We learn from our mistakes

The moment when everything becomes clear: the role of intuition in life and business choices

Intuition is not magic, but a process that combines experience and external data for more strategic decisions

by Nicola Chighine*

11 March 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

How many times have we had the feeling that we had to listen to something other than structured, rational reasoning? How many times have we used what is often called a gut decision, the so-called gut feeling?

Lovers, like me, of the Dylan Dog comic strip might think of the Nightmare Investigator's famous 'fifth and a half sense' as a key resource for understanding and solving complex mysteries and investigations. On this theme I found particularly significant the work ofLaura Huang in the bookThe Power of Intuition, which inspired this article and which starts from a fundamental clarification: intuition is not magic, nor is it improvisation. It is a process.

According to Huang, in fact, 'intuition is a process based on the interaction between personal experience and external data, the result of which is a moment of lucidity that corresponds to instinct'. We can therefore think of intuition as a form of intelligence that results in an act of decision-making or instinctive action.

Why intuition is crucial in decision making

In complex, uncertain and high-speed contexts, such as those in which individuals and organisations operate today, relying solely on rational analysis is often insufficient. The data are incomplete, the variables too many, time is limited, today's solutions will not be valid tomorrow. This is where intuition becomes a strategic resource that enables one to pick up on weak signals, read between the lines, anticipate scenarios when the available information is not yet structured. It does not replace analysis, but complements it. The most effective leaders are not those who 'go by feel', but those who know when to trust their intuition and when to put it to the test.

How to train intuition: practices and methods

It is essential to start from the idea that intuition is not an innate talent reserved for a few, but a skill that can be cultivated methodically. Training intuition means creating the conditions for experience, information and bodily sensations to talk to each other.

Inspired by Laura Huang's work and drawing on my coaching experience, I propose three training practices:

1. Giving a title

A self-coaching exercise that I often recommend, and which I find extremely effective in training intuition, is to give a title to what we are experiencing. A title can be evocative or didactic, narrative or dry, but it has a fundamental function: it creates an initial frame of meaning. When we are immersed in a personal change or in a business phase characterised by complexity and uncertainty, the risk is to get shipwrecked in emotions or trapped in analysis. Giving a title becomes a cognitive and emotional anchor. It helps both in the divergent phase of thinking, widening the view and possible interpretations, and in the convergent phase, when a direction must be chosen. It is a simple but powerful way to activate intuition, because it forces one to grasp the essence of what is happening.

2. Distinguishing instinct and listening to the body

A second practice concerns the relationship with the body. We often confuse intuition with an instinctive or emotional reaction. In reality, intuition also uses body signals, but integrates them in a more refined way. Learning to listen to the body means observing tensions, openings, feelings of energy or closure that emerge when faced with a decision. Not to follow them automatically, but to question them. The body registers information before the rational mind: intuition arises when this information is recognised, not suffered. This capacity for conscious listening helps to distinguish a reactive fear from a deeper intuitive signal.

3. Identifying patterns, mental models and prototypes

The third method is to make one's recurring patterns visible. Intuition works by patterns: it recognises similarities between different situations and builds mental prototypes that guide decisions. Training intuition therefore means asking: which mental models do I use to interpret reality? What shortcuts do I follow in the face of uncertainty? Bringing these patterns to light allows us to strengthen the effective ones and question the limiting ones. A mature intuition is not blind: it is aware of its filters and uses them intentionally.

In a world that celebrates the dichotomy between hyper-rationality and hyper-emotionality, training intuition is an integrative and strategic response. Better decisions arise from the integration of what we know, what we observe and what, at some point, simply 'becomes clear'. Training intuition means training a more aware leadership, capable of orienting itself even when the map is not yet available.

*Senior Consultant at Newton Spa