On Using Advisers.

Using advisers is nothing new in the practice of leadership. Advisers are used as a counter balance to modify our subjective assessments. Although proclaimed as objective, in the end our thoughts on something, are subjective. They are invariably coloured by our personal nuances and prejudices.

So we need a view from a second party- to provide a second opinion. Hence using advisers is not bad idea. Provided of course, we are not overwhelmed by the advice given by advisers. Some leaders like the Pahang MB has a natural and almost instinctive aversion to advisors. Advisors always give the wrong advise, he would protest.

When Tun Razak started the operations room to monitor economic progress of each district in Malaysia, he modelled it after the military operations centre. He was an admirer of Sir Gerald Templer, who contained the communist threat in Malaya. He has an English advisor who had joined the Malaysian Civil Service. The chap’s name was C.G Furguson. But Tun Razak was never overwhelmed by Furguson, and Furguson too played his role as – adviser and did not harbour any imperial motives.

Tun Mahathir had his advisors on many aspects of economic development. He consulted Ken Ohmae, a leading theorist on Strategy and Economics. Sakmongkol is sure Tun Mahathir availed himself to many more consultants and advisors. But Tun was never overwhelmed and the advisors knew their place.

Pak Lah, in principle was correct in having his panel of advisers. The bunch of highly intelligent young chikus who are well textbookread. Being young and brash, they probably lacked the finesse in dealing with the real world. Tasting unbridled power for the first time, or a sense of being all powerful, they made the mistake of assuming imperial postures. Second mistake- Pak Lah was overwhelmed.

You see, having advisors is nothing wrong provided you have the smarts not to e overwhelmed. Meaning, you yourself have to be of some grey matter material.

Now, our incoming PM has been warned on the perils of having his own 4^th floor intellectual ogres. Does Najib have the intellectual firewall not be overwhelmed?

Sakmongkol has been very critical of the incoming PM. Even when sakmongkol was impaled by his own blackdog days, he has stopped short of saying Najib is a thicky. Sakmongkol believes that the incoming PM has the wherewithal to hold the lapdogs at bay. Allow sakmongkol to illustrate.

Many years ago, once in the incoming PM’s house at Jalan Duta, sakmongkol stumbled upon a partly read book by Francis Fukuyama on a sofa in the house. The incoming PM was reading the thoughts of Fukuyama which is one of his(Najib’s) favourite authors. He is also at home with current thinkers on management. We would be hard-pressed to locate any of the people within the current leadership who can talk and discuss blue ocean strategy. Once at his office in MINDEF, the incoming PM spoke to Sakmongkol about a management book he was reading. Sakmogkol had to hide his sheepish uneasiness for being one step behind our incoming PM.

So what can we make of the incoming PM? With a reading repertoire ranging from Fukuyama to Blue ocean Strategy, Sakmongkol believes he has the intellectual fortitude to ward of the intellectual lapdogs. Just like Tun M.