When this column was born, innovation was one of the most buzzy topics trending in business. We could sense an upheaval, a technological revolution, a manufacturing overhaul, headed our way, and everyone was (still is) scrambling to figure out how to come out on top. Much like our natural economy, our business economy will reorganize, purge, and renovate for survival, and while plenty is lost in the process, we advance our possibilities in ways we never imagined. As we surge into this technologically advanced economy, it’s a good time to make the case for simplicity, intuition, and creativity.

Innovation is born of intuition.

The thing most entrepreneurs and innovators don’t realize is that innovation is the result of intuition, which is defined as the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. Aligned with this process is creativity, which is the ability to take new ideas and bring them into reality. So, if you can understand and grasp a concept quickly, and then bring that idea to life, your chances of being successful in business are much higher. This is a process entrepreneurs need to understand so they can develop skills.

Bringing intuition to work.

The reason “biztuition,” a term coined by award-winning author and speaker Jule Christopher, is catching on with big names is because business leaders are waking up to the alternate world of business — the one we can’t see. Christopher refers to biztuition as the new secret skill of leadership and business success, and calls out the fact that we need more intuition at work, because “technology is not wired to know your truth, you are”.

Cutting through the noise.

There are two levels of noise that prevent our intuitive side from developing.

1. We are afraid of woo-hoo, crystal-ball type “magic” we can’t see. In business, we don’t want to sound crazy or off the wall, so we need data and verification on everything.

2. We are so inundated with outside noise, so overwhelmed with information, it’s nearly impossible to make clear and focused decisions, and even when we do, it takes us so much longer than it should, or we choose poorly because we are not tuned into that foundational creation process.

We exist in a constant state of validation. Even when our intuition is trying to tell us something, we seek to validate it, and so much time and energy are lost. We have to learn to break this validation cycle, to develop our intuitive foundation, and to explore our own creation processes — this is what the next business revolution is about.

Even sharks seek awareness.

Some of Christopher’s best examples are from talking with the sharks of Shark Tank. Christopher recounted several occasions where she talked about developing awareness, biztuition, and relying on this ability; and had the sharks nodding enthusiastically in agreement. “We all have intuition, but only some of us use it,” she says.

Awareness without ego.

In business, self-selecting leaders are often Type A people, and ego can be their driving force. What we are learning is that success isn’t the result of ego. Success and intuition are heavily tied together, and neither exists long-term without awareness and personal development. Self-awareness seems complex to some, but adopting this mindset is actually a much simpler way of thinking. The more awareness we have, the stronger our intuition, the better decisions we make, the less noise we combat, the more clear and focused we are.

Data plus AI plus intuition.