Former prime minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, on how he become a visionary leader

"From my empirical observation of people and leaders, I believe 70 to 80 per cent of a person's capability, his proclivities, his temperament, is genetic. The day you were conceived, at least 70 per cent was already fixed in the womb. If you are bound to be a capable person, you will grow into a capable person. If you are bound to be slow, you will be slow. Nothing can change that. You can't choose your parents.....

I do not believe, contrary to what American books say, that you can teach people to be leaders. I think you are a born leader or you are not a leader. You can teach a person to be a manager, but not a leader. They must have the extra drive, intellectual verve, an extra tenacity and the will to overcome.

So, I would put it briefly and say 70 per cent of what I am, I was born with it. Twenty to 30 per cent was what I learnt to be what I am."