Latest news with #strategicdecisionmaking
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why Real Leaders Don't Rush: The Hidden Power Of Presence
"Active pauses" are celebrated in strategic decision-making amid uncertainty, showing that leaders who deliberately slow down often make better choices than those who rush to action. The difference? What I call 'robust presence' – a concept that builds on this 'active pause,' as described in HBR, but goes deeper. This isn't about disconnecting or stepping back from the action. It's about becoming so present that you're actually more connected to the people and dynamics around you. Like horses in the wild – they're not meditating in a zen bubble. They're hyper-attuned to their environment, reading every signal, sensing every shift in energy. Their stillness is engaged, aware, strategic. In a culture that rewards instant responses and celebrates "bias toward action," the most effective leaders I've worked with over the past decade aren't the ones who speak first or move fastest. They're the ones who can access this kind of robust presence – and it might be the most underutilized leadership skill in the modern workplace. Why My Toughest Executive Coaches Don't Speak at All As a certified EQUUS facilitator, I have delivered equine-assisted learning sessions for a wide range of humans, from Fortune 500 C-suite leaders to small business owners in growth mode to founders and frontline hospitality professionals preparing for retirement. Why horses? They're prey animals whose survival depends on reading authentic presence. They don't respond to your title, your confidence, or your charisma. They respond to congruence: when your internal state matches your external signals. When a Fortune 500 CEO steps into the arena buzzing with anxious energy – even while speaking calmly and smiling – the horse won't engage. They wait. Watch. Feel for something real. Only when the leader drops into genuine presence – aligned, grounded, and attuned – do the horses move toward them. It's a 1,200-pound feedback system that cuts through posturing and performance to reveal actual leadership Neuroscience of Strategic Stillness Dr. Daniel Siegel's research at UCLA reveals why presence matters so much for leadership effectiveness. When we're reactive (rushing between meetings, responding from stress) we operate primarily from the amygdala, our brain's alarm system. This triggers fight-or-flight responses that narrow our cognitive range and limit creative problem-solving. But when we practice what Siegel calls 'mindful awareness,' what I call robust presence, we activate the prefrontal cortex. This region governs executive function: strategic thinking, emotional regulation, empathy, and complex decision-making. Research shows that leaders who develop mindfulness practices demonstrate measurably improved strategic thinking and emotional regulation. The business case is clear: presence isn't the opposite of productivity. It's the prerequisite for meaningful progress. Three Tools for Building Presence Under Pressure Presence isn't something you're born with. It's a learnable skill. Here are three techniques I teach executives to strengthen their capacity for strategic stillness: Noise Cancellation: Before important decisions, do a mental audit. What background tabs are running in your mind? Unspoken team conflicts, personal stress, overcommitments? Name them specifically. One client discovered she was carrying worry about her teenage daughter's college admissiosn process into every meeting, diluting her focus. Simply acknowledging this pattern helped her compartmentalize more effectively. Reflex Rituals: Create micro-pauses before automatic responses. When someone asks for a decision, take three conscious breaths before answering. Ask yourself: "Am I responding from habit, pressure, or actual alignment with our goals?" This simple practice helped one tech CEO break his "knee-jerk yes" habit, dramatically improving his team's project quality, and controlling costs. Somatic Grounding: Presence isn't just mental – it's physical. Use your body as an early warning system. Tight shoulders often signal overwhelm. Shallow breathing indicates stress. A clenched jaw suggests you're holding back something that needs to be said. One pharmaceutical executive I worked with learned to recognize his 'decision fatigue posture': slumped shoulders, clenched jaw, downcast eyes, and a telltale restlessness in his hands. When he saw himself in that state, he committed to taking a 5-minute walk before making any more Competitive Advantage of Slowing Down I recently worked with an executive who came to her sabbatical more burned out than when she was leading full-time. She'd created a 12-point plan for her "rest period"—language learning, parenting goals, personal brand strategy. When she entered the arena, the horse refused to engage with her frantic energy. Only after she admitted the pressure she felt to perform even in rest did the horse approach and rest its head on her shoulder. "That," she said, "was the first real breath I've taken in months." Six months later, she returned to work with a different leadership style. Instead of managing through urgency, she led through clarity. One team member pulled her aside after a big launch and said, 'I don't know what changed, but it feels like we can breathe again.' And they could… because she finally was. The ROI of Robust Presence When leaders reclaim presence, they don't just avoid costly mistakes – they unlock capacity for breakthrough thinking. Their teams feel psychologically safer. Their decisions reflect wisdom, not just speed. In our acceleration-obsessed culture, robust presence is a quiet competitive advantage. The leaders who master it don't just move fast. They move right. And that protects time, energy, and trust that can be wasted when decisions have to be reversed down the road. The question isn't whether you can afford to slow down. It's whether you can afford not to. What would change in your leadership if you got robustly present before your next big decision? Take our brief Subtract to Succeed diagnostic to identify your biggest energy drain and discover your natural skill, whether presence or one of the other two.
