What We Know About Leading with Intuition

In this HBR IdeaCast episode, Adi Ignatius and Alison Beard discuss the role of intuition in decision-making and interview Laura Huang, a professor and author of "You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition." Huang explains her research on gut feel, which combines data and experience, and how it differs from Daniel Kahneman's views. She emphasizes that gut feel isn't a mystical power but a culmination of expertise, background, and personal experiences. Huang details her research methodology, which includes interviews, field experiments, and archival data analysis. She advises listeners to understand and train their intuition, use it for complex problems, and differentiate it from mere emotion by recognizing the "intuiting process" and "gut feel outcome." The conversation includes examples from Adi's career and insights from figures like Barry Diller, illustrating how intuition, when properly honed, can lead to successful outcomes.