11/ 30/ 2007
by Shannon McRae
In the business world, research reports and benchmarks play a major role in most decisions. Having a hunch might work for detectives but most businesspeople still prefer black-and-white numbers. Yet recent research reveals that decisions based on instincts might be just as--if not more--reliable than those we deliberate for hours, days or even months. If you like to look more than leap, discover why trusting your gut is good for your small business.
Sean Tharp has been certain about only two things in his life--the first was marrying his wife Amanda, and the second was opening his business. "My gut told me to do it," says Tharp, who started Seriously Insane Auto Concepts in Knoxville, Tenn., six years ago. "I knew I was not the kind of person who could work for someone else."
Success wasn't guaranteed for Tharp, a high-school dropout who borrowed $3,000 to start his custom auto business. But as he now strives to top $500,000 in sales by the end of the year, he knows his intuition was right. "I still have a lot to learn in business," says Tharp, who later went back to get his GED. "But this is something I know I'm good at."
In the business world, hard data is still king. Spreadsheets, research reports and benchmarks play a major role in most big decisions. Having a hunch might work for detectives, but most businesspeople still prefer black-and-white numbers over nebulous feelings. Yet recent research reveals that decisions based on instincts, or gut feelings, might be just as--if not more--reliable than those we deliberate for hours, days and even months. The bottom line: Learning to trust yourself is good for your business.
Malcolm Gladwell's best-selling book Blink (Little, Brown and Company, 2005) examines the idea that your best decisions are the ones you make within the first two seconds of any circumstance. "It's thinking," Gladwell explains. "It's just thinking that moves a little faster and operates a little more mysteriously than the kind of deliberate, conscious decisionmaking that we usually associate with 'thinking.' "
If the notion of making a decision about your business within two seconds scares you, you're not alone. "People who tend to be more logical and structured--the left-brain thinkers--often have a harder time with intuitive thinking," says Lynne Robinson, a speaker and author of Trust Your Gut: How the Power of Intuition Can Grow Your Business (Kaplan Business, 2006). The good news is that both approaches work well together. "It's not that gut feelings are good, and logic is bad," Robinson says. "We have both sets of skills and want to be able to combine them."
Discerning whom to trust in today's culture
Frank Ciotola ascribes to the combination theory himself. "Gut instincts are formed by previous research and experience," says Ciotola, an investment counselor who helped manage his family's Columbus, Ohio-based Italian restaurant for 15 years before it closed. "You have an element of gut instinct, but it's based on how well you've prepared up to that point."
Robinson says past experiences are important for productive intuitive thinking. "Everyone has a different definition of intuition--even people who don't call it intuition," she says. Many business owners feel more comfortable after they've "immersed themselves in data--then they feel an intuition," Robinson says.
For Ciotola and many other independent-business owners, that subconscious feeling serves as an internal guide about whom they can trust--whether business partners, employees or vendors. "Trust is worth its weight in gold," Ciotola says. "And that comes from the unfortunate fact that you can trust fewer people these days. Have I ever trusted someone blindly? Probably. But in general I feel better about doing the appropriate research first. It helps me build my gut instincts."
Building and trusting your intuition is even more important for success in business today, Ciotola says. "I remember when we started our family business, other small-business owners extended my father credit on a handshake--and he paid back every penny," he says.
"But times have changed. I don't see many deals being made on a handshake now because of two reasons: Some of the small businesses have gone away, and the larger companies that have replaced them can't afford to take the risks," he says. "And a lot of people have been burned. There are more lawsuits, regulations and mandates today that have taken away our ability to run our businesses."
Tharp agrees that today's environment makes it difficult to extend trust freely. Recently, someone broke into his shop and stole tools worth $10,000. "We still don't know who did it," Tharp says. "When you've built something from nothing, you worry about it. Since I deal with parts and tools, someone could come in here and wipe me out in one fell swoop."
Tharp says he is extremely careful about whom he employs--and even more careful about whom he trusts. His wife and his shop foreman, who has been with him for years, are the only people he confides in completely when it comes to business decisions.
Though no one wants to be considered cynical, the truth is, times have changed. And because today's business environment demands a more discerning approach, honing your instincts is crucial.