Forbes
07-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
5 Ways To Get Better Answers From ChatGPT About Business
By Dominique A. Harroch and Richard D. Harroch Business success increasingly depends on the ability to leverage AI-driven tools like ChatGPT or for strategic decision-making, marketing insights, and innovative problem-solving. However, obtaining the most valuable insights from these AI products requires more than just casual interactions. Precise, structured prompts and an iterative approach can significantly enhance the quality and usefulness of the responses generated. It's crucial, however, to remain aware that ChatGPT can sometimes produce "hallucinations," or plausible-sounding yet incorrect answers, highlighting the need for careful review and validation using additional reliable resources. By mastering the art of prompt engineering, business professionals can unlock a powerful resource, enabling better-informed decisions, increased efficiency, and ultimately, greater profitability. Here we'll explore how to structure your ChatGPT interactions for maximum effectiveness, offering concrete examples and practical guidance to ensure you get consistently better business answers. Naturally, we used ChatGPT for research assistance and insights in writing this article. How to Get Better Business Answers From ChatGPT Example Prompt: 'I am a senior business analyst specializing in market research. Provide me a detailed analysis of current trends in the sustainable fashion industry, including key global players, emerging market opportunities, technological advancements, consumer behavior patterns, regulatory impacts, and potential growth areas for the next three to five years.' Why It Works: By clearly defining ChatGPT's role and setting detailed context, the AI provides more focused, relevant insights. This specificity ensures results align closely with your business objectives, saving time and enhancing decision-making precision. Initial Prompt: 'List and briefly describe five effective digital marketing strategies for increasing engagement among young adults aged 18-24, particularly on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.' Iterative Follow-Up Prompt: 'Expand extensively on strategy number three (influencer partnerships) by providing clear steps for selecting appropriate influencers based on demographics and engagement metrics, structuring partnership agreements, setting performance indicators, and assessing campaign outcomes.' Why It Works: Iterative prompts enable deeper exploration of initial responses, uncovering actionable insights. This method refines outputs, resulting in practical plans businesses can implement immediately to boost engagement and revenue. Example Prompt: 'I am an experienced strategic planning consultant. Outline a comprehensive business plan framework for launching a subscription-based meal-prep service targeting health-conscious professionals in metropolitan areas. Include thorough market research, competitor analysis, pricing strategies, detailed operational plans, marketing approaches, financial forecasting, and risk management strategies.' Why It Works: Framework prompts help ChatGPT systematically organize information, delivering structured, professional outputs. This accelerates planning and enhances operational clarity, enabling efficient project execution. Example Prompt: 'Imagine advising a tech startup that aims to expand internationally. Provide an extensive analysis comparing entry into European versus Asian markets. Consider regulatory environments, tariffs and import costs, cultural barriers affecting consumer adoption and marketing strategies, competitive landscapes, logistics challenges, and risk mitigation strategies.' Why It Works: Scenario-based prompts cue ChatGPT to deliver comparative analyses, clearly outlining benefits and risks, including nuanced cultural and economic considerations. This comprehensive perspective supports informed, strategic decisions about international expansion. Example Prompt: 'I am an expert financial advisor. Provide a detailed, step-by-step guide for evaluating whether to invest in building a new 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Atlanta or whether to outsource production. Include detailed financial modeling, initial capital requirements, ongoing operational costs, risk factors, strategic benefits, potential profitability, and long-term ROI projections.' Why