Swiss

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Risk DoctrineNo Cross-Pledging of Crown Jewels

Signature MoveDeals Hated, Strategy Loved

Signature MoveNever Run Out of Cheque-Writing Time

Relationship LeverageShare the Pie to Keep the Table

Strategic PatternEcho Bay Model Then Surpass It

Signature MoveKlosters Mountain as Strategic War Room

Identity & CultureRefugee Hunger as Permanent Engine

Cornerstone MoveWritten Memo Then Unanimous Sign-Off

Identity & CultureReturn to Canada Only With Success

Cornerstone MoveBuy Producing Assets at Cycle Bottom, Never Explore

Signature MoveTrust Mining Operators Then Stay Away

Operating PrincipleFocus as Compensation for Ordinary Talent

Cornerstone MoveBorrow Against the Asset to Buy the Asset

Decision FrameworkGeopolitical Disruption as Buy Signal

Strategic PatternScarcity Premium as Entry Signal

Signature MoveControl Without Majority Ownership

Identity & CultureCompetition as Survival Doctrine

Signature MoveCivil Servant Pay Tracks Private Sector Pain

Decision FrameworkIdeals Subordinate to Wealth-Creation Laws

Signature MoveSafety Net Without Dependency Trap

Cornerstone MoveInvert the Third-World Playbook

Signature MoveObservations Override Ideology Every Time

Cornerstone MoveExport the Model as Influence Multiplier

Operating PrincipleMeritocracy Over Electoral Democracy

Strategic PatternShorten the Learning Process

Signature MoveDetail to Doctrine — Incident First, Principle Second

Primary Evidence

"200 GOLDEN PHOENIX clippings, whatever is important. I have breakfast at eight in the morning and my Swiss secretary brings in all the faxes. I have my coffee and I go through: it all, and I give her dictation or instructions and reply to the faxes. Then I leave to go up the mountain for skiing at nine or nine-thirty."

Source:The Golden Phoenix : A Biography of Peter Munk

"Despite everything, one cannot help but see astonishing convergences with the German model and its Rhineland capitalism associated with the demanding solidarity developed by Gerhard Schroeder. These traits are also found in every Swiss canton. Their prosperity is enabled by an extraordinary industrial fabric open to the world, but they know that the world is dangerous. Under these conditions, one must be united and work hard, very hard! (The Swiss recently rejected the fifth week of paid vacation, arguing that the rise of the Swiss franc prohibited them from working less.)"

Source:Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore and the Renewal of China

Appears In Volumes

The Golden Phoenix : A Biography of Peter Munk Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore and the Renewal of China