June 2005

Innovation Tips

...ideas for thriving on collaborative genius

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Intuition

 

A conceptual leap, a strong hunch, instantaneous knowing, gut feel, creative synthesizing, visionary imagination—how shall we describe intuition? Intuition is not ranked among the five cognitive senses, yet intuition can be the "sixth sense" that makes sense of the other five.

 

"State your reasons!" "Define your terms." "Tell my why you think that." "Back that up with hard facts." These are the conventional oppressors of intuitive thinking. Hard-nosed decision making has little patience for the soft and imprecise guidance of intuition.

 

Yet the guidance of intuition must not be overlooked. Intuitive thinking often provides access to insights that are unattainable through conventional reasoning. Intuition, in one fell swoop, delivers solutions that step-by-step logic would never have seen.

 

When the inspiration of the intuitive vision arrives, we would do well to heed it. Though we can't account for the sources of intuition, the historical list of those who pursued these intuitive understandings is long.

 

From Einstein, to Bach, to Dante, to Picasso, intuitive visions, epiphanies, hunches and leaps have delivered some of the most profound breakthroughs in science, music, literature, and art. But what does intuition have to do with the practical business of managing an organization?

 

Everything.

 

Intuition sorts through the never-ending stream of facts to deliver invaluable insights that can guide decision-making. Facts alone are never enough. Intuition sorts through facts to get to the heart of a matter with lightning speed.

 

Intuition delivers the visions and epiphanies that enliven organizations with the anticipation of more promising futures. As the Psalmist observed, without vision, the people (and organizations) perish.

 

Intuition is forever scanning, like subliminal radar, the cognitive dissonance that leads to productive and often powerful change.

 

We know so little about intuition. It cannot be touched, smelled, tasted, seen, or heard. Yet intuition is often the perceptive source of guidance that can lead our organizations to greatness.

 

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