Intuition can be far more valuable than it has been given credit for - good to see it backed by some science!

Margaret Burnside - my issue with this is that the brain processes the actions required once the 'decision' is taken intuitively. So what influence does the brain have either on the decision mad intuitively, or in interpreting the action required to implement that decision?

And what do the biases in the thought patterns of the individual then have on the decisions and actions? What if the person is risk averse or highly risk tolerant? How will that affect the business decisions?

I hope(!) i am more calculating than simply 'going with the gut' feeling.... but perhaps I am more risk averse than the next person and so it's my intuition not to proceed!

An interesting dichotomy that perhaps we will never be able to resolve :)

I think the key is to listen to your intuition AND look for evidence to back that up or to be really sure if important and to reduce bias, look for evidence against that decision, check it out with someone who thinks differently?

I believe that going on 'gut instinct' is the same as making a decision based on data in the sense that as you learn to understand what your gut is saying you learn to trust it, as you make decisions based upon it you trust it more, you feed it and nurture it and allow it to truly become a sixth sense, the same way that as you learn what to look for in data you understand how to make a decision based upon analytical thinking.

I also believe that gut instinct isn't just the gut, but a very complex calculation carried out by your consciousness that evaluates at high speed all sensory information allowing you to make that gut instinct decision, and it is that calculation that in a split second goes from being gut instinct to an analytical decision. Everything that you learn, past experiences will impact upon that ability to trust gut instinct or not, but I don't think it should be any less trusted than other form of decision making.

You could talk for hours on this subject and get quite deep, before you know it you are talking about separate subjects, human consciousness, what is it, how does it work, feelings, and human psychology, all of which makes us who we are, how we make decisions, how we act.

Nice response, Daniel Tolliver! One cannot separate gut from 'head' when making decisions. it is all interlinked.

And I have to admit I love the debates that lead me down different paths, especially when it gives me cause for further learning :)

likewise Simon Rosser learning from others and learning more about yourself are two of the most exciting things in the world