Intuition in Decision Making

I Was Wrong—And You Are Too (Or, The Lies Experience Tells You) I started as an engineer, hired for my ability to build things and solve problems. But when I moved into management, something shifted. I wasn’t writing code anymore—I was making decisions that shaped teams, projects, and strategies. Over time, what people valued most wasn’t my technical skills, but my judgment: recognizing patterns, making good decisions, and bringing perspective. That’s what we usually mean by wisdom—not just knowing things, but knowing what works and what doesn’t. But here’s the catch: technology moves fast. And some of the patterns I relied on turned out to be wrong. Not because they were never true, but because I wasn’t questioning them often enough. For years, I believed speed and reliability were in conflict. Move fast, and you’d sacrifice stability. Optimize for reliability, and you’d slow down. And at the time that was mostly true—continuous deployment was immature, testing was inconsistent, observability was limited. But things changed. Today’s top teams balance speed and reliability by designing for resilience, automating deployments, and utilizing advanced monitoring and rollback mechanisms. My thinking hadn’t kept up with this evolution. That’s the real danger of wisdom—it feels like truth when it’s just outdated experience in disguise. You’ve seen something fail before, so you assume it always will. You’ve seen something work, so you treat it as a universal rule. Just because something didn’t work five years ago doesn’t mean it won’t work now. And just because a pattern held true in the past doesn’t mean it always will. The real problem isn’t having strong opinions. It’s not revisiting them. I’ve caught myself doing this more times than I’d like to admit. A new idea comes up, and my first reaction is skepticism: I’ve seen this before. I know how this ends. But if I’ve learned anything, it’s this: being too sure is dangerous. The best engineers and leaders I know aren’t just wise—they’re curious. They don’t just rely on past experience; they keep learning, questioning, and re-examining their assumptions. They use experience as a guide, not a rulebook. Wisdom is valuable—until it isn’t. The best decisions come not just from experience, but from staying curious, challenging assumptions, and staying open to new ideas. Technology moves forward. If you’re not rethinking old assumptions, you’re falling behind.

The 5-Minute Decision-Making Formula Used by High-Performing CEOs Top corporate leaders like Satya Nadella, Tim Cook, and Indra Nooyi don’t waste hours second-guessing every choice. They make rapid, strategic decisions with clarity and confidence. How? They follow a structured framework that minimizes overthinking while maximizing impact. Here’s how the 5-Minute Decision-Making Formula works and how you can implement it. Step 1: Define the Decision (1 Minute) Most people get stuck because they don’t define the actual decision they need to make. Be clear: • What am I deciding? • What’s the ideal outcome? • What are the stakes (high, medium, low)? Action Step: Write down the decision in one sentence. If it’s a Type 2 decision, commit to making it quickly. Step 2: Gather Key Data (2 Minutes) You don’t need all the data—just the right data. Ask: • What are the top 3-5 facts I need to know? • What does past experience tell me? • What’s the worst-case scenario if I get this wrong? Action Step: List 3 key facts or insights that will guide your choice. Ignore unnecessary details. Step 3: Apply the 80/20 Rule (1 Minute) High-performance leaders use Pareto’s Principle (80/20 Rule)—80% of results come from 20% of inputs. They ask: • What’s the one factor that matters most? • What option aligns with core goals & values? Action Step: Prioritize one deciding factor that outweighs the rest. Step 4: Trust Your Instinct + Make the Call (30 Seconds) Overthinking is the enemy of decision-making. Trust yourself. • If the decision is 70% right, take action (per Amazon’s “Disagree and Commit” principle). • If wrong, adjust later. Action Step: Make the decision. Trust it. Commit to it. Step 5: Take the First Step + Course-Correct (30 Seconds) Decisions only matter if acted upon. • What’s one action step to implement right now? • What feedback loop will I use to refine? Action Step: Set a 24-hour action step to move forward. Try this framework and see how it saves you the mental energy.

