“When data pours in by the millisecond and the mountain of information builds continuously, professionals inevitably cut corners and go with their ‘gut’ when making decisions…”  Many may argue strongly against this statement, assuring the board that this is not how they run a multimillion dollar corporation. However, there is so much truth to this statement. For years “gut”, or dare I say business sense, has spawned household brands and industry giants.  How much more can we achieve if we had a gut check?

A recent study, “Intelligence, Intuition & Information,” explains that “the key is to build information systems around the ‘Hierarchy of Information Need (HIN)’.”  I smiled for two reasons: First, I loved the analogy to Maslow and human need.  As people, our need for information is almost an uncontrollable inferno. We’re constantly wanting more information and faster. I refuse to wait to return to my desk to research a question or to get the latest press or industry update. Everything is on our mobile devices — email, text, IM, FaceBook, Twitter and more.  And there is no imminent end in sight for on demand information thirst.

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