The Intuitive Compass: Why the Best Decisions Balance Reason and Instinct

Amazon.com Exclusive Q&A with Author Francis Cholle
Author Francis P. Cholle
What is the core problem with how we currently approach innovation and decision making?
The typical path in business is to apply more analysis, focus more on results, and work harder to get results. It's this kind of thinking that has led to business models that we're now finding are hard to sustain.

Life and logic don't match. We like to think of life as linear and logical, but it isn't. Success in modern times depends on making the leap from seeing the world how we think it operates to how it really operates. In reality, both life and the way the human mind operates are much closer to chaos than to logic.

We've established a sophisticated relationship with all that is logical, and we're less eloquent about what is not. This book is about establishing a productive relationship with the part of life that is not logical, so we can find solutions beyond the boundaries of what we know.

What is "intuitive intelligence"?
Intuitive intelligence is a set of skills that uses intuition to get to the instinctual and nonconscious parts of our mind. Intuition allows us to operate in the zone of ambiguity and change. It feeds the rational mind to enable logic to work with paradox. Since the beginning of mankind, instinct was meant to help us survive. Its mission is to ensure the sustainability of our species. At this time when sustainability is in question, intuitive intelligence is particularly essential.

What is The Intuitive Compass?
The Intuitive Compass is an approach to decision making and problem solving that does a better job of accessing and applying intuitive intelligence than typical approaches that depend on the linear and logical. It helps us make sense of chaos and leverage its power. It breaks down the functioning of the mind and the process of decision making into several clear components. You'll be able to map your current decision-making process, based on how well you balance the opposing forces of reason and instinct, and results and play. With this approach, we'll be better prepared to innovate and adapt to change.

Are you opposed to the logical and linear?
No, but we need to realize that logic and chaos coexist and we need to balance them with intuition and instinct.

What do you mean by "play"?
Play is a dynamic, spontaneous, and free-flowing engagement with anything or anyone. It s immersing yourself in an activity for pleasure with no other stated goal. It needs to be an essential part of work in order to leverage all that people have to offer. Albert Einstein once said, "Play is the highest form of research."

What are some companies that formally encourage play?
Google, Pixar, 3M, Kohler, Shell, IBM, and DuPont are some of the companies I write about, which have realized and leveraged the power of play with formalized initiatives.

Is there a scientific basis to your arguments?
Recent neuroscience research has proven that instinct plays a key role in complex decision making, 80% of our grey matter is dedicated to nonconscious thought, and imaginative play is one of the most direct ways to access our creativity and problem-solving abilities. Also, physics and evolutionary biology show that there is a self-organizing principle that ensures that order will arise from chaos. We need to embrace, rather than resist, the self-organizing principle that is at work in business and everyday life.

Why do we need The Intuitive Compass now more than ever?
Businesses are facing an unprecedented level of complexity and unpredictability. Our new world requires a creative agile mindset as well as powerful, innovative solutions. Recent research shows that creativity is on the decline, and we need to investigate how to better access and train creativity. Also, sustainability is one of today s most urgent problems, and The Intuitive Compass points the way to addressing it.