Intuition: Direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension…
Can we measure, qualify and quantify everything?… In an ideal world, all decisions should be based on solid facts and in-depth analysis… No?… No!
Actually, I believe many good decisions are made based on intuition. I’ve been testing this theory for a couple of months and realized it is an observable fact.
We’re in the conference room at a client’s office. Question to the CEO:
“Tell me what your main goals are. What do you think can be improved with the first project?”
Answer:
“I know there is a possibility for a 5% to 10% increase of our sales. I firmly believe that by improving our sales analysis we will notice that some of our products can be better distributed.”
Many examples and anecdotes made the CEO think that way.
He takes a little bit of his time to relate them to us, but this is all very theoretical and not really quantifiable…
I get it. The priority is not to discuss the matter, but to act:
We identify the available information (sales data, forecasting files, products categories…).
We take notes: intuitions, theories, goals, anecdotes and we make our action plan.
Two months later, same conference room:
We’re all sitting there looking at a dashboard and detailed, up-to-date sales analysis. Some very good products aren’t properly distributed. We quickly understand that we could get an increase in sales of at least 5%, and fast. No more questioning, we need to act!
Enthusiastic, the CEO and his team are satisfied and can’t wait to start the work. They now have clear indicators to keep track of the data from day to day. The initial intuition has been confirmed.
We say goodbye and until next meeting; I am sure to see a new intuition grow again…
As you can see, it is always beneficial to validate your intuitions.