Many years ago, when I was younger and less experienced in business management, I was chatting with the MD of the company I worked for.

We were discussing risk management, as I’m a PMP certified Project/Program Manager and have been for over a decade.

We talked about Risk Management frameworks, and for him it all boiled down to his “gut” in terms of whether the risk seemed acceptable or not.

Now don’t get me wrong, he didn’t just make all decisions based on his “gut” – but it certainly did drive him in terms of requiring more/less validation before making the final decision.

At the time I thought, there must be a better way than just “gut” for determining this sort of thing.

Now, years later, I tend to agree with him. Your gut-reaction to a decision definitely gives you a sense of comfort or foreboding about a decision and its consequences.

So, this leads to the topic of Leadership and the soft-skills associated with being a good leader. Read on for further details.

What is Intuition ?
In simple terms, intuition is when we know something or know what to do without necessarily knowing why.

What to do just comes to us in a flash of insight. Some intuition is instinctive. For instance, if someone starts running after you with an axe, you will most likely have the instinctive (and intuitive) response of either defending yourself or running away. Moreover, your reaction would be entirely rational.

Other intuition is the result of years of training and knowledge building. Police officers, firefighters, military commanders, emergency medical care providers, airline pilots and many others spend years in learning and honing their skills in order to react in an instant with the optimal solution.

Intuition …. So What ?

Our society expects specialists like those I’ve covered above to make high quality intuitive decisions quickly and accurately and then execute them effectively.

A surgeon with many years’ experience in the operating room has much better intuition than a newly-graduated doctor. The same goes for a highly experienced fireman.

In his bestseller Blink, Malcolm Gladwell describes how a veteran firefighter was able to “sense” a change in situation and order all of his crew out of a house just before it collapsed. He was unable to identify the steps in his decision; he just “knew” that it was time to get out.

The same goes for experienced leaders and executives in all walks of life. With many years of life experience, they can just tell if someone “has it” or doesn’t, and no amount of rational deliberation with convince them otherwise.

However, not all intuitive decisions are equal; and in fact some are wrong – or very wrong.

Experience, and in particular depth of experience, is a reliable indicator for a “good” outcome. Conversely, some situations are so novel, that intuition is next to useless and can even be counterproductive. In that case, deliberate decision making is needed in order to think through the factors impinging on the decision and to ensure that a variety of courses of action are considered.

The key here for a business leader is to consciously know whether they have direct or empirical evidence of an intuitive recommendation being “good”. If the answer is YES – follow your intuition; if the answer is NO – you will to take a more deliberate (and deliberative) and therefore rational approach.

Intuition versus Deliberation
As a guide, the following situations lend themselves to intuitive responses because of immediacy:

During an emergency, that requires an immediate response in order to save lives;
When there are direct threats to physical safety;
When a team has gotten lazy or overly reactive in the face of risk, and requires inspirational leadership to fix the situation.
There are situations where both Intuition and Deliberation are suited:

When you’ve been made an offer for the sale of your business;

When you’re considering “dropping” an existing client;

When you need to take action to correct the behaviour of a team/staff member;

When you’re considering a merger with another business;

When you’re considering taking on another business partner;

When you’re considering Product/Service extensions to your business.

Most other situations have enough time built in to them to allow at least some level of deliberation.

It is prudent to involve outside experts and to form an advisory team when faced with unusual situations that will require imagination and resolve to turn around.

Finally, intuition does play a role in deliberate decision making because of its ability to generate deeper insights and provide innovative solutions.

[fusion_text]This is just a quick posting, on a topic I get asked about often enough to warrant it’s own entry.

What are the qualities/factors that the best Leaders have ?

Top leaders…

1. Visionary: They have a very clear understanding of where the organisation is going and a clear strategy for getting there.

2. Communicate Well: Great leaders ensure that their message gets across to all in the organisation – clearly.

3. ‘People’ People: Top performing leaders build great relationships, and also develop excellent team spirit.

4. Delegate: Great leaders do just that – Lead. They let their people get on with the doing – and encourage them to do it well, and enjoy it.

5. Know Their Business: Not only visionary, they’re strategically sound. Top leaders truly understand their business inside and out, good and bad, and firmly move it on – they make the difference.

6. Are Role-Models: They lead from the front, and have the values of the organisation and their people. They say it , and also do it.

7. Build Rapport Quickly: Excellent leaders have a way of building rapport instantly, through what they say, how they look and especially how well they listen and value people they’re with.

8. Charisma: They quickly create rapport; they communicate well … and there’s something else – they have a personal style which ooozes that extra something … great charisma!

9. Very Determined: Whilst having great people skills, truly great leaders go that extra mile – they are follow-through to achieve their goals and vision. They’re totally ruthless, but in a people-friendly way.

