OPINION
“A Mind is a terrible thing to waste” said the voice in the TV spot advertising the United Negro College Fund. Who doesn’t agree with that 70’s adage? While we should always use our minds and develop them to the highest heights, it is also true that our minds play tricks on us. It’s not so much that our inner self is a magician pulling rabbits out of hats, but rather that we are emotional creatures. We are sometimes undependable because we choose to allow our emotions to rule over logic, substance, practicality, and what some folks refer to as common sense.
Passions Can Kill a Business
In the business world, and particularly the entrepreneur or small business person, those of us engaged in new ventures often have soft spots for what we are creating or growing. Often we find ourselves involved in something for which we have great passions. We sell ourselves on our own ideas, which may be devoid of structure, analytics, and marketing research. Because we like the ideas in our brains, then so ought everyone else.
We create concoctions for our consumption, believing that everyone around us wants to drink the same concoction and drink from the same glass.
It’s great to get lost in something you love, with the opportunity to earn a good living at the same time — but not absent a solid plan that is based on in-depth knowledge of your product or service and your potential customer base.
And even the best products need tweaking. You really want your product to be brown and yellow because those colors mean something to you. So, despite the protestations of your team and regardless of the research showing that green and yellow would be better, you go with your gut because it’s personal. Wonderful. Now you have a product that you really like, but you cannot move it off the warehouse shelves.
Educated People Are Not Exempt from Dumb Decisions
Yep, you went to college, just like the television commercial encouraged you to do. You received a top education affirming that you did not waste your mind. But here you are making dumb decisions because your brain is not in gear – just your heart.
Recently, in my comeback as an entrepreneur, I toughed it out reversing decisions that I had made in the past. On a number of occasions I asked myself if some of my thoughts on how to run my business were based on my personal and subjective criteria, or was I making decisions that would unselfishly meet the needs of my customer base and selfishly earn revenue for my hard work?
On those times when I saw clearly that I desired my personal opinions over facts, I chose facts, albeit not without angst. I found myself in a mental training regimen that pushed me to think objectively when what I really wanted was to remain in my comfort zone.
It’s Time to Find the Right Balance
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. But that saying applies to non usage and incorrect usage as well as missing out on training. I know my craft, but if I am not careful, my heart, as wonderful as it is, could ruin me and my business.
I have found passions and logic can coexist, but I must keep the balance. We all must keep the balance. The brain is complex and vastly capable, but it should work in conjunction with the psyche – with the heart.
(Originally published in LinkedIn)
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