Intuitive Decision Making

Intuitive Decision Making: Decision making and intuition are two terms often used together. Intuition in relation to decision making is described as a non-sequential information processing model.It differs depending on insight or experience.

Intuition can influence the judgement of a manager or other individual through emotions or cognition. People use intuition in decision making and other decision making styles interchangeably, but there are indications that different people naturally feel more inclined towards a certain style.

Definition of intuitive decision making

Intuitive decision making is also jokingly referred to as the sixth sense. This comparison is made because a part of intuitive decision making includes gathering information that other people might miss. That’s why this is the opposite of rational decision making. Here analyses, facts and evaluations are used to reach a decision.

Intuitive decision making in business

In a business context, intuition is defined as subconscious expertise. Research has shown that this type of intuition is based upon a vast scope of knowledge, experience, perceptions, feelings and skills which an individual has acquired in the past. The effectiveness of this type of decision making in business is dependent on the context and expertise of the person who is making the decisions.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether intuition is the right approach. Still it has been proven that intuitive decision making can be effective under certain circumstances. The organisations must not, however, base their decisions on intuitive or rational decision making exclusively. More effective organisations need intuitive as well as rational decision making. When talking about the person making the decisions, there are two important factors to consider which influence the effectiveness of the decisions made. These factors are the expertise of the individual, and their processing style.

Advantages of intuitive decision making

Trusting intuition in decision making can, in the right context, have the following benefits:

• Based on intuition, a manager is able to make decisions quick and effectively in complex and new situations.
• Intuition helps to identify a goal in life. It is a part of the subconscious and therefore can help identify dreams which match personal values and goals.
• Individuals who trust their intuition are generally more open-minded towards new ideas. The rational mind trusts patterns which can sometimes be incomplete. Intuition can see things which the rational mind cannot, which means new opportunities might be discovered.
• Intuition can help read people. A potential client could be indicating they want to buy the services of a company, but the salesman can feel that the client is not planning on being cooperative. Intuition can help awareness for such signals. This could be the difference between success and failure.

Intuitive decision making tips and tricks

What are the most well-known types of decision making? How can I use my intuition to increase the effectiveness of my decision making? Is it possible to implement a more intuition-based type of decision making at my work environment? Can I train my intuition? Can it be dangerous to trust my intuition?