HBR IdeaCast What We Know About Leading with Intuition
Jul 29, 2025
Laura Huang, a professor at Northeastern University and author of 'You Already Know', dives into the fascinating world of intuition in leadership. Her research reveals that intuition is not just a hunch but a synthesis of data and experience. She discusses how investors use gut feelings to identify potential successes and outlines methods for discerning genuine intuition from mere emotion. Huang offers strategies for leaders to master their intuition, emphasizing that it's especially valuable in complex situations.
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Intuition Is Built From Experience
- Intuition is the aggregation of past data, observations, and subtle cues, not a mystical flash.
- Laura Huang found patterns in adoption decisions that couldn't be explained by technical quality alone.
Investors Rely On Gut Feels
- Laura Huang interviewed early-stage investors who repeatedly invoked a gut feeling when describing choices.
- One investor jokingly said, "I just rub my tummy," illustrating how physical metaphors accompany gut explanations.
Gut Leads To Home Runs, Not Batting Average
- Using gut feel increases the chance of identifying extreme winners and losers, not average outcomes.
- Investors accept lower batting averages to hit the home runs that produce outsized returns.
