18 December 2017

Former head of civil service Lim Siong Guan has stated that in order to ensure Singapore’s continued success, we need to groom people to embrace innovation and inculcate the willingness to go beyond one’s comfort zones.

Such a robust and forward looking mindset is needed in order to meet the challenges of the new economy.

In the past, Singapore succeeded based on values such as industry, trust, reliability and sound governance. A crucial pillar was the rule of law and the predictability of government policies including the ability to take a long term view.

As we move forward as a country, innovation, excellence and outwardness will also be needed and these values will command a premium in the new economy.

In Mr Lim’s own words, “What I am talking about is a need for a culture of innovation. By culture, I mean the spirit of innovation to be an integral part of our character and personality as a nation and a society.”

One example Mr Lim gives is Singapore’s obsession with academic grades and awards.

But he said, “(If) we want people to be innovative, which requires them to try more and to learn from failure, we have to recognise people for their effort and not only for their success — have they tried their best in exercising their talents and abilities is the critical question, and not whether they got the gold medal.”