Sir Michael Rake is the chairman of KPMG International. He is also the chairman of Business in the Community and on the board of the Prince of Wales' International Business leaders' Forum. In his essay "Learn When to Follow Your Instincts", Sir Michael shares why it is important to follow your instincts.
Excerpts from: "Learn When to Follow Your Instincts" by Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, KPMG International
I think one thing that is very important about leadership is to learn when to follow your instincts. I think you can end up in too much analysis - too much review, endless data - trying to get an objective and factual conclusion on every issue you face. Sometimes you just need to follow your instincts, because often they can be absolutely right.
Many things require an understanding of the emotional element of the people involved; require you to understand the business and environment you're in. Your antennae need to tell you, "What environment am I in? What is the reaction of the marketplace? What is the reaction of the regulator? What will be the PR implications of this?" This is absolutely as - if not more - important than data.
I would say the single most important lesson to remember is that, to a degree, you have to follow your instincts in order for your business to be successful. Life is not black and white, life is not simple: you have to deal with a number of paradigms and you have to deal with confusion. So in order to deal with the world that's somewhat chaotic and extremely fast moving, you have to have the right antennae and you have to rely on your instincts. Otherwise the battle's lost before you've made the decision.
Excerpts from: "Learn When to Follow Your Instincts" by Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, KPMG International
I think one thing that is very important about leadership is to learn when to follow your instincts. I think you can end up in too much analysis - too much review, endless data - trying to get an objective and factual conclusion on every issue you face. Sometimes you just need to follow your instincts, because often they can be absolutely right.
Many things require an understanding of the emotional element of the people involved; require you to understand the business and environment you're in. Your antennae need to tell you, "What environment am I in? What is the reaction of the marketplace? What is the reaction of the regulator? What will be the PR implications of this?" This is absolutely as - if not more - important than data.
I would say the single most important lesson to remember is that, to a degree, you have to follow your instincts in order for your business to be successful. Life is not black and white, life is not simple: you have to deal with a number of paradigms and you have to deal with confusion. So in order to deal with the world that's somewhat chaotic and extremely fast moving, you have to have the right antennae and you have to rely on your instincts. Otherwise the battle's lost before you've made the decision.
- Sometimes you need to follow your instincts because they are absolutely correct. People are frightened of change; but if you believe strongly in the objective, you must encourage others to follow.
- There are three aspects important to "following your instincts": self-confidence; how you communicate with your people and explain that you've quickly understood the issues; and the trust your people have in you.
- You should follow your instincts when next asked to make a minor decision and then evaluate the outcome. Later, you can draw upon this experience for future decision making.
Comments