states in the preface (last paragraph, page xv) that and I quote, “This is not a how-to book on whether to build an economy, an army, or a nation. It is an account of the problems my colleagues and I faced and how we set about solving them.” In essence, my approach will largely involve examining the approaches he used to achieve this end. I shall also explore his book organization and method of book development.


PERSONAL STATEMENT ON THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK:
(From www.biography.com/people/lee-kuan-yew-9377939), the following is said about Lee Kuan Yew:

Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on 16th September, 1923 to a wealthy Chinese family that resided in Singapore since the 19th Century. He became the longest serving Prime Minister in World History. He rose through the ranks of the country’s political system before becoming the 1st Prime Minister of Singapore on June 5th, 1959. He led Singapore to a merger with Malaysia in 1962 but three years later, Singapore left the merger for good. He resigned as Prime Minister in 1990. After World War 2, he studied law at Fitz William College in Cambridge United Kingdom.

In 1950, he was admitted to the English Bar but instead of practicing law there, he returned to Singapore to do so. At the time Singapore was a British colony and held Britain’s main naval base in the Far East. It was ruled by a governor and legislative council, mostly comprising of wealthy businessmen who were appointed rather than elected by the people. In early 1950, Singapore buzzed with talk of Constitutional reform and independence. Lee bonded with other like minds to challenge the governing structure of the country. Soon breaking from this group and taking a more radical stance in 1954, Lee became the Secretary General of his own Party, the People’s Action Party (PAP).

In 1955, a new Singapore constitution was introduced. It increased the number of elected seats on council to 25 out of a total of 32 thereby allowing only 7 seats to be filled by appointment. In 1958, he helped negotiate what Singapore’s status would be as a self- governing state and a new constitution was formed. Under the new constitution, national elections were held in June 1959. He campaigned on an anti-colonialist, anticommunist platform and called for sweeping reforms and an eventual federation with neighbouring countries. Lee’s Party won a decisive victory taking 43 out of 51 seats in the assembly and Singapore gained Self governing status (except in Matters of defense and foreign affairs.) He was sworn in as Prime Minister on June 5th, 1959 becoming the first Prime Minister of Independent Singapore. Once in office, Lee introduced a 5 year plan calling for an urban renewal and construction of new Public housing; greater rights for women, Educational reform and industrialization. His plan also called for a merger with Malaysia.


Malaysia Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman (who he writes about in this book) proposed formation of a federation State that would include Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Lee campaigned in favour of the effort and also to end British colonial rule for good. To show that Singaporeans were supportive, Lee used the results of the referendum held in September 1962 in which 70% of the votes were cast in favour of the proposal.

Growing tensions between Chinese and Malays in the Federation, however, resulted in rioting in Singapore notably weakened by the Prophet Muhammad birthday riots or Sino-Malay riots of summer 1964. With racial strife continuing, Lee was told by his Malaysian colleagues that Singapore must leave the Federation. Lee was passionate about working out a compromise but his efforts proved fruitless and he signed a separation agreement in August 7th, 1965. With a broken economy came problems beyond Lee’s personal grief. Singapore’s lack of natural resources and a limited defensive capability were major challenges. Singapore needed a strong economy to survive as an independent country and Lee quickly spearheaded a program to transform it into a major exporter of finished goods. He encouraged foreign trade investments and made moves to raise the standard of living He resigned as Prime Minister in November 1990 but remained the leader of PAP till 1942. In early 2015, Lee was hospitalized with Pneumonia. By early March 2015, he was on a ventilator in critical condition and he died soon after on 23rd March 2015.

Under Lee’s guidance, Singapore had a per capita income second only to Japan’s in East Asia and the country had become a Chief Financial center of South East Asia. I note that in this book, he dramatically recounts this miraculous history not only as one who lived through it all but who fearlessly forged ahead and brought about most of these changes. He focuses on a lot on issues of policy both on domestic and Foreign matters because that is his strength probably because of his academic legal background and early exposure to politics when he formed the People’s Action Party (PAP)



               Purpose of Writing the Book:

In the preface to this book (page xv), I pick Yew’s purpose in the last paragraph and I paraphrase:

a) To provide an account of the problems he and his colleagues faced when building the economy, army and nation

b) To provide an account of how they went about solving them. Thus, Lee has the intention of providing information on the above to his audience but also try to explain the technicalities that justified many of the decisions he and his colleagues took when in charge of the government of Singapore.

