Leadership is the art of getting results through people. Effective leaders wield their tools with skill, producing exceptional outcomes. Others stagger from point to point, being busy with lots of activities while making no progress. Occasionally, though, history blesses us with truly remarkable individuals, embodying the essence of transformative leadership. Deng Xiaoping, the architect of modern China, is one such person.
The years before Deng Xiaoping’s rise to power were marked by turmoil. China was crippled by the chaotic legacy of Mao Zedong’s policies. The Great Leap Forward, an ambitious attempt at rapid industrialisation, resulted in one of the worst man-made disasters in history as millions died. This was followed by the Cultural Revolution, a decade of political purges and societal collapse. That was the time when the Gang of Four – led by Mao’s wife – was running rampant: Intellectuals were silenced, industries stagnated, and China found itself economically backward, diplomatically isolated, and socially fractured. As Mao’s body lay in state in 1976, the question was: which path would China choose?
