Make 2010 “The Year of Intuition.” It’s a science more than an art. Good intuition is the mark of a true leader, and your best decision making tool. It will become more valuable as you become more hurried or stressed.
In a very real sense, your intuition is a deeply-stored collection of experiences and successes or failures. So here are seven ways to nurture and celebrate a great intuition, plus a bonus.
1. Tap into your memories: Celebrate and reflect on your memories. You remember what you did, and more importantly why you did it well. Any vivid memory is the foundation for your intuition; it will help you when you need help the most, and the most immediately.
2. Spread light, not heat … or bile: Your grandmother said it best: “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything.” Your intuition only works well when it’s used to create or support something worthwhile. You are full of light; so let your intuition shine. Avoid negative people and it will shine even brighter.
3. Value human interaction: There’s really no such thing as a company, a government, even a team (they’re just convenient fictions or shorthand). They confuse or distract your intuition. There’s really only people. Stay focused on your interactions with the best people, or at least alongside them. Then your intuition will develop the human warmth and gratitude you’ll need to become happy.
4. Cherish every great story: If it’s worth remembering and is about people, it’s a story. Stories are older than fire, and radiate more warmth between us. A good story will validate a correct intuitive response, so mark it well and enjoy the mental slide show as it unfolds behind your eyes.
5. Trust yourself and your team: Anything worth remembering is worth sharing. Expressing an intuition is an act of faith in yourself and your team. The sooner you can start trusting, the sooner your intuition can start helping you.
6. Test and assess: Share each intuition with your team; their constructive criticism will verify that it’s valid. Then see where it gets you, and plan accordingly.
7. Know where you’re going: Don’t waste your intuition on whatever’s been pushing you around in circles. Decide your One Thing and let every intuition carry you toward it.
Bonus: I always told my daughters, “Do what you want, and pay for it.” My mistakes are usually really big ones, and I’ve willingly acknowledged and paid for them. That doesn’t mean I’ll abandon the intuitions that led me to that wrong decision. As long as our mistakes are based on intuition, we can live with them. So correct them if possible, learn from them, and quickly get yourself and your intuition back to the drawing board.