      Intended audience And Motivation:

From his preface, Lee Kuan Yew says that he wrote this book for a younger generation of Singaporeans who took stability, growth, and prosperity for granted. He wanted them to know how difficult it was for a small country of 640 sq. Kilometres with no natural resources to survive in the midst of larger, newly independent nations all pursuing nationalistic policies. He states in the second paragraph and I quote: “We cannot afford to forget that public order, personal security, economic and social progress and prosperity are not the natural order of things, that they depend on ceaseless effort and
Attention from an honest and effective government that people must elect. He therefore writes from an eye-witness account point of view

                Book Organization:

The book is organized in three parts, preceded by a Foreword by Dr. Henry Kissinger (Former United States Secretary of State) and then the preface by Lee Kuan Yew himself. Lee uses a very formal writing style providing his evidence to back up his submissions, arguments, detailed explanations and counter arguments to defend many of his decision making approach. For an economy which stands 22nd in the world on the education rankings according to the Legartum index that I quoted in the introduction, I believe, it suits his target audience many of whom are learned.

Part 1 deals majorly with the approach Lee Kuan Yew adopted for his domestic policy. It provides a fair account of how he and his colleagues started out, what they had and the decisions they had to make involving such issues as the revamping the economy to make it outcompete its neighbours with the negligible resources at hand; and compete globally; handling dissenting views from within such as the media and the unions; Succession planning and the handling of the environment

Part 2 deals majorly with examining foreign relations that Lee’s government had. He begins with his former colleagues, Malaysia; then to other neighbours like Indonesia; Thailand; Philippines; and Brunei. He then examines the influence of the ASEAN Umbrella body of Asian countries and its impact on Asia. He also shares about the relationship with former colonial power of Britain and the Common wealth Conferences which also extend to examining Singapore’s ties with New Zealand and Australia. He also examines the relations with the United States; Japan’s success lessons and other emerging Asian tigers for example Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and finally China

In Part 3, he draws his discourse to a conclusion with briefs on how he prepared for a transition and a government beyond him, a few principles his family life and then lastly his conclusion

Personal impact of the book

a) Impacting journey through Singapore History: The story of Singapore journey to progress has really impacted me positively. First, the book introduced me to how it all started. I had no previous thinking about Singapore as a country let alone the few things I had about it in the press and other public engagements. I had in my primary school days read a story about, “Badang, the strongest man in Singapore,” and though I liked the story, I never did dig any deeper than that. After reading this book, I have gained basic insight on how transformation begun in this country and the principles which were applied to achieve it Important Information on Asia:

b) The Asian economies, nowadays called Asian Tigers, because of their impressive growth over the years make a lot of headlines today especially when being compared to African economies, especially Uganda. These got independence around the same time as many African states but a generation later, there is nothing to compare about the two. In this book, Lee tries to also elaborate on how the transformation boom caught up with the rest of Asia by showing what they used to perform poorly and how they made drastic changes to turn around their fortunes and in some cases, due to the good influence of Singapore. This has been very enlightening for me

c) Transformation can happen and co-exist with a good culture: Lee provides a strong example for me as a national transformer of how to pick good cultural practices and adopt them in the Development agenda. He stood for a strong. Confucian value system which espouses the central role of family in development and in effect dismissing the western approach which tends to push for the state and not family to be the focus of transformation. This is a commendable lesson I can adopt. We need not disband our African good values when we have an option of fusing them with our development agenda.

d) Transformation as people-based with people-involvement: Lee demonstrates to me that whereas the leader plays a big role, he is only as successful as the people who follow him. Lee is not seeking to blow his trumpet to get praise; rather, he gives a thorough example of how a leader can influence his followers to buy into the development agenda. This is evident in his winning all the elections he participated in.

e) A multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural harmonious society is possible In this book, Lee demonstrates to me that it is possible to have a people of different languages, religious and cultural background co-existing in the same society harmoniously. Though his government started off with racial and religious riots, a lot of improvement has been registered since. As Africans, we can learn from such principles that worked in Singapore and put them to use here so that wars and bloodshed that has always emanated from conflicts on such issues becomes a thing of the past and then we can work together for a common development agenda.

