Most of us agree that doing a reflection is an essential practice. So, if you haven’t found any reason why you need to do this, the following conclusion from John Maxwell might stimulate you. Maxwell said, “Experience is not the best teacher. Evaluated experience is.”

When we evaluate our experience, we gain more wisdom.

However, in our experience, when we have made a commitment to have a weekly reflection, we often fail to maximize it. Why? It’s because we fail to develop a system and formulate the essential questions.

So, what are the essential questions that you should ask in your weekly reflection?

Critical thinking is no longer an exclusive term. We read this term in articles and books. We see it in social media posts. We even use it in our daily conversations.

World Economic Forum in their release included critical thinking in the top 10 skills of 2025. Since 2016, WEF had put critical thinking on the list of skills that employers believe would grow significantly.

But, what is critical thinking all about? What is at the heart of it?

Jeff Bezos is widely known as the founder of Amazon.com.

His successful business ventures have made him one of the richest people in the world. In 2021, his net worth is $195 billion.

In September 2018, during a session at the Economic Club of Washington, he shared one major event that took place in his junior year at Princeton that changed the course of his life.

What was it? What lesson can we learn from it?

What comes to mind when you think of the word “routine”?

Some would say “boring”. For others, routines tend to be seen as negative.

However, when adequately developed and consistently examined, routines can give proven, repeatable, and predictable results. Our routines, like the habits we develop, can be powerful.

Now, before you find ways to reinforce the routines that have served you well or improve the others that are less effective, what considerations do you need to have?

As leaders, we have to admit that disagreeing with others is something that we do not learn intentionally. We assume that we can disagree, and everything will be okay. But in reality, it does not work that way.

In fact, many conflicts start with a simple disagreement.

So, when two people disagree, what can they do to resolve it?

A leader always carries his biases and assumptions in his leadership. One example is it affects his decisions when choosing his teammates. As a result, he will see his team differently.

How should a leader deal with his biases and assumptions? How should he correct his views to create an inclusive, winning team?

According to INSEAD's latest global study of 300 senior business leaders from industries ranging from hospitality to automotive to biotech, 61% are trying to balance their employees' need for support with their company's goal for high performance. As a result, many leaders have fallen into the trap of viewing compassion vs performance as a binary decision. While most of us believe that true leadership requires both compassion and responsibility, this finding shows that demonstrating this type of leadership is more difficult than ever.

What should leaders do to avoid falling into this trap?

What comes to mind when you think of Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Barack Obama, or President Soekarno?

Do you think of their achievements or accomplishments? Or perhaps their influence?

For me, their similarity is they are great storytellers.

Through the stories they tell, people start to align with their visions. These leaders use stories to inspire their followers. And they are so good at it.

How do we develop this important skill? And how do we utilize this powerful tool effectively?

Dreamforce is Salesforce’s annual marketing event for all big tech companies to showcase their products. Companies like Microsoft and Apple also take part in this important event. In 2015, Satya Nadella, a newly appointed CEO of Microsoft, was scheduled to be one of the keynote speakers. His session was one of the most anticipated sessions.

And as predicted. Not only did he get a warm welcome from all the participants, but also his presentation is still remembered until today. From his presentation, Nadella paved a new way for Microsoft.

What did Nadella do in that session? What valuable lesson can we learn from this story?

On February 4, 2014, Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, the third person to hold the office in the company’s nearly 40-year history, after company co-founders Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.

One of Nadella’s first major tasks was overseeing the completion of Microsoft’s $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia Corp.’s mobile-device business, a transaction that had been announced in 2013.

As a relatively old company, founded on April 4, 1975, Microsoft faced many unresolved challenges when Nadella took office. One of them was the company’s culture.

What was his plan to bring the company’s soul back? What lesson can we learn from this process?