1. Life's lessons / Lawrence Anderson -- 2. Observing others to know oneself / Anil Kumar Nayar -- 3. From Tanglin to Baghdad / Albert Chua -- 4. Earthquake, SARS, tsunami and cyclone : lessons from crisis management / Robert Chua -- 5. A pleasure and a privilege / Chua Thai Keong -- 6. Of BMWs, guerrillas and the highway of death : snippets of a diplomat's life / Simon Tensing De Cruz -- 7. Learning with master chefs : cooking a treaty / Burhan Gafoor -- 8. From Indonesia to Brunei to Saudi Arabia / Hirubalan V.P. -- 9. Mission : Singaporeans abroad / Jeyaraj Benjamin William -- 10. Exercise our brain, open our heart / Joseph K.H. Koh -- 11. Philippines : perception and reality / Lim Kheng Hua -- 12. Mind your business / Lim Thuan Kuan -- 13. September 11 : ground zero in Washington D.C. / Stanley Loh -- 14. Intellectual property and public health : negotiating at the World Trade Organization / Vanu Gopala Menon -- 15. A small state's diplomacy - some reflections / Seetoh Hoy Cheng -- 16. Singapore's diplomatic assets / A. Selverajah -- 17. From Lan Xang to Lac Leman / Karen Tan -- 18. Lessons from multilateral diplomacy / Tan Yee Woan -- 19. Learning, teamwork and management for success / Tan York Chor -- 20. A day in the life of a symphony / Michael Tay -- 21. Would I choose MFA again? / Wong Kwok Pun