Front Row Bulletin #5 (Listening, China, Bourdain)

Snap Insight Of The Week

I had the privilege of interviewing the sitting Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Professor Danny Quah.

He posits that seeing the world as a marketplace rather than a purely anarchic environment is a better mental model.

This way, we can find new ways to escape the Thucydides Trap.

Small countries like Singapore can make a meaningful difference in setting agendas, solving niche problems, and creating alliances.

Being a price-taker should be the last resort.

If we apply strategic thinking and exercise great initiative, we can manage the ill effects of great power rivalry and, in some cases, harness it for the greater good of humanity.

Watch the full interview here:

Reads Of The Week

The Shape Of A Listener by James Somers

We are all told to be better listeners.

But what does that mean?

What I like about Somers’ essay is that he invites you to think about what kind of conversation do you want to tease out of others as a listener.

Different folks, different strokes.

He recounts how he talks differently based on who is listening to him.

Michael, fluent in most of my intellectual interests, is great for helping me feel out ideas. Rob gets me spilling insecurities. I have a friend, Carey, who leaves me thinking I’m inarticulate and wrong. With Nikhil I talk slow and philosophical. I get Seinfeldian with Matt. I spout bullshit with Sanders. There is a guy at work who encourages me to improv. An old roommate, Andy, always had me explaining things I didn’t understand well enough to explain. Drew gets my polemical side going. I’m made to feel young when I talk to my older brothers, and wise when I talk to my older friends. I’m at my most charming in the company of my good friends’ girlfriends.

He speaks based on the shape of his listener.

As a professional podcaster now, I want my guests to feel like a teacher. They should be able to share their best ideas in a way that reaches the public.

My Book Notes on Keyu Jin’s New China Playbook

I highly recommend this book if you want to understand China as it is, not as you want it to be.

(My book notes should encourage you to buy or at least read the book?)

Here is a short discussion from my notes on the entrepreneurial state:

The story of Singapore’s economic miracle would be incomplete without discussing its trade and FDI promotion agency, the Economic Development Board (EDB). It was instrumental in helping Singapore ‘terraform’ itself to suit investors’ needs and purposes.

In China, it’s the mayors who play this role.

Prof Jin cited the success story of Kunshan, which, trapped between Shanghai and Suzhou (with no way to compete for US and European FDI in the early days), decided to reinvent itself as a niche market for wealthy Taiwanese investors.

To do so, it initiated a wide range of business-friendly policies, including financial and fiscal support, land leases, one-stop license applications, and lower thresholds for capital. In addition, it adopted a tough no-tolerance policy on corruption. As a result, Taiwanese investors felt both sought after and safe.

(something not too far off from Singapore’s approach)

The reason why you have such entrepreneurial mayors is that they are often politically incentivized to achieve economic growth by scoring well on performance metrics like GDP growth in their evaluations and prospects for promotion.

Hanoi by Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain recounts the extraordinary experience of sharing a meal with then-President Barack Obama at a modest bun cha restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The meal was notable for its setting—a no-frills, family-run eatery in Hanoi’s Old Quarter—and for the candid and unguarded conversation shared over pork and noodles. Obama, relaxed despite the pressures of being President (and offing an adversary in Pakistan), spoke as a father, a fellow Southeast Asia enthusiast, and a street food lover, reminiscing about his youthful experiences in Indonesia and Hawaii.

As I dug into Bourdain's rabbit hole of food adventures, I was struck by how much Bourdain respected Southeast Asia for its culinary heritage and culture. His thought that it was entirely appropriate that a sitting US president indulge in Bun Cha, of all foods, was a sign of his deep commitment to showcasing authentic, unpretentious, local cuisines.

It is a huge pity we lost Bourdain too soon.

May the sun shine upon your face,

Keith