It Works: Prompting ChatGPT as a financial analysis expert encourages precise, detailed responses, enabling thorough evaluation of complex financial decisions, minimizing risks, and optimizing returns. Summary on ChatGPT Prompts Mastering precise ChatGPT prompts significantly enhances the AI's ability to deliver actionable, insightful business intelligence. Clearly defining roles, leveraging iterative questioning, and incorporating comprehensive scenario analyses ensures that business professionals maximize the tool's potential, achieving improvements in strategic decision-making, efficiency, and profitability. Given that ChatGPT can occasionally produce inaccurate or misleading answers (hallucinations), careful review and double-checking against other reliable sources is crucial. Ultimately, thoughtful prompts integrated with diligent validation can ensure your business remains agile, informed, and competitive in today's evolving marketplace. More from AllBusiness: FAQs about ChatGPT Prompts Accuracy depends on prompt specificity, contextual clarity, iterative questioning, and critical evaluation of ChatGPT responses. Continuously refining prompts based on AI feedback and validating through external sources significantly enhances accuracy. ChatGPT serves as a powerful tool for initial research, strategic brainstorming, and scenario analysis. However, it complements rather than replaces human expertise, especially for nuanced, high-stakes strategic decisions. Iterative questions are essential, transforming broad initial responses into highly detailed, actionable insights. This iterative refinement makes outputs directly applicable to complex business challenges. Copyright © by Richard D. Harroch. All rights reserved.
Associated Press
15-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Gaurav Srivastava Announces New Podcast: 'The Power Circuit'
Gaurav Srivastava today announced the launch of his new podcast, The Power Circuit, a deep-dive series exploring 'how power actually works.' Strategic investor Gaurav Srivastava today announced the launch of his new podcast, The Power Circuit, a deep-dive series exploring 'how power actually works.' Each episode features candid, long-form conversations with former intelligence officials, business leaders and policymakers, unpacking the hidden mechanics of crisis management, strategic decision-making and geopolitical transformation. 'Power is a multi-dimensional force,' says Srivastava. 'On The Power Circuit, we'll go beyond headlines to reveal the levers, networks and strategies that really shape our world.' A recognized authority in energy, commodities and frontier-market finance, Srivastava brings to the microphone a wealth of real-life, behind the scenes experience. After leaving college in 2008 to manage his family's first South African investment, he went on to build a track record of transformative deals in the petroleum and gas sector. The Power Circuit will kick off in Q4/2025 with interviews featuring former senior intelligence and military officers who played pivotal roles in counterterrorism and nation-building operations, a senior Public Relations professional who has dedicated himself to rebuilding his country and and a former senior White House advisor shaping US Foreign Policy. Srivastava is no stranger to long-form podcast dialogue. He's appeared in a double-episode of Targeted —a series spotlighting individuals hit by unfounded business and political allegations—and a double episode on Going Rogue with Lara Logan, dissecting the intersection of geopolitics, oil diplomacy and reputation warfare. The Power Circuit launches Q4, 2025, with new episodes released weekly on all major platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. To subscribe, visit or follow @ThePowerCircuit on X and LinkedIn. About Gaurav Srivastava Gaurav Srivastava is a strategic investor specializing in energy, commodities and financial markets across emerging economies. Since 2008, he has led ventures in South Africa's petroleum sector, built cross-border partnerships in Asia and orchestrated infrastructure investments in the Middle East. A frequent commentator on global affairs, he has been featured on Targeted, Going Rogue with Lara Logan and in leading financial and geopolitical publications. Media Contact Company Name: The Power Circuit Podcast Contact Person: Jessica Chen Email: Send Email Country: United States Website: Source: Brand Push