f) Value of integrity: Lee shows that he not only is a man of integrity, but he will go at any length to protect and defend it. Like him, I think it is wrong for people or entities to make unfounded accusations without proof as the case is with our modern media. I have a lot of respect for him for taking his opponents to court to substantiate their accusations against him but like many dissenting voices with no proof, they choose to shy away from justice. I personally think it is a good thing for people to be responsible for the words they speak and their conduct

g) Admitting of weaknesses: It is worth noting that Lee includes weaknesses, challenges and failures that came along his way. In some incidences, he even takes personal responsibility for them. This makes it unique. Many authors are shy to share about times they felt short, or blundered as they only want to write about the good side only and when they bother to mention their failures, they do so when apportioning blame to someone else


Author’s Success and Goal Achievement:

a) Man of principle and of concern: In this book, Lee Kuan Yew demonstrates that he is a man of Principle as well as a man of action yet balancing it with the heart of compassion his people like that of a mother for her children. He demonstrates that he is as equally concerned about their personal life issues as he was about the state issues. For example, the performance of Muslim Malay students, Marriage of the Educated men to uneducated or under-educated women, which would easily pass as issues of fate in any society were issues of concern for him that forced him to do something about it.

b) He ably reached his target audience: His intention is to write to a younger generation of Singaporeans to give them a history to the privileges they now have. He starts from home which they are familiar with, then expands to neighbouring countries and regional entities. He then goes on to relations with distant countries, international powers and organizations. The sequence he follows is a Confucian one which begins from family (home) outward. Thus, this makes for easy reading for his audience

c) His communication pattern is simple and straight forward: It is surprising that a man who has been on the global scene, moreover with a background in Law writes with a simple vocabulary. He rarely uses complex terms just to show that he is not selective of his readership.

d) Policy implemented with evidence: He ably shows the place of evidenced-based policy implementation and its results. He and his cabinet developed a habit of shaping their policy agenda around what statistics of a particular area showed. This book is a masterpiece in that the leader presents points in time where statistics showed his government was not performing well in certain spheres. He did not trash or explain away the figures; He drafted his policies to confront the brutal facts head-on. On page 163 for example, to provide evidence of the progress of the fight against corruption, Lee quoted the Institute of Management Development’s World’s competitiveness yearbook 1997 that ranked least corrupt countries in the whole world giving 10 points for a perfect score for a country with no corruption, Singapore was least corrupt in Asia with a score of 9.18



e) A leader can succeed with his family: Lee also presents a rare case to find by including something about his family. In a world where leaders are preoccupied with impacting their sphere of influence; Lee shows how his leadership begun from home. He prepared his children with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to go further than he did by first and foremost enabling them appreciate the role of merit in achieving their destiny. I found this touching

Recommendation

a) I recommend principles in this book to leaders of Uganda. Policy is made at the Executive arm of government. The executive can learn many principles from Lee how he made policies and easily made the citizens to buy into them. Lee also gives examples of how development, though unpopular to the masses, can be adopted and masses empowered to buy in subsequently.
The executive can also draw an important lesson of recruiting the best people of expertise and integrity in handling the state affairs.
The legislature is the where laws are made. Our law makers can learn from Lee’s example to pass laws that empower development and change. They can strengthen weak laws, and toughen sanctions against law breakers. By being faithful to their role, like in Singapore, corruption can be a thing of the past. The Judiciary is critical for maintain the rule of law and exercising Justice. By adhering to its independence like it was under Lee, the rule of law can prevail.

b) I recommend the book to leaders of local, National and multi-cultural Corporations. Lee provides evidence that it is possible to work and profit in a state where you equip Nationals with skills and employ them, pay your taxes and grow your market share. It is also possible to profit in a corruption-free environment. These principles if adopted can improve standards of living by creating more employment

c) I also recommend this book for the diplomats of Uganda in other countries. Lee’s foreign policy approach has some very good principles to draw for example always negotiating for the welfare of the people of your country above all else and then for peaceful coexistence with others.

d) The Media Practitioners in Uganda can also learn from Lee’s advice when setting out to prepare news items. In Uganda, the media makes an error by assuming that it is representative of the voice of the people which is erroneous because, as Lee puts it, it is the elected government. The media does well to assist the elected government in fulfilling the expectations of the electorate

e) Curriculum Developers in the Education Sector in Africa can draw many lessons from this book for their students if they intend to help the students adopt a National Transformation attitude.

