Some may live their lives directed by reason, while others do so by following their hearts.
Atikom Terbsiri, president and chief executive of Thai Oil Plc, has struck a balance, leading himself through thought while guiding others with his spirit.
And despite his years in business, deep down he sees himself as an engineer.
As a young boy he loved to interlock toy bricks and try to mend things around the house.
"I fixed everything myself," Mr Atikom says. "Sometimes it worked, but sometimes I made things worse."
Since there was always the expectation that he'd join the family business, he ultimately had to switch his focus to accounting.
Mr Atikom studied business at Assumption University and later earned an MBA from Armstrong University in the US.
Mr Atikom has always viewed himself as an engineer at heart, although the family business took him down a different path.
"Actually, accounting and finance are not that boring," he says. "In fact, they're interesting because they provide you with the anatomy of a company, telling you how strong and healthy it really is."
In his view, the thought and logic implicit in accounting have helped him run Thai Oil, the country's largest refiner.
After leaving the US, Mr Atikom started his career path at PTT Aromatics and Refining Plc (PTTAR), overseeing the company's business development and planning.
PTTAR was involved in four businesses: petroleum refining and supply of refined petroleum products, manufacturing and sales of aromatics products, intermediate products and joint venture business.
His work really began during the early stages of Thailand's strategy to promote the first phase of the Eastern Seaboard, seeking ways to make use of natural gas found in the Gulf of Thailand.
"It was a time when our company was about to build a new aromatic refining plant on the Eastern Seaboard and I was on the company's planning team," Mr Atikom says.
Mr Atikom and Thai Oil employees take part in numerous activities to promote corporate social responsibility.
Unfortunately, it was also when the Asian economic bubble was about to burst, ushering in the financial crisis of 1997, known in Thailand as the Tom Yum Kung crisis.
The crisis started in Thailand with the financial collapse of the baht after the government was forced to float it due to a lack of foreign currency to support its peg to the US dollar.
At the time, Thailand had racked up a foreign debt burden that made the country effectively bankrupt even before the baht collapsed.
PTTAR had more than US$600 million (2.15 billion baht) in debt it had borrowed for the construction of its new aromatic refinery.
"It was the toughest time for me and my team, because the debt immediately doubled in terms of baht," Mr Atikom recalls. "However, we decided to go on despite the rough path."
With strong knowledge and experience in accounting and finance, Mr Atikom started analysing his company's financial health and sought ways to work things out with its creditors.
He started negotiating with creditors, noting that his company operated a dollar-linked business that made products which were sold in US dollars. That helped create confidence among them.
Mr Atikom and Thai Oil employees participate in CSR activities in numerous communities.
"Our creditors agreed with us and started restructuring the debt and extending the payment period in order to allow the business to run smoothly," Mr Atikom says. "That was a great experience that taught us how to invest and run a business in a safe and sustainable way. It was the crisis that taught us to invest at the right time and in the right ways."
After the Tom Yum Kung crisis passed, Mr Atikom gained more experience in the petrochemical business.
In 2011, he served as chief executive of IRPC Plc, an integrated refinery and petrochemical company. In 2013, he was appointed as senior executive vice-president of the petrochemicals and refining business unit at PTT Plc, before moving on to serve as the head of Thai Oil under the PTT group.
Amid the pressure caused by external factors, Mr Atikom's management style has played a significant role in steering the company through rocky waters.
He not only managed the company's stakeholders, but he also built confidence among his employees.
Mr Atikom says he has three guiding principles that have led him to become a successful manager: providing opportunities, instilling confidence and granting forgiveness.
Mr Atikom says he abides by three principles.
The first is "to provide opportunities".
"It's like in sports, when you need to find tournaments for the players to take part in," he says. "Executives have to give their subordinates the opportunity to work, finding the tournaments for them to play in and encouraging them along the way.
The second is "to instil confidence" in one's employees while they are working, helping to fill in the gaps where they are lacking or unsure so that they can continue towards their goal in a smooth manner.
The third is "to provide forgiveness", which means that if anything goes wrong, blame will not be hashed out.
As for heading up the country's biggest oil refiner during times of transformation and crisis, Mr Atikom says -- perhaps surprisingly -- that it "was not that bad".
This small power-generation plant in Si Racha, Chon Buri is run by a Thai Oil subsidiary.
"It was not a stressful job, if you could manage to face it properly," he says.
After passing through myriad tough tasks and crises, he became more optimistic, having developed a strong belief that there is a solution to every problem.
In fact, Mr Atikom often asks his staff if they want to be a part of the solution or a part of the problem.
"Without a doubt, the answer is that no one wants to be a part of the problem," he says. "Everyone wants to be a part of the solution."
Asked about his style of working, Mr Atikom says he always thinks and works in a collaborative style that brings about inclusive solutions to every task.
"It means that I want everyone in the organisation to take part so that we can work well together," he says.
To weather tough times, he follows Buddhism's Four Noble Truths: suffering (Dukkha), the origins of suffering (Samudaya), the cessation of suffering (Nirodha) and the path to the cessation of suffering (The Noble Eightfold Path).
These principles help him figure out the cause of any given problem and solve it, especially when it seems like there is no way out.
Working in a public company with many people requires one to manage it in an appropriate way, Mr Atikom says.
The guideline that he has always given to his employees is that any leader who wants to inspire his or her employees must be able to build confidence. It's important for a leader to be a role model and set an example.
Furthermore, while motivating employees to perform their roles or accept change in order to achieve the goals that have been laid before them, there are three additional "INs" to keep in mind apart from inspire: innovate, influence and intuit.
And when it comes to communication, it means being able to relay the essence of the matter at hand.
"These three INs will help create a more solid basis for inspiration," Mr Atikom says. "Participation from every level is crucial."
