How to master your gut

How to master your gut Oct, 2025 Podcast Behavioural Economics and Marketing Read time: Your gut isn’t guessing — it’s processing. The latest episode of the Visiting Experts podcast explores how learning to listen to your gut, and understanding what it’s really telling you can turn instinct into insight. How many times have you been faced with a decision and thought, “My gut feeling is telling me something?” Maybe it's to skip sharing some gossip with a colleague or that the new person you've only sort of met might be a really great friend one day. Sometimes you're spot on on, sometimes you're not. But what exactly is a gut feeling? And how is it different from intuition? According to Laura Huang, professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University and author of You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition, those flashes of instinct we rely on are not random — they’re the result of a sophisticated process our brains are constantly running in the background. On the latest episode of Visiting Experts, Huang breaks down what’s actually happening when your gut kicks in; why it’s not the same as emotion or bias; and how you can train yourself to recognize, interpret and act on it with confidence. The whole episode is worth a listen, but three takeaways stand out: Gut feel and intuition aren’t the same. Intuition is the process — your brain aggregating experience, data, and emotion into a pattern. Gut feel is the outcome of that process: the flash of clarity or “knowing” that follows. Your gut never lies...when you use it for the right kind of decision. For simple or data-heavy decisions, rely on evidence. But for complex or chaotic situations — where information is incomplete and stakes are high — gut feel can be an essential tool. Your gut whispers, it doesn’t shout. Learning to recognize your intuitive cues means slowing down enough to hear them. Make space for reflection, and don’t let external noise — opinions, algorithms, or urgency — drown out your internal voice. New episodes of Rotman Visiting Experts are released monthly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. Desktop listeners can also tune in on Simplecast. Prefer to read than listen? Access the full transcript on Simplecast. If you enjoyed this podcast and aren't already a subscriber consider signing up for our bi-weekly newsletter, which delivers fresh thought-leadership and research straight to your inbox every other week. Laura Huang is a pofessor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University Keywords: BEAR behavioural economics behavioural science decision making emotional intelligence growth mindfulness psychology

Read time:

Your gut isn’t guessing — it’s processing. The latest episode of the Visiting Experts podcast explores how learning to listen to your gut, and understanding what it’s really telling you can turn instinct into insight.

Laura Huang

How many times have you been faced with a decision and thought, “My gut feeling is telling me something?” Maybe it's to skip sharing some gossip with a colleague or that the new person you've only sort of met might be a really great friend one day. Sometimes you're spot on on, sometimes you're not.

But what exactly is a gut feeling? And how is it different from intuition?

According to Laura Huang, professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University and author of You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition, those flashes of instinct we rely on are not random — they’re the result of a sophisticated process our brains are constantly running in the background.

On the latest episode of Visiting Experts, Huang breaks down what’s actually happening when your gut kicks in; why it’s not the same as emotion or bias; and how you can train yourself to recognize, interpret and act on it with confidence.

The whole episode is worth a listen, but three takeaways stand out:

Gut feel and intuition aren’t the same. Intuition is the process — your brain aggregating experience, data, and emotion into a pattern. Gut feel is the outcome of that process: the flash of clarity or “knowing” that follows.
Your gut never lies...when you use it for the right kind of decision. For simple or data-heavy decisions, rely on evidence. But for complex or chaotic situations — where information is incomplete and stakes are high — gut feel can be an essential tool.
Your gut whispers, it doesn’t shout. Learning to recognize your intuitive cues means slowing down enough to hear them. Make space for reflection, and don’t let external noise — opinions, algorithms, or urgency — drown out your internal voice.

New episodes of Rotman Visiting Experts are released monthly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. Desktop listeners can also tune in on Simplecast.

Prefer to read than listen? Access the full transcript on Simplecast.

If you enjoyed this podcast and aren't already a subscriber consider signing up for our bi-weekly newsletter, which delivers fresh thought-leadership and research straight to your inbox every other week.