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You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition
From celebrated business school professor and author of Edge, a research-backed framework for honing and harnessing your intuition to make the right decisions and attain greater levels of achievement.
What sets the most successful people apart? You may think that the correct answer is hard work (and it’s certainly part of it), but in her interviews of the most accomplished individuals—from entrepreneurs and investors to Olympic athletes and Pulitzer Prize winners—Distinguished Professor of Management Laura Huang discovered that what they called their gut feel, the product of their intuition, played the most important role.
We all have intuition, which is catalyzed by the interaction of external data with the entirety of our personal experiences. As such, it draws from what we already know and what we didn’t even realize we knew. This culminates in a gut feel that manifests as a eureka moment, a Spidey sense, or a jolt that changes how we see things and compels us to act. Most people experience these flashes of clarity passively, as random occurrences that come out of the blue.
In You Already Know, Laura Huang scientifically breaks down what happens during the intuiting process and details the personified, physical, emotional, and cognitive components of the gut feel that results. Along the way, she provides valuable exercises to help you recognize, understand, and strengthen your intuition. Purposeful practice enables you
take it from passive and accidental to active and intentionaldevelop it to deliver increasingly reliable signals heighten your own sensitivity to the signals it sends
Drawing on Huang’s pioneering research on individual judgments and decision-making, organizational psychology, and behavioral economics, as well as hundreds of interviews, You Already Know offers a highly practical model that equips you to leverage your most powerful and underutilized resource to make better decisions, take swift action, and accomplish your most ambitious goals.
As the external world gets ever noisier, often, the smartest thing you can do is turn your focus inward and trust your gut to guide you in the right direction.
What sets the most successful people apart? You may think that the correct answer is hard work (and it’s certainly part of it), but in her interviews of the most accomplished individuals—from entrepreneurs and investors to Olympic athletes and Pulitzer Prize winners—Distinguished Professor of Management Laura Huang discovered that what they called their gut feel, the product of their intuition, played the most important role.
We all have intuition, which is catalyzed by the interaction of external data with the entirety of our personal experiences. As such, it draws from what we already know and what we didn’t even realize we knew. This culminates in a gut feel that manifests as a eureka moment, a Spidey sense, or a jolt that changes how we see things and compels us to act. Most people experience these flashes of clarity passively, as random occurrences that come out of the blue.
In You Already Know, Laura Huang scientifically breaks down what happens during the intuiting process and details the personified, physical, emotional, and cognitive components of the gut feel that results. Along the way, she provides valuable exercises to help you recognize, understand, and strengthen your intuition. Purposeful practice enables you
take it from passive and accidental to active and intentionaldevelop it to deliver increasingly reliable signals heighten your own sensitivity to the signals it sends
Drawing on Huang’s pioneering research on individual judgments and decision-making, organizational psychology, and behavioral economics, as well as hundreds of interviews, You Already Know offers a highly practical model that equips you to leverage your most powerful and underutilized resource to make better decisions, take swift action, and accomplish your most ambitious goals.
As the external world gets ever noisier, often, the smartest thing you can do is turn your focus inward and trust your gut to guide you in the right direction.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published July 29, 2025
41 people are currently reading
3002 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 29, 2025
Laura Huang is a professor of management and organizational dynamics at Northeastern University in Boston; she's previously held professorships at Harvard Business School and the Wharton School. Her 2025 book You Already Know is her second contribution to the popular psychology, following 2020's Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage (which I thought was excellent).
You Already Know is an exploration of intuition as a way of exploring problems, inducing motives, and informing decision-making. This is an amorphous, difficult-to-articulate topic that may seem to run counter to logic and its trappings, like standard operating procedures, to-do lists, objective ranking systems, etc. I would argue that saying intuition is the antithesis of logic is a false dichotomy, though -- and Huang gives many examples of times when people who utilized their well-honed intuition alongside rationality made better choices when facing difficult decisions. Huang gives plenty of strategies for honing intuition for those less accustomed to flexing this muscle.
Huang didn't have to convince me, though, as intuition is probably my strongest (and hopefully a well-honed) tool in my personal and professional life, despite also highly valuing logic and rationality. I find the modern cognitive function model of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator a good analogy for how my brain works -- according to my MBTI type, introverted intuition is my dominant cognitive function, meaning that I am constantly distilling what I observe into patterns and mental models that elucidate key points and predict future actions. (A common meme about my MBTI type is that we are extreme long-term thinkers, maneuvering chess pieces to secure victories years into the future based on patterns we intuit today.) Not infrequently, I experience flashes of insight (similar to the eureka moments Huang writes about) that are the solutions to difficult problems I'm facing personally or professionally, even though I can't fully explain why at the time. I also experience the 'spidey sense' that Huang mentions when it comes to predicting which ideas and relationships seem like they should work on paper but in actuality end up being unsuccessful or disastrous. When I was in my teens and 20s, I trusted my intuition a lot less, as I thought it wasn't logical or rational, though now into my late 30s I trust it a lot more.
