Where will your next big idea come from? Analyzing hard data? A corporate brainstorming session? Customer focus groups? Or closer to home? Successful people don’t wait for proof that their idea will work. They learn to trust their gut and go. In Hunch , international bestselling author and business adviser Bernadette Jiwa shows you how to harness the power of your intuition so you can recognize opportunities others miss and create the breakthrough idea the world is waiting for. She explores inspired hunches, from one that led to the launch of the breakout GoldieBlox brand to another that helped a doctor reduce infant mortality rates around the world. Filled with success stories, reflection exercises, and writing prompts, Hunch is the indispensable guide to embracing your unique potential and discovering your own winning ideas. "This brilliant little book is sure to inspire the next new meaningful product or company." -Ivy Ross, VP design at Google “At the heart of every great business is a leader with a curious mind, heart, and spirit. Hunch helps you to tap into those often overlooked yet valuable qualities that will unlock your boldest ideas.” — Chip Conley , strategic adviser at Airbnb “This book provides much needed jet fuel for any leader of creative people. Bernadette Jiwa reminds us that if we want to leap, we must use our higher human capabilities and not delegate our intelligence to data and tech.” — Chris Bruzzo , chief marketing officer at Electronic Arts (EA) “Hunch arms you with powerful tools you won’t find in a traditional business book. Read it and realize the potential we all have to be creative.” — Antonio Zea , senior director at Under Armour “Empathy and intuition are the new killer app, and this book shows how to deploy them with astonishing results.” — Carson Tate , author of Work Simply “While data-driven decision making is a useful business capability, Bernadette Jiwa reminds us that gut and instinct still reign supreme. Hunch goes further, showing you in practical ways how to cultivate this important skill.” — Steve Clayton , chief storyteller at Microsoft “Your next great insight is right under your nose, and you’re probably missing it. Bernadette Jiwa expertly shows you how to connect the dots in your world to transform everyday hunches into impactful work.” — Todd Henry , author of The Accidental Creative “Hunch shines a light on the true engine of business success: the instincts that live inside us all.” — Ken Segall , author of Think Simple BERNADETTE JIWA is a recognized global authority on the role of story in business, innovation and marketing and the author of five best-selling books on marketing and brand storytelling. She advises, consults and speaks to entrepreneurs and business leaders who want to build meaningful brands. Her work takes her from Melbourne to New York (and everywhere in between). Part One What's Stopping You? Hang-ups and Hurdles You get your intuition back when you make space for it, when you stop the chattering of the rational mind. The rational mind doesn't nourish you. You assume that it gives you the truth, because the rational mind is the golden calf that this culture worships, but this is not true. Rationality squeezes out much that is rich and juicy and fascinating. -Anne Lamott You Know More Than You Think I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am. -Albert Einstein It doesn't seem that long ago since encyclopedia salesmen came door knocking on the street where I grew up. They offered flexible payment terms in order to sell thick, leather-bound volumes to working-class parents who couldn't always understand their contents, never mind afford the payments. Even as a nine-year-old, I was skeptical about the wisdom of deferring to our new Encyclopedia Britannica for every answer. How could the information about world population printed on the page in 1975 still be accurate as I read it from the weighty book on my lap a whole year later? How could these facts, that my parents hadn't yet finished paying for the privilege of owning, possibly be accurate? Fast-forward forty years. The iPhone has been in existence for only ten years and has changed everything. Thanks to the internet and digital media, Wikipedia and Google, we have more up-to-the-minute information at our fingertips than we can ever consume. We could be forgiven for thinking that facts, figures and findings communicate the whole truth and hold the keys to unlocking the value in every future opportunity. New digital tools and technologies not only give us more information about the world around us and the other people in it, but also help us to know more about ourselves. We can literally monitor every step we take and every calorie we consume. The great hope is that if we can gather enough data, we will have the power to change the things we want to change-and that we