I made a tough decision to reject a job in Portugal recently. (And it was paying me almost twice my then salary) Frankly, It was a tempting offer, and i almost signed the contract. But as you would do with any big decision, sleep on it for a while !!. After careful re-consideration, I choose what others might think a stupid decision - I rejected the offer. In hindsight, 3 principles that guide my decision-making process. 1. Aligns with My Values I realised that taking the job would mean relocating far away from my family. I knew that I couldn't prioritise my career over my loved ones. My values are rooted in family and happiness, and this job would have compromised that. 2. Will My Loved Ones Be Proud? I asked myself if my children and grandchildren would be proud of my decision. Would they understand why I made this choice? The answer was clear - they would want me to prioritise our relationship and happiness over any job. 3. Respect Your Choices Once I made the decision to reject the offer, I knew I had to own it. No regrets, no what-ifs. I had to trust that I made the right choice for me and my family. Rejecting that job offer was one of the best decisions I ever made. I'm not saying it was easy, but it was worth it. Remember: - Align your choices with your values - Consider the impact on your loved ones - Respect your decisions Don't compromise on what matters most to you. Trust your instincts and prioritize your happiness. You got this!

Data or Gut Feelings. Whenever I’ve made strategic decisions while neglecting my gut feelings, I have felt a tinge of regret. Leaders are often urged to make data-driven decisions in this age of abundant data. Data is significant; it offers valuable insights by revealing past trends and providing predictive analytics, yet I believe it has limitations. Data alone will not always account for individual circumstances, unexpected challenges, or the essential human elements crucial to effective leadership. On the other hand, intuition - rooted in experience, judgment, and the ability to recognise patterns - can be incredibly powerful, especially in uncertain or quickly changing environments. Still, we must acknowledge that biases and narrow perspectives can sway intuition. Today’s leaders face the interesting challenge of blending analytical skills with intuitive wisdom rather than choosing one over the other. For example, while data may highlight an emerging market trend, intuition empowers leaders to assess whether the timing, cultural relevance, or team readiness aligns with taking action. A potent way to bridge this gap is by asking lots of critical questions during decision-making: Cultivating a habit of evaluating choices from numerical and descriptive angles ensures a more robust approach. The essence of future leadership lies in mastering the art of merging analytics with intuition. We can achieve this by fostering critical thinking to evaluate data accuracy, employing scenario planning, evaluating multiple alternatives to juxtapose gut feelings with measurable insights, and building diverse team thinking to challenge assumptions. Practical steps, such as conducting post-mortems to reflect on decision-making processes, help bring this balance to life. When data and intuition unite, leaders can make much more impactful decisions. So, I vote for a harmonious combination.

The most dangerous person on any engineering team isn't the one who knows nothing... It's the experienced engineer who just joined and wants to "fix everything." 🧨 I've seen this pattern countless times: Senior engineers join a new company, look at the codebase with horror, and immediately start planning the "great refactoring." They see messy code, strange architecture decisions, and technical debt everywhere. But here's what separates truly senior engineers from merely experienced ones: The ability to pause, observe, and understand before changing anything. 🛑 That "horrible" authentication system? It handles edge cases you haven't discovered yet. That "messy" database schema? It's optimized for specific queries that power critical features. That "outdated" framework? It might be the only thing preventing production outages. Junior engineers see a mess and want a revolution. Mid-level engineers see problems and want evolution. Senior engineers see context and make intentional decisions. The wisdom isn't in knowing how to rebuild everything—it's in understanding the difference between: • Technical debt worth addressing • Ugly code that works reliably • Actual system risks requiring intervention The highest form of engineering maturity isn't showing how much you can change—it's knowing precisely what to change, when to change it, and most importantly, what to leave alone. What's the most valuable legacy system you initially wanted to rewrite but later came to appreciate? #EmbeddedSystems #Firmware #SoftwareEngineering #LegacyCode #TechLead #Refactoring #Cprogramming #DeveloperLife

