企业家内部网络是一个在线社区，在这里，最有智慧、最具影响力的商界人士会及时回答有关职业与领导力的问题。本期的问题是：在做出艰难的商业决策时，什么时候应该相信直觉？回答者是Bay Dynamics公司的联合创始人及首席执行官费里斯·里法伊。

我所有的商业决策都是通过直觉做出的。毕竟，你的直觉是大脑中的潜意识，它会根据过去的经验来影响你的思路。它能识别出规律模式，起到指南针的作用，帮助你在未来做出好的决策。

然而，要做艰难的决定时，我并不是盲目跟随我的直觉。首先，我会提出问题，尽可能多地收集信息，让我（和我的直觉）能在掌握可用信息的基础上做出合理决定——也就是正确的决定。例如，如果营销团队问我是否要参加一个需要缴纳10万美元的会议，在动用我的直觉之前，我会问他们类似这样的问题：“我们之前参加过这个会议吗？”“听众都有谁？”“我们参会的目的是什么？”“去年参会的投资回报率如何？”在做出决策之前，我需要保证自己先做足了功课，再来动用我的直觉。

每个决定都有能给你指引的参照点。例如，当你每天早上决定穿什么时，你可能会看看当天的天气预报，再看看日程中是否有会议。这些参照点会给你提醒，不过最后的决定还是取决于你浏览衣橱时所产生的直觉。我的直觉是所有商业决策（以及日常生活决策）的核心，不过首先要问一些合适的问题。

为我的公司Bay Dynamics进行涉及投资和财务业绩方面的艰难决定时，我也会用类似的办法。面见一位投资者时，我会提一些问题，以了解这位投资者究竟是一个什么样的人，他的目标是什么，想要投资什么等等。收集完这些信息后，我的直觉会根据事实、身体语言、共同的优先级、价值观和其他细微之处让我倾向于某种决策。从某种程度上说，我在帮助自己的直觉做出合理的决定。

有时候，我没法获得需要的信息来保证我做出的决定是正确的——初创公司经常会遇到这种情况。与其犹豫不决，试图分析每一种情境，我更倾向于通过这些有限的信息，让我的直觉来填补所需的空白，从而快速做出决定。

高效的领导实际上可以归结为一次次良好的决策。我把每次决策都视为一张拼图。我用参照点拼出大致的图画，再依靠直觉填补空白。如果我以前拼过类似的图，那么我的直觉就能够成为宝贵的决策工具。然而，如果这幅图画不可识别，我可能就会向同事或是合作伙伴咨询建议，以获得更多的信息。他们掌握的不同专长，拥有的不同经历，可以为这个决策过程增添价值。（财富中文网）

译者：严匡正

审校：任文科

The Entrepreneur Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “When making a tough business decision, how do you know when to trust your gut?” is written by Feris Rifai, cofounder and CEO of Bay Dynamics.

I follow my gut with every business decision I make. After all, your gut is the subconscious part of your brain, and it sways your mind one way or another based on past experiences. It recognizes patterns that serve as your compass to make good decisions in the future.

However, when I make a tough decision, I don’t just blindly follow my gut. First and foremost, I ask questions. I want to gather as much information as possible so that I (and my gut) make an informed decision—and subsequently the right decision—based on the information available at the time. For example, if my marketing team asks me if we can participate in a conference that will cost us $100,000, before turning to my gut, I’ll ask the team questions such as, “Have we participated in the event before?” “Who’s the audience?” “What is our goal as a participant?” “What was the ROI from last year?” Before making any decision I make sure to do my homework first, and then turn to my gut.

Every decision you make has to reference points that can help guide you. For example, when you’re deciding what to wear each morning, you may first look at the weather forecast for that day and then look at your schedule to see if you have any meetings. Those reference points inform your decision, but the final choice is ultimately made when you look into your closet and follow your gut. My gut is at the center of all business decisions (and life decisions for that matter), but asking the right questions always comes first.

When it comes to tough decisions surrounding investments and financial outcomes for Bay Dynamics, I apply the same principal. When I sit down at the table with an investor, I first ask questions to get a full understanding of who the investor is, the goals, what the investor is looking to invest in, etc. By gathering that information, I’m also informing my gut so that it sways me in one direction or another based on facts, body language, shared priorities, values, and other nuances that my gut is usually in tune with. In a way, I am helping my gut make an informed decision.

In some cases, I don’t have access to all of the information to be certain I’m making the right decision—a situation that startups run into frequently. Instead of hemming and hawing and trying to analyze every scenario, I look at the limited information in front of me and then turn to my gut to fill in the blanks in a quick and decisive fashion.

Effective leadership comes down to a series of good decisions. I look at each decision as a puzzle. I have reference points to give me a semblance of the picture the pieces form and then I rely on my gut to fill in the rest. If I’ve seen a similar picture before, my gut is a valuable tool in helping me make my decision. However, if the picture is unrecognizable, I may need to turn to my colleagues and business partners for their recommendations so that there’s a multitude of information and guts at work, all of which have different expertise and different past experiences, adding value to the decision-making process.