Upon returning from Shanghai recently, it is with great shock, sorrow and trepidation that I became aware of the brief announcement that MM Lee Kuan Yew and SM Goh Chok Tong were stepping down from parliament. Many of their statements and comments about how the younger voters deserve a fresher perspective pained me greatly. The negative feedback from the public was especially appalling, given that some of them were made without context and without acknowledging the sacrifices, hard work put in by these 2 senior leaders. I question the media's exaggerated portrayal of the ignorant young voters seriously. If the comments featured in the papers are reflective of the general sentiments, we have a crisis.
Given that the choice to retire by these 2 senior Singaporean leaders (collectively, they have served a total of over 80 years in office, more than 3 times my years on earth) reflects the official recognition that Singapore is in a phase of transition, I would like to introduce from personal experience the real face of global competition that is faced by my generation. I have always wondered what this term meant as it is a popular term bandied about by the media and government. To me, it was unsatisfactory, abstract and difficult to grasp. This is an attempt to give human faces to the largely anonymous and ambiguous term "global competition". I have worked with these individuals before briefly and I claim with a large degree of certainty that I am able to give a frank assessment of their capabilities.
In my personal experience, "global competition" is real and I have witnessed it first hand. They are smarter, more educated, more hardworking, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, willing to forgo pay in exchange for learning experiences, humble and willing to push themselves to learn. They have a strong environmental and social consciousness. They are concerned with health and personal development. They are religiously tolerant and are able to connect emotionally with people from various backgrounds. They might or might not have privileged backgrounds, but they are firmly able to contribute to any organization or enterprise based on their own merits. They effortlessly fit into several major cultural and business landscapes of the world, be it in the United States, Europe or Asia (I have not witnessed Latin America and Africa, hence, I am unable to make any comments). Many of them started running their own organizations or companies, while being a full-time student.
I shall start my introduction in chronological order. Although I have not sought the approval of these mentioned individuals, I believe that they will not take offense. I consider it a privilege to have worked with them (or currently still working) and I have personally learnt much from them. I can only hope that they have similar opinions about me. Where possible, I have included links to their online profiles. Of course, they are my friends, so I will be a bit biased =)
America
Caroline Howe
I got to know Caroline through environmental activities a few (4?) years ago. She's been based in India for the last few years, first starting with the Indian Youth Climate Network. Since then, she's been on an electric car roadtrip across India and has recently started a startup focusing on environmental solutions. Spunky, full of energy, genuinely warm and smart, she has been dynamic and driving the cause of environmentalism among youths, organizations and corporates. She works both locally (India) and globally, through her links with the United Nations and international youth networks.
Education: Yale
Domains of knowledge: Engineering, Environment, Organizational, Media, Policy, Awareness
Languages: English, French
Places: America, India
Australia
Jack Fuller
I met Jack around the same time as Caroline. He was kind of tall (compared to me.. short Asian guy), and funny in a quiet way. I am very happy that he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship recently. He has experience working in Germany (green politics) and East Timor (building sustainable gardens).
Education: Awarded Rhodes Scholarship (Oxford)
Domains of knowledge: Environmental politics, policy
Languages: English, German, Tetum (I had to google this.. the language used in East Timor)
Places: Australia, Germany, East Timor, Malaysia
China
Li Li
Li Li is another great friend. There's no need to introduce much about him, other than he headed a project to clean a river polluted by industrial sewage in his hometown, founded the largest youth climate network in China (China Youth Climate Action Network - http://www.cycan.org/) and has been working as a environmental consultant for several companies.
Education: Valedictorian (Outstanding Student Award), B. Eng, PLA Information Engineering University
Domains of knowledge: Information Engineering, Policy
Languages: English, Mandarin
Places: Zheng Zhou (Henan), Beijing, Shanghai, Indiana, Bangkok
Hungary
Pal Pastzrai
Pal came over to Singapore for exchange during his MBA programme. He also played waterpolo with the NUS Team and kicked our collective butts in the pool =) Don't mess with the Hungarians in waterpolo. They are unstoppable (although after drowning you, they are pretty friendly..) =)
I don't understand how he works on 4 hours of sleep everyday, while balancing studies, work and waterpolo trainings.
Education: CEMS Master's in International Management (Current), Corvinus Unversity of Budapest (best for Economics in Hungary)
Domains of knowledge: Corporate Finance, Strategic Management
Languages: Hungarian, English, French, Italian, Singlish =)
Places: Budapest, New York, London, Singapore
Thoughts
Four friends, unbelievable attitudes, great team players and leaders. They are all about 23 - 26, with much more experience than many of my peers. They have lived on at least 2 continents, 3 different countries and speak at least 2 languages. They are happy with being paid slightly lower or competitive market salaries, as long as there's learning opportunities and challenges (which, of course, being them, means that they want to lead, plan, manage and execute independent projects with real impact). There are many more friends with similar life stories, just that I've selected these few for brevity and breadth. They appreciate life, arts and music. They are humble and modest, many preferring to work in the background.
That is the global benchmark that is being set. I just hope I'm not too far from it.
Are we seriously that far from it? I doubt so. We possess a bilingual education, familiarity with both Western and Eastern cultures and a rigorous training. The hardware and training is there, but the crippling narrow-minded mindset, the audacity to take risks and the courage to uproot oneself into an unfamiliar environment is lacking. Can we break this national stranglehold on our imagination? Why are we limited unconsciously by our 710 sqm? We should at the very least, be active in SEA and Asia. We are more than able to live in any major city anywhere in the world, and be an global asset.
Why does the government want to attract global talent? Why do you think global talent attracts a premium? Well, if that global talent can speak 3 languages, has a network spanning 2 continents, works harder than you (12-hour days are normal), is better educated, is warm to people, open-minded, able to switch between different fields of knowledge effortlessly with actual execution expertise, is younger (has less liabilities), socially comfortable in different cultures and environments, why should that talent not get a premium? It's far cheaper to pay someone 1.5x the salary than hiring 2 people. While saving 0.5x the salary, that person may even generate more business through new ideas, contacts and knowledge sharing.
I hope that more people are aware of the global benchmark. From what I know of them, these friends are not stopping for a break. They are relentless.
