Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

LOL! I ran across this in a link Nikole posted, where Jeff and Rich discuss a concept they`ve entitled the Cheese Disk Philosophy. A great podcast, and a lot of fun. :-D

In a nutshell, they speak to the issue of recognizing opportunity, and to avoid the mistake of blowing off a potential opportunity for one reason or another.

But here`s the thing. A key concept that sort of glides by without your noticing it, comes during the anecdote explaining the name of the podcast. In it they mention that they "intuitively" knew when to take a meeting, regardless of it`s analytic or intellectual attractiveness.

Interesting problem. What if you don`t have any intuition? Better yet, can we train our intuition?

In my own life, I`ve noticed (mostly looking back) that some of the most profound changes that have happened began with the most mundane, unnoticed events. It`s the old "for want of a nail, a kingdom was lost" thing.

As I got older, one of my fascinations was to learn (somehow) a way to see in *real time* when I was in the middle of a focal point---a matrix point---where countless variables were coming together, and the outcome was unclear.

In other words, I wanted to know, somehow, those little tiny moments where the entire future had the possibility of changing, radically.

I`ve not been too successful. :-)

How many stories have you heard of the person who stops to offer a panhandler a dollar, then years later is rewarded by the now successful business person. Isn`t that the basic plot of "Great Expectations?"

So: How do you develop your intuition to the point of feeling it would be a good thing to go meet someone, take a phone call, talk with someone?

It`s all gambling.

You just toss your dice and hope for big money.

Is "dice" a code word for um...cookies? Or cajones?

i think intuition comes from experiences you`ve had and observations you`ve made, all mixed in with some level of instinct that`s not externally driven.

intuition for me today is a result of having a sense or smell test for things that "could lead somewhere", and the openness and curiosity that create possibilities and opportunities in life.

there`s a cheese disk article available, too... wonderful, no?


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Rich Sloan , Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation

Ruh roh .. is SuN going to turn into ICANHASCHEEZBURGER now?? (Lots of cheese daily over there ...)

I think some part of "intuition" is seeing the bigger picture. As in, this is not just one meeting, it`s a learning experience, or a chance to practice, or a chance to meet new people, or what have you. Often reframing your mind can make a minor event seem much larger in a greater context of your career.

You do what you can. Opportunity is everywhere. It`s easy to lose focus.

Well, okay, so this presents A Fine How`d`ya Do (to use an academic philosophic expression).

The podcast speaks to the idea of using intuition to take a meeting that seemed (through experience) to be a waste of time. After having the meeting, the Sloan brothers realized it was an important one. In other words, in retrospect it turned out their first evaluation was wrong---in retrospect.

We could say that prior to the meeting, their experience showed them the meeting would be a waste of time. If they`d used that experience, they would have blown off the meeting right? So what experience are we talking about, which created the intuition to override the other experience of "first impression?"

I understand we`re bordering on a discussion of the legitimacy of psychic clairvoyance and whether or not it exists. But we do know that human beans have almost no instincts of any kind. We have an instinctive fear of heights, fear of loud noises, and one or two others, but we don`t have an "instinct for choosing which meetings to go to." :-D

So: Is intuition a *skill,* or a *talent?*