Author Lynn Robinson says your intuition not only steers you in the right direction, it also protects you. "It operates like your inner compass," Robinson says, "and can point you away from danger."
Learning to listen to yourself
If you categorize yourself as a left-brain thinker, the idea of intuitive thinking--or listening to your inner compass--might sound like hocus-pocus. But to Bonnie Hanyak, that inner voice has been a major force in the success of her Marcellus, N.Y.-based Chocolate Pizza Company, a retail and online candy and gift store that specializes in chocolate pizzas and wings.
"If I had asked anyone 20 years ago what they thought about the idea of selling chocolate pizzas, they'd have said I was crazy," Hanyak says. "But I just knew it'd be a success."
Hanyak has trusted those gut instincts countless times since starting the business from her basement in 1986. "We've moved locations seven times," she says. "And each time, I think to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, do I dare do this?' " But trusting her own judgment has gotten easier--mainly because she's not afraid of failure. "When you first start out, you think the world is going to change if you make the wrong decision, but it's really not," she says.
Hanyak used to discuss her big decisions with others, but when all the different opinions became more confusing than helpful, she learned to trust her own instincts. Many business owners become better at trusting themselves, and Robinson says that's because intuitive thinking is a learned skill. "What's frustrating about gut feelings is that they're so hard to define," she says. Becoming an intuitive thinker "is like developing muscles; you learn to develop your thinking muscles."
Robinson offers several exercises for those who like to look more than leap. Asking yourself open-ended questions often allows your intuition to surface. "Write a question on a 3x5 card at the beginning of each day," Robinson says. "You'll find yourself having flashes of insight throughout the day. Intuition comes when you least expect it--in the shower, driving home from work, while walking the dog."
It usually doesn't come when your mind is overloaded and overwhelmed (which is probably how most business owners feel on most days). "Take an intuition walk," Robinson says. "Push yourself away from your desk and take a break. Get out of the office for a little while, and you'll get an answer to a question that you might not have gotten otherwise."
Overcoming failure
Even the most intuitive business owners still make bad decisions sometimes. Hanyak was forced to close her first retail store because its location didn't bring in enough foot traffic. But that setback didn't stop her from trusting her instincts about future decisions. "I'm not frightened when something doesn't work," Hanyak says. "That's how you grow and learn. You just keep going."
Seriously Insane Auto Concept's Sean Tharp says he trusts his instincts now much more than he did during the early days of business. "I was erratic in my decisions when I first started this company," Tharp says. "I probably put the company in jeopardy."
If you've trusted your instincts in the past only to learn later that you were wrong--maybe the perfect job applicant ended up stealing from you or the second location never paid for itself--don't doubt yourself forever.
"What I've found when I thought I was trusting my intuition and it later turned out wrong is that another opportunity was given to me," Robinson says. "Sometimes good things happen, just not exactly the way you thought."
If a nagging notion continues to hang around in your head, don't ignore it, even if it feels like a crazy risk. Chances are, it's your subconscious trying to help you make a decision. "Intuition is accurate if it doesn't go away," Robinson says. "It will keep coming back. You can't ignore it."
Gaining Insight
Three tips for harnessing your intuition
1. Be clear about what you want. When facing a tough decision, make sure you're focusing your energy in the right place. "I'm a big believer in being clear about what you want versus what you don't want," says author Lynn Robinson. "Don't just say, ‘I want to hire a salesperson.' Say, ‘I want to hire a salesperson who gets along well with the team, is a good leader and has a proven track record.' "
2. Ask the question. At the beginning of each day, determine a problem you want to solve. Then ask yourself an open-ended question. Robinson recommends writing it down on a 3 x 5 card. When ideas come to you throughout the day, jot them down on the card. At the end of the day, review your thoughts. You might be surprised to realize how many intuitive thoughts you had.
3. Clear your mind. How many brilliant ideas have you hatched in the middle of a stressful day? Intuition rarely surfaces when you're struggling to get your to-do list done. For that reason, Robinson recommends taking a break--even if it's just for five minutes. Take a brisk walk, run an errand alone in your car or just let your mind rest briefly. Give your inner voice a chance to be heard.
NFIB.com
Are you a busy small-business owner looking for more tips on personal growth? Learn more in "Leadership Development" in the "Growth and Planning" section of www.NFIB.com/toolsandtips.
