What are instincts? They are specific and clear ideas that come from our collective learning, contextual experiences, perceptions, and reflections which develop into a new, advanced insight about a particular subject matter. Data is information. The synergy of instincts and data acts as a point/counter-point decision-making framework that can help us innovate products and services as well as improve our self-awareness in service of professional development. Many people, myself included, have had a hunch about something, not followed it, and then later observed with great clarity that the hunch was correct. Sometimes, we dismiss our instincts since they are not fact-based the way data is, so we weigh our decisions more heavily on data versus instincts.

 

A better framework is to integrate both, and we can use a decision-balance exercise to ensure we are not being misled by personal biases, or perhaps data that was unscientifically collected and analyzed. Either could lead to a false conclusion. Complex problems require this level of effort and analysis. Many young professionals I have worked with face a common challenge when they arrive at a point in their career in which they ask themselves the question if they should get an advanced degree like an MBA or similar in service of advancing their careers. I had a client working in the M&A industry who faced such a challenge. His instincts were to pursue the degree. The data was less clear about the short-term and long-term payout vs. the cost of time, effort, and money. Over several weeks of reflection, and engaging in a decision-balance exercise, he was able to come to clear analysis of his instincts and the data. He included secondary costs and benefits as well, such as time away from his partner, and less personal time for himself. Additional benefits were outcomes like an expanding a network he would otherwise not have access to, the likelihood of having a world-class mentor after completing the program, and branding himself with an ivy-league advanced degree. This awarded him the ability to have a realistic, but also optimistic mindset, driven by clear goals and sub-goals. He also had a great support system with his family, friends, and partner who acknowledged and supported this sacrifice in a way that lightened the emotional stress and work-life balance that would inevitably come from working a high-performing full-time job, attending classes, networking with professors and peers, and of course studying and learning new material. After completing the program, he had multiple job offers from top firms that he had been courting. His salary, and more importantly for him, his leadership position, had also been elevated from where he had been working. It was a home run decision which I believe will give him a lifetime of returns.

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The Exercise:

Decision-Balance: This is a simple exercise. Preferably, it is something to be done over a matter of days or weeks. It’s a scratch pad, and you should cross-out and add to it spontaneously.