I am sure you will all agree that the world is changing at a very brisk pace and catching up with time has been a challenge lately. The scarcity of time in today's social setting is forcing people to make quick decisions. And this in turn leaves little time for logical analysis and thus, increasing number of decisions are being made on Gut Instinct rather than careful & broad analysis of opinions.
Many successful entrepreneurs will tell you that they went with their gut and that has been the key to their stupendous success. But always remember that for every 1 decision made on gut that turns out right, 9 don't.
To fully comprehend this, let me introduce this concept of "Gut Reaction vs Gut Decision". Gut Reaction is about quickly making a decision on instinct due to an overwhelmingly eye-catching point. Just like you pick a stock immediately after you hear someone at the coffee table talking of its good prospects. On the other hand, Gut Decision is made calmly after analysing the situation and drawing lessons from experience. So the latter definitely allows you to make a better decision.
Now the problem is that with business models changing every day, there is an increasing demand for quick decision-making and thorough logical analysis, more often than not, leads to an obsolete decision. The most I would say is that it is a myth. With a powerful think tank that is insightful and quick, you can combine fast analysis to support your instinct and come up with a good decision.
Sometimes it is also possible to get carried away by simply following guts. Sometimes you think too much. Sometimes you purposely go with your gut to recover losses, although what you are doing may be stupid. Sometimes you "Overfit Data" or in other words see patterns where none exist.
So let me list down FOUR GOLDEN RULES to enable you to make satisfactory decisions by following your Guts.
1) Always be sure if you are going with a Gut Reaction or a Gut Decision
2) Create Your own Comfort Zone so that you are comfortable taking decisions within your own set parameters of risk. This will allow you to go with your guts and not regret your decisions.
3) Ask yourself if you are being forced into following your Gut. Are colleagues forcing u into a quick decision? Is the boss after your life for an instant reply from you? It allows you to think straight and see for yourself if you should follow your gut or not.
4) After following your gut, be Confident. This allows you to be happy and not sob over your decision.
Hope my post allowed you to look at guts at a more fundamental and deeper level. Its impossible to escape gut, but how you make the most of it is in your hands.
References: Works of Alden Hayashi (Harvard Business Review) and
6 comments:
interesting, never thought business decisions are taken on gut.. very educative post dude.. but is it a good business strategy at all to take decisions last minute.. and then gamble it on a gut feeling..
definitely it is a bad idea to take decisions last minute...but these days the democratisation of information has led to what I would term "zero paper-advantage"...which essentially means that almost everyone in the industry you are competing with has access to almost similar information on paper but it is when you can make decisions on gut, backed by good advice from your think-tank has good foresight, that you can have a considerable advantage...although you might get it wrong sometimes, you anyway do not have the luxury of time coz someone else might beat u to it!
nice.. zero paper advantage... hmm... what i suddenly think... is since everyone has access to information... there will be a number of decision makers.. and the whole decision may be diluted... wotsay ???
I always believe in trusting your instincts.. be it in business or anywhere else..Great post dude!
well i reli liked the bit abt ppl forcing us to take decisions..or influencing us unknowingly.. realised how much true it is sumtimes.. tanx for the awakening :-)
thought provoking post !!! keep going !!!
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