Those “Aha!” moments, that flash of insight when things come together in your mind and you connect the dots. And, almost suddenly, you know exactly what to do. Brain science now reveals how these flashes of insight happen. It's a special form of intuition. This is what William Duggan, associate professor of Management at Columbia Business School and author of ‘Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement’, calls strategic intuition; because it gives you an idea for action - a strategy.
Brain science has shown there to be three kinds of intuition: ordinary, expert, and strategic. Ordinary intuition is just a gut instinct. Expert intuition is snap judgments, when you instantly recognize something familiar and act accordingly; For example, the way tennis professionals knows where the ball will go from the arc and speed of the opponent's racket. Finally, the third kind, strategic intuition, is not a vague feeling, like ordinary intuition. Strategic intuition is a clear thought. And it's not fast, like expert intuition. It's slow. That flash of insight you had last night might solve a problem that's been on your mind for a month. And it doesn't happen in familiar situations, like a tennis match. Strategic intuition works in new situations. That's when you need it most.
Brain science has shown there to be three kinds of intuition: ordinary, expert, and strategic. Ordinary intuition is just a gut instinct. Expert intuition is snap judgments, when you instantly recognize something familiar and act accordingly; For example, the way tennis professionals knows where the ball will go from the arc and speed of the opponent's racket. Finally, the third kind, strategic intuition, is not a vague feeling, like ordinary intuition. Strategic intuition is a clear thought. And it's not fast, like expert intuition. It's slow. That flash of insight you had last night might solve a problem that's been on your mind for a month. And it doesn't happen in familiar situations, like a tennis match. Strategic intuition works in new situations. That's when you need it most.
William Duggan explains that there are currently three massive misconceptions about how this kind of thinking works. This is what he calls “Plod, Plot, and Play”. Plod means you go beyond your usual routines to analyze a much wider range and depth of information - and advanced technology means there is essentially no limit to the amount of data you can and should plod through. Plot means you spend a lot of time defining your mission, your goals, your objectives, your sub-objectives, and so forth. Play means you give up your usual ways of thinking to build a race-car out of duct tape, or toss Frisbees across the office, or throw random words onto a Velcro board.
But the Plodders and Plotters and Players are all wrong. The trick is to plod and plot and play all at the same moment. That’s what a flash of insight does. Its how the brain makes something new out of real information, and projects it as a strategy. But you get there not through Plodding or Plotting or Playing, but through understanding how strategic intuition works and how to do it better.
There is no shortage of books about strategic analysis and strategic planning. However, this new book by William Duggan is the first full treatment of strategic intuition. It's the missing piece of the strategy puzzle that makes it essential reading for anyone interested in achieving more in any field of human endeavor.
Dr. William Duggan, is associate professor of management at Columbia Business School and has been teaching strategic intuition in graduate and executive courses. He has twenty years of experience as a strategy advisor and consultant. He is also the author of ‘The Art of What Works: How Success Really Happens’ and ‘Napoleon’s Glance: The Secret of Strategy’.
Dr. William Duggan himself will be giving a detailed training course based on ‘Strategic Intuition’ in Madinah Institute for Leadership & Entrepreneurship’s next executive education program; PALM2 (Program for Advanced Leadership & Management). The PALM2 program will be commencing January 15th and ends January 27th, 2011 and will be held in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. MILE brings you the most effective Executive Leadership Training in the Middle East. Our leadership seminars and executive development programs give managers a proven formula for success in today’s complex markets.
If you are interested in learning more about the PALM program please visit www.mile.org
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