2/06/2012

A great leader without ideas

Can a leader be great without ideas? Not exactly that they are dumb otherwise they would not be great leaders. They have ideas but their ideas may not work at all. They could be great being just a leader, to be able to move the masses with him through their oratory skills and leadership. Mao Tse Tung was a great leader in unifying China. His developmental and economic ideas or non ideas were simply disastrous. China was lucky that there were so many other able leaders to do the right things and chart the right course for the country. If China was to follow Mao’s economic development ideas, China would still be a poor third world country.

So was Winton Churchill. He was a leader at the right time to provide the motivation to a Britain at war. The British saw a hope through him. He rallied the people to fight the Germans. He appeared bigger than life. Once the war was over, he faded away like a pedestrian. There was no idea for the rebuilding of Britain coming from him in a way. He was there for a moment, for a purpose.

Many big personalities, including dictators, have lived through history but were bankrupt of ideas to bring a better life for country and people and eventually led to their own downfall, a breakdown of the country and law and order. The only good ideas they had were self preservation, preservation of power and wealth for their families.

The citizens, especially in a democracy, must be able to decipher the ideas of their leaders. Some leaders were fortunate to have good lieutenants to provide them the ideas to carry through. And their apparent emptiness in good ideas could have gone unnoticed or concealed for years without the people knowing. As long as the good lieutenants are around to run the show and the leaders continue to talk, motivate and lead, things can look really good, because the ideas were really good.

The lack of good lieutenants will surface eventually like seeing the rock when the tide subsided. But this takes time and sometimes it seems to be forever. The people can put in some effort to revise their history and look at the ideas that really originated from the leaders and not from their lieutenants and compare their results. Without doing a little homework, many of the good works and ideas of the lieutenants could be mistakenly seen as the ideas of the leaders that really have no good ideas. And it can be worst, some only had bad ideas, ideas that have been proven wrong time and time again.

The people must not be daft but be critical and discriminating of the ideas from their leaders. Do not be misled or misguided by leaders with no ideas or no good ideas, or only bad ideas. Only time will tell the truth.

18 comments:

  1. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-singapore-politicstre81402l-20120204,0,1679779.story

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  2. Out of this world salary better deliver out of this world solution. Otherwise a big farce.

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  3. This is a person who spoke up - too bad he was only one of the few good men.

    http://singsupplies.com/showthread.php?109589-1984-Parliamentary-debate-revisited-Dr-Toh-lambasted-Cabinet-Minister-on-trying-to-d

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  4. haha.. woody was taken apart on this one. But alas, woody has been the chosen one by the emporer , despite TCC's laser sharp critism , woody went on to be the seat warmer.

    http://singsupplies.com/showthread.php?109584-1983-Parliamentary-debate-revisited-Dr-Toh-blasted-Goh-Chok-Tong-on-Medisave-scheme

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  5. Instant TREES and instant FT(Trash) looks good for cosmetics.

    When the storms arrive, the TREES will just fall, and the FT will be blown away or running away, when will the OLD and not so OLD Farts see the problem.... import more and more problems will be created.... Inorganic growth will choke all of us, the bottleneck will ensure alot of dead daft Sinkies.

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  6. Looking at the parliament excerpts from the past... really wonder why our current opp lacks so much teeth ??? what happened???? If TCC can raise such laser sharp points in parliament against the cabal . our Opp should all the more do much much better ! Come on !

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  7. What are the credit/discredit of Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Rajaratnam, Hon Sui Sen, Lim Kim San, Goh Chok Tong, Lee Hsien Loong, Wong Kan Seng, Mah Bow Tan, Ng Eng Hen ....what good policies and bad policies that can be attributed to them?

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  8. A great leader without good ideas is like a Chinese lantern.

    Big & impressive when seen from far away.
    But upon close inspection;
    mostly hollow with a lot of hot air coming out from the top.

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  9. A cuntry and its sheeple only require leadership in times of crisis -- like war or natural disaster.

    At all other times there is no need for "leadership". Everyone is an individual and in-charge of their own existence.

    The best thing a leader could do is not to lead, to leave people alone to work out their problems and issues between themselves and also to do great things.

    Good leaders shut the fuck up. No ideas required.

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  10. Good leaders keep pets and stroke their hair

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  11. and get pets impregnated

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  12. The opening of old wounds to reveal open sores can be infectious and contagious.

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  13. Wow. That would be so fantastic if that comes true.

    Nothing like ancient Asian hatreds, brewing and festering for decades, only to erupt with vile putridness, emotional toxicity and carcinogenic ill-will.

    Damn shiok to watch lah.

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  14. We need the population to grow to sell more 'new cars, new stereos, new computers, new iPhones, iPads, new clothes, and fine dining'....

    Is that the reason to import more immigrants and the accompanying high cost of living and social problems?

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  15. yeah man, we need your babies to buy house, buy cars, do NS man!

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  16. Come on!

    You certainly dont want all the shops and biznesses to go under auction, do You?

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  17. Well said, indeed.

    - $8 heart surgery in Class A ward for ex-Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan in May 2010 under Medishield whilst National Scheme that Khaw designed as MOH Civil Servant has min $1000 Deductibles per policy year and 10% Co-Insurance even for Class C ward

    - Graduate Mum Scheme

    - Ministerial Pay pegged to Top 48

    - CPF Minimum Sum Scheme frozen at 55 and drawable at 65

    - Foreign Talent Policy with 1mn population increase every decade (4mn in 2000, 5mn in 2010)

    - Integrated Resorts approval, banning free shuttle bus shortly after opening but now with Circle Line station almost in IR lobby in 2012

    - Ministers withOUT Portfolios in PMO (7 pre-GE, now 2 post-GE)

    - Elected Presidency who can only speak as advised by the Cabinet

    - HDB Lift Upgrading Priority tied to PAP Votes

    - HDBers (whether direct or resale) can flip public flats or buy private residential properties after a mere 5 years

    - .... the list goes on and on.

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