BRYAN LIEW * Montreal, Canada * FEBRUARY THEME * INTUITION * Interview by Karla Darocas
It was great to reconnect with Bryan Liew on this months NF theme of "Intuition in Business". The last time I interviewed Liew was a decade ago. A school pal of mine, a U-of-Waterloo student of the late 80's, it was inevitable that he would become a "cyber-punk" and then graduate to become a "cybernaut". Along the way, Bryan Liew has learned hard lessons on entrepreneurship and business ethics. Enjoying life now in the countryside near Montreal, Quebec, Liew continues to use his "intuition" to drive new frontiers of cybernetics and intellectual property. Current Enterprise: visitEarth.ca - website design & travel domain names. Years in Operation: 2
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q* Bryan Liew - Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur, deal-maker, educator, investor - all of the above?
A* Mostly an entrepreneur, and when appropriate a deal maker. My work history has consisted of starting my own projects and companies, then selling my company or the assets I've built up.
Q* With your experience as an entrepreneur - do you feel that people should use their intuition when dealing with their business and their clients? If so - How do you use your intuition when working with your company and clients?
A* Yes, absolutely. There are many verbal, visual and auditory cues that you can pick up and learn over time that can provide additional insights into clients, suppliers and partners. Based on my own personal experience, I have found that intuition is sometimes a much better negative indicator than positive indicator - meaning that if my intuition says that someone will be a great person to work with, it is sometimes wrong; but if my intuition says that someone will be a bad or difficult person to work with, it is almost always right.
Q* In your life - would you say that intuition has been an
active element? Or not? If so - please give an example either way.
A* Somewhat - when I was running a 60-person company, I had colleagues and peers that had input into my decisions; sometimes justifying my intuition was very difficult to do, and required compromise, sometimes with poor results. Now that I no longer have any employees, I can rely on my intuition without justification - which is both good and bad.
Q* Do you ever find that you can misplace your intuition and fall back into a routine or get a creative block? How do you get your intuition back?
A* This is a very odd question and I'm not sure how to answer it. I tend to think that intuition is different than creativity, and almost by defition intuition cannot be forced and therefore is not something that can be consciously pursued. So I also tend to think it's not something you can consciously retrieve, other than perhaps putting yourself in an overall better state of mind - but that's pretty fluffy talk!
Q* How do you put your intuition to work when deciding what goals to work on - in order to achieve your business projects?
A* I try to trust my instinct, but only after I have tried to evaluate the situation or person on a more rationale basis. I also think aloud with my
wife, forcing me to try to understand or justify my instinct, which also helps being able to subsequently verbalize my decision to the relevant parties.
Q* Do you believe that by listening to your intuition - you can figure things out "naturally"? Or - can you be taught to listen and
abide by your "guts" as they say?
A* I'm not sure I completely understand the question, but I believe you have said the same thing in two different ways. I think the best way to learn to trust your intuition is by experience; since intuition is so difficult to understand, the value and accuracy of intuition is usually best understood only after the fact. The most important lesson is not to override my instinct - if I need to forcibly rationalize a decision against everything my "gut" is telling me, it will most likely be a poor decision in the long run.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q* Bryan Liew - Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur, deal-maker, educator, investor - all of the above?
A* Mostly an entrepreneur, and when appropriate a deal maker. My work history has consisted of starting my own projects and companies, then selling my company or the assets I've built up.
Q* With your experience as an entrepreneur - do you feel that people should use their intuition when dealing with their business and their clients? If so - How do you use your intuition when working with your company and clients?
A* Yes, absolutely. There are many verbal, visual and auditory cues that you can pick up and learn over time that can provide additional insights into clients, suppliers and partners. Based on my own personal experience, I have found that intuition is sometimes a much better negative indicator than positive indicator - meaning that if my intuition says that someone will be a great person to work with, it is sometimes wrong; but if my intuition says that someone will be a bad or difficult person to work with, it is almost always right.
Q* In your life - would you say that intuition has been an
active element? Or not? If so - please give an example either way.
A* Somewhat - when I was running a 60-person company, I had colleagues and peers that had input into my decisions; sometimes justifying my intuition was very difficult to do, and required compromise, sometimes with poor results. Now that I no longer have any employees, I can rely on my intuition without justification - which is both good and bad.
Q* Do you ever find that you can misplace your intuition and fall back into a routine or get a creative block? How do you get your intuition back?
A* This is a very odd question and I'm not sure how to answer it. I tend to think that intuition is different than creativity, and almost by defition intuition cannot be forced and therefore is not something that can be consciously pursued. So I also tend to think it's not something you can consciously retrieve, other than perhaps putting yourself in an overall better state of mind - but that's pretty fluffy talk!
Q* How do you put your intuition to work when deciding what goals to work on - in order to achieve your business projects?
A* I try to trust my instinct, but only after I have tried to evaluate the situation or person on a more rationale basis. I also think aloud with my
wife, forcing me to try to understand or justify my instinct, which also helps being able to subsequently verbalize my decision to the relevant parties.
Q* Do you believe that by listening to your intuition - you can figure things out "naturally"? Or - can you be taught to listen and
abide by your "guts" as they say?
A* I'm not sure I completely understand the question, but I believe you have said the same thing in two different ways. I think the best way to learn to trust your intuition is by experience; since intuition is so difficult to understand, the value and accuracy of intuition is usually best understood only after the fact. The most important lesson is not to override my instinct - if I need to forcibly rationalize a decision against everything my "gut" is telling me, it will most likely be a poor decision in the long run.
About
VISIT
Latest Activity
Thanks!!!!
In this issue of New Frontier,
Name: Victoria Twead
Nationality: British
Current Living / Working Location/s: Almeriá Province, Spain
Type of Enterprises: Past: Teacher, small business owner, Property Developer
Present: Author
Years ...
© 2009 Created by Karla Darocas *New Frontier on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
