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Turning globalisation on its head, the founder and managing partner of data and strategy company FutureMap relocates focus to the importance of geography
Founder and managing partner of FutureMap, Parag Khanna certainly knows a thing or two about globalisation and geography. Also a published author, Khanna has advised many governments and corporations around the world and serves on the boards of numerous financial institutions and technology companies. A former fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School, New America Foundation and Brookings Institution, he has also worked at the World Economic Forum and Council on Foreign Relations. Tatler Singapore speaks to Khanna over a glass of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and finds out the role tradition plays in his grand vision for globalisation.
Read more: Tatler Takes 5: Parag Khanna, The Global Futurist
How important is tradition to you?
Parag Khanna (PK): Tradition is the history of the present. It's the way things have been done, both right and wrong. I personally immerse myself in cultural traditions because I enjoy learning the unique idioms of language and habits that make us so different and unique. When I synthesise those learnings into books, that too, is following a great tradition of assembling knowledge. Even if you do not respect tradition, think of it as due diligence—learning from the past to avoid repeating its mistakes.
How do you define success?
PK: At its simplest, success is getting things done. You get to define it; to change the definition, and declare “mission accomplished.” There is a satisfying feeling in owning your understanding of success. And more aspirationally, I think of success as doing something game-changing, whether intellectually or in business or family life. Achieving a milestone, helping others get across a finish line—that too is success.