              General Book Evaluation

Although in parts of my presentation, I have already highlighted aspects from Lee that I consent to, the following are the key opinions of the book that I picked for personal development from the book that I pick up for the critique and I agree with providing the reasons why:

a) Vision Casting: Lee provided a clear and concise Vision for his fellow leaders and other followers to follow so as to eliminate ambiguity and ensure commitment to the cause. Chapter 43, page 687, Paragraph 1, he says, “When we started in 1959, we knew little about how to govern and how to solve our many economic and social problems. All we had was a burning desire to change an unfair and unjust society for the better.” In the Preface page XIII, fourth Paragraph, Lee said, “The Japanese occupation filled me with hatred for the cruelties they inflicted on their fellow Asians, aroused my nationalism and self respect, and my resentment at being lorded over. My four years as a student in Britain after the war strengthened my determination to get rid of the British colonial rule.” This power of vision and focus empowered them to achieve a fair and just society in their life time and have the opportunity of giving it to their successors to build upon while the founder were still alive. The power of Vision thus enabled them to stick to the cause and perform whatever was necessary in their means including standing up to and/or engaging opposition and dissenting voices, to achieve the transformation the aspired to see.

b) Setting of systems and guidelines: The next principle I learn from Lee is establishing Operational Systems and guidelines that guide how society runs. In chapter 4; Page 68, Paragraph 1, Lee provides a clue of this when he says, “If I have to choose one word to explain why Singapore succeeded, it is confidence.” In saying this, he was trying to draw foreign investors’ interest in them having their sites in Singapore by assuring them that Singapore had effective and efficient systems for investment. To prove that this principle worked, one only needs to read the paragraph that followed the one above where he says, “The decision increased international confidence in the Singapore government.” The resulting effect was that it attracted many oil refining entities and in Lee’s words, “By the 1990s, Singapore had become the world’s third largest oil-refining centre and the world’s largest oil trading centre and the largest fuel oil bunker market in volume terms.”

c) Providing an enabling environment: Providing physical structures and sustainable processes was another key Principle of National Transformation. Lee’s government set out to achieve this by setting out to, “Create a First world oasis in a Third world region,” according to Chapter 4, Page 58 Paragraph 1. His government set out to train its citizens, and equip them to provide First World standards of service. Granting citizens the capacity to provide globally competitive skills and labour make for their improvement in GDP per capita which has a direct impact on the ordinary citizen

d) Harnessing your hedgehog: The Principle of harnessing your hedgehog also contributed to Singapore’s national development. Isaiah Berlin in his famous essay based on an ancient Greek Parable, “The Hedgehog and the fox,” says people are divided into two basic groups: foxes and Hedgehogs. He thus elaborates, “A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one big thing. That what separates those who make the biggest impact from all others who are just smart is the fact that they are hedgehogs.” Lee knew something about his people that he would use to propel them forward. In chapter 1 page 7 last paragraph, he states that, “Our greatest asset was the trust and confidence of the people.” On page 8, Paragraph 1 he further emphasizes that, “The other valuable asset we had was our people – hardworking, thrifty, and eager to learn.” On page 58, he re-echoes this principle in the Second paragraph saying, “We had one simple guiding principle for survival that Singapore had to be more rugged, better organized, and more efficient than others in the region. We had to make it possible for investors to operate successfully and profitably” .His realization of this principle was to be one of his major successes. Lee using The Principle of the Hedgehog was able to simplify a complex situation in Singapore into a single organizing Idea, basic principle or concept that guides everything.

e) Strategic Planning: The Principle of Strategic Planning is also important in National Development. Lee demonstrates this in Chapter 4 Page 66 Paragraph 2 when he said, “Our job was to plan broad economic objectives and target the periods within which to achieve them. We reviewed these plans regularly and adjusted them as new realities changed the outlook. Infrastructure, and the training and education of workers to meet the needs of employers had to be planned years in advance.” The Singaporean government took the lead by starting new industries and also placed its faith in its young officers who had integrity, intellect, energy, drive and application... further saying that the key to success was the quality of the people in charge.

