“Trust Your Gut” is Still Great Business Advice
It was a dumb decision.
My work schedule was overbooked.
My personal schedule was the same.
No way should I be going to Disney World with a client’s leadership team.
The objective analysis said “don’t go.”
But my gut told me that the best thing I could possibly do was say yes.
When in doubt…
I trust my gut.
***
My gut was right. It usually is.
Not because I’m always right. But when I get *that* feeling, which isn’t all the time, it’s based on more than a split-second decision.
I’m not unique, either. You have this same capability.
The team member you know you need to move on.
The prospect you know will make a difficult client.
The investment you know is worth the expense.
Trusting your gut is trusting yourself. It’s trusting your own judgment and your experience.
Instinct looks easy in the moment. It seems to come from nowhere.
In reality, instinct is the product of a thousand data points, processed while you were blissfully unaware.
It’s hard-earned. And as a CEO, it’s one of the best assets you’ve got.
***
Don’t confuse trusting your gut with being a chaos agent.
Decision-making should start with facts. Gather the facts you know. Identify the ones you don’t.
Recognize that you will probably never have all of the data you’d like or need (think about your CRM, and you’ll recognize the delta between theoretically possible and actually attainable).
Your instincts, trusting your gut is the 10-15% that’s required for some decisions.
It’s what you get paid for. To make the tough calls that don’t have a clear answer.
And to take the heat when your choice was wrong.
My gut is wrong about 10% of the time. It can be ugly.
But I’ll take those odds all day long.
It comes down to this: It’s your business. Nobody knows your business better than you do.
Trust yourself.
Trust your gut.
P.S. How did Disney turn out? I made the right call. I spent the trip surrounded by some of the most amazing people I’m proud to call colleagues. I misspoke before. It’s not their leadership team. It’s ours.
