Mr Kouta Matsuda
Founder, Tully’s Coffee Japan
Wednesday, 31 October 2007

World Economic Forum Young Global Leader 2007 Kouta Matsuda lists having a clear vision as an important leadership quality. He says the ability to share this vision and to communicate it to the rest of the team is essential. With shared vision everyone will work towards meeting the specific targets which a leader must set in order to achieve the vision, Mr Matsuda explains.

He believes that above all, a leader must be passionate about his vision, his projects.

Mr Matsuda amply illustrates this point through his narratives on his experience in establishing Tully's Coffee Japan.

With little money and no experience in running a food-retail business, but with passion and tenacity and conviction, Mr Matsuda embarked on the first step to a multimillion dollar business by convincing Mr Tom Tully O'Keefe, the founder of Seattle-based Tully's Coffee Corporation to let him open a store in Japan, and laid the groundwork for what was to become the only viable rival to Starbucks Coffee in Japan.

When faced with major challenges, Mr Matsuda did not shy away. He boldly took the tough decisions because he was convinced they were the right ones; he challenged standard practices, and implemented creative, innovative solutions to obstacles that he faced.  

He was his store's first employee, working 18-hour shifts. He slept there. He knew the operation of the store thoroughly. He transformed from a person who “didn't like coffee” to a walking encyclopaedia of all things coffee. He did it all, because he was passionate about his dream. 

Mr Ho Kwon Ping
Executive Chairman
Banyan Tree Holdings Limited
Friday, 13 July 2007

Mr Ho Kwon Ping defines a leader as one who is able to “transform other people's anxieties and fears into hope.”

True leadership embodies transformational, transcendental, and consensual qualities.

In Mr Ho's account of his own leadership experience, it is clear that his beliefs and values are consistently followed through and applied in Banyan Tree's business - from the conceptualisation of the products to the service delivery: the care for the environment, creating jobs for local villagers, customer care, etc. 

Using Banyan Tree's experience, Mr Ho explained how business people can transform anxieties of others into hope.

Banyan Tree's business is a source of livelihood to scores of villagers in the places it operates. Mr Ho's leadership inspires these villagers, through their employment in Banyan Tree, to find a way to improve their livelihood.

Mr Ho believes that in every organisation, there must be leaders at all levels who have a transcendental quality to change lives even in the most mundane ways. 

Mr Ho recounted with openness and candour his personal journey of self-discovery and the importance of being true to values. A leader has a high degree of knowledge about himself. He has to be comfortable about aloneness. He must know himself through and through.

A leader goes about doing what he needs to do with clarity, objectivity and not with a lot of turmoil that speaks of a person who does not know himself. 

Mr Ho’s advice to all who are placed in leadership positions: We got to be true to ourselves. We need to really know what our strengths and weaknesses are. Only then can we be happy and perform to our full potential.

Recognise the importance of self-reflection and being honest to oneself. Spend time to know ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, have a sense of purpose for what we are doing.

Ms Yong Ying-I
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health
Wednesday, 24 January 2007

In her talk entitled “The Leader in You, Leadership at all Levels,” Ms Yong shared her insights and perspectives on leadership from her journey through the ranks of the civil service working with and bringing out the best in talents at all levels.

Ms Yong reflected on the changing attributes of leaders: Leadership is not measured by position but by capabilities and attitudes. She believes in “leadership of the heart, as opposed to leadership of the head” for emotions she explained strengthened leadership capabilities.