The Research

Executive Intuition
A major study of 7000 executives in America was undertaken by Weston Agor to assess intuitive ability and to investigate whether managers who used their intuition possessed particular decision making skills not normally accessed by other managers.

Agor found that intuitive management ability varied by management level and that intuition was more prevalent as managers moved up the corporate ladder.

He suggested that managers used their intuitive ability more often as they faced more complex and difficult types of problems.

The Harvard Business School values the role of intuition in decision-making and include balancing intuition and analysis in their executive management programs.

Working intuitively saves both time and money as these two examples demonstrate. Du Pont reduced their new product development time from three years to three months using intuitive techniques.

NASA astronaut – Edgar Mitchell –the sixth man on the moon has become one of intuitions’ greatest fans. A doctor of science from MIT and a former navy captain, Mitchell believes that man’s potential knowledge is more than the product of his five senses. In preparing for a lunar flight, Mitchell explains, “we spent ten percent of our time studying plans for the mission and ninety percent learning how to react intuitively to all the ‘what ifs’. Mitchell claims that reliance on the intuitive response was the most important part of his astronauts training.

Douglas Dean who wrote the book Executive ESP found that 80% of CEO’s who increased profitability for their companies had well-developed intuitive skills.

A study conducted by Jagdish Parikh at the Harvard Business School of 13,000 respondents surveyed executives who said they relied on left and right brain skills about equally. And 80 percent credited their success to intuition.

The Australian Research:
Dr. Marta Sinclair, PhD who has over 20 years of experience as management professional and educator in Europe, USA and Australia, investigated which personal and situational factors might trigger business intuition. Dr Sinclair studied the impact of mood, emotions, and gender on the use of intuitive or analytical decision-making style.

This first and only comprehensive Australian study conducted on the use of intuition in decision making by management at the University of Queensland Business School tells us:

Dr Sinclair’s conclusion: Intuition plus Analysis equal the best solution
Dr. Marta Sinclair can be contacted at m.sinclair@griffith.edu.au

Her most recent web-based study examined the use of intuition among strategic decision-makers in Australian and US companies. The research is to be continued and expanded by including cross-cultural differences.