Lessons from Jiminy Cricket

Strategy: Develop your intuition and learn to trust it to make quicker decisions and to avoid "paralysis by analysis".

Explained: Just like Pinocchio, in the famous Disney movie, we all have our own version of a "Jiminy Cricket" – an inner voice that represents our conscience and distinguishes right from wrong.

Some people call it a "gut feeling", some people see it as God or another force speaking to them and some label it as intuition.

When faced with a decision, you'll have an impulse, or an immediate sense of which option to choose. Most of us don't pay attention to this – we fear the consequences of being impulsive without "thinking things through".

Thinking things through, however, can lead to a state called, "paralysis by analysis". That's when you find yourself unable to make a decision, telling yourself, "I just need one more piece of information." Only when you get that one piece of information, you decide you need one more piece of information, and the process continues.

As a leader, you need to tune in to that immediate decision-making ability, and trust it. Then, when you're faced with decisions, crises or having to make tough calls, you don't have to go into "paralysis by analysis" or on a huge fact-finding effort.

Once you've done the work of developing this ability, you'll be able to access it when you need it and trust yourself more. Your first decision, that intuition, is always your best decision.


Example: A group of people was asked to evaluate a work of art; supposedly a hundred-year-old statue. The scientists and analysts went to work and determined it was very old. The art specialists looked at it and said it doesn't "feel" that old. More analysis determined it was a forgery.

For a more personal example, think back to when you were a child, and you were tempted to do something that went against the rules of the house. Did you have a gut feeling about which action to choose?

If you're a parent, has there ever been a time when you've just "known" something was going on with one of your children, before it even happened?

Impact: When you can make quicker decisions and appear confident when doing it, you'll be seen as a strong, decisive and courageous leader. On the contrary, when you show hesitation before making decisions, or when you take a long time to make decisions, you'll be perceived as weak, hesitant, unsure of yourself and unwilling or unable to fully take action and responsibility.

More often, people are laid off or passed over for promotions because of their inability to make a decision, NOT for making the wrong decision.

As you use and model this skill, the team around you will also begin to trust their own intuitive decision-making skills more.


Practice: How can you develop this "tuning in" process? Like any other skill, it's a learning process that takes time and practice.

1. First, what kind of decision IS this? Some decisions can be easily turned around and some will have more of a permanent impact. There's a big difference between, "do I want to date this person?" and, "do I want to marry this person?" If this is a big, multi-layered decision that would be difficult to turn around, you'll need to apply good old-fashioned problem-solving methods and analysis, and maybe seek outside expertise (see Part Three). If not, then keep reading.

2. Slow down, get still and listen in. In order to "hear" your intuition, you need to be quiet. Turn off the ringer on the phone, turn off your computer speakers and ask your staff not to interrupt you for a specific length of time. You can use relaxation or meditation techniques, or you can simply take a few deep breaths. Then focus your mind on the problem or decision and see which answers come to you first.

3. You can't force this – if you're forcing it, that's not intuition talking to you. That's your opinion being expressed. You might "like" one choice better than another; that's not always the right one.

4. Trust. Recognize that there are few decisions that can't be overturned. If you've made the wrong decision, you'll get an opportunity to turn it around later, and in the meantime you'll have learned a thing or two.

You can also practice making quicker decisions by using problem-solving puzzles or fictional situations.

Study and learn from other situations where quick decisions need to be made; interview a day trader, someone in the police force or the military. If you play sports, notice how you make decisions when you're involved in a fast-paced game like basketball – how do you decide when to take a shot or when to pass the ball?

Practice being more spontaneous in all areas of your life, making quick decisions and not second-guessing yourself about them.

Ok so let's get started and try something new starting today.