by Bruce Fenton and Jake Mazulewicz Ph. D

From undergrad business classes to Fortune 500 boardrooms, today’s legal and business environment focuses on analytical thinking: cash flows, statistics and round table discussions.

But how do we explain the staggering difference between people like Michael Dell, who grew Dell Computer from his dorm room to $9 million in sales in his first nine months, and the rest of us? Surely Michael Dell was not simply better at crunching numbers. Some researchers believe one answer may lie in the area of intuitive thinking.

In the high stakes, fast paced world of Los Angeles litigation, celebrity divorces and philanthropy, Stacy Philips, managing partner of Phillips, Lerner & Lauzon, sometimes helps her firm and her clients by relying on her intuition in addition to just book smarts.

Philips calls the use of intuition “critically important” and says “good intuition and people skills are far more valuable than anything else when it comes to any person’s success in both personal relationships and career.”

She is not alone.

A growing number of respected academic researchers and business thinkers are starting to promote similar thinking. Since intuition is a faster working, older and more developed part of our cognitive functions than analytical thinking, research attributing effectiveness to “using one’s gut” may account for some of the rapid growth and effective management of many companies, like Dell.

Despite its advantages, there is little or no training for executives in the use of intuition. In certain circles, mentioning intuition as a decision-making tool might draw a similar reaction to tea leaves or Ouija boards.

Leading executives make extensive use of intuition and gut instincts in their decision processes, sometimes without even being aware of doing so. Perhaps it’s the trust level you feel for a new business associate or the hunch you have about a new office location being “right.” There is evidence that these instinctual reactions are actually be the result of years of training and observation that becomes wired in to your subconscious not unlike the grace of a highly trained athlete.

Philips notes that people are born with a certain ability to size people up as well as potential to improve those abilities.

“I also believe that intuition can be a product of experience – that a person can develop more keenly honed intuitive skills by living life and doing his or her job,” she says.

Whether juggling her time with her many board meetings, media appearances and work on her first book, Philips has become used to trusting her gut instincts.

“My intuition is usually on target. I use it with regard to work, friends and family,” she says. “I use intuition as a guide to know when to push and when to pull back. I also use it to read my audience, whether that is with regard to a client, opposing counsel and his or her client, as well as the judge.”

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges with intuition is knowing when and when not to listen to or act on it.

Philips says she “always” trusts her intuition – “but I don’t always rely on it. I take the time to think more deeply – to consider all sides of an issue – before I decide how to proceed to resolve it.”

Another challenge, particularly in the world of highly educated attorneys, is to step outside the box and trust your inner resources even though most formal training in America overlooks this area.

Philips is an example of an achiever who has balanced both: educated at Dartmouth College and Columbia Law, she has her share of conventional textbook knowledge but also learned from growing up with a lawyer parent that there are other equally important tools inherent to human beings.

“The woman who worked as my nanny when I was growing up wasn’t highly educated, yet she was very wise and had impeccable instincts,” she says.

Every executive knows a similar example; the instincts that separate the achievers and the super achievers are there, they just need to be used, developed and used some more.

If you feel uncomfortable using intuition for crucial decisions, there is still hope. First of all, take a look at decisions that you already make that use intuition. Sometimes, these are hard to notice because they are so obvious.

A lawyer who decides to alter a case’s course based on the non-verbal reaction of opposing council or even from the look in the eye of a judge is using intuition that in some cases is very highly developed. Outside the courtroom, experienced attorneys might unconsciously use intuition in the review of documents or handling of clients. An experienced estate planner or tax attorney may be able to sniff out a problem document in an instant because the document does not have the right “feel” for them.

It’s in these, intangible, difficult to explain areas that our greatest skills often occupy. On investigation, many managers find that their intuition was correct, particularly in dealing with people, an area so complex it is virtually impossible to make decisions using analytical means.

The next step to utilizing your inner natural resources is to track when your gut instinct tells you something and your subsequent action, over time, determine if there is a pattern. One way to do this is to keep a simple journal if you do not already do so. Entries list the date and might read “met potential employee, instinct tells me will work well even though salary request is higher than average” or “I have a feeling this client relationship could be a problem despite the revenue.”

With a couple minutes a day, after a few months you can accumulate an impressive and useable collection of data about our own inner natural resources. This data, perhaps some professional coaching and a keen sense of self awareness can form the foundation for making new use of a tool you have had all along and a tool that could be one of your greatest assets.

Bruce Fenton is a financial consultant, a writer, and the Managing Director of Atlantic Financial Inc. Bruce welcomes inquiries, comments, and questions. He can be reached by contacting The Fenton Report.