Public Service Maverick

The management style of one of Singapore’s prominent non-political nation builders is examined in the biography Neither Civil Nor Servant – The Philip Yeo Story.

- Anne Loh

Former EDB chairman Philip Yeo played a pivotal role in Singapore’s development from Third World to First through his work in the military, economic and biomedical fields. Known for making things happen at breakneck speed during his four decades in public service, he gained a reputation as an outspoken maverick who nevertheless got things done, from jump-starting industries to talent recruitment. He created Jurong Island for the energy and chemical industry by reclaiming seven islands; started MNC-sponsored EDB scholarships as an ongoing means to replace EDB officers; corralled the best brains of the country into A*star (Agency for Science, Technology and Research); and spearheaded biomedical research by attracting international pharmaceuticals to do their R&D in Singapore. The following edited excerpt from Neither Civil Nor Servant – The Philip Yeo Story sheds light on his leadership style.

What is the rationale behind your firing-squad approach to managers? 

Like Dr Goh (Keng Swee), I don’t believe people can change. So the best way to change an organisation is to burn it down and start afresh. That means I sack the whole lot of managers. In every organisation, there are three types of people: the emperors at the top, the workers at the bottom, and the eunuchs in the middle. The ruler says, “I want my pyramid,” and the workers are the people who build it. The eunuchs are the ones who shuffle papers. They don’t do any real work. Their objectives are to keep the emperor happy. How to do that? Keep the emperor entertained or distract him with other preoccupations. Eunuchs destroy empires. It was true in China and also in the West. The Ottoman Empire was brought down by eunuchs too. All they did was create problems between the emperors and the commanders who did real work out in the battlefields.