Short Report: When To Trust Your Gut

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Short Report: When to Trust Your Gut

Alden M. Hayashi surmises that the emotions and feelings of top executives might not only be important to making good decisions but may actually be essential. After interviewing several top executives, Hayashi states that he too, "Tries to make and track decisions by trusting his gut and not squelching his emotions."

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Biological Basis of Intuition

Many top executives rely on a "gut feeling", rather than facts and figures, to make a final decision of any magnitude. Bob Lutz of Chrysler, Richard Aldoo of Wisconsin Energy Corporation, and Ralph Larsen of Johnson & Johnson, all describe the effects of this gut feeling as one they have come to count on when faced with a big decision. They describe it as a tingly feeling, a feeling in their stomach, or an "aha" sensation.

Bob Lutz was at the helm of Chrysler when the company was stalled by stiff competition in the early 90's. He was driving his own Ford Cobra convertible on a country road when it hit him that he was enjoying a competitor's car and decided to do something daring for Chrysler. At that time, none of Chrysler's cars could give him the rush he felt when he was in the Cobra. He pursued putting one of the more powerful Chrysler truck engines in a small sleek car. The Dodge Viper was born. Lutz said everyone advised him against the risk but he followed his gut. He said "it just felt right." That decision changed the public perception of Chrysler.

That vague feeling or hunch is what sets boys apart from men in the corporate world. Scientists have studied how people make decisions and have come to call hunches the X-factor. Researchers find that it occurs when the conscious mind connects with something on a sub-conscious level. To explain how this happens, the logical side can be thought of as left-brained and the emotional, intuitive side can be thought of as right-brained.

Many executives tap into this right-brained thinking by daydreaming, jogging, listening to music, or meditating. Since the brain is linked to the entire central nervous and hormonal system, it explains why physical feelings are present when a gut reaction occurs. Further research shows that to be able to make good decisions, the emotional stability of the person making the decision must be balanced. Experience enables people to chunk information into storage so they can retrieve it easily. Scientists think CEO's store information in patterns or pieces that make the whole picture clearer.

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