Further reading: ways of thinking
Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions by Temple Grandin
My statistics:
Book 300 for 2025
Book 2226 cumulatively
You Already Know is an exploration of intuition as a way of exploring problems, inducing motives, and informing decision-making. This is an amorphous, difficult-to-articulate topic that may seem to run counter to logic and its trappings, like standard operating procedures, to-do lists, objective ranking systems, etc. I would argue that saying intuition is the antithesis of logic is a false dichotomy, though -- and Huang gives many examples of times when people who utilized their well-honed intuition alongside rationality made better choices when facing difficult decisions. Huang gives plenty of strategies for honing intuition for those less accustomed to flexing this muscle.
Huang didn't have to convince me, though, as intuition is probably my strongest (and hopefully a well-honed) tool in my personal and professional life, despite also highly valuing logic and rationality. I find the modern cognitive function model of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator a good analogy for how my brain works -- according to my MBTI type, introverted intuition is my dominant cognitive function, meaning that I am constantly distilling what I observe into patterns and mental models that elucidate key points and predict future actions. (A common meme about my MBTI type is that we are extreme long-term thinkers, maneuvering chess pieces to secure victories years into the future based on patterns we intuit today.) Not infrequently, I experience flashes of insight (similar to the eureka moments Huang writes about) that are the solutions to difficult problems I'm facing personally or professionally, even though I can't fully explain why at the time. I also experience the 'spidey sense' that Huang mentions when it comes to predicting which ideas and relationships seem like they should work on paper but in actuality end up being unsuccessful or disastrous. When I was in my teens and 20s, I trusted my intuition a lot less, as I thought it wasn't logical or rational, though now into my late 30s I trust it a lot more.
Further reading: ways of thinking
Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions by Temple Grandin
My statistics:
Book 300 for 2025
Book 2226 cumulatively
August 19, 2025
Intuition and gut feel are things that I think about a lot when making decisions - the habit came from when I went against my gut feels a couple of times in my twenties and things got so so bad for me.
Though not a must read in my opinion, it has been particularly interesting to broaden my understanding of intuitions and gut feels through this book.
It is also very comforting to know/ to be reminded that our instincts and gut feels can go wrong too and that the most important thing is that we fail and we learn to hone our gut feelings better.
Though not a must read in my opinion, it has been particularly interesting to broaden my understanding of intuitions and gut feels through this book.
It is also very comforting to know/ to be reminded that our instincts and gut feels can go wrong too and that the most important thing is that we fail and we learn to hone our gut feelings better.
Read
September 25, 2025In "You Already Know: Unlock the Full Potential of Your Intuition", Laura Huang explores the quiet but powerful force that so often shapes the direction of our choices: intuition. Most people have felt that sudden sense of certainty when something clicks, or the uncomfortable unease that something is wrong before they can explain why. These experiences aren’t random; they are the result of years of lived moments, lessons, and observations distilling into subtle nudges from within. Yet despite its influence, intuition is frequently ignored or dismissed in favor of logic, external advice, or rigid analysis. Huang argues that intuition is not a mystical gift but a skill we can nurture, refine, and master if we are willing to pay attention to ourselves, learn from our experiences, and trust the signals our mind and body give us. Her book aims to show that intuition is not just a whisper in the background, but a trustworthy compass that can guide us through life’s complexity when we learn to listen.
Huang begins by redefining what intuition truly is. Many people see it as a sudden flash of insight that appears without explanation, but she emphasizes that gut feelings are the surface expression of an ongoing subconscious process. Our brains are constantly weaving together memories, knowledge, emotions, and observations into a narrative that eventually breaks through as a feeling of certainty. This process may unfold quickly or slowly, but it often presents itself in the form of an 'aha' moment that feels instantaneous. The challenge, however, lies in hearing the voice of intuition amidst the noise of obligations, chatter, and constant distractions. Because intuition rarely shouts, it requires deliberate practice to notice and value its signals. Ignoring it often means discounting the very wisdom we’ve been gathering all along.
She stresses that intuition is particularly vital in complex and chaotic situations where logic alone cannot provide clarity. Some problems are straightforward and best solved through rules or analysis, but many real-life challenges lack obvious solutions. In these cases, gut feel becomes essential, because it can cut through uncertainty and help us act even when outcomes are unclear. By reframing intuition not as guesswork but as a synthesis of lived knowledge, Huang shows how learning to trust ourselves is ultimately about honoring our own experiences.
