The Perils of a Bad Leader

Few people like to be called to stand in for a speaker for a few minutes.  As many of us have noted, on average, people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death.  That means, at a funeral, many of us would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy.  That is a problem. 

Brian Tracy, the famous self-development author, said, “Leaders think and talk about the solutions.  Followers think and talk about the problems.” 

I take it a step further.  Visionary leaders do not see challenges as problems, but as opportunities.  If we had no problems, we would have no opportunities.  There has to be a gap in demand for us to grow markets.  There has to be an inadequacy in service, for us to provide it.  There has to be some dissatisfaction for other people to step in.  That last one would also explain infidelity rates in some places. 

Bad leadership tells us we have problems.  Worse leadership tells us we are the problem.  Good leadership understands that these are opportunities, and believes that people.  In that same vein, I believe in you, and that is why I am here.  I believe that when we come together, we can overcome our fears.  That is why I am neither in the coffin yet, nor am I giving a eulogy.  It would be terrifying if the person in the coffin were giving the eulogy.

Speech Endorsing a Merger: The Benefits of Change

The following is a short speech I gave about the benefits of a merger. 

Warren Gamaliel Bennis, the pioneer of the field of leadership studies, said, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” 

A company merger is sort of like a marriage, but for a purpose, not love.  After all, love is blind, but marriage is a real eye opener.  We come into this with our eyes open.  We come into this knowing that there will be changes, challenges, chances, and we will either succeed, or fall and try again, and succeed.  Why?  Because we have a vision. 

A vision, by itself, is not inherently special.  We are all capable of dreams, of planning, of forecasting.  But it takes leadership to turn all that into reality.  It is not hope.  Hope alone is the denial of reality.  Mere plans are figures drawn in the sand – easily changed when the wind blows.  All that is the hallmark of bad leadership, petty management, and myopic vision. 

True leadership, however, is the iron of resolve, the discipline of adhering to the plan, the objectivity of never mistaking the journey for the destination.  And in that journey together, we will be the change we see in ourselves, to be better.  Otherwise, the truth of our failure would hurt, but not as much as jumping on a bicycle with the seat missing.

Two Perspective on Leading Group Work

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German statesman and philosopher, said, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of being.” 

There are two ways to look at committees and group work.  On one hand, it is an insurance policy.  When there is a group involved in an endeavour, it spreads the blame.  No one person is responsible for failure, any more than no single drop of water feels that it is responsible for the flood.  But that is a cynical, sad way of understanding group work.  Rather, we recognise that this is an opportunity for all of us, of diverse disciplines and capabilities, to come together, and be part of a collective greater than the sum of its parts.  Whether the group is the first type, or the second, comes down to one person – the leader. 

Leadership is an intrinsic skill.  Management involves the juggling of resources, and people and their skills, are a resource.  Leadership is that, but paired with a vision.  When there is no common vision, there is only division.  That is when the committee, the group, the whole, devolves into factions.  So we have to decide, and step up, if necessary.  In the second case, there is success.  And in the first, as the old saying goes, the faeces may hit the fan, but it will not be evenly distributed.

Quora Answer: What Do Singaporeans Think of AUKUS?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “What do Singaporeans think of AUKUS?” 

From a Singapore perspective, it has negligible impact.  The manner in which Australia conducted its business, and the subsequent drama with France was entertaining.  It does not look well on the current Morrison administration.  It was clumsy, it was without though to the consequence of future relationship with Europe and other allies.  It tells us that Australia cannot be fully trusted to keep to long-term agreements. 

The Australian government has been under pressure on a lot of issues, from non-action in climate change, to the refugee policy, to the COVID-19 strategy.  Scott John Morrison was desperate for anything to show the electorate that they are tough on security to detract from their failures in domestic issues.  For a potential sort-term electoral gain, Australia essentially threw away a trade deal with the European Union.  The next few rounds of negotiations will be tough. 

Those nuclear submarines will not be deployed within the decade.  There is no immediate security impact.  I have some scepticism on the viability of this pivot to nuclear submarines because Australia does not have an existing domestic nuclear energy industry.  Let alone submarines, Australia does not have any of the supporting infrastructure.  All that billions needed to develop that infrastructure must come from somewhere, and the next government might not be brave enough to cut the budget elsewhere to fund this.  After all that fanfare, it might not even take off. 

We must also consider the use of nuclear submarines as opposed to the diesel submarines Australia now fields.  Diesel submarines are far quieter, and more useful for ambush from among the reefs on enemy shipping.  Nuclear submarines are larger, noisier, and are meant for offensive operations, not defensive.  This means a change in doctrine.  Where are they going to deploy them?  They are not going to sit in the Coral Sea.  They are meant to patrol the South China Sea.  That means forward basing arrangements closer to the area of operation, which means concluding an agreement with Singapore for logistics. 

Australia is heavily dependent on the Chinese economy to buy her products.  A confrontational stance with China does not actually benefit Australia.  The US and the UK are too far away to be useful in every regional confrontation, and they are not going to take up any fall off in trade with China. 

In summary, the current Australian administration did this for immediate domestic reasons, not long-term strategic concerns.  They compromised their relationship with the European Union and France for this, and they are not able to field these submarines anytime soon.  It will cost more money than any future government might be willing to pay.  After all that fanfare, we will wait and see if those submarines are every fielded in numbers enough to make it worth the while.

Quora Answer: Do Financial Advisors Help with Retirement Planning?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Do financial advisors help with retirement planning?” 

A major part of financial planning is retirement planning.  It would be terrible to outlive our income and spend our twilight years with a reduced standard of living, or worse, in penury.  Retirement planning is best done as early as possible, so that there is a longer horizon to make course corrections, and survive the cycles of the market.

Quora Answer: Are Financial Advisers Fiduciaries?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Are all financial advisers and financial planners fiduciaries?” 

A fiduciary puts the interest of their clients before their own, in a legally binding agreement.  They are required to prevent a conflict of interest between the fiduciary and the principal.  Depending on the relationship between the financial consultant and the principal, the financial consultant may or may not be a fiduciary. 

In a legal context, a financial advisor actually refers to the legal entity, not the person.  The person is a financial consultant, or may have some other title, although the job description is essentially the same. 

In a brokerage or independent financial advisor, the financial consultant represents the client, which is an outright fiduciary arrangement.  In a tied agency agreement, the relationship is more nuanced.  The financial consultant represents the principal to the client first, although there are some fiduciary responsibilities.  This applies to financial consultants working for insurers, banks and fund houses, regardless of their title.  They are still bound by confidentiality clauses, and relating ethical guidelines.

Quora Answer: Can a Small Company Issue Bonds?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Can a small company issue bonds?”

A small company could conceivably issues bonds, and there is nothing stopping it.  The issue here is whether those bonds would have any rating?  They are more likely to be junk status, and there is unlikely to be much demand for those bonds.  Since the intent is to raise funds, it would be more likely that the company arranges financing through the sale of an equity stake or from a loan.