Lee Yat Thong, A Veteran Business Leader On Turning Military Lessons Into Business Success

I’ve had a 17-year run in the army. That chapter of my life exposed me to the kind of leadership and management most people only read about. It wasn’t just theories. I lived through them, made mistakes in them, and grew because of them. When I left the service, I didn’t just walk away with medals or titles. I carried with me the values, the knowledge, and the exposure that I now use to rebuild myself across different careers. Rebuilding isn’t about starting over from scratch; it’s about taking what you’ve learned and applying it in new ways.

One thing that always echoes in my mind, something that has shaped how I approach life today, is the art of decision-making. That never left me. To make a solid decision, I’ve learned that I must be present. Fully present. Not just seeing things for what I want them to be, but for what they actually are. It’s about gathering the facts, absorbing what’s in front of me, and silencing the noise. That calm clarity gives way to action. No judgement, for better judgement. That has stayed with me far beyond my army days.

But truthfully, the hardest shift came when I transitioned out of the military into the entrepreneurial world. It was jarring. From a tightly organised structure to a small, unpredictable team setup. From being a specialist to becoming what I now call a generalist-specialist, someone who has to understand and appreciate the whole just as deeply as the details. It was a steep adjustment, but what got me through was my learnability. That’s my edge. I am built to adapt. I am agile to change. And I’ve made peace with the fact that in life, I won’t always have all the facts and all the details. That doesn’t stop me from living a good, meaningful life.

If there’s one personal habit I’ve carried all these years, one thing I wish everyone would try at least once, it’s discipline. Discipline is what makes things happen. Not talent. Not luck. Just the consistency and persistence to show up every single day and do the work that matters. If you want to move forward in life, it’s discipline that gets you there. It never fails.

Discipline always delivers.