One of the examples that was highlighted by Alan Greenspan, on whether an economic model works was his example of East Germany vs West Germany.  Germany was divided into two countries at the end of World War II, and at that time, they were 2 economies that were not only roughly at the same stage of development, but these were two countries with the same history, culture and language.

Roughly 45 years passed, and the Iron curtain fall, and it was noted that the standard of living in East Germany was roughly only about a third now of West Germany. 

If you think that roughly both sides citizens started off with the same economic footing and potential, it shows that the economic or business model, and the macro management of resources ( central planning vs. market based) matters.

Ditto with management …. I guess the vision, and the motivation that you can inspire, as well as your understanding of your business model and its direction, matters.

As Asians, which notably has a longer history over Westerns, ( and not having much on the present compared to them), we have always been encouraged to looked back at our long and distinguished history as the source of pride and ‘learning’.  There has always been an emphasis on understanding who ‘we’ are.

I was going over Newsweek Sept 24, when 2 quotes ( seemingly paradoxical) was put in the same page.  One was by Winston Churchill which quotes. ” The further backward you look, the further forward you can see.”

The other was by Alan Agreenspan who enthused, ” If you try to preserve the past, you will not be able to produce the future.”