Synopsis
Some people don’t think that intuition has a place in business. But what is intuition, really? The dictionary defines intuition as
The direct perception of truth or facts, independent of any reasoning process; it is an immediate apprehension; or a keen and quick insight into something.
But is intuition really independent of reasoning? Dr. Misner shares the story of how he came to learn that intuition is not about instinct but about quickly using reasoning given your amassed understanding of a particular issue.
(The fun part is that he learned this by reading Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.)
Your “gut feelings” won’t always be right, but don’t ignore them. Dr. Misner’s experience has shown him that intuition definitely has a place in business.
Do you have story about how intuition has served you well in business or in life? Or about a time you did not follow your intuition and regretted it? Share it in the comments below.
Complete Transcript of Episode 686
Ivan:I am doing great. And I’ve been doing video messages all over the world. I’m, you know, basically traveling by video to many, many regions around the world. I miss the handshakes, Priscilla. I think I’ve probably shaken more hands than most politicians. I miss meeting people. I’m looking forward to the day that I am released to go out and meet people again.
Priscilla:Yeah, we all are.
Ivan:Yes, indeed. So, interesting question: what do you think, Priscilla? Is there room for intuition in business?
Priscilla:I Love the idea of using intuition for business. So I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say about it.
Ivan: Well, my answer to the question is yes, most definitely. Now, decades ago, I may not have thought that, but over the years, I’ve really changed my opinion. And I believe that intuition can be another tool in the business tool belt. Now the definition of intuition is “The direct perception of truth or facts, independent of any reasoning process; it is an immediate apprehension; or a keen and quick insight into something.”
So years ago, I read a science fiction book—and there’s a somewhat unknown fact about me: I love science fiction books. I really started that love when I was a teenager, and my mother bought me 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. And I just loved that book, and I read it long before the movie came out. So I enjoy science fiction, that’s my guilty pleasure, that and some television shows, but anyway, science fiction.
I read this book, and it talked about, “intuits”, I-N-T-U-I-T-S. These are people in their society, in this sci-fi book, who seemed to understand things instinctively. And the intuits were thought to have this incredible ability to have immediate cognition of a situation. But the truth was that the intuits developed the skills to quickly assemble the facts, analyze the data, and predict the probabilities based on their field of expertise. And yeah, the book was science fiction but it made a statement that really resonated with me. It said something that totally flies in the face of the definition that I read.
It said that intuits trained for many years in a specific field; they trained in different fields, and that it wasn’t just an instinctual understanding of an issue, but in fact it was about quickly using reasoning given their amassed understanding of a particular issue. And in the real world, that’s basically what predictive analytics does using computers today.
So, having reconsidered my opinion on instincts, I noticed that as I acquired more experience in my field, both in terms of networking and running a global business, I found myself better at assessing issues quickly and having a “gut feeling” about the direction I should go. And what I had presumed was instinct was, at least in part, quickly assessing the situation given my amassed knowledge of a particular subject. What some people think of as instinct might, in fact,
