inquiringeyes

Professional Skills (Analysis, Intuition, Judgment, Experience & Imagination - Part 2)

I did not mean to have such a long gap between my last post on this subject and this follow up thought. But this subject just got overlooked in the everyday!

Hope it is not too late for it to be still relevant.

There is a skill more important than all of the skills that I talked about in my January 21st post on this subject.

There is something much bigger than analysis, intuition and judgment all put together. To me, the ability to Believe and Decide is bigger than all else.

One can have the gift of intuition to define the most inspiring direction of thought, one can have the ability to analyze and reach the causes underlying the problem, we can have the most experienced mind helping us judge the multiple outcomes of any action - but at the end of it all, we need someone to believe in one of the approaches and then go after it.

Nothing can be called successful until it is decided and executed - that is where I see a skill vacuum. Very few people have the ability to decide and decide on time. The brightest ideas can flop just the way the most obvious options look like strategic turning points, if they get the nod in time and are executed right.

People love to talk about strategy but no strategy can be called that unless it is implemented. Before implementation or execution strategy is merely an option. Here is what I have observed about great leaders and strategists – “they are not the brightest they are the bravest!” They believe and do. Belief and courage in action becomes leadership, and leadership brews success.

We never really know if we truly believe in something till we are in a position to decide basis that belief.

People seek power but very few people are comfortable when power comes their way. The power to decide needs power in that person to decide. But ironically people become very jittery when they have the decision button under their thumb.

To close this discussion, here is how I experience the basic professional skills in action everyday -

Intuition: gives direction/motivation for decision

Analysis: gives options, right questions

Imagination: gives ideas

Judgment: can give decision/strategy

Courage and Confidence: Finally helps all the skills to add up to something tangible

Belief (or delusion!): Gives confidence and courage

Analysis, Intuition, Judgment, Experience & Imagination

I was motivated to write this after listening to some of my friends and colleagues say – analysis is the most important contribution that one can make at work! I also believe that analysis is important – however there are more things that are equally, if not more, important.

 

In theory, analysis seems to be an important skill for any kind of work. However, from the applied skills perspective – analysis is the easiest thing to do. This is because it starts with some facts and information as an input, and in these times information and facts are not impossible to get as long as we are ready to pay for these (and many times we do not even need to pay!).

So, if information and facts are easy to get, that leaves us with analysis right? May be not. To me in any particular assignment, looking for some information, facts and starting the process of analysis actually come later. What comes first is to define the problem or the opportunity correctly or as we say in creative businesses defining the problem creatively. This is linked with asking the right questions. To me this is the biggest contribution that can be made by anyone.

Going back to why is defining the problem or the opportunity correctly, the most important activity in any assignment. I would say it is so because in real business (and life) situations – problems do not come to us in neatly organized packs. We need to ‘figure them out’. This is where our skills come into play. To be able to ‘figure out’ the problem requires judgment, intuition and a good dose of experience.

Having said this, I must also add that, every new assignment or situation calls for an open mind because there is a lot of randomness lurking in almost every situation that one finds oneself in. It is not enough to have all the judgment, intuition, analysis, and experience on one’s side. It is equally important to realize that every new situation deserves imagination, for it to be approached in a whole new way. This is because while problems can come in patterns, this pattern can break without telling you and me. It is our job to ‘figure out’ when that happens!

(There are a few more skills that I would like to share a point of view on – perhaps in some of the subsequent posts)