I confess: I’ve been hurt by my belief in the saying, “Consult an expert before making a decision.”
Many times, I’ve suffered losses from decisions made after consulting others. They said, “Buy,” and I bought, but the price dropped, and I lost money; they said, “Sell,” and I sold, but the price skyrocketed…
Since the topic of advisors is being frequently discussed these days, I wanted to share my experiences with you.
My advisors were usually tele-experts broadcasting on YouTube. I followed their advice on issues I struggled to decide on, and I was wrong…
The opposition is most curious about how many advisors are in the Presidential Palace and how much they are paid. They even submit parliamentary questions to find out.
Personally, I’m curious about how the advisory mechanism works in the Presidential Palace.
The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, later explained how he acted when he struggled with the issues presented to him for decision-making. Since simpler issues were resolved by his staff before reaching him, only the difficult problems made it to his desk.
Like the state of the American economy when he took office.
“In March of 2009, just a couple of months into my presidency, the economy was in freefall. Unemployment was up to 8.5 percent, on its way to ten percent. 800,000 Americans lost their jobs that month, families across the country were losing their homes, a tanking stock market was depleting their 401ks, and a difficult credit market was making it hard for small business owners to take out the loans they needed.”
I assume that as you read this, another country with economic troubles came to mind.
Obama says that with a single decision, the economy started growing within six months.
He placed the burden of the solution on the big banks, despite constant objections from his advisors… Within a year, the banks had paid back every penny of the taxpayers’ money, with interest…
Obama believes he found the right answer by listening to his inner voice rather than relying on his close associates and advisors.
In similarly difficult decision-making situations, I wonder what President Tayyip Erdoğan does?
When he said, “The divine command is clear, who are we to argue,” was he listening to the advice of his close associates, or was he following his own intuition?
Or, when it became apparent that the economy was worsening, whose idea was it to appoint Mehmet Şimşek, considering that he knows the global markets and is recognized by international financiers?
Understanding who made these two past decisions is important to foresee where the rumors of Treasury and Finance Minister Şimşek’s resignation might lead.
I’m also curious about how decisions were made in foreign policy, especially given that some decisions made in the last decade have led to regret and subsequent attempts at change.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is expected in Ankara after ten years of estrangement.
What happened during the process that led to the estrangement?
During that time, the theory that we should actually be neighbors with Libya, and therefore the waters between the two sides of the Mediterranean should be called the ‘Blue Homeland,’ was proposed, leading to Egypt and Greece becoming close allies.
Whose idea was it to purchase the S-400 defense system from Russia, to the tune of $2.5 billion, to stand up to the U.S.?
Who was the first to say, “This way, we can also make Russia forget that we downed their plane”?
The S-400 was purchased, but its deployment has been continuously postponed.
The purchase of the S-400 led to a rift with the U.S. To the extent that Washington decided not to deliver the F-35 jets to Turkey, despite the fact that some parts were produced in our country, providing income for small and medium-sized enterprises, and that payment had already been made—probably around $2.5 billion.
Whose judgment prevailed during that process?
Now, after taking the path with the view that “Let relations with the U.S. deteriorate if they must, after all, they support the PYD/YPG structure in our south,” we find ourselves needing to reconcile with Syria, make peace with Assad, and settle for the backward technology of F-16 jets. Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers continue to support the PYD/YPG.
Believe me, other questions also come to mind, but the article would get too long, and my main point might be overlooked.
My main point is to understand how decisions are reached in the Presidential Complex when these complex issues are discussed…
Obama’s mother used to say to him, “The world is complicated, Bar. That’s why it’s interesting.”
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[The translation of the article is by ChatGPT with some minor modifications.]
