Intuition is the process of perceiving or knowing things without conscious thought. When you access your intuition for decision-making, you reap a number of benefits, such as the following:
You can make fast, effective decisions in complex and unfamiliar situations and in high stakes, dynamically changing situations, which are often standard at the strategic and executive level.
You gain access to deeper wisdom and intelligence.
Your decisions are more likely to align with your core values and sense of purpose.
You gain the energy you would otherwise lose when consciously trying to solve a problem.
You gain greater access to creative solutions.
As a business decision-maker, you can apply your intuition to all sorts of decisions: whether to make a particular investment, buy a business, pursue a merger acquisition, engage in a joint venture, and so on.
When you rely purely on your rational mind, you unintentionally blindside yourself. Sometimes, you want something to work so badly that you listen to the facts presented only to find out later that you missed the underlying data that revealed a different reality. In such situations, try to tap into your intuition, which is there to back up your rational thinking by letting you tune into what is invisible to most.
One entrepreneur told me he’d attended an angel investor pitch event (an event where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to potential investors). All the entrepreneur’s numbers made sense, but something didn’t ring true for the investor. His intuition told him not to invest. As it turned out, his intuition was right. The recruiting company gained investors but later folded.
If your decision-making is characterized by anxiety over which option to choose, or if you procrastinate because you’re not sure whether you’re making the right decision, the easiest thing you can do is listen to yourself.