f) Providing for success of systems: Another principle for National development is provision for success of systems and Lee Kuan Yew went a distance to ensure that these were in place. For example in Chapter 4, Page 68, Paragraph 2 that I have already alluded to in a paragraph above, he provided for high standards to increase international confidence in the Singapore government. Success of systems also thrives where corruption is checked. In Chapter 12 Page 157, Paragraph 1, he says, “When the PAP government took office in 1959, and we set out to have a clean administration.” For the fight against corruption to bear fruit, on the 3rd paragraph of Page 157 the government focused its strategy on, “the big takers in higher echelons.” Lee also provided for a fair society by preoccupying himself to give every citizen a stake in the country and its future. In paragraph 3 on Page 95, he intended for a home-owning society. Fairness easily makes everyone participate in the vision for development of society. The provision of clarity while handling dissenting voices is also a critical factor for the success of systems. In Chapter 14, Pg. 190, Paragraph 2, while justifying his position to guide the media in its activities saying that, “The role of the media in a new and young country like Singapore was to reinforce, not to undermine, the cultural values and social attitudes to being inculcated in our schools and universities.”

g) Developing and empowering fellow and younger leaders: Developing, Empowering, Delegating and entrusting your fellow leaders and successors is also an important principle for National Development. In Singapore, Lee exercised in an unprecedented manner. What is not in doubt is that Lee was a rare type of statesman. It has been said that, “Politicians make decisions eyeing the next election, Statesmen make decisions eyeing the next generation” Level 5 leaders set up successors for even greater success. It is also not in doubt that Lee did that. He did not employ sectarian or nepotistic tendencies to do that. In Chapter 41 on Page 664, Paragraph 1, Lee says that, “The single decisive factor that made for Singapore’s development was the ability of its ministers and the high quality of the civil servants who supported them. Whenever I had a lesser minister in charge, I invariably had to push and prod him, and later to review problems and clear road blocks for him.” In Paragraph 3 on the same page, he says he went a step further and, “started to search for younger men as possible successors in the 1960s. On page 665, paragraph 2; he said that he had, “to find and get into office a group of men to provide Singapore with effective and creative leadership.” In page 671, paragraph 3, when he decided that the 1988 election he would lead as Prime Minister, he asked the younger Ministers to decide among themselves whom they would support as Prime Minister so that his successor had the support of his peers. I think that such an approach was a powerful principle that was applied in Singapore made for its development and can make for the development of any other country, Uganda inclusive

h) Recruiting the best team: One of the most engaging questions in the Book Good to Great by Jim Collins if applied to Singapore is, “Why was Singapore able to make a leap from Good to great?” This is ably answered by Lee on Page 664, paragraph 1, he says and I quote,” The single decisive factor that made for Singapore’s development was the ability of its ministers and the high quality of the civil servants who supported them. When I had the right man in charge, a burden was off my shoulders.” It is my firm belief that having the right team of people to work with is the strength on any leader and for Lee to register a lot of success; it is worth noting and learning from by any leader.

i) Taking Responsibility: In his book Church shift, Sunday Adelaja told Ukrainian Political leaders thus, “If you will not accept responsibility for this country, then I will.” This is also what seemed to resonate in the heart of Lee who often reminded himself of his duty to the 2 Million people he was responsible for and who channelled his followers’ strength to create a better life for them. His intent for them to engage hard work in their lifestyle and his disdain for aid was seen in such statements as, “The world does not owe us a living. We cannot live by the begging bowl!” From his narrative, it is safe to say that such a self reliant attitude which seeks for hand-ups not and-outs is an approach I agree with as the most viable vehicle for national transformation.

j) Level 5 leadership: Level 5 leaders according to Jim Collins book Good to Great are fanatically driven and infected with the need to produce results. They look out of the window to attribute success to factors other than themselves. When things go poorly, they look through the Mirror and blame themselves. Jim also says that Level 5 leaders sought out the “Who does the job before what is the job?” He also says that at critical points in their history, Good to great companies had Level 5 leaders. I believe that if Singapore of the 1960’s was the company, Lee was that leader. There is no doubt in my mind that Lee Kuan Yew was one in such a Calibre. On page 687, paragraph 2 he says, “I sought out able men and placed them in positions of authority as ministers, and top public officials to administer an honest, efficient system and be responsive to the needs of the people.” He was not intimidated by the success of his equals or the younger ones and he often took responsibility for any lapses

k) His stand on Foreign aid: I believe he had one of the most honest views of Foreign aid. He understood that countries do not progress on handouts but hand ups. He made his stand very clear even before Prime Minister, Harold Wilson of United Kingdom on 23rd August, 1965 (page 8, 2nd paragraph) that, “Do not worry about Singapore. My colleagues and I are sane, rational people even in our moments of anguish. We weigh all possible consequences before we make any move on the political Chessboard.” Thus was his disdain foreign aid that he was determined to use his position to negotiate better for his hardworking followers so that they could get engaged in productive work and contribute to their own wellbeing. I believe that this was a major success.