I have been trying to understand how I actually make decisions, not the idealized version, but the real process that happens beneath the surface. What I keep noticing is this: my intuition often notices things before I can fully explain why. It is not magic; it is the build‑up of small signals, conversations, repeated patterns, and shifts in energy around a plan. Over time, that becomes a quiet internal radar. But intuition can point without being able to justify. I’ve learned to pause there and bring data into the room, not to win an argument with myself, but to see whether the feeling stands up to reality. Data doesn’t replace the gut, it gives the hunch a shape. It forces a clearer question. It reduces the comforting story to something testable. When I work this way with the team, something useful happens. Direction stops being a decree and becomes a shared inquiry. Instead of “we’re changing course,” it becomes “this is what I’m sensing, and if it’s true, here’s what we’d expect to see in the numbers, let’s go look.” That one shift lowers the temperature. People understand the why, not just the what, and they move faster because the ambiguity is named, not hidden. We agree upfront on what would confirm or contradict the idea, so we don’t chase noise or get stuck defending opinions. When the early data supports the direction, momentum builds naturally. Not as a leadership trick. Not as a philosophy. Just a more honest way of working: sense early, test quickly, learn in public, and move with intention. #leadership #intution #team #teamwork

Every major decision I take at Bikanervala starts with two things. Data and Instinct. Data shows me what is visible. Instinct shows me what is hidden. In today’s business landscape, especially in the UAE, leaders are told to “trust the numbers.” But numbers alone never built a legacy brand. When I look at store performance across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Sharjah, I always begin with the analytics. → What are people ordering during weekends? → Which communities are showing growth in preference for authentic Indian sweets? → How are our delivery and dine-in margins shifting across Emirates? That gives me the facts. Then comes the second layer. My gut. Years of running operations, greeting families, and walking through our kitchens have taught me what spreadsheets cannot. You can’t measure the pride of a father buying a box of motichoor laddus for his child’s birthday. You can’t capture the comfort an expat feels when a bite of fresh rasgulla reminds them of home. That’s where instinct steps in. When data and gut align, I know the path is clear. When they don’t, I listen harder to my people, to my market, and to myself. Because leadership is not just about making decisions. It’s about owning them. At Bikanervala, this balance between modern analytics and traditional intuition keeps us both grounded and growing. Data gives us precision. Gut gives us purpose. Together, they keep us moving forward. #Bikanervala #UAEBusiness #EntrepreneurMindset #DataDrivenDecisions

Strategic thinking without EQ is cold mathematics. EQ without strategy is emotion-driven improvisation. And I’ve seen both extremes break strong teams. We tend to think strategy is about numbers, analytics, and forecasts. But every strategy is executed through people. And people are not spreadsheets. That’s why the decision-making framework introduced by Jessica Luna resonates with me. It doesn’t position strategy and empathy as opposites. It shows how to integrate them into one system. A strong decision answers two questions at the same time. Is it logical? Is it sustainable for the people who will have to execute it? Strategic thinking is responsible for: — direction — priorities — risk exposure — long-term consequences EQ is responsible for: — perception — motivation — trust — cultural context Here’s what I’ve observed in practice. Most leadership failures are not calculation errors. They are failures in anticipating human reaction. Leaders often assume that if a decision is rational, it will automatically be accepted. But rationality does not eliminate emotion, status dynamics, fear of losing influence, or internal politics. Ignore strategy and you create chaos. Ignore EQ and you create resistance that quietly sabotages even the best plan. In mature leadership, there is no conflict between head and heart. There is the ability to hold the system and the people within it in the same frame. First, analyze the model. Then, analyze the behavior. Only after that do you make a decision that can be not just announced, but actually carried through the organization. Strategy defines where you are going. EQ defines how fast and how sustainably you get there. Strong leaders do not choose between the two. They operate in both dimensions simultaneously. And honestly, this is where real leadership begins. 💬 In your experience, what causes more failures today, weak strategy or weak people leadership? — Natan Mohart