10. Passionate: Great leaders bring immense energy to every task – no matter how big or small – because the Leader knows they all contribute to the business goals and vision.

So, where do you find Leaders ?

They can be found anywhere and everywhere – not just as CEO’s, Directors or Supervisors.

The key to discovering Leadership talent is in finding the people with passion and helping them to express themselves in ways – through support, training and learning – that bring out their best and deliver all the extra benefits to a business that leaders naturally bring.[/fusion_text]

[fusion_text]In Australia there are 10’s of Thousands of businesses in the $5M to $250M turnover size.

Most have the same issues as the $Billion businesses, but they cannot afford to pay $250K to $1M+ per year for a specialist Advisory Board.

Issues companies need to address for sustainable success – whilst doing business:[/fusion_text][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Management

Business growth strategies

Increase in competition

Succession planning

Changes in business process

Leadership

Strategic vision

Compliance

Ageing management team

Divergent risk-appetite of Executives

Disconnect between Board and Executives[/fusion_text][/one_third][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Finance, Commercial and Legal

Maintaining margins

Keeping focus on bottomline

Fixed-price contracts

Minimising legal exposures

Risk vs Reward management

Capital to sustain growth

Cost of money

Return on Investment &/or Capital

Exposure to currency fluctuations

Mergers & Acquisitions[/fusion_text][/one_third][one_third last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Research & Innovation

Lead-time to Revenue

Innovation by competitors

Cost of innovation

Cost of NOT innovating

Value-creation opportunities

Service-line extensions

Product-line extensions

New entrants re-shaping a market (eg: Google)

When to innovate, and when to wait

Intellectual Property protection[/fusion_text][/one_third][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”” class=”” id=””][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Human Resources/Capital

Knowledge retention

Cost of Retention vs Acquisition

Motivation and productivity

Fixed vs Variable workforce

Total Cost of Employee

Skills transfer

Team morale

Poor internal communications

No sense of ownership/belonging by staff

“Bench” management[/fusion_text][/one_third][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Sales & Marketing

Qualifying opportunities

Increasing gross margins

Salesforce efficiency

Brand Identity

Brand Promise vs Service Delivery

Customer experience

Product/Service differentiation

Channels to market

Channel management

Market segmentation[/fusion_text][/one_third][one_third last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Technology

Dis-integrated systems

Business/Technology alignment

Outdated technologies

Cost of ICT operations

In-house vs Outsourced

Poor documentation

Limited/No knowledge of systems in use

Not leveraging the full benefits of technology

Unable to make sense of voluminous data

Rising power & consumable costs[/fusion_text][/one_third][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”” class=”” id=””][one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]The list of challenges facing small to medium, and even large, businesses is bewildering.

The items covered above are only a small sample of the total array of issues that distract business owners and executives away from their main concern – which is making or saving money.

As it just happens, we offer an Advisory Board Bureau that provides you with access to all the expertise you need, when you need it, to help you navigate your way through incredibly complex issues that are taking up TIME YOU DON’T HAVE.

Expertise available through our Advisory Board Bureau

The following list gives you a sense of the expertise at your disposal as/when you need it.

• Drop-in CEO, COO, CTO, CIO or CFO for a short-term engagement to turn around a company.
• Development/Review/Validation of a Marketing Strategy or Plan.
• Mentoring and Measurement of a Sales Team.
• Mentoring of the CEO/CFO/COO through periods of dramatic change in the business.
• Development/Review/Validation of a Business Growth Strategy or Plan.
• Support the business executive team through the pains associated with actual business growth.
• Oversight of the Acquisition or Divestment of Businesses &/or Business Units.
• Creating, or Maintaining, High-Performing Teams within a business.
• Dealing with staff, talent and knowledge retention (or high turnover)
• Mediating between the Executive Team and The Board where there is a disconnect.
• Development/Review/Validation of an ICT Strategy or Plan.
• Oversight of the creation of a Project Management Office to handle all project activity.
• Health-Check, or Audit, of specific projects that are concerning Management.
• Specialist sector-specific advice relating to Product/Service innovation.
• Expanding your sales channels.
• Health-check of your IT Systems.
• Benchmarking your Outsourced service providers against industry accepted performance.

So, we can deliver to your business the same quality of Advisory Boards that $Billion businesses have, but with a small business price tag.

How do we do this ?. We’ve aggregated many $5M to $200M businesses, who use our Advisory Board service as a Bureau, which means we can afford to pay for Top Talent by sharing the cost across many businesses.

What will it cost you …. Let’s talk to understand what you need, it could be as little at $5,000 per month.[/fusion_text][/one_full]