Visionary Decision Making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.

In a world characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, it becomes necessary for leaders to make visionary decisions. Visionary decision making involves thinking beyond mistakes of the past, inadequacies of the present and the fear of the future to be able to envision possibilities of success and progress. Moreover, a visionary decision is one that transcends one’s personal interest and carries potential for bringing about a larger good. A decision based on reason alone is unlikely to be transformational in its approach as it can cause one to become narrow in their mindset. On the other hand, relying solely on intuition to make decisions can lead to disastrous consequences because of its exclusion of conscious reasoning. Therefore, it is rightly said that it is the intersection of intuition and logic that gives rise to visionary decision making.

History abounds with examples which justify the given statement. For example, it was Gautam Buddha’s intuition which led him to escape the sheltered royal life he lived to be able to experience the suffering of people first hand. On the other hand, it was his reason that empowered him to question the authority of the priestly class and their poor treatment of those belonging to the so-called lower castes. This mix of intuition and logic enabled him to coin the basic tenets of Buddhism, a heterodox religion that brought a social revolution in India back in 6th century BCE.

Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan empire is another leader who employed a perfect mix of intuition and logic in the administration of his kingdom. After the Kalinga war, he supplemented his intuitive decision to shift to the policy of Dhamma Ghosha with reasonable measures to ensure that this did not lead to his decline. He made the logical decision to still keep a standing army for the security of his kingdom, but also followed his intuition and appointed Dhamma Mahamattas to spread messages of peace and respect for life. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Mauryan empire reached its peak under Ashoka’s reign. His cultural and philosophical contributions continue to form an integral part of India’s rich cultural heritage even today.

Further in India’s history, Gandhiji made ingenious use of intuition and logic to mobilise the masses against the British colonialists. Worthy of mention is his intuitive affinity to non violence and the commendable use of logic in the adopting salt as a symbol for the Civil Disobedience Movement. This demonstrates that when decisions are made based on a mix of intuition and logic, they can cause transformation in society and people.

But why is the synthesis of intuition and logic necessary for visionary decision making?

Relying solely on reason to the exclusion of intuition, cannot produce visionary decisions. It can limit one’s ability to engage in divergent thinking and innovate. As a result, it can restrict one’s ability to take risks and leverage their strengths. For instance, in the volatile and uncertain economy that we live in today, founders of startups often face situations where they have limited information to make decisions. In such circumstances, they are required to combine their intuitive insights with the existing information to choose their course of actions. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, is infamous for this approach to decision making and his company has been making significant contributions to development of the Space sector in America.
This demonstrates that entrepreneurship, therefore, greatly benefits from the right amalgamation of intuition and logic. Closer to home, the steady growth of Tata company can also be attributed to the wisdom of its leaders in adopting the route of sustainable growth, and building customer trust rather than reckless profit maximisation.

It is equally important to note that reckless use of intuition, to the exclusion of logic, can lead to errors of judgement. A person’s intuition is shaped by their personal beliefs, feelings and experiences. Therefore, intuitive decision making involves making decisions that come to them naturally, without any deliberate reasoning on their part. It is for this very reason that relying on intuition alone to make hasty decisions can have disastrous consequences. It can lead one to disregard the issues that can arise subsequent to the decision. This can be seen during the reign of Mohammed Bin Tughlaq in India. The idea to shift the capital to Devagiri from Delhi appealed to him intuitively as he felt it would allow him to consolidate his rule in the South. As a result, he ordered all his subjects and officials to shift to Devagiri- an impractical decision that defied logic. Soon, this led to loosening of his power in the north of India and he was forced to shift the capital back to Delhi.

In recognizing the perils of depending solely on intuition to make decisions, it is important to note that intuition can exist at two levels. While the above example demonstrates use of intuition based on personal feelings and consciousness, the examples of sportspersons demonstrate another type of intuitive sense. Sportspersons develop an intuitive awareness of their opponents’ likely moves and their own moves with continued practice. This intuitive sense of a sportsperson is based on their deep analysis of the game throughout their training period. Thus, the clever decisions that the captain of a cricket team may make during a tense game also arise from a combination of intuition and logic.

This integration of logic and intuition is also quite prevalent in scientific research, innovation and policy making. Many visionary leaders who have contributed to the scientific progress of our nation have also made use of both intuition and reason in designing programs and policies. For example, it was Homi J. Bhabha’s synthesis of intuition and logic that enabled him to design a nuclear programme that not only met the present needs but also the long-term strategic needs of our country. Without this mix of intuition and reason in different scientific, political and social endeavours, we as a society would not have had the capacity to envision better futures.

Conclusion

This essay has demonstrated that the given statement holds true at many levels. We have explored various instances of decision making in fields as diverse as politics, administration, business, science and sports. These examples provide evidence for the truth that intuition and logic by themselves cannot empower leaders to make transformational choices. It is thus established that visionary decisions indeed lie at the intersection of logic and intuition.