All in the family
know what the context is, to better understand why things are happening.”
Context is why Mike takes the time to read serious works. When I commended him for graduating at the top of his Civil Engineering class at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, he said, “I was a big fish in a small pond.”
“Gladwell?” I was referring to English-Canadian journalist Malcolm Gladwell’s book “David and Goliath,” which talks about top dogs and underdogs, big and small fish in small and big ponds. We segued into Gladwell’s ideas, and told him, “Mike, I have to tell the readers that you read Gladwell.”
He said, “Well, you can tell them that I read Kishore!”
The Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani is a former diplomat. I have read his incisive articles in Time, Newsweek, New York Times, but have yet to venture into his books.
“Read his books!” Mike was emphatic. “Singaporean diplomats are pragmatic. They don’t take sides, whether for or against China, the US... They analyze things in context.”
Pay your dues
Mike the history buff was a revelation, but Mike the engineer I know well. We both love the TV comedy “Big Bang Theory,” especially the character Sheldon, arguably the nerdiest of them all.
When I complained that Beijing pollution triggered my asthma, Mike uttered one word: “coal.” Then he explained a particular method of burning coal that produces air particles so minute that they remain suspended in the atmosphere.
Engineering for Mike is the ideal background for any field. “After you learn engineering, everything else is easier. In UBC in my time, the top students were from engineering.”
Mike and wife Angeline’s children are doing well in school, something Mike attributes to his wife’s parenting (a story in itself).
“I remind my children that they should study hard, and that a good education is one thing I can give them. We never know what is going to happen next. My father used to tell us that nothing is certain in life, that we should not take things for granted. I want my kids to be able to stand on their own.”
Would he force his children into the family business? “No. If they want to, but it’s still best to work outside, for other people, first.”
To the younger generation working in family businesses, Mike advised, “Pay your dues. Be patient. You can’t expect to become the head instantly. Contribute your ideas first.”
Mike’s dearest wish? His answer was wistful: “A quiet life.”
And his father? “Beside him, I pale in comparison.” We’ll take that in context. Next week: House of Hilton Queena N. Lee-Chua is on the board of Ateneo de Manila University’s Family Business Development Center. E-mail her at blessbook.chua@gmail.com.