The man to my left leaned in and with intensity in his eyes asked the question: “I’m contemplating a strategic business partnership; I want to lead my business into outliving me.” Across the table from us sat a veteran CEO with years of experience in multi-billion dollar business. The answer surprised me, but, again, it should not have. The delivery was deliberate and the words were kind but firm: “Check your heart. What kind of person do you want to entrust your clients to?”

For some, this is the kind of answer you expect when one searches for a mate at a dating site. I cannot get passed that statement because it resonated with me in everything I’ve learned about business. Yes, business. A flood of thoughts with tangled emotions attached to them are still swirling around my mind as I think about the times I “checked my heart” and went against the status quo, or the times I ignored it and went with just the business bottom line.  I’ve never regretted trusting my feelings.

If you don’t lead with your heart, you’ll run the risk of being deceived by your mind.

I’ve been in meetings with potential partners or clients where my feelings spoke a different, dissonant message than the potential profit number at the end of the spreadsheet:”great numbers, but do you respect and believe in this person?” After so many years of failures, some monumental and costly, by choosing the wrong answer, I am learning to listen and trust my heart in the matters of business more and more.

Interestingly that happens in ministry as well as in business. Everything looks great on paper, references and interviews all have gone as well as they could, but there’s still a murmur in your heart and you are not at peace. Listen to your heart.

Are you in a place where your heart is saying something different than your mind?