Trusting Our Gut

We've heard it a thousand times. You're in a situation, you aren't sure what to do, and some self-proclaimed wise person tells you to trust your gut. But is it really that simple? 

Human intuition is powerful and can potentially be dangerous. I think I'm of sound mind and my ideas are right and so do you. But we may think completely different. So who's right? Both of us? Neither of us? That's the tough question. 

Intuition and Facts 

The Harvard Business Review published an article in 2003 entitled Don't Trust Your Gut. 

In the piece, the author Eric Bonabeau wrote; "One decision-making tool - human intuition - seems to offer a reliable alternative to painstaking fact gathering and analysis. Encouraged by scientific research on intuition, top managers feel increasingly confident that, when faced with complicated choices, they can just trust their gut." 

Science Based Wisdom 

Bonabeau goes on to state; "Anyone who thinks that intuition is a substitute for reason is indulging in a risky delusion." So when we trust our gut, experience, or intuition, are we doing it void of scientific realities or known facts? Or are we looking at those facts and making a judgement call through our lens and experience? Perhaps a mix of both. 

When you think of something you tried for the first time in your career. Perhaps a new gig or new department; maybe it was a new concept or project. Did you go blindly into the abyss ignoring all facts in front of your or did you measure what you could then made a judgement call on the direction? 

Dreamers and Billionaires 

We look at people like Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, and Jeff Bezos and call them visionaries. But I'm of the mind to suggest they didn't create an electric car company, rocket corporation, media empire, and online shopping conglomerate in a vacuum without facts and realities. I agree with Bonabeau that we can't just fly off the handle in the face of contradictory facts and trust our gut. But our intuition gets at least a vote. 

If you want to test your gut, asking others for their opinions may just add their gut into the mix and then you may be even further from a successful solution. But as President Regan famously stated, trust but verify. We should keep ourselves in check by checking with the facts. Eventually we'll have to make a decision and it may not always be successful. But one thing is for sure.

Indecision can create doubt even in our gut. __________________________________________________________________

Risky Business

Manage risk, financial risk, reputation risk, market share risk, relationship risk, shareholder risk, the risks of risks, the risk of focusing on risks, the discussion of risks, the endless what if's that stall our journey risk.

Perhaps we perceive it will be difficult or worse, not successful. We often fear our own abilities and guts to take that ride. One of the worst emotions I think we can possess is regret. The idea we didn't act on can often be the one that stops the flow. The safety of inaction becomes our comfort zone.

Risk often focuses on what will, would, or could go wrong. It's a preemptive strike, a proactive measure, to protect the outcome. The biggest risk is when we use it to endorse inaction. I know of what I write only too well. Maybe you can relate.

The biggest risk is the bet we fail to make on ourselves.
__________________________________________________________________

Let's Make Some Trouble

Mignon McLaughlin was an American journalist and author. In the 1950s she began publishing aphorisms - a pithy observation that contains a general truth.

My favorite was; "Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers."

We do look at those who blazed a path before us with admiration but how often do we grasp the uphill climb each had to endure? It's not easy to share a new idea until it’s adopted by others. But without the bravery to share it, the idea goes nowhere.

Lead first

Leonardo da Vinci, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, Elon Musk, Susan B. Anthony, Les Paul, Sally Ride, Louis Pasteur, Kathryn Bigelow, Thomas Edison, Margaret Thatcher, Johannes Gutenberg, Florence Nightingale, Alfred Nobel, Steve Jobs, the list goes on and on. These people didn't play it safe but they certainly didn't succeed without struggles.

Doing what is safe and what others may agree with is adhering to a matrix each of us hold as a manufactured line that’s not to be crossed. We've all done it.

Are You Ready?

You're sitting on an idea right now that you keep trying to find the guts to share. It's not easy, we all know. But it's necessary to fight those fears and doubts or you might end up being - to paraphrase McLaughlin's quote - a dead conformist.

Let's take one small step toward sharing our ideas, pushing ourselves past our fears, and seeing what happens. Regret is a horrible emotion we have all experienced.

It's even worse than failure.
__________________________________________________________________

Life is Risky Business

Manage risk, financial risk, reputation risk, market share risk, relationship risk, shareholder risk, the risks of risks, the risk of focusing on risks, the discussion of risks, the endless what if's that stall our journey risk.

