I read a terrific blog post recently at the website of UK agency Idea Engineering. The post is titled What Leads to Greatness, and it includes a bulleted list titled Ingredients for Greatness. The top ingredient on the list is "Train Your Intuition."
How To Train Your Intuition
As I read the Idea Engineering text pertaining to "train Your intuition," much of what was being said correlates with my personal "knowledge approach" to success in running my creative business. This philosophy applies to writers, designers and any other creative professionals who want to be more effective business people. The "knowledge approach" on which I have built my business is something a refer to as R.O.C.K. This philosophy is based on four key knowledge actions that I engage in every day: Read, Observe, Challenge and Know.
The main point of this philosophy is that to be more than just a good writer, designer, project manager or other creative professional, you have to bring more to the table. My mantra since my first days as a junior copywriter at a NJ ad agency is to fill my brain (and keep it filled). I work at this every day of my life. My reward is a well-fueled intuition that I trust implicitly to guide me in creating effective marketing solutions for my clients.
1. READ with Gusto To Feed Your Intuition
Read books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, case studies—anything and everything you can get your hands on (or access on the Internet). It’s your job to be well-read and knowledgeable on many subjects (not just marketing). Curiosity for all things interesting in the world creates the best writers, designers and other creative business professionals.
2. OBSERVE Widely To Inform Your Intuition
Pay attention to your market. Know what your prospective clients are doing. Know what your competition is doing. Know who is winning positive commentary and awards. Social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, make easy work of finding and observing what prospective clients, vendors and competitors are up to. All of this is vital background knowledge that will inform your intuition in ways that often lead to stronger and more successful business partnerships.
3. CHALLENGE Yourself To Strengthen Your Intuition
Challenge yourself on all levels to learn new marketing trends (i.e., social media - start a blog and engage in social networking) and technologies (i.e., environmentally-friendly commercial printing methods - create and print a self-promotion piece using "green" technologies). In our fast-changing marketing world, observation can only take you so far. For example, if you want to learn inbound marketing or content marketing, you have to push yourself to give it a try. Sometimes throwing yourself into something is the only way to learn it. Mistakes are inevitable. Embrace them and learn from them. The confidence you gain from challenging yourself to try adopt new trends and technologies will strengthen your intuition when consulting with clients on similar matters.
4. KNOW More To Enrich Your Intuition
When it comes to running a creative business, you can never have too much knowledge and practical experience. The more you do, the more you know. The more you know, the better your intuition and the greater your successes.
What Do You Think?
What are your thoughts on the importance of continually feeding your brain to bolster intuition? Does it make sense? Will it make you a better business person? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.