Psychological theories go in and out of fashion. Right now we’re hearing a lot about “mindset” and we’re not seeing books or articles about intuition.
That’s a shame because intuition is not woo-woo. It’s an extremely powerful source of guidance if you know how to listen. It’s that inner voice saying, “Don’t do it….” Or on the contrary, “ignore your fears and forge ahead!”
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I recently heard a marketing expert – someone I really respect – encourage people to follow through when they get excited about an idea. Too many people, he said, just store the idea away on their hard drive…and as a result, they miss out on big opportunities.
I see that with clients who get excited about stories. They really, really want to tell a story. When I’m honest with my usual analytical advice, I often point out that’s not a good story for them. I can suggest better stories for their marketing.
But I could be wrong. If my client knows how to read her intuition, she may realize that she needs that story to connect with her market. She may not even know why she needs to tell that story.
The real question is, how do you know what your intuition is telling you?
I’ve actually written a book on this – several years ago – and it’s still good for advice.
Intuition typically comes from experience that’s been internalized and absorbed, often unconsciously.
A classic example is a fire marshal who walked into a building and said, “Everybody out. This building is going to collapse any minute.” And a few minutes later, it did. The firefighter drew on the experience of hundreds , even thousands of fires.
But when you get a sense of inner direction, how do you know it’s the real deal? In business you can lose a lot of money and long-term advantage by following the wrong hunch.
My theory is that intuition speaks in code.
You have to crack the code to understand what it’s trying to tell you.
You learn your intuitive code by reflecting on past decisions.
For instance, some people make their best decisions when they’re excited and happy. They make a decisioin to get married or buy a house in five minutes…and it works for them.
Others learn not to trust their upbeat moods. They need calm reflection. I know I need to think about things for at least a few days; I don’t do well with fast impulse decisions.
You also gain intuition in some areas of your life but not others. Your intuition might work well for you when it comes to financial decisions, such as investment and money management. It may be totally off when making decisions about your health, relationships or business.
When it comes to storytelling, some business owners know their audience intuitively.
These are the people who tell the most outrageous stories and their audiences respond with purchases. They don’t need a lot of research. They’re like people with perfect pitch. They know instinctively what works.
Others find their winning strategy systematically by doing the research, often with tools like Google Analytics.
Let’s illustrate with someone named Gretchen. She’s a money coach who’s being urged to share stories about her life where she lives in a medium-size city with a cat.
“Tell stories about your cat,” a mentor advises her. “Talk about your knitting and cooking hobbies.”
Gretchen feels resistance. instinctively she senses her audience would dismiss her as a crazy cat lady.
Gretchen’s been in business for just a few years. She’s had two courses that sold well. She’s worked with several clients in one-to-one coaching.
How did she come up with the idea for her best-selling courses? Her own or her mentor’s? Did she gain more excitement as she created the courses…or did she have to push through the final steps?
What were her best decisions? What were her worst? How were they made?
Where did her clients come from? Did she present webinars? Attend networking events?
And then she would look at her low points. Where did she get the ideas for her worst-selling efforts? Did she find she had overruled her own wisdom? Or is this an area where she doesn’t have a good feel for the market and she’ll need ways to compensate?
What happened the last time she got an idea and was excited about it? Is there a pattern? For some people, excitement means, “Go.” But for others, it means “stop.”
What happens when she resists? Is she being uncoachable or is her intuition sending her signals?
So if Gretchen tells her mentor, “I don’t feel comfortable sharing that story,” she has to look to the past to see if that’s a “stop” or a “go” signal.
If you almost always find yourself working with ideas that win, it’s likely you instinctively know your audience. You’ve cracked your own intuitive code.
So are you super-excited to tell a story…or resisting a mentor’s suggestion to dive in and share? Either of those can be “go” or “stop” signals. And your code isn’t the same as your mentor’s or colleagues.
Learn more on my recent podcast.
Download my ebook on intuition for business and career decisions.
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