To cultivate intuition, Huang introduces the importance of introspection. This is the practice of turning inward to notice the ways our personality, body, emotions, and thought patterns shape how intuition shows up. For instance, our natural traits influence how we perceive and respond to situations. Reflecting on our tendencies - whether we’re naturally cautious or adventurous, calm or excitable - helps us anticipate the kinds of intuitive signals we’re likely to experience. Similarly, bodily sensations carry messages from our subconscious mind. That knot in the stomach, the rush of warmth, or the sudden stiffness in the shoulders often signal that our intuition is trying to speak. Emotions, too, play a role, but they must be identified with precision. Vague statements like 'I feel off' can be refined into clearer distinctions like fatigue, frustration, or quiet anger, which help sharpen our gut sense. Finally, our cognitive patterns - mental models, schemas, and frameworks - filter the world around us. By becoming aware of these automatic narratives, we reduce the risk of blind spots and biases clouding our instincts. Together, these four dimensions - personality, embodiment, emotions, and cognition - form the foundation for recognizing intuition as something real and dependable.
Once this foundation is established, the next step is learning to refine intuition through interaction with the world. Huang introduces three types of intuitive signals that often show up in real time: Eureka, Spidey Sense, and Jolt moments. Eureka moments are flashes of recognition when something aligns perfectly with our prior knowledge, sparking clarity and excitement. Spidey Sense moments are those times when unease creeps in, signaling that something feels wrong or off. Jolt moments are paradigm-shifting experiences that disrupt assumptions and push us to see things in a radically different way. Each of these signals interacts with our personality, body, emotions, and thoughts, and by paying attention to how we respond in those moments, we become better at interpreting them. Rather than ignoring or doubting these cues, we can observe, reflect, and decide how to act, thereby training ourselves to treat intuition as a trusted advisor instead of a fleeting hunch.
Huang also underscores the role of iteration in mastering intuition. It is not enough to simply notice gut feelings; we must test them, reflect on outcomes, and continuously integrate lessons learned. This process sharpens instincts over time, transforming them into a reliable guide. She warns, however, against overconfidence, which can distort intuition by making us too certain of our expertise and blind to subtle signals that suggest otherwise. To counter this, she suggests exposing ourselves to diverse perspectives and experiences. Reading widely, listening to others’ stories, and stepping into unfamiliar contexts all help expand the scope of what our intuition can draw from.
Mistakes are also essential to this iterative process. Every misstep, failure, or poor judgment call contributes to the refinement of intuition, provided we reflect and learn instead of wallowing in regret. Huang advises setting boundaries for how long we allow ourselves to dwell on errors before moving forward with the lessons they provide. By reviewing past successes and failures, we begin to notice patterns - what worked, what didn’t, and how our gut aligned or misaligned with outcomes. Over time, this deepens our ability to trust intuition not as a random feeling but as a tested, evolving compass that grows sharper with every experience.
A key strength of Huang’s perspective is how she frames intuition not as an esoteric or inaccessible talent but as a deeply personal, everyday process. Everyone already has intuition; the difference lies in how much attention and respect we give it. By deliberately cultivating it through introspection, refining it through real-time interaction, and strengthening it through iteration, we transform gut feelings into practical tools. Intuition, in her view, is not a backup plan or a mystical whisper but an integral part of wise decision-making.
Ultimately, "You Already Know: Unlock the Full Potential of Your Intuition" is a reminder that the answers we seek are often within us, waiting to be noticed and trusted. Our instincts, shaped by our unique blend of traits, emotions, bodily awareness, and thought patterns, provide guidance that is both personal and profound. By learning to listen, to test, and to grow from our experiences, those vague hunches become clearer signals that help us move through uncertainty with confidence. Huang’s message is empowering: intuition is not a gamble but a compass, one that belongs to each of us and grows sharper the more we use it. In a world that often urges us to look outward for direction, this book encourages us to look inward and recognize that we already carry the wisdom we need.
Huang begins by redefining what intuition truly is. Many people see it as a sudden flash of insight that appears without explanation, but she emphasizes that gut feelings are the surface expression of an ongoing subconscious process. Our brains are constantly weaving together memories, knowledge, emotions, and observations into a narrative that eventually breaks through as a feeling of certainty. This process may unfold quickly or slowly, but it often presents itself in the form of an 'aha' moment that feels instantaneous. The challenge, however, lies in hearing the voice of intuition amidst the noise of obligations, chatter, and constant distractions. Because intuition rarely shouts, it requires deliberate practice to notice and value its signals. Ignoring it often means discounting the very wisdom we’ve been gathering all along.
