Strategic Intuition
By:William Duggan PhD; Preofessor of Entrepreneurship, Columbia University
Venue: Auditorium, Ateneo Graduate School of Business, Rockwell, Makati City

Topic: STRATEGIC INTUITION: The Creative Spark In Human Achievement

When do you get your best ideas? You probably answer “At night,” or “In the shower,” or “Stuck in traffic.” You get a flash of insight. Things come together in your mind. Your brain connects the dots. You say to yourself, “Aha! I see what to do.” Modern brain science now reveals how these flashes of insight happen. It’s a special form of intuition. We call it strategic intuition, because it gives you an idea for action – a strategy.

Modern science tells us there are three kinds of intuition. First, there’s ordinary intuition. That’s just a feeling. Your gut. Second, there’s expert intuition. That means snap judgments, where you instantly recognize something familiar, the way a tennis pro knows where the ball will go from the arc and speed of the opponent’s racket. Basically, practice makes perfect. You get faster at what you do. Malcolm Gladwell wrote about this second kind of intuition in Blink. Third, there’s strategic intuition. It’s not a vague feeling, like ordinary intuition. It’s a clear thought. And it’s not fast, like expert intuition. It’s slow. That flash of insight you had last night might solve a problem that’s been on of your mind for a month. And it doesn’t happen in familiar situations, like a tennis match. Strategic intuition works in new situations. That’s when you need it most.

Everyone knows you need creative thinking, or entrepreneurial thinking, or innovative thinking, or strategic thinking, to succeed in the modern world. All these kinds of thinking happen through flashes of insight – strategic intuition. And now that we know how it works, you can learn to do it better. That’s what this book is about.

yes.  seems like most of our ideas was hatched during driving.  when i can show my emotions in hidden fashion.  when i can shed a tear when hardly no one knows.  upon projecting a smile at my next stop, the roller coaster of emotions is cooking up something i havent thought of before.

when i was young, im even indifferent of a deity’s existence.  i felt that everything can be made with sheer thoughts.  i was a negativist then when bad things come.  but the present days is different!  i can never be sad because i know that when “unexpected alterations” come which would make me uncomfortable at first, it is always for a greater good which i don’t understand at present.

i have this blind faith that makes me believe that there is this invisible hand for guidance.  that even which option i choose, i would always see the right path.  so far, i havent failed.  things always end up better than the plans made by my thoughts and i am amazed how ingenious the right things come at the right places.

thank you dear lord for guiding me even if im always on the edge of the dark.

hovercraft would be great because of the following philippine realities:

a.  it would be cost efficient.  developing sea ports is expensive especially for small islands with low economic turnovers.  the hover crafts would technically need none of this.  it could virtually dock anywhere.  for ease of service a flat hover pad can be made near the seashore.  it can be even stored in a hangar-type area when bad weather comes in.

b.  it would link local economies and people.  through increased availability of travel from one small islet to another, physical boundaries will be cutted off.  freeing from seclusion would be a main factor to alleviate people from poverty.

c.  it would be an efficient form of travel for 7 people and below.  iloilo to guimaras would only take 5 minutes on sunny days at lessthan 1 liter of fuel.  its technically efficient than a gas-guzzling jetski.  it would be way cooler and exciting for chick adventure travels (errr..just delete the last sentence..hehe)

d.  it would make more interests to many eco-tourism destinations in the philippines.  whale watching, adventure in protected nature reserves and much more that our beautiful country could offer.  i particularly imagine a photo-eco-tourism package for this.  this could be taken inwards to the shore unlike your typical bancas and rubber boats so more perspectives can be shot at lesser time.  it would also polute the water less due to lower fossil-fuel consumption.

e.  it would be a great rescue vehicle for floods is a philippine reality we cant tackle up to now.  going over land and flood water would be easy with this vehicle because it hovers 8 inches above air.  it could save lives because of faster response times in this country with poor health services.  the local government units would be one of the market of these products.

f.  philippines has a lot of engineering minds that i believe can make better designs and utility for this project.  im dreaming of unmanned hover vehicles to protect ports and shorelines with cameras, 20mm guns and PA systems controlled at the safety of the philippine shores.  philippine minds are seldomly given a chance to shine in the philippines that they go overseas to the benifit of foreign countries.  i still believe in the philippines!  and this project if allowed to bloom would allow gifted filipinos to stay here and sell hovercrafts internationally thereby achieving higher compensation.

oh..my bias about the philippines shows again.  i love this country and i would like more interesting and creative people to stay here.  sadly, i hope we really can.

yet sadness inspires me more.  it opens up my mind!  it shows me that impossibility is just a state of mind.  personal sadness has always been a precursor for far better concepts, ideas and creativity in entrepreneurship and the arts.

im so addicted to this cycle that im purposely manufacturing artificial sadness because real sadness seemed to be a remote possibility.  like polystyrenes to organics!hehe  i purposely find something nga “ipukol sa ulo ko” when things are just levelling out to stir up my emotions.  to be more creative!  yet im such a dickhead to think of this.  my mind is trying to control how should i feel by doing this.  but it seemed impossible, the heart has a mind of its own as i learned.

i should be really sad now.  i just noticed, i wrote “i should be sad” instead of “im really sad”.  how can this foolish smile be out of my face.  i have the right situation to be sad but im not!  maybe i’ll prick my eye corners for me to be purposely in tears..hehehe  i have to be sad.  i have a lot planned this year or am i really destined to be a smiling positivist fool?

“what the heck!”, stop this foolishness rj.  are you trying to convince yourself again?  hala! am i trying to talk to myself..whahahaha

for the past years i haven’t purposely grown any of my project in lieu of adding a new and exciting one!  i have a collection of projects now which are all earning yet not in the maximum earning capacities.  when i use IMs i frequently chat with this seasoned entrepreneur, mr. romy miranda.  a finalist of the international bid challenge 2008 at the netherlands (look up http://www.bidnetwork.org/artefact-44922-en.html for more details) eventhough he says that he is just “exchanging notes” i am very thankful for being the influence to dream of bigger things in a far more different perspective.  thank you sir miong!

he gave information on the international challenges which he plans to join and encouraged me to join the same.  at first, i was placing it on the back of my mind even behind the artificial problems i create (laughs).  but his perseverance of just “sharing notes”, made me think otherwise.  i was intently taking interest on the following competitions he shared over some time:

http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk -sponsored by shell and bbc world

http://www.bidchallenge.com/ - the competition that brought him to europein 2007

http://www.greenchallenge.info/ - a competition to encourage the development of green inventions

im thinking of developing the literature of my accumosaic project (www.accumosaic.com) for the bbc world challenge and maybe my hovercraft dreams for the picnic green challenge.  i’ll choose from my other projects what would be appropriate for the bidchallenge.  but i may need help.  my guerilla one-man-army style might not work on this anymore.  im counting on my friends.