Intuition

Intuition is the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. It stems from instinct. It is also used to develop judgement that allows us to see the cause and effect of outcomes and the ability to recognize that “ring of truth”.  Intuition is also related to the ability to see new markets and business models. The book “Tipping Point” describes the instincts that allow us to occasionally predict the future.

I used intuition in selecting companies I joined. I assessed what these companies needed to accomplish and determined whether or not I was interested in doing what they needed.

Early in my career in Personnel, I was thinking about the employment process.  I saw office parks with multiple separate companies begin to appear.  I knew that proximity to work was a factor applicants considered.  They wanted a job they liked, close to home. I knew that employees needed to do what they loved. I also knew that applicants had few resources to determine what they loved and the employment process didn’t allow the time to find “the perfect fit”.

I envisioned a business plan to establish a Personnel Department for the office park tasked with matching jobs with applicant’s motivated abilities. But I knew that companies would not sign up to support this type of service, because they were not always hiring. My proximity model was attractive but impractical. I concluded that applicants had to find their “sweet spot” themselves.

I had just predicted the beginning of Temp Services long before they existed. They ended up specializing in the “type” of applicants certain companies wanted rather than physical proximity. They would payroll temps and give them a chance to “try out” jobs before they took these jobs. Temp Services would charge fees or mark ups based on hours worked.

I had asked the question: how could we do this better and used intuition to evaluate the possibilities. The pieces of this puzzle included matching motivated abilities with proximity to work. I saw things from the applicant’s perspective.  I believe all employees are free agents.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader