Are you outsourcing your thinking?  Going with the flow.  Letting others tell you what to think, how to act, who to support, what your opinions should be.

Or do you think for yourself.  Determine your own values and beliefs.  Take a stand and fight for what you believe in.

My name’s Rashid Kotwal.

As a business leader, your job is to think, make decisions and act.

You need an internal compass which steers you.  You set the agenda.  Decide your direction.  The values and beliefs your organisation and people live by.

That’s the makeup of a strong leader.

Now I’m not suggesting you don’t get external input.  Of course it’s useful to run ideas past other experts, people whose opinions you respect.

Look at all sides of an argument, but don’t get swayed by emotion.  Some advisors will tell you what you want to hear, confirming your bias.  Don’t fall into this trap.

Ultimately the decisions are yours.  So take responsibility for them.  You can’t blame someone else if things go wrong.

Guard against bubbles or sameness thinking.

Go against the grain, challenge the status quo and how things are typically done.  This is the precursor to all innovation.

Thinking is the ultimate form of leverage.  Using a small effort to produce a much larger outcome.

So think deeply, then act.

Till next time, this is Rashid Kotwal.

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