“Success is something that is derived or ensured over the long run, not necessarily over the short run”__ Adam Azim.
Adam Azim’s perspective on business and entrepreneurship is deeply intertwined with his philosophical outlook on life. Rather than engaging in hypotheticals, he believes in the reality that has already manifested, emphasizing the role of predestination over free will. His approach to business is shaped by a broader understanding of history, technology, and global affairs, making his insights uniquely reflective. For him, challenges in business are not just personal or localized but are part of an unfolding historical process that many fail to recognize.
In this interview with Business Upside, Adam shares his thoughts on leadership, innovation, and navigating uncertainty in business. His emphasis on ‘frame analysis’ and ‘initiation’ highlights the importance of critical thinking in international affairs. He views effective communication as the cornerstone of leadership and believes success is derived from long-term vision rather than short-term gains. With a strong focus on the bigger picture, Adam’s journey stands as a testament to the balance between philosophical inquiry and practical business acumen.
Edited Excerpts from the Interview
Business Upside [BU]: If you weren’t running this business, what do you think you would be doing instead?
Adam Azim [AA]: For certain reasons, or for one reason or another, I do not get entangled with hypotheticals. One reason is my belief in predestination over free will. Second, if you consider how there are always infinite possibilities, yet this one particular reality that we are now experiencing is the reality that manifested out of all the possible realities that could have manifested. That is how I would approach this question. The question goes into hypotheticals. And I have a certain philosophy in terms of hypotheticals or in terms of what could manifest into reality and what actually has manifested into reality.
[BU]: How do you stay creative and innovative in your field?
[AA]: Everyone wants to prove themselves right in this international affairs business or enterprise. And the way to do it is actually a matter of what one would call ‘frame analysis’ and ‘initiation.’ In essence, it is a matter of ‘frame analysis’ and ‘initiation.’ And on the surface, it is a matter of casting doubt on appearances and anticipating and shaping outcomes. A lack of creativity and complexity is actually at the heart of much broader economic, political, and social phenomena. But the secret to creativity and complex thinking lies beneath what we would call ‘frame analysis’ and ‘initiation.’ And on the surface level or in terms of the appearance of it all, we cast doubt on appearances, and we anticipate and shape outcomes. And as a result, there are very few, if any, who are at this level in the international affairs business or enterprise.
[BU]: What was a major challenge that almost made you rethink your business?
[AA]: The biggest challenge is actually playing out on an international level or perhaps a historic level. Of course, there are, at times, existential questions that arise,e which then casts doubt on everything you are doing. Personal, local, and domestic issues or challenges or problems are what we witness and experience in an immediate sense. But if your perspective evolves as a result of education and experience, or if the big picture comes into your view, then we begin to understand that the major challenges we face actually emanate from the overall course of world history itself. We are part of an unfolding of a history that we do not really understand. We are part of a historical process that very few of us actually understand. Ordinarily, many of us would write off this ‘historical process’ or this unfolding of world history as something completely irrelevant to us. Yet, this process or unfolding is the direct and immediate cause behind anything and everything we experience in life and on a personal level, whether it is challenges or opportunities or ups or downs or anything else for that matter.
[BU]: How do you deal with uncertainty and unpredictability in business?
[AA]: Like we said, a lot of it has to do with an understanding of the big picture. We consider the big picture as something totally aloof or something irrelevant to our personal lives. Yet, it is all about world history and how world history is the main determinant of both our collective social reality and our personal social reality.
[BU]: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned about leadership?
[AA]: Communication. A leader can make everything take a turn for the worse based on the nature of communication, or a leader can make everything take a turn for the better based on the nature of communication. It all comes down to effective communication. Effective communication is an art. It is a highly refined skill. In some cases, communication does not stick. It does not make an impact. But in some cases, it does. How you differentiate communication that sticks and makes an impact and communication that does not stick and does not make an impact is perhaps the million-dollar question.
[BU]: What’s your approach to setting business goals and measuring success?
[AA]: After everything I went through in life thus far, I am now at a point where my approach to business or even life in general is largely existential and philosophical in nature. I am tackling existential and philosophical questions as opposed to questions pertaining to business and worldly success. A successful businessman is one who does not work at all. Considering how everything has taken a dire turn for the worse in this country and in the world as a whole, my questions are now largely existential and philosophical as opposed to business-related and worldly.
[BU]: Have you ever taken a financial risk that paid off significantly?
[AA]: My personal case is one of stepping into something that has grown slowly and steadily over the course of years and decades. There was never much gambling involved from a financial standpoint. Risk is something that is minimized greatly through an understanding of the big picture. Thus, I cannot say that I have taken a kind of risk from a financial standpoint that has either paid off significantly or failed significantly, given that a lot of what I do is informed by what we would consider to be the big picture.
[BU]: What’s your approach to negotiating deals and contracts?
[AA]: It is really all about mutual benefit and mutual consideration in terms of negotiating deals and contracts. It is not necessarily about getting the most for yourself and yourself only during negotiations. Negotiation is not necessarily a quest or a chance to dupe or conquer the other side and to derive the pleasure of saying “I got the sucker!” or to say “I’m so smart.” Also, we often overlook the fact that marriage is a contract as well. For instance, the mutual benefit or mutual consideration in marriage is happiness. Imagine an unhappy marriage. How do unhappy marriages often turn out? Therefore, if the mutual benefit or ‘mutual consideration’ is nowhere to be found in a deal or contract, then that deal, or contract, is null and void, and it was a poorly negotiated deal or contract, and the consequences and implications of it all will be made evident and manifest down the road.
[BU]: How do you balance short-term success with long-term sustainability?
[AA]: In my opinion, the balance is not necessarily between short-term success and long-term sustainability. Success is something that is derived or ensured over the long run, not necessarily over the short run. I would argue that the balance is largely between short-term sacrifices for long-term gains. The issue of success is largely an issue of making short-term sacrifices for long-term gains. And it is all easier said than done. It is all too common, or it is all too human, to get caught up with the now, to seize on the now, and to completely neglect the future. But the balance is and always has been largely about the balance between short-term sacrifices for long-term gains.
[BU]: How do you see AI and technology influencing entrepreneurship in the future?
[AA]: One can perhaps argue that world history is deterministic rather than materialistic – and when we say materialistic, what we mean is ‘meaningless’ or void of any direction or purpose – largely because of technology. We once had a pre-western world system, and now, we are reaching the end of the Western system. And if you think about it, all of it had to do with technology. In other words, we went from a pre-western world system to a Western world system, and now we are reaching the end of a Western system, and all of it has to do with technology. So that should address the question of how technology is influencing entrepreneurship and how it will influence entrepreneurship well into the future. We cannot assess the influence of technology on just entrepreneurship alone. We have to go one step further and assess the influence of technology on world history as a whole and consider how world history is deterministic as opposed to materialistic simply because of the role of technology in world affairs.
More Information
Company URL: www.adam-azim.com
LinkedIn URL: http://linkedin.com/in/adam-a-azim-94bb111b2
