Key Lessons Learned from Singapore

While I was in Singapore, I discovered there are tons of things and strategies I could learn from them. Here are a few of my favorites.

Singapore is the best when it comes to maintenance

Just like in management, where you've got planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, I think Singapore totally nails planning and controlling. Take trees, for example they're always trimming, shaping, and making them grow nicely. And then there are things like zebra crossings and buildings , they repaint them whenever the colors start to fade. For buildings, they repaint every five years, and the residents even get to vote on the colors they want. This is how they keep the country in check.

Singapore makes it challenging to discourage actions

Yes, this one really blows my mind. On my first day in Singapore, I went to Lot One Mall and bought a t-shirt. After that, the staff asked if I wanted a plastic bag. I said "Yes," and then found out I had to pay extra for it. Every shop does this here. I asked my aunt about it, and she told me they want people to use less plastic. If the bags were free, everyone would take them. By charging for them, not everyone will grab one.

Other things, like cigarettes, vapes, and PK, are the same way. In Singapore, you can find them, but they're really hard to get, and you have to show some documents when you buy cigarettes.

After dealing with these situations, I figured out that making things a bit tricky is the way to go if you don't want to give something away easily.

Embrace Diversity

In Singapore, they have a system where they make sure there's a mix of different people, like how many Indians or Malaysians can live in one area. They don't let one group dominate or all live together in one spot. It's a really smart and fascinating idea. In HDB, they also have proportions for how many percent are Chinese, as well as Indian, Malaysian, and others. The cute thing is that Chinatown and Little India are only 1 MRT stop apart.

They value natural resources.

Everyone knows that Singapore is the greenest city in the world because they truly value trees and always ensure they thrive. Wherever there is space, they plant trees, even at Changi Airport. People can be fined for picking flowers, taking leaves without permission, or stepping on the grass in certain areas.

I have so many things I like about the system in Singapore. Here are the top points. Seeing and staying in Singapore inspires my country, Myanmar, to develop more and more. It's sad to see how many steps we are behind. When our country becomes prosperous, we must learn from Singapore in this regard.

Do you like anything about Singapore? Feel free to share in the comment section.