What do you use most in your business decisions - heart or mind?

I think, therefore I am, I think. But if it doesn't feel right I won't do it.
Totally go with my heart and not my head in most decisions.
Many times I will act without thinking because it feels right.
But the heart can be deceived so a balance is needed.
Or is it the stomach? A "gut feeling" is usually right.

I agree the heart approach is more rewarding spiritually. But I tend to take a balanced approach myself. And like Just2EZ, I go with my gut some of the time too.

I agree with that statement. I view logic and intuition as opposite ends of the same pole and we ought to consider both influences in our decision making. Although, I would add that sometimes after carefully weighing both sides, we do make our decision based on one or the other.

Hermas

I follow my heart in terms of selecting a business opportunity. It is important for me to promote something because I want to and also look forward to do whatever it takes to make it a success.

really great question! I have to say my gut - so my heart initially. then once I think about it my head will decide rationally if it is viable or not. so yeah, I agree too that it is a balance. For me anyway.

I believe the two faculties - heart and mind are complementary. To be successful I think one should cultivate both. However, I know sometimes one overrides the other so often because it just feels right. For example, there are times my heart would tell me to take the risk but at the same time my mind tells me to do some due diligence first. In such scenario the mind always wins. In cases where need for due deligence is not pressing, like where you have a good recommendation from a trusted friend or business partner the heart wins. No wonder it is said "think with your heart". What that means is compliment your mind with your heart (feeling or emotion).

Stephen

great answer there Stephen, well said

I think it's all about the heart first. You need a good feeling. If you're in a peak state,you will take the right decision. It'll come naturally. Of course your head is there to manage the risk and to balance between the pros and the cons but if you're feeling is right everything gonna be alright...

I think a little bit of both. It's obviouse that you first have to do the math and estimate if an oportunity is worth your time. I have a second hand shop. I am buying old stuff and try selling them for more money. I have to do a bit of research before I do business, but most of the time when I am buying something I use my heart, cos sometimes in the internet there are similar things that are cheaper, but when you see something that you really like it's hard to say no even if the price is slightly higher.

I believe that business is partially knowledge and partially emotion! So I use both my mind and my heart when I do business. However I have two rules "If using both causes a conflict, use rational thought first" "Don't sacrifice profit for love" that can mean many things, but you get the just of it. Think about what's best for your business first then you can use your heart!

When I was reviewing business' to decide what I wanted to be involved with, I was very analytical and examined them very thoroughly. I do have to really like what I do though, so my heart is definitely involved. My problem with my "heart" is once I am involved, sometimes I can get carried away and spend too much in a given month on the business rather than sticking to the percentage I know I should be reinvesting. I've learned now that rather than just doing what my heart says to pause and bounce things off my husband to ground me.

The other thing I had a tendency to be bad with in the past as regards following my "heart" was trying to help people too much. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe in strong teamwork and being a knowledgeable leader, but sometimes I would end up spending way too much time and money on the people that really weren't doing anything rather than spending more time and money with the people willing to work and grow their business. I learned you can't drag people along, they have to want to learn and grow.

There sure is a lot more "heart" in things though when you get to work for yourself! I would not go back to the corporate world and rush hour traffic for anything!

I agree with everyone that making business decisions is part logic and part heart.

I try to base by decisions primarily on logic, but sometimes you just need to "go with your gut."

There will be times when a choice may seem profitable, but if you're heart isn't in it, chances are, it won't work out for you.

Finding a balance between the two can be difficult, but it is also necessary!

It's mostly mind here until I get to the risk taking decisions. But even then the risk must be a calculated one. I no longer think of my products as "my kids", the ones that don't work I don't waste my time with them.

I embrace that attitude for its practicality. The tricky part is that before you can come to a conclusion, you first have to determine one of three things:

1. Is the product itself the problem?​

2. Is the marketing campaign the culprit?​

3. Is the problem both the above?​

Theoretically, those possibilities could be addressed and improved to remove the need to ever dump a product. Of course, things like time and money to fix the problem have to be considered and weighed against any potential return.

Agreed, and the challenge then becomes deciding when exactly is a product or project no longer viable. I suspect that would be different for different people.

Hermas

I firmly agree with you.

However, I urge people to make sure they address ALL 3 of the things you mentioned.

Many people automatically jump from product to product or opportunity to opportunity, thinking that is the problem. But, that may not be the case. Making sure your marketing is effective is just as important.

Really, it comes down to this: No matter what you are selling or promoting, you MUST learn internet marketing skills. Yes, some products or opportunities just won't convert, but be sure you have learned effective marketing before you blame the product!

I couldn't agree more! While my heart does help me decide if what I'm doing is right in the end I use my mind and statistics to power my business decisions initally

This is a tough one, and whether or not you succeed or fail with your heart or mind depends on a lot of different factors. What I will say is that the heart is deceptive, and when you follow it, you can sometimes end up doing some really stupid things. I mean, if you have ever watched American Idol, you run into a lot of people who "follow their heart" to pursue their dream to become a a singer, and make fools out of themselves because they are totally disillusioned in their skill level as a singer.

Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not saying don't follow your heart, because your heart is sometimes right about a lot of things. What I'm saying is that if you have the God given talent to be a singer, then become a singer. If you have the skill to become a singer, or the ability to work hard to become a better singer, then become a singer or at least give it a shot. If however, your singing talent is horrible, no matter how hard or how little you try, then as Simon Cowell often eluded to, "you shouldn't become a singer".

In other words, sometimes you have to use your brain and do what its telling you to, rather than your heart. Your heart might be telling you that you should become a singer, but your brain is telling you that you already know that you are a horrible singer, but are much better with analytical thinking, so maybe you should become an engineer rather than a singer. In other words, logic needs to also be a part of your decision making.

There are times, of course, where you just have to follow your heart. I've seen a lot of stories where people were told there was no way they could hope to succeed at what they wanted to do, and they were told to quit. Instead, they didn't listen to the naysayers, so they pushed on. Of course, in most, if not all of these cases, there was always hard work involved. The people who were trying to fulfill their dreams worked incredibly hard to overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams. That's where the heart can really push you - but even then, there is a certain amount of logic that goes with that, because the mind knows that in order to accomplish an unlikely dream and prove people wrong, you are going to have to work DARN hard at it.

In short, follow your heart and never give up, but don't forget to look at it logically and be realistic. If you are hoping to achieve a specific dream or goal, never lose hope, but also realize when its time to quit and move in a new direction.

I use my mind to think how people will follow their heart and going into my business direction.

Many years ago I owned a company and my heart and soul was in it, times got hard and I wanted to keep pouring money into the business...it was my baby. My wife had to make me see the light and stop thinking with my "heart" and use the business sense that I clearly had, but the emotions clearly won for awhile.