Knowing when to exit

Like a domino, unpopular governments are falling one by one throughout the Arab world, with Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali the first to go after 23 years in power, followed by Hosni Mubarak of Egypt who inevitably had to give up power with the tide of protests denouncing his 31-year rule. The unrest continues in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya, whose strongman Muammar Gaddafi has defiantly said he will fight to the last drop of his blood despite the escalating wave of demonstrations that may turn into a bloody civil war.

Ben Ali was forced to flee while Mubarak relinquished power to the military albeit reluctantly, but it seems very likely that Gaddafi  who has ruled since 1969 when as a young military captain, he led a two-hour, bloodless coup against the unpopular monarch King Idris  would most likely leave Libya in a coffin. From being a revolutionary icon, Gaddafi had become a loathed tyrant  a fate that seems to befall leaders who overstay in power and refuse to acknowledge that their time is up. It did not help either that “the mad dog of the Arab world” (as the late US president Ronald Reagan called Gaddafi) has developed a negative reputation with his eccentricities becoming legendary, surrounding himself with female bodyguards (called the Green Nuns) or lying for hours on the floor of his office.

The recent events in the Arab world simply confirm the fact that one cannot remain in power forever and must know when it’s time to exit. As my political science professor once said, “Always remember, absolutely no one is indispensable  whether you are a CEO, a great boxer, a politician or most of all, a leader of a country.” Unfortunately, history is replete with examples of leaders who failed to see the signs of the times and even if they did, refused to step down. “The worst thing a person can do,” my professor also said, “is to think that the world revolves around him or worse, that he alone is God’s gift to his country.”

Mubarak was an extremely popular figure whose skill as a fighter pilot helped restore Egyptian national pride when they recovered Sinai in 1973 after the drubbing Egypt received during the six-day war with Israel in 1967. After being appointed Air Force chief, he became vice president and rose to power when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. A Middle Eastern diplomat who had met Mubarak many times disclosed to us that had the Egyptian leader stepped down 10 years ago, he would have been considered a hero and definitely remained a respected statesman.

The world is filled with good men with good intentions but when one loses sight of the bigger picture in life and begins to believe that he alone has a monopoly for love of country or worse, believes he is God’s gift to mankind  then we have a problem. Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for more than 30 years, started out on a good note with his “New Order” administration, establishing peace after 500,000 people were killed in a chaotic coup against Bung Sukarno. But towards the end, his reign was marred by corruption, nepotism and brutality  which ultimately led to his resignation amid political desertions and nationwide rioting and protests from a highly dissatisfied citizenry. In 1979, people close to President Ferdinand Marcos were urging him to prepare for his exit after he was diagnosed with a degenerative kidney disease. Even Ninoy Aquino, who while in the US was ostensibly briefed by the CIA about Marcos’ health, wrote a “Dear Brod” letter to Marcos which he sent through his compadre Enrique Zobel. In that letter, Ninoy offered to help bring back the democratic system peacefully in the country. Marcos did not heed the advice, eventually making history overtake him. Malaysia’s Mahathir learned quickly from the lessons of Sukarno and Marcos. He peacefully gave up power when his time was up, and today he is one of Malaysia’s respected elder statesmen.

Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew ruled for three decades and was called an authoritarian ruler. But one cannot really compare Lee Kuan Yew to Marcos or Singapore to the Philippines for that matter. First of all, Lee Kuan Yew had a carefully-planned roadmap that turned the city-state into what it is today. Most importantly, he had planned his exit from the day he became prime minister, cleverly passing on the mantle of power to Goh Chok Tong first to pave the way for his son Lee Hsien Loong, who is currently the Prime Minister. To this day, Lee Kuan Yew remains a powerful figure, having the title of “Minister Mentor” with the Lee family controlling Temasek Holdings that owns various government companies like Singapore Airlines, DBS Bank and telecommunications giant SingTel, Singapore’s largest capitalized company.

A good example of planning your exit at the height of your popularity is CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite. When it was time to leave, he announced his retirement a year ahead despite his reputation as “the most trusted man in America.” He knew he had become a “comfortable old shoe” to his audience and when he left, almost all of America missed him. Perhaps the same goes true for Oprah Winfrey who has decided to end her very popular, widely-syndicated “Oprah Winfrey Show” after 25 seasons  she, too, knew the timing for a good exit.

If you want people to remember you well  you must carefully plan your exit, keeping in mind that the best time to gracefully bow out of the scene is when you are at your peak  not when you’re on your way down.

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