In today’s competitive business environment, CEOs, managers and employees often find themselves asked to do more with fewer resources. It is important to make decisions quickly and accurately and yet advice from business experts on how to achieve that result varies greatly. The idea that intuition has a place in business seems to be gaining popularity, while at the same time, some business leaders only support a very structured, rational decision making process.
In today’s competitive business environment, CEOs, managers and employees often find themselves asked to do more with fewer resources. It is important to make decisions quickly and accurately and yet advice from business experts on how to achieve that result varies greatly. The idea that intuition has a place in business seems to be gaining popularity, while at the same time, some business leaders only support a very structured, rational decision making process.
Intuition is often cited in the creativity of artists and even as the inspiration for scientific breakthroughs. Einstein said, “The only real valuable thing is intuition.” It may surprise you that several of the most successful business owners have also recognized how important intuition has been in their success. Famous billionaires like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey and even Donald Trump have all publicly declared the value of using your intuition.
I understand intuition to be the direct grasp of truth and I have found that I can trust my intuition in aiding me to make decisions. I have learned how to tap into the power of my intuition by understanding how the mind works. Our creative mind is comprised of our conscious mind and our subconscious mind. The duty of the conscious mind is to assimilate our life’s experiences and build understandings that are then stored in subconscious mind. The duty of the subconscious mind is to fulfill the conscious minds desires. One of the ways the subconscious mind does this is by giving us guidance in the form of intuition.
The idea that intuition can be a valuable tool in business is becoming more widely accepted. Several major Universities including Stanford, MIT and the Columbia Business School are teaching courses in intuition and creativity in business. Business environments and strategies as well as the tools and resources we rely on are always changing. To stay competitive, businesses and business leaders need to evolve. Leading the field means to be embracing the latest ideas of successful business pioneers as well as pushing the envelope with our own experimentation.
Decision makers today have vast amounts of data available at their fingertips. In fact, a Google search of “intuition” produces 145 million results in .27 seconds, more than anyone could ever wade through. This has produced what some have called “analysis paralysis” or the inability to make a decision because there is so much information available. As Megatrends author John Naisbitt notes, “Intuition becomes increasingly valuable in the new information society precisely because there is so much data.” Analyzing more data will not give us the answers we are looking for. We need to go beyond computer models and spreadsheets and access more of our mind power to find real solutions.
The combination of using our logic, data research and our intuition can produce better quality decisions. Retired General Colin Powell suggests in his book My American Journey to, “Dig up all the information you can and then go with your instincts. We all have a certain intuition, and the older we get, the more we trust it. I use my intellect to inform my instinct. Then I use my instinct to test all this data. Hey, instinct, does this sound right? Does it smell right, feel right, fit right?”
That has been my experience as well. As a landlord, I did background checks first and then was usually left with several similar applicants to choose from. After years of experience, I began to trust my intuition more and I believe it helped me to make better choices. For the last nine years I have been a student and teacher of metaphysics and have studied intuition and the mind. I have learned that intuition is born of reasoning which is a conscious mind skill and is developed and built through mental discipline. Reasoning is the ability to use memory, attention and imagination to produce understanding. Anyone can become more intuitive and tap into this inner guidance system to create greater success in their lives. Like anything else, it takes practice. Daily concentration exercises help to hone the mind to become more aware of our outer environment as well as what is happening in our inner environment. Remembering and interpreting dreams and daily meditation help to open the door to our subconscious mind, which is the source of our intuition.
Here is a recent example of how I received intuitive guidance. I woke up and wrote down my dream. I then began to do some stretching to prepare to do some yoga. My mind and body were very relaxed and I was not thinking about anything. I received a “download”, what I refer to as a complete idea. It was a new presentation that included the title, a simple 4-step outline and two diagrams that explained it. It did not develop in my mind, I received it and observed it already fully developed. Intuition is much different than the linear, step-by-step, idea building process of my conscious mind.
My desire to aid people to live more fulfilling lives resulted in my subconscious mind giving me a complete idea for a presentation. Intuition is your subconscious mind’s response to your conscious mind’s desires. Forming clear needs and desires and setting your intention activates your subconscious mind. Relaxing and clearing your conscious mind of thoughts aids you to receive your intuitive guidance. People tap into their intuition in different ways. Some go for a walk, work in the garden or even take a bath. You can expand your intuitive skills if you so desire. Be scientific, experiment and test your intuition. Document your results and learn when you know you can trust it and you will have added to your ability to make better quality decisions.
