Genius

When belief and knowing occur together, you've found the genius in you.

William Duggan recently published Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement, a fascinating look at the conditions and ingredients of the kind of “Aha” moments that shape the course of business, history, and individuals’ life trajectories.  Duggan is clearly familiar with the brilliance of new insights and ways of thinking that make up his subject matter; the book itself is a case in point. 

Duggan’s thesis is that strategic intuition goes beyond the ‘ordinary intuition’ that we all have in the form of gut instinct’, and ‘expert intuition’ acquired through practice and training that allows us to act with confidence—even virtuosity—in familiar situations.  Strategic intuition is unique, Duggan explains, in its modus operandi, raw materials, and pace. 

“Strategic intuition is always slow, and it works for new situations” when “you must disconnect the old dots, to let the new ones connect on their own” (Duggan, 2).  The new dots and new strategy, however, do not materialize out of the blue as brand new, strictly original revelations.  The brilliant breakthroughs that we admire as remarkable creative ideas, the book argues, are really innovations made possible by pre-existing hard work of past thinkers, trial and error, and existing elements available.  Take Napoleon, he did not invent the contour map, the light cannon, or Joan of Arc’s ‘divide and conquer’ approach—he combined these existing elements in a new way and won the battle of Toulon, launching an unforgettable military career. 

Duggan makes it clear that ‘strategic intuition’ as he defines it is “thinking, not feeling.  A flash of insight cuts through the fog of your mind with a clear, shining thought.”  This largely rings true in the case studies that Duggan uses: Napoleon’s war tactics, Bill Gates’ software company for micro-computers, Picasso’s revolutionary painting style.

But we can add a couple additional elements to Duggan’s strategic intuition and find that its effects integrate through more than just the cerebral and tactical aspects of life. 

First, when confronting new challenges that require you to use experience, and knowledge in a new way, there is a piece of the puzzle that must stand strong as an underlying foundation for the brilliant ‘aha’ moment.  The foundation is Trust of Self…the crux of courage.  It is the essential security that allows you to have “the eyes to see and the ears to hear through the dark places, the illusions, the smoke-filled rooms of you life”…the unknown.

When you encounter the puzzle, trial, or problem before you, poring over the details, racking your brain for the moment of ‘genius’ that will break through, often you will hit a wall.  When you hit the wall and step back to let it ‘simmer,’ the psyche that can trust itself finds the peace to mull—freely, calmly take the pieces apart and let them float into different positions until just the right angle strikes.

There is peace in trust of self; there is confidence that “you know the truth about people, situations, and all that presents itself before you…and, you know the truth about you.”  With trust in place your mind can unlock from panic and urgency.  You become free to allow the pieces of the solution to present themselves without the force of manipulation or contrivance.

“Trust of self births a conscious connection with all that is around you…you drop yourself from the past and discover yourself anew every day…and, by unhinging yourself from the past, while resonating with the wisdom of your experiences, you are free”…for the genius discovery, maybe large, maybe small, but always new and maybe even brilliant.

A second element that mingles with strategic intuition, whether we are aware of it or not, is emotion.  Our thought life and emotional life are intertwined.  The ‘left brain versus right brain, heart versus head, separate sphere approach simply doesn’t describe the way we humans actually operate.  So the principles that Duggan outlines in his book apply quite fittingly to realms of experience that he doesn’t explore.

Take personal relationships—with ourselves and with others.  Millions of people spend big bucks attending sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy, counseling, all kinds of ‘shrinking,’ in search of insight…about their feelings.  You can be stuck in the doldrums, and reach an emotional epiphany parallel to the “flash of insight cuts through the fog of your mind with a clear, shining thought.”

Such an emotional ‘aha’ is just as important as the cognitive counterpart.  Truly it takes the thinking, self-trusting, and emotional breakthroughs, working together, to tackle some of the toughest problems: addictions, broken relationships, political corruption. 

A brilliant insight has the greatest power for good when it comes from a healthy person, delivered to others in a gracious, emotionally intelligent way.  This is how a great idea aligns with conscious communication, and moves into the world to make a real difference…now that’s GENIUS!