Perhaps we perceive it will be difficult or worse, not successful. We often fear our own abilities and guts to take that ride. One of the worst emotions I think we can possess is regret. The idea we didn't act on can often be the one that stops the flow. The safety of inaction becomes our comfort zone.

Risk often focuses on what will, would, or could go wrong. It's a preemptive strike, a proactive measure, to protect the outcome. The biggest risk is when we use it to endorse inaction. I know of what I write only too well. Maybe you can relate.

The biggest risk is the bet we fail to make on ourselves.
__________________________________________________________________

Fearless Action

Much has been written and said about taking chances, failure, and ultimate success. If you were to ask any person who has attained any modicum of advancement, they would probably tell you about the many times it took to make it. The setbacks, roadblocks, and challenges were plentiful.

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others."
Jonathan Swift

You know that feeling you have right now in the pit of your stomach? That’s the voice you may not be listening to but you should, I should, we all should. Then act on it. Our fear stops us from moving. Our worry that it won’t work out makes us freeze.

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become."
Steve Jobs

Now think of a time you listened to your intuition and you started to move. Suddenly the doubts dissipated and things began to work out. Once you made the decision, it was clear what you needed to do. There were hiccups and twists, but you kept going.

"Vision with action can change the world."
Nelson Mandela

We need to remember that one step today toward our goals will take us one step away from our fears. The longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to move and the more our doubts will grow. Few among us are immune.

Your gut knows what to do.
__________________________________________________________________

Wanna Create Some Trouble?

Mignon McLaughlin was an American journalist and author. In the 1950s she began publishing aphorisms - a pithy observation that contains a general truth. My favorite was; "Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers."

We do look at those who blazed a path before us with admiration but how often do we grasp the uphill climb each had to endure? It's not easy to share a new idea until it’s adopted by others. But without the bravery to share it, the idea goes nowhere.

Lead first

Leonardo da Vinci, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, Elon Musk, Susan B. Anthony, Les Paul, Sally Ride, Louis Pasteur, Kathryn Bigelow, Thomas Edison, Margaret Thatcher, Johannes Gutenberg, Florence Nightingale, Alfred Nobel, Steve Jobs, the list goes on and on. These people didn't play it safe but they certainly didn't succeed without struggles.

Doing what is safe and what others may agree with is adhering to a matrix each of us hold as a manufactured line that’s not to be crossed. We've all done it.

Are You Ready?

You're sitting on an idea right now that you keep trying to find the guts to share. It's not easy, we all know. But it's necessary to fight those fears and doubts or you might end up being - to paraphrase McLaughlin's quote - a dead conformist.

Let's take one small step this week toward sharing our ideas, pushing ourselves past our fears, and seeing what happens. Regret is a horrible emotion we have all experienced.

It's even worse than failure.
__________________________________________________________________

Facing Danger

Manage risk, financial risk, reputation risk, market share risk, relationship risk, shareholder risk, the risks of risks, the risk of focusing on risks, the discussion of risks, the endless what if's that stall our journey risk.

Perhaps we perceive it will be difficult or worse, not successful. We often fear our own abilities and guts to take that ride. One of the worst emotions I think we can possess is regret. The idea we didn't act on can often be the one that stops the flow. The safety of inaction becomes our comfort zone.

Risk often focuses on what will, would, or could go wrong. It's a preemptive strike, a proactive measure, to protect the outcome. The biggest risk is when we use it to endorse inaction. I know of what I write only too well. Maybe you can relate.

The biggest risk is the bet we fail to make on ourselves.
__________________________________________________________________

Conform and Fail

Mignon McLaughlin was an American journalist and author. In the 1950s she began publishing aphorisms - a pithy observation that contains a general truth. My favorite was; "Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers."

We do look at those who blazed a path before us with admiration but how often do we grasp the uphill climb each had to endure? It's not easy to share a new idea until it’s adopted by others. But without the bravery to share it, the idea goes nowhere.

Lead first

Leonardo da Vinci, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, Elon Musk, Susan B. Anthony, Les Paul, Sally Ride, Louis Pasteur, Kathryn Bigelow, Thomas Edison, Margaret Thatcher, Johannes Gutenberg, Florence Nightingale, Alfred Nobel, Steve Jobs, the list goes on and on. These people didn't play it safe but they certainly didn't succeed without struggles.