Most people think career success comes from making the perfect decision. It doesn’t. It comes from making timely, values-aligned ones. Especially when the next step feels unclear. One of my clients, a brilliant VP, spent 3 months stuck on a single choice: “Do I speak up about being overlooked, or wait for my work to speak for itself?” She called it strategic patience. But it was really fear disguised as overthinking. We ran it through this framework. She made the call. Six weeks later, her promotion was fast-tracked. She was finally seen, heard, and most importantly, included. Because here’s what I tell every high-achiever I coach: You don’t need more time to decide. You need a better way to decide. Try the 2-Minute Decision Framework™ (Career Edition): 1. QUICK DECISIONS → Handle it NOW For low-stakes tasks that clog your mental bandwidth: → Can you respond to that email in < 2 minutes? → Is the request low risk and easily reversible? → Are you spiraling on something that just needs action? ✅ Do it. Momentum builds trust and confidence. (Your career doesn’t stall in the big moves, it drips away through tiny indecisions.) 2. TEAM DECISIONS → Resolve it TODAY For collaborative work or project bottlenecks: → Who’s recommending this approach? → Who’s doing the work? → Who’s accountable for the final call? ✍️ Assign roles. Align expectations. Move forward. (Most team confusion comes from no one knowing who’s driving.) Use this anytime you’re: – Leading a cross-functional project – Navigating performance reviews – Building team trust through shared clarity 3. CAREER DECISIONS → Make it THIS WEEK For decisions that affect your growth, visibility, and voice: Use the 3–2–1 Method: → 3 options: Brainstorm career paths, scripts, or solutions → 2 perspectives: Ask two mentors, not the whole internet → 1 call: Choose the path aligned with your long game 🎯 Clarity > complexity. Every time. This works for: – Deciding whether to advocate for a raise or promotion – Considering a lateral move for growth – Navigating visibility or speaking up on tough issues The truth is: courageous careers aren’t built on perfect plans. They’re built on small, aligned decisions made with intention. That’s C.H.O.I.C.E.® in action. So here’s your coaching moment: 🔥 Pick one decision you’ve been avoiding. Run it through the framework. Make the call within the next hour. Then ask yourself: What changed when I finally decided? ❓ What’s one career decision you’ve been sitting on too long? Share it below, or DM me, and we’ll run it through together. 🔖 Save this for your next “Should I…?” moment 👥 Tag someone who needs this framework in their toolkit Because alignment isn’t found in overthinking. It’s built through C.H.O.I.C.E.®. ➕ Follow Loren Rosario - Maldonado, PCC for tools that actually work in real life. #CareerCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment

Life rewards those who decide. Not those who wait. Here’s how to make the right call, fast 👇: 🧠 The Science of Decision-Making:  Research shows that overthinking drains our cognitive energy, reduces our confidence, and can even lead to worse decisions. On the other hand, decisive people tend to be more productive, confident, and successful.  👉🏻 If you want to speed up your decision-making process without sacrificing quality, these 6 proven strategies are the answer. 1️⃣ Set Clear Criteria:   ↳ Decide what’s most important before making the decision.  ↳ Is it speed, cost, quality, or alignment with your values?  ↳ Having a clear framework in place simplifies complex choices and eliminates options that don’t fit. 2️⃣ Use the 70% Rule:   ↳ Adopted by Jeff Bezos, the idea is to make a decision when you have 70% of the information you need.  ↳ Waiting for 90% often means missing opportunities.  ↳ Remember: No decision is perfect; most are reversible. 3️⃣ Limit Your Options:   ↳ Studies show that having too many options can lead to decision fatigue.  ↳ Narrow your choices down to 2 or 3 viable ones.  ↳ When in doubt, eliminate anything that isn’t a clear “yes.” 4️⃣ Apply the 5-Minute Rule:   ↳ If a decision is not life-altering, give yourself just 5 minutes to make it.  ↳ This forces you to trust your instincts and prevents you from getting bogged down in unnecessary details. 5️⃣ Pre-Decide with “If-Then” Plans:   ↳ Reduce decision fatigue by creating “If-Then” rules. For example, “If it’s a project under $1,000, then I’ll delegate it to my team.” ↳ This simplifies decision-making and speeds up your process. 6️⃣ Embrace Imperfection:   ↳ Fear of failure often slows us down.  ↳ Understand that mistakes are a part of growth.  ↳ Make peace with the fact that not every decision will be perfect, but every decision is an opportunity to learn. 📝 Why It Matters:   Faster decision-making means less stress, more productivity, and more time focusing on what truly matters.  It also builds confidence and decisiveness, which are key traits of effective leaders. ♻️ Your Turn:  What’s one decision-making tip that has helped you the most?  Share in the comments below, or tag someone who needs to read this. 📌 PS... “Indecision is the thief of opportunity.” - Jim Rohn 🚀 Follow Harry Karydes for more daily tips to engineer your ideal life through mindset, habits and systems.