She stresses that intuition is particularly vital in complex and chaotic situations where logic alone cannot provide clarity. Some problems are straightforward and best solved through rules or analysis, but many real-life challenges lack obvious solutions. In these cases, gut feel becomes essential, because it can cut through uncertainty and help us act even when outcomes are unclear. By reframing intuition not as guesswork but as a synthesis of lived knowledge, Huang shows how learning to trust ourselves is ultimately about honoring our own experiences.
To cultivate intuition, Huang introduces the importance of introspection. This is the practice of turning inward to notice the ways our personality, body, emotions, and thought patterns shape how intuition shows up. For instance, our natural traits influence how we perceive and respond to situations. Reflecting on our tendencies - whether we’re naturally cautious or adventurous, calm or excitable - helps us anticipate the kinds of intuitive signals we’re likely to experience. Similarly, bodily sensations carry messages from our subconscious mind. That knot in the stomach, the rush of warmth, or the sudden stiffness in the shoulders often signal that our intuition is trying to speak. Emotions, too, play a role, but they must be identified with precision. Vague statements like 'I feel off' can be refined into clearer distinctions like fatigue, frustration, or quiet anger, which help sharpen our gut sense. Finally, our cognitive patterns - mental models, schemas, and frameworks - filter the world around us. By becoming aware of these automatic narratives, we reduce the risk of blind spots and biases clouding our instincts. Together, these four dimensions - personality, embodiment, emotions, and cognition - form the foundation for recognizing intuition as something real and dependable.
Once this foundation is established, the next step is learning to refine intuition through interaction with the world. Huang introduces three types of intuitive signals that often show up in real time: Eureka, Spidey Sense, and Jolt moments. Eureka moments are flashes of recognition when something aligns perfectly with our prior knowledge, sparking clarity and excitement. Spidey Sense moments are those times when unease creeps in, signaling that something feels wrong or off. Jolt moments are paradigm-shifting experiences that disrupt assumptions and push us to see things in a radically different way. Each of these signals interacts with our personality, body, emotions, and thoughts, and by paying attention to how we respond in those moments, we become better at interpreting them. Rather than ignoring or doubting these cues, we can observe, reflect, and decide how to act, thereby training ourselves to treat intuition as a trusted advisor instead of a fleeting hunch.
Huang also underscores the role of iteration in mastering intuition. It is not enough to simply notice gut feelings; we must test them, reflect on outcomes, and continuously integrate lessons learned. This process sharpens instincts over time, transforming them into a reliable guide. She warns, however, against overconfidence, which can distort intuition by making us too certain of our expertise and blind to subtle signals that suggest otherwise. To counter this, she suggests exposing ourselves to diverse perspectives and experiences. Reading widely, listening to others’ stories, and stepping into unfamiliar contexts all help expand the scope of what our intuition can draw from.
Mistakes are also essential to this iterative process. Every misstep, failure, or poor judgment call contributes to the refinement of intuition, provided we reflect and learn instead of wallowing in regret. Huang advises setting boundaries for how long we allow ourselves to dwell on errors before moving forward with the lessons they provide. By reviewing past successes and failures, we begin to notice patterns - what worked, what didn’t, and how our gut aligned or misaligned with outcomes. Over time, this deepens our ability to trust intuition not as a random feeling but as a tested, evolving compass that grows sharper with every experience.
A key strength of Huang’s perspective is how she frames intuition not as an esoteric or inaccessible talent but as a deeply personal, everyday process. Everyone already has intuition; the difference lies in how much attention and respect we give it. By deliberately cultivating it through introspection, refining it through real-time interaction, and strengthening it through iteration, we transform gut feelings into practical tools. Intuition, in her view, is not a backup plan or a mystical whisper but an integral part of wise decision-making.
Ultimately, "You Already Know: Unlock the Full Potential of Your Intuition" is a reminder that the answers we seek are often within us, waiting to be noticed and trusted. Our instincts, shaped by our unique blend of traits, emotions, bodily awareness, and thought patterns, provide guidance that is both personal and profound. By learning to listen, to test, and to grow from our experiences, those vague hunches become clearer signals that help us move through uncertainty with confidence. Huang’s message is empowering: intuition is not a gamble but a compass, one that belongs to each of us and grows sharper the more we use it. In a world that often urges us to look outward for direction, this book encourages us to look inward and recognize that we already carry the wisdom we need.
October 30, 2025
I’ll take a queue from this book and write a book report. Because yup, that’s apparently linked to intuition and one of the many tips you will find among anecdotes and rephrasing the same point for a third time. I guess I’m revealing my internal models of what I expect a book to be. Another tip.
There are some good points weaved in throughout and bits to make you reflect but it is padded out and inflated for my tastes and could be said in a third of the words