I recently took a chance on something I really wanted. I felt the old behaviors creep in and two friends in two conversations pushed me to keep going. It was the fuel I needed to do what I wanted to do in the first place.

Don't make a fuss

Doing what is safe and what others may agree with is adhering to a matrix each of us hold as a manufactured line that’s not to be crossed. We've all done it.

You're sitting on an idea right now that you keep trying to find the guts to share. It's not easy, we all know. But it's necessary to fight those fears and doubts or you might end up being - to paraphrase McLaughlin's quote - a dead conformist.

Let's take one small step this week toward sharing our ideas, pushing ourselves past our fears, and seeing what happens. Regret is a horrible emotion we have all experienced. It's even worse than failure.

Let's cause some trouble!
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

Listen to Your Gut

We admire fearless people who take chances. But without knowing their story, it’s difficult to make that claim. Much has been written and said about taking chances, failure, and ultimate success. If you were to ask any person who has attained any modicum of advancement, they would probably tell you about the many times it took to make it. The setbacks, roadblocks, and challenges were plentiful.

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.
Jonathan Swift

You know that feeling you have right now in the pit of your stomach? That’s the voice you may not be listening to but you should, I should, we all should. Then act on it. Our fear stops us from moving. Our worry that it won’t work out makes us freeze.

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Steve Jobs

Now think of a time you listened to your intuition and you started to move. Suddenly the doubts dissipated and things began to work out. Once you made the decision, it was clear what you needed to do. There were hiccups and twists, but you kept going.

Vision with action can change the world.
Nelson Mandela

We need to remember that one step today toward our goals will take us one step away from our fears. The longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to move and the more our doubts will grow. Few among us are immune.

Your gut knows what to do. Get quiet enough not to ignore it.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

wallpaperswide

Never a Good Time

There’s never a good time to spill your dinner on your nice shirt. There’s never a good time to start that business. There’s never a good time to have another child. There’s never a good time to move. There's never a good time to act on that idea. There’s never a good time to make any decision in our lives.

We can use that as an excuse, a reason not to move forward, or face things head on. I can’t speak for you, but there are countless times in my life I haven’t had the bravery to make the call. And whatever happened was what I safely accepted as what was supposed to happen.

I was reviewing a post I wrote here on January 1st of this year. It was a simple list. It was a brave list. It was easy to write it because it was just a list. Ten months in, I wonder if the list meant anything.

• Complain less. Do more.
• Worry less. Inspire more.
• Look back less. Self-trust more.
• Compare less. Share more.
• Doubt less. Create more.
• Stop less. Listen more.
• Discuss going for it less.
• Actually go for it more.

There's never a good time to stop participating in our own lives.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

geldrop

The Memes of Risk

Manage risk, financial risk, reputation risk, market share risk, relationship risk, shareholder risk, the risks of risks, the risk of focusing on risks, the discussion of risks, the endless what if's that stall our journey.

Perhaps we perceive it will be difficult or worse, not successful. We often fear our own abilities and guts to take that ride. One of the worst emotions I think we can possess is regret. The idea we didn't act on can often be the one that stops the flow. The safety of inaction becomes our comfort zone.

Risk often focuses on what will, would, or could go wrong. It's a preemptive strike, a proactive measure, to protect the outcome. The biggest risk is when we use it to endorse inaction. I know of what I write only too well. Maybe you can relate.

The biggest risk is the bet we fail to make on ourselves.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

walpaper

Embrace the Impossible

Think back when you were a kid. You weren't focused on failing on your way to having fun, exploring, and learning. Now look back to a time a bit more recent when you dismissed an idea because doubt and fear stepped in or you opined someone may have thought of it before you.

Perhaps if you shared it, someone would laugh or think it wasn't possible. These are the barriers we put on ourselves within the confines of our comfort zone.

Let Ideas Fly

Regina Dugan served as the first female Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Since last March, she has had an executive role at Google.

Regina is deeply curious and explains in her TEDTalk the necessity for us to embrace failure on our way to advancements and discoveries.


Kneale Mann

TED | Regina Dugan

Zweifel and Rädsla

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Rädsla was born in Västerbotten, Sweden. She was the third of five children in a middle class family. Her parents worked hard. Her mother was a baker and her father sold chemical supplies. The couple did their best to feed seven mouths and put all five of their children through university.

