Member of Parliament and CEO of Spire Research and Consulting Leon Perera was one of the interviewees of The Business Times on August 6, for its column Navigating the Future. The question that Mr. Perera, among others, answered was, “As the country turns 53, what do you think is one trait that Singapore society should cultivate more of?”
Mr. Perera’s response: At 53, the one trait Singapore needs more of is confidence. Confidence means not allowing our fears of the worst-case scenario to inhibit us from dreaming of a better life and a better home, nor of taking intelligent risks to pursue those dreams to the fullest extent possible. Confidence means not allowing our familiarity with past success to blind us to the need for fresh thinking and even the reversal of tried-and-tested past strategies where the facts justify it. Confidence means cultivating trust in our fellow Singaporeans to be good citizens and good stewards of Singapore’s business, social and cultural eco-system – because expecting more from one another can beget better outcomes from all.
Mr. Perera believes that Singapore can develop a culture of confidence, and that risk-taking characterized by intelligence is crucial as the country steps takes the next steps into its future. He also emphasized that successes in the past must not prevent one from out-of-the box ways of thinking, as well as trying out new approaches.
For Mr. Perera, conference also means the development of trust among fellow Singaporeans, as well as the expectation of more from each other.
International business research and consulting agency Spire Research and Consulting began in 2000 for the purpose of addressing a gap in the research and consulting industry amongst global emerging markets. The company focuses on research projects that are holistic.
As CEO of Spire Group, Mr. Perera has 20 years worth of experience in research and consulting in various emerging markets throughout Asia. He also has much experience in business planning, specifically in conomic and macro-environmental analysis.
A recognized expert on issues of market growth, Mr. Perera is often invited as a speaker in different events in Singapore as well as in other countries, and is regularly interviewed by media outfits both in print and on television, such as TODAY, The Straits Times, Channel NewsAsia, USA Today and BBC World.