As business professionals, some of our best decisions come from a gut instinct. When we are brave enough to listen to an internal signal that gives us an idea, often we cannot point to what makes our idea worth trying, but we have a drive to prove that it is the right direction.
We trust our inner voice in the absence of outside evidence to take a risk and follow our intuition to see where it leads. When paired with a strategic approach for exploring an idea, the payoff can be great.
On the flip side, many of us have ignored internal alarm bells for too long, costing time, money or heartbreak. The internal signals pushing us to go for something we know will work are data that can’t be found on a spreadsheet or in a quarterly report.
Trusting your gut
Our intuition is built on our unique experience, collective knowledge and an unquantified feeling that “this is the direction that is right” or “something is off here.” When we are only focused on numbers, those instincts get ignored or dismissed.
Intuition brings heart to the logical, statistical side of business. It infuses depth, emotion and understanding and can appeal to customers who typically respond with emotion, not according to your bar graph or strategic plan. Trusting your intuition leads to lessons, successes and outcomes that might never have been possible with only a spreadsheet of numbers or AI-generated output.
Everyone has intuition. Whether you can hear it depends on how loud it is and the environment that either encourages or discourages it. Some ways to integrate allowing yourself and your team to listen to their intuition include:
Make space for quiet
Often the loudest voices get heard, not the most intuitive.
The culture of busy and hustle leaves little time for slowing down and listening to internal signals. Allow time for quiet contemplation and consideration as part of the workday. Offer different ways for staff to bring forward ideas and give space to listen to and share ideas from client conversations, numbers that give pause or other signals that come from environmental clues rather than data crunching.
Having one day per week without meetings gives the whole office time to process all the information, let ideas percolate and listen to internal voices that drive further investigation and creative thinking.
Encourage ideas
Creating an environment where ideas will be considered leads to greater innovation and collaboration. Everyone feels invested because they feel heard. Try team meetings where all ideas are on the table before the process of eliminating possibilities or deciding on the “best” idea starts.
The first person proposes an idea, the next person says what they like about the previous idea and proposes something additional until there is a list of 10 or more ideas, all of which have a kernel of a good idea to work from.
If your team is used to self-censoring because ideas are not encouraged, it will take a cultural shift to evaluate the work environment and encourage open sharing and nonjudgmental listening.
Give yourself and others permission
Let people try ideas and take risks on gut feelings. There might be a feeling that a certain product would be successful, but it has never been explored. Decide on a budget, a timeline for getting the idea off the ground and the numbers to hit to qualify the idea as a success. Pairing gut feeling with numbers to achieve the balance of head and heart opens new avenues for problem solving and innovation.
In Maine, the tight labor market, quickly changing business environment and unique work landscape make confident, intuitive decision-making a competitive advantage. Maine’s economy leans heavily on small, family-run businesses, where owners rarely have a research department standing by, but the firsthand knowledge of customers and employees carries real weight.
The state’s most famous company began this way. In 1912, Freeport hunter Leon Leonwood Bean had no data telling him there was demand for a better hunting boot, just cold, wet feet and a hunch that other outdoorsmen shared the problem. He sketched a design, ordered a small test batch. When the first run fell apart and was returned, he trusted the idea was still sound, refunded every customer and kept trying.
Bean’s instinct, paired with action, became the Maine Hunting Shoe and the company built around it, L.L.Bean, which today yields $2 billion in revenue a year, boosts the local economy with job creation and gives back to the community.
Even smaller businesses with employees who trust their intuition see more creative ideas than what purely data-driven processes might.
With the increase in AI data analysis, intuition will add human depth, uniqueness and meaningful connection that will engage teams with the purpose they seek in their work and allow businesses to stand out with heart, authenticity and a deep understanding of their values and customers.