Though blessed with creative talents and a sharp mind, no one could figure out why Rädsla would work in the factory for next to minimum wage. She always wanted to own her own company and make the decisions. Her strategic mind was suited for the mix of creativity and business acumen and in fact she excelled in those subjects in school.

Settling is not a wise strategy.

Zweifel is the oldest of three boys and grew up in Frankfurt, Germany. His father was an administrator in city politics while his mother owned a dress shop with her sister. His brothers were both lawyers but Zweifel remained shut down and negative to most career suggestions.

There always seemed to be a dark cloud over any seemingly bright idea. It was clear that Zweifel had the skill and fortitude for engineering but couldn’t stop from voicing his distaste for the industry and every company that he worked for during the first decade of his career. Not surprisingly, he was fired from five good jobs within that time period.

All too often we are our own worst enemy.

We expect the world to somehow know our path and if it is littered with naysayers and road blocks, it must be the world teaching us a lesson. We forget that we have control over the paths we discover.

Often we are resemble Zweifel (German for ‘doubt’) and Rädsla (Swedish for ‘fear’).

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie

So what’s stopping you?

knealemann | email

Join me for Movember.

image credit: danwayland

17 Ideas That Might Just Work

It's All Up To Us

Share more than take.

Stay positive.

Move your comfort zone.

Be curious.

Ask for an opinion and listen.

No cell or text in the car.

Take a day off.

Have more face-to-face conversations.

Don’t make it about you.

Take the victory.

Do nothing else when you eat.

Accept that you created this.

Turn off your cell phone.

Ask for help and accept it.

Stay off-line for 24 hours.

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

What’s on your list?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credits: filter

Beware of the Wall

Tactics before Strategy is Suicide.
Ready. Aim. Shoot.

The year has just begun . You feel refreshed and ready to hit things hard, get things done and make it happen. It's all good.

Enjoy it while it lasts, you will soon be facing a big challenge.

Years ago I worked for a dude who took the ready-shoot-aim approach which often caused a big mess to clean up.

The right order is ready-aim-shoot. Too often we fail to fire.


Over Planning The Plan.

Designing a road map is essential but we can run the risk of spending gobs of time talking about the plan and planning the strategy and setting up the start-up and approaching the due date. Then it stalls.

And then we hit the wall of indecision and we get stuck.

Hopes and Dreams.

It’s the first week of a fresh year, resolutions aren’t broken yet and the magical date on the calendar has given us renewed hope of new conquests.

This is exactly the time for us to get ready, then aim, then shoot.

Will we do it this time? Will we remember the confidence and hope we feel today in a few days or weeks or months when it may get difficult or we hit a snag or worse yet – a naysayer?

As the tools of social and digital media grow like a vine on the wall, it has become even more crucial for us to pay close attention to our business plans and customer targets. Growing our writers and managers is paramount right now.

Knowing how to reach clients and give them solutions has never been more important. The more things get complicated the more crucial is it to remember the basics.

Focus on the Painting, not the Brush.

The toys and tools can distract us from thinking that we have gotten ready, we are aiming and we have shot. It often turns out to be a lot of activity and very little progress.

The options available are vast. You can create an outdoor campaign with a direct mail companion that ties directly to your radio advertising that becomes a cross media opportunity with your Twitter stream.

Logos and artwork can be developed that will wow the most seasoned designer while a high priced actor can be hired to be the voice of your brand.

Job well done. Count your millions.


Activity: Meet Progress.

Pardon me while I butcher the Bard but if you take the ready-shoot-aim approach, it will amount to a giant hill of pretty pictures signifying nothing.

These are not unforeseen situations out of our control - you can brace for them only so much - these are situations we seem to somehow create on our own.

There are millions spent every day on start-up venture capitalized and bootstrapped ideas. Every single one is grown from the goal of creating noise and making profits.

Every one of them consists of a group of people who hope to end up with more at the bottom of the page than when they began.

Many won't make it.

That dreaded wall may not be a group of customers that failed to buy your product.

It may not be because of a failed launch.

It certainly won’t be because you took chances.

It will be because you lost your map on the way to your objective.


You have the chance to build a route that can take you around most walls rather than headlong in to them. Again.

What are you doing today to plan your course?

@knealemann
business. marketing. social media. communications.

image credits: uzar | madisonshortsales | hickletoncollectors