Better Decision-Making? Gut Feel Is More Important Than Ever. Business Speaker Laura Huang’s New Book
AI is starting to take over decision-making at some companies. In this new landscape, what sets high performers apart? It’s not hard work, says Laura Huang. It’s intuition. In her new book, You Already Know (out now!), this Northeastern and Harvard business prof reveals what she’s learned from years of studying Olympians, CEOs, Pulitzer Prize winners, and more. The most successful people, she says, combine data and personal experience to create their most powerful weapon: gut feel. And you can learn how to do the same.
“This book captures how intuition, coupled with the right experience, can fuel innovation in ways you’d never expect.”—Steve Chen, Cofounder of YouTube
Laura is the Director of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Center and a distinguished professor at Northeastern University. She’s also the author of Edge, “a must read for anyone seeking to stand out from the crowd” (Dan Pink), and You Already Know, a vital, scientific handbook for honing and harnessing your intuition. Laura sat down with Lavin to explain two steps to better decision-making.
Step 1: Train your gut.
Gut feel is the combination of data and experience—which means one of the most important things we can do is to give ourselves more of both. We all have a bank of things we already know (Laura calls these “priors”), and we can increase that bank to give ourselves more opportunity for a eureka moment.
“One of the things we can do is try and see our expertise from the vantage point of a novice,” Laura says. As a simple illustration: “Say you try brushing your teeth with the hand you don’t normally use—you might feel slightly awkward doing it, but you’ll start to notice new things, like where your gums hurt.” We can do the same thing in our personal and work lives, and avoid falling into the trap of assuming we know something that we actually don’t.
Step 2: Now trust it.
Once trained, gut feel doesn’t suggest—it compels. “I once asked a founder, ‘How did you know that it was time for you to quit your job and start this company?’” Laura recalls. “She said, ‘It wasn’t about knowing. It was more that I couldn’t not do it.’”
Too many of us gather all the data we need for a big decision, only to get stuck at the moment of truth. Gut feel helps us to avoid that. And Laura has good news: “You can always fix a bad decision, but you can’t fix a no decision.”
Still torn? Try flipping a coin. As you see the outcome, note how you’re feeling, and what your inner voice is telling you. Are you excited? Disappointed? Then note that feeling, trust your gut, and go take action.
Interested in hearing more from Laura?
Get in touch with us to learn more, and to book her to speak at your next event!
“This book captures how intuition, coupled with the right experience, can fuel innovation in ways you’d never expect.”—Steve Chen, Cofounder of YouTube
Laura is the Director of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Center and a distinguished professor at Northeastern University. She’s also the author of Edge, “a must read for anyone seeking to stand out from the crowd” (Dan Pink), and You Already Know, a vital, scientific handbook for honing and harnessing your intuition. Laura sat down with Lavin to explain two steps to better decision-making.
Step 1: Train your gut.
Gut feel is the combination of data and experience—which means one of the most important things we can do is to give ourselves more of both. We all have a bank of things we already know (Laura calls these “priors”), and we can increase that bank to give ourselves more opportunity for a eureka moment.
“One of the things we can do is try and see our expertise from the vantage point of a novice,” Laura says. As a simple illustration: “Say you try brushing your teeth with the hand you don’t normally use—you might feel slightly awkward doing it, but you’ll start to notice new things, like where your gums hurt.” We can do the same thing in our personal and work lives, and avoid falling into the trap of assuming we know something that we actually don’t.
Step 2: Now trust it.
Once trained, gut feel doesn’t suggest—it compels. “I once asked a founder, ‘How did you know that it was time for you to quit your job and start this company?’” Laura recalls. “She said, ‘It wasn’t about knowing. It was more that I couldn’t not do it.’”
Too many of us gather all the data we need for a big decision, only to get stuck at the moment of truth. Gut feel helps us to avoid that. And Laura has good news: “You can always fix a bad decision, but you can't fix a no decision.”
Still torn? Try flipping a coin. As you see the outcome, note how you’re feeling, and what your inner voice is telling you. Are you excited? Disappointed? Then note that feeling, trust your gut, and go take action.
Interested in hearing more from Laura?
Get in touch with us to learn more, and to book her to speak at your next event!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF2Z17J0-Lo&feature=youtu.be
