Data, Intuition and developing your analytical mind

I must say, unraveling a complex situation is one of my favourite things to do. For those who know me, no doubt, you will have heard me talking about "getting under the hood"!

Why so interesting and why so important? The need for the application of a number of different skills. Finance, logic, communication and a good dose of intuition.

Intuition is instinct. It's that gut feeling of "that just does not feel right". We have all heard of women's intuition - trust it.

As your career develops, you will have experiences that further build on how you think about and solve things. All of these elements will enable you to confidently consider, challenge and make well supported decisions.

Being at the start of your career does not mean you can't do the same. It just means it may take a little longer, or you may need to lean on your others, such as your mentor or sponsor.

This reminds me, if you have done nothing yet about finding that mentor or sponsor - do it!

Data can be cut and presented many ways. It can make a situation look better or worse than it actually is. Think of the many stories of business failures where data and information, beautifully presented in annual reports, have hidden a dire financial position. This is clearly worst case, however data only tells one part of any story.

There is a brilliant book called Factfulness by Dr Hans Rosling. This book talks to how data can misrepresent a situation, using the state of the world as his study. I actually have a second copy of this, so for anyone in Australia, if you would like this, please email me.

Think about the packs of information you will have seen presented in meetings. When someone has presented excessive data to support a business case, or you suspect some creative visuals have been included to make the figures look better than they are. These are two examples of how data can be misused.

Data is critical, however to really understand a situation and what is in front of you, intuition and logic (removing the emotion), must come into play.

It is also important intuition in not used in isolation when solving problems or finding a way forward. Even if you feel sure, support or challenge your view with data.The key is finding a balance.

As I mentioned earlier, at the start of your career, you will be less confident when analysing a situation. When in doubt, be curious, obtain objective views and continue until you can see the full story. There will be times where this is not possible or you need to make a decision quickly, so you have to work with what you have. This is where intuition and experience really kick in.

I mentioned communication at the start of the post. The way you ask questions of your colleagues to delve deeper is really important. Just saying “that can’t be correct!” to a colleague presenting their case in a group meeting, is not the way to go about challenging or obtaining answers. Communication and engaging others is an important topic, so I will pick this up in a future post.

As I have spoken to before, the fastest way to build your business muscles, is to find ways to be involved. In different situations, meetings, projects and discussions. It is all practice and confidence – create the opportunity as often as you can.

Until next time

Lisa