This summer our Dean, Dr. Mato Njavro had the opportunity to host Mr. George Yeo (former Singaporean foreign minister) as part of Zagreb School of Economics and Management’s flagship Adriatic Leadership Academy program. During their first talk, they covered various topics related to current geopolitical issues and megatrends underpinning them (US China relations, the EU, Russia, etc.) Mr. Yeo also discussed a unique decisionmaking framework that he learned about while serving the Holy Father as a member of Vatican’s Council for the Economy. This simple but profound framework or tool can be of use to anyone struggling with complex decisions! Enjoy the conversation!


00:00 – Talk between Mato Njavro and George Yeo on:
01:14 – serving at the Vatican council of Economy (COSEA), appointed by Pope Francis in July 2013,
helping Vatican reform its financial system;
05:18 – encounters with Pope Francis;
09:11 – 5step approach when making complex decisions: meet, listen, debate,
pray/meditate/pause, decide;
11:25 – history of multinationalism of the Catholic church and the universal culture of Catholicism;
17:17 – Christianity’s spread to China and Matteo Ricci;
21:02 – connection between “European Renaissance concept of morality without religion” and
China;
22:14 – paper’s path from China to Europe;
24:26 – aging of civilizations: China’s clash with Europe and the end of Qing dynasty and current
aging of Europe;
28:42 – wisdom needed to resolve current issues (Europe, Ukraine, Russia, USA, China): accepting of
permanence;
29:42 – Slavic people and Russia;
34:34 – USA, Europe, and the West (“Has the West lost it”);
43:55 – Islam and the Middle East (Egypt, Turkey, Iran);
47:46 – Saudi Arabia;
49:45 – Questions (1) – success and failure of civilizations and Europe;
53:17 – Questions (2) – Multipolarity and the internal network of trust.