|
 Does intuition have a
place in corporate decision-making?
Intuition is a difficult concept to grasp for those
who perceive the world through only the five senses.
C. G. Jung in Psychological Types defined intuition
as being “perception via unconsciousness (1923, pg
568). Many define existence as being only what they
are consciously aware of. However, its lack of
distinguished substance or form does not undermine
its existence or usefulness. Intuition has played a
crucial human existence since the beginning of time.
Humans have avoided danger, made new discoveries,
proved new theories and predicted future outcomes,
all because someone had a “sense” about something.
It has been argued that the diminished reliance on
intuition and replacement with only that, which can
be proved by science, has caused mankind harm. Steve
Hagen, in his book Buddhism, Plain and Simple,
describes bondage as conceiving the world only
through the windows of our five senses (1997, pg 60)
Whether or not it is recognized or labeled as such,
intuition is deeply embedded in our society.
We
do not need to be consciously aware of intuition in
order to apply it to our lives. Often we unknowingly
accept information that comes to us without our
conscious awareness. Its method of delivery does not
undervalue its usefulness. Mario Bunge, in his book
Intuition and Science describes intuition as being
"all the intellectual mechanisms which we do not
know how to analyze or even name with precision, or
which we are not interested in analyzing or naming"
(3, p. 68). Businessmen, consultants and economist
recognized the importance of intuition. Even if they
do not label it as such, it is common to hear
discussions regarding its application. A
businessperson has a natural instinct for creating
financial success. A marketer senses a customer’s
response to a new product line. Stockbrokers
understand intuitively the flows of the market.
Financial analysts often speak of both feelings and
statistics when making stock predictions. A good
reporter can smell a story. They act on a hunch only
to find they are in the right place at the right
time.
In
fact, intuition has had a longtime standing in
business theory development. Keynes, the famed
economist once wrote: “And where our experience is
incomplete, we cannot hope to derive from it
judgments of probability without the aid either of
intuition or of some further a priori principle.
Experience, as opposed to intuition, cannot possibly
afford us a criterion by which to judge whether on
given evidence the probabilities of two propositions
are or are not equal” (17, p. 86).
So
you say what is the point of discussing intuition in
a business strategy? It is to bring to mind one
simple thought. Globalization has dramatically
changed the playing field. Many of the age old
barometers of thought are coming into question.
Forward looking, successful decision making may
require business leaders to reconsider all
possibilities. In a global and sometimes complicated
new world order, it may require use of all
senses--those commonly accepted and those not!
|