Here's how you can balance intuition and analytical skills in entrepreneurship

This is true, intuitive intelligence is a great resource in decision making. Listening to it and trusting it are key in this regard. Yet one of the most challenging things when it comes to honing our intuitive skills is identification. Indeed, being able to put one’s finger on our instinct can be tricky. Not least because such perceptions are subtle (and because we don’t learn to recognise our gut feeling at school !). Trusting our gut is a journey…

The integration of analytical skills in decision-making processes is a cornerstone of successful business strategies. Systematic data analysis allows for a comprehensive understanding of various factors that can impact business outcomes. Tools like SWOT and cost-benefit analysis serve as frameworks to organize information and provide insights that might not be immediately apparent through intuition alone. By combining these analytical methods with entrepreneurial instincts, decision-makers can craft strategies that are both innovative and resilient to potential risks. This dual approach ensures that decisions are not only made with confidence but are also adaptable to the ever-changing business landscape.

Yes, in entrepreneurship, embracing failure and learning makes it easier to gradually own analytical and intuitive intelligence. For that reason, agile methodologies/practices help organisations integrate intuitive intelligence in their decision -making processes…

Like our analytical brain, intuition is also (very) helpful to spot risks! In my experience, it can precisely draw our attention to critical issues. To take a telling example, it can draw our attention to a cell containing an error in a huge model - and our rational thinking can then take over. In a nutshell : Intuitive intelligence and analytical skills go hand in hand, even when it comes to gauging risks!

I don’t like the way this paragraph is framed - as an “either or” statement. As if we made decisions based either 100 % on an analytical approach or 100 % on an intuitive approach… Decision-making rarely happens that way ! Good decisions often rely on a blend of intuitive AND analytical inputs (in varying degrees obviously). And it does not even necessarily happen in a sequential fashion (first intuitive approach ; then analytical approach - or the reverse) or in a “ping-pong” way (The rational mind can help us make one step forward, our instinct can help us do the second, the analytical brain can then take over again, and so forth). Decision-making processes can involve both intuitive and analytical intelligences collaboratively !

Indeed, taking a step back and adjusting is helpful to learn how to balance intuitive and analytical insights. In this regard, I highly recommend writing and note-taking. This helps form clarity and be as objective as possible about intuitive signals and actual events. Also, documenting the way our instinct manifests itself is particularly handy to help us recognise our gut feeling and tell it apart from other inputs (such as emotions, biases or desires). Plus, writing forces us to clarify our intuitive signals and to bring more attention and awareness on our sensitive side, which nurtures a virtuous cycle (when you focus more on your instinct, the latter gets stronger and more easily recognisable…).

This is such a great question and really speaks to me as someone who is very intuitive, an entrepreneur, and also very analytical. I find it to be an excellent balance between the two. Balancing intuition and analytical skills is crucial for successful entrepreneurship. It is best to embrace both intuition and analysis. Recognize the value of both intuition and analytical thinking in entrepreneurship. Intuition allows you to make quick decisions based on gut feelings and instincts, while analysis provides a logical and evidence-based approach. Embrace both as important tools in your entrepreneurial journey.