Trust your gut instinct! Really?

Sure, gut instinct has its place in business and in your life.

"Your gut feeling is your soul speaking to you." (anonymous)

It's useful when you need to make a fast decision. And, I would say, a less important decision.

Careful consideration, data and planning are more suited to important business decisions, especially when you are afforded a little more time to make your choice.

"Your gut is often biased, unpredictable, and misinformed" (me!)

I prefer to rely on logic, data and planning first and foremost before listening to my gut.

For example, if I have narrowed down my final decision to two equally good options, based on data and logic, I may choose to use 'gut instinct' (it's no longer instinctive after a period of reasoning, but hey ho!) to make my final decision.

Just because you can, doesn't always mean you should!

Real Life:

I worked with a colleague who constantly talked about his gut instincts. And he made a LOT of bad decisions - I mean, some real stinkers.

But here's the rub—he was a very analytical person, a detail-oriented man, and a real planner. So why was he so determined to trust his gut?

The answer is that he thought it looked better. Made him look more like a leader. Garnered respect. Making snap decisions is a sign of strength, right?

Wrong. Good decisions, not necessarily fast decisions, are a sign of strength.

You can't always rely on trusting your gut.

Whilst it's very good at helping you run away from a lion, it's less good at business planning. ??

"my gut tells me" should be reserved for when a hungry lion is after you, and not for big business decisions. ??

Do you disagree? Cheers,

Matt