When it comes to big data, trusting your intuition often gets a poor reputation. Data-driven decisions seem to be more realistic, objective and unbiased, whereas gut instincts are subjective and less reliable.
The assumption is that business decisions ought to be based on objective information.
Is that so?
A PwC survey asked executives the following simple question:
"When making your next big decision, what will you rely on?"
Here are their answers:
43% will rely on internal data & analytic
36% will rely on intuition & experience
21% will rely on external advice
The survey results indicate that executives understand the importance of data and are utilizing it to form their decisions.
Despite this, they appear to rely on both human judgement and analytics in their most important, high level decisions.
Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman writes in his book "Thinking Fast and Slow", that "intuition is nothing more or less than recognition". Intuition describes the feeling that you know something without actually being able to explain why or how you know it.
Our gut feeling is important and cannot be ignored!
What can you do to tap into your intuition?
Here are a few tips to follow:
1. Consider past experiences.
Consider a similar situation where you faced the same dilemma. How did you handle it? If so, what details did you provide? Take your time to gather the updated information and listen to your intuition as you make a new decision.
2. Make a mental map of the different routes you can follow and see which one feels right to you.
If you have multiple options, start with option 1 and envision what going this way would feel like. Then do the same with options 2 and 3. Simulations can help you determine what outcome is right for you.
3. Re-examine the data after 2-3 days.
In a few days, how does it feel compared to how you felt initially? Are there any missing details? Do you feel that the information is biased in any way? Those questions will likely lead to a new perspective when you retest it.
Think fast, and slow
As humans, we rely on intuition to make fast decisions.
Even so, using data can help us reduce the risks associated with poor decisions.
When making a quick decision, I recommend trusting the expert's intuition. Often, an expert's intuition is the result of a combination of experience, past learning, emotional experience, and historical data. Intuition has a higher level of value than basic data, so it's more valuable.
Are you ready for the next step?
Consequently, the next step is to utilize intuition and Artificial Intelligence [AI] to guide and perform cognitive tasks like decision making, problem solving, perception, and understanding human communication.
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