The $100M bet on a skill AI can't replace


Hi Reader,

We’re in the golden age of data – infinite information is available to us in seconds. But more data hasn't made decisions easier. It's made discernment the bottleneck. The need for human judgment and intuition in the AI age is at an all-time high.

The latest example of an organization addressing this human skill gap in their workforce is Ernst & Young. The firm announced a $100M bonus investment, rewarding employees who demonstrate business acumen, judgment and adaptability.

The conversations I’m having with leaders across industries echo this investment – how do we build discernment and judgment in ourselves and our teams?

Two recent guests on The Intuition Strategist Podcast shared their seasoned points of view on this question with actionable steps.

In the second episode of the new season, my guest is Khalil Smith, business leader and author of The Performance Culture: Go Beyond Buzzwords to Lead Teams That Win. In our conversation, Khalil shares his guidance for approaching one type of data: feedback. He likens feedback to his grandmother’s craft of stippling – collecting individual points and stepping back to see what image forms from the dots (think of a black and white newspaper photo). By approaching each point with curiosity, you see what the overall picture shows you.

You discern what information to prioritize and what to set aside.

And this week my guest is Tracy Litt, visionary founder of The School of Becoming and creator of The Choice Method™. Tracy teaches us how not every intuitive hit needs immediate action. I love how she keeps a running list of every idea that comes to her in a notebook (called simply "Ideas") so she doesn't act on impulse. She waits and checks whether the idea still has the same pull later. In fact, her second company had been simmering for a long time before she trusted the timing was right.

Discernment between "now" and "not yet" is a foundational skill for trusting your intuition.

Different fields, same human skill: pause and sort before you act.

Tune into my conversations with Khalil and Tracy on The Intuition Strategist Podcast wherever you get your podcasts:

🟪 Apple 🟢 Spotify 🟥 YouTube

And if you’d like a seasoned point of view about building human skills in your organization, reply to this email – let’s talk.

Here’s to honing our human skills,

P.S. Google Trends indicates interest in intuition spiked at a 20+ year high in 2026. Thank you to reader Erika G. for sharing this timely data!

You are receiving this email because you signed up with The Intuition Strategist. You can unsubscribe any time.

Did someone forward you this email? Sign up to get The Gut Check directly in your inbox. If you enjoy this newsletter, please share with someone who might find it valuable!

The Intuition Strategist

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
Unsubscribe · Preferences

The Intuition Strategist

I help leaders trust their gut to make decisions and get results. I share practical tips, helpful frameworks, and actionable strategies to help you lead with confidence, especially when there’s no playbook.

Read more from The Intuition Strategist

Hi Reader, The first step in a journey is figuring out where you want to go. The first step to making confident decisions is having a clear vision. Your North Star helps you see your vision so you can be that vision. You know where you’re headed with precision and can move forward with passion, energy and clarity. How one founder named her North Star Season 2 of The Intuition Strategist Podcast kicks off with my guest Bobbie Carlton, an innovator and leader with a clear North Star. Bobbie...

Hi Reader, There’s nothing quite like that ready-to-launch feeling when a project comes together after working on it for months. And so, I’m thrilled to share that The Intuition Strategist Podcast is returning for season 2 on September 1st! In season 1 of the podcast, I shared the roots of Intuition Strategy®, what it means to lead in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world, and a primer on the tools that make your intuition actionable. In season 2, you’re not just hearing...

Hi Reader, Many leaders tell me they want to use their intuition to make decisions but they’re nervous that they won’t use it on the right ones. They’re afraid that they’ll mess up important choices or will regret what they did because their intuition was “wrong”. Here’s what I know: not all decisions call for only using your intuition. The leadership skill is discerning which decisions need your intuition to make fast, confident calls, and which require more deliberation and time. The...