TRUST YOUR GUT

How to succeed in business without really thinking too much.

Aimed at salespeople and other business folk who rise and fall on their charm, Walker has created a strategy for increasing confidence and charisma. Elegant in its simplicity, Walker's advice is to trust your gut. Recognizing the difficulty of making an argument for under-thinking, Walker goes to great lengths to explain his strategy. The right side of the brain can process enormous amounts of information and offer quick decisions; the left side of the brain, with its over-analysis and self-doubt, may be seductive in its logic but is all too often wrong. First, one must unleash the intuition through creating the right environment and “an alert sense of calm.” For those times spent in client meetings or interviews and being asked a question for which the gut does not know the answer, Walker offers specific stalling techniques; in that case, the reader should suggest, for example, that the matter under discussion needs more thought, or turn to the client and ask for his or her thoughts. The author then encourages the reader to think big; rather than merely employing intuition moment to moment, he suggests creating a “vision,” such as a trip to Hawaii, and not letting go until it's achieved. Obstacles may appear, and setbacks may occur, but by maintaining a positive vision of the ultimate goal, the intuition will find a way to make it happen, the author asserts. Taking it in a more practical direction, he then provides the reader with a series of exercises designed to discover a “sense of purpose.” And, fully aware that when trusting the gut it can be difficult to stay on message, Walker offers some thoughts on “the art of staying on a roll.” Finally, he winds up with “Trust Your Gut–The Song,” sung to the tune of “Ain't She Sweet.”

Relentlessly upbeat and all the more likable for it, Walker's work demonstrates its own effectiveness.