l) Using expert advice: Lee and his government were good at engaging experts when making strategic decisions or decisions of national importance. It is humble of him to again show the readers that he was not the alpha and omega on all matters. In his book, Buy the future, Mensa Otabil, he notes that one of the reasons that made for Esau’s missing out on the blessing was that Jacob used the expertise of Rebecca to prepare the sauce that Isaac loved and thus Jacob getting the blessing. Lee indeed acknowledges this principle in Chapter 4 when showing how Singapore survived without a hinterland thanks to the expert assistance of the Singapore Dutch Economic Advisor- Dr. Albert Winsemius.


         Weaknesses of the material / My      
                            Disagreements

a) An apparent loss of focus: Lee Kuan Yew in the preface states that his intention is to share with the younger generation of Singaporeans who took stability, growth and prosperity for granted by providing information for them on how it was difficult from the start. Through the 15 chapters of Part 1, he ably does that. However, he ends up focusing over half of the book on telling stories of his government and other governments in Asia and the world. For example, he uses 199 pages in Part 1 which is supposed to be the information for the young Singaporeans, yet he allocates over 400 pages to his foreign relations. He ended up drifting from his focus along the way. The second part of the Book Title happens to be about the Asian economic boom. In part 2 where he exclusively discusses about the Asian economies, he really doesn’t provide details about the Asian boom, be it the causes, results or the method. The only country he largely focuses on in its economic boom is China.

b) Limiting of audience: While he does well for his Asian readership because of the familiarity they have with the places, it made a difficult read for me who has never been to Asia. Some places, events and people he mentions are hard to visualize if you haven’t been to or read about Asia. That would make it difficult for non-Asian readers to relate with his story line especially when the bulk of the material is about Asia. The lack of accurate knowledge of what goes on in Asia makes it difficult to give an accurate counter argument to what he states

c) Overregulation: Whereas progress in any nation thrives on the rule of law, especially when in its formative years, I think he ended up on the extremes almost crossing to the point of using the law for individual or party benefit. This is especially so when he used to amend the law to curtail dissent. I disagree with this method because in my thinking, the law of any country is supposed to be representative of the citizens of that nation. Dissent could also be handled by verbal engagement.

d) A discussion bias: When Lee comes to discussing relations with other countries, he is not as balanced as he is when he discusses Singapore. He doesn’t hesitate to show his bias. When writing about Singapore, he moves from internal affairs, defence, economy, handling dissent, etc. However, when it comes to discussing other countries, he majorly discusses the strengths or weakness of their leaders, the policies and their mistakes. This only serves as a point of information, even for the Singaporean reader but does not in any way make relevant the topics he discusses in line with the intentions of educating the young Singaporeans.

e) Societal Code: Lee’s leadership involves a given approach that involves shaping the behaviour of society around a given value system. In Singapore, because of his staunch belief in Confucianism, which espouses Paternalism, he ended up viewing the nation solely from a Father’s eye going to great length to shape it according to that standpoint. The inability to employ restraint towards citizens usually led him to employ high handed methods to check disobedience. The effect of this is that people live in fear of the state. This is probably the reason why Singapore ranks a distant 40th on the Personal Freedom measure on the Legartum prosperity index. It may also explain why there was very little disagreement by his cabinet with many of the decisions he took. Confucian value system may find application in Asia where his target audience is but just a few principles from it can apply in Africa

f) Some Unsolved issues: In the beginning, Lee shows how he faced great opposition from the communists to the extent that he devoted an entire chapter (8) to them. They seemed to have bothered him a lot but though he says they self destructed, he did not show that it was the end of them. He says he cleared the decks for his successor but does not show that the communist problem was dead and buried. He says the opposition boycotted elections for a long time but does not clarify whether the communists were among them or not. For if they were among, they did not utterly self destruct.

        Principles for National Transformation:

To Lee’s credit, his book highlights many principles for National transformation. In parts of my submission, I have already highlighted a few. In this section, I shall supplement.

a) Excellent Organizational Skills: Lee’s leadership is one that demonstrates a leader with excellent organizational skills. From the beginning of his term (as early as the 1960’s), he set out to prepare for his exit and putting into motion a successor search. By the time of his death, instead of the economy sinking in the absence of the architect, it has built on where he left it. His ability to know the importance of recruit the right people for the right positions was also a very good organizing ability. This is a key National Transformation principle that guarantees long term stability and success

b) Personal and Collective responsibility: As already highlighted in my submission and in the book as well, Lee Kuan Yew exhibited a high level of personal and collective responsibility. He always reminded people, especially those who intended to shove Singapore over that he was, “Responsible for the welfare of two million people.” Even in his foreign policy, for example in ASEAN, Common Wealth,he did his best to always negotiate for a good deal for his country. In tackling corruption, he and his colleagues on assuming office made a decision to lead a clean government and punish severely any tendencies of corruption. These are principles of National Transformation that can be applied anywhere and change happens.

c) Curriculum for Transformation: National Transformation needs a vehicle and education is one of the most efficient means to have it realized by critical mass. It must be accessible to all. When Lee’s government discovered a challenge with the Malay Singaporean students when it came to arithmetic, a program was specially designed for them to bridge that gap. Even when Singaporean workers had a skills gap, the government had Foreign Corporations set up training places where they could access skills upgrade. This too is a vital principal for National Transformation it played a key role in providing a basis for excellence in output.

d) Compassion: Probably from a Fatherly or Confucian paradigm, Lee truly cared for his people and he was bold to intervene even in the most personal of matters. For example, any other leader could have overlooked a report which showed the anomalies in the marriages at the moment whereby Graduate men married less or non educated women, and Graduate women ended up unmarried. I believe it was out of compassion that he undertook to do something about it. I also think that out of compassion, he decided to work for a fair society for all despite being from a Chinese background that happened to be of a majority at some point in his leadership. Compassion is a key National transformation Principle that he employed

e) Rule of Law: The rule of and not by law is also important for National Transformation. Lee’s leadership gave a distinct mark to this aspect of society life demonstrating that everyone even the Prime Minister is under the law. His willingness to use court to challenge his opponents and to let the law seek out even friends caught up in offenses such as corruption is a good example of a Principle of National Transformation that was put in practice

f) Paradigm Shifts: One of the principles of Institute for National transformation is to make a case for a paradigm shift. Unless people’s perspectives change, national transformation cannot happen. Lee rightly applies this concept when he says that though “they had no experience how to govern, all they had was a burning desire to change an unfair and unjust system.” This determination provided ground for a case to make a shift in the system to a more acceptable, inclusive system.

g) Good to great Leadership Principles: Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great, identifies 3 principles that enable good to great performance which are Disciplined People, then Disciplined Thought and finally, Discipline Actions. These are also fundamentals for National Transformation. Lee Kuan Yew ably demonstrates them over the course of his leadership for example the Choice of his Cabinet was from disciplined people; handling the Media, tackling corruption, and habits such as spitting in public required disciplined thought and action.

                          Conclusion

In life, there are people who draw the line in the sand, and make a dare that their lives will count and they will be the change they want to see in society no matter the cost.

Then, there are those who stand on the fence, undecided, comfortable with the status quo as long as they get by. Lee Kuan Yew and his colleagues belong to the former class which despises the comfort of chain masters habitat, looks at the Horizon of National Transformation and sees freedom and prosperity but locked behind a gate labelled, “IMPOSSIBLE.” Together they all march to this Promised Land telling each other, “I’M POSSIBLE.” This book shows snippets of how they did it.




Bibliography

Jim Collins:
Good to great: Why some companies make the leap" and others don’t: Random house Business books: 2001

Mensa Otabil:
Buy the Future: Learning to negotiate for a future better than your present: Mattyson Media Company 2002

Sunday Adelaja:
Church Shift: Revolutionalizing your faith, Church and Life for the 21st Century: Charisma Media/ House Book Group: 2008

The Legartum Institute:
The 2014 Legartum Prosperitiy Index: www.prosperity.com

World Economic Forum:
Global Competitiveness Report 2014 – 2015: Full data Edition
www.biography.com/people/lee-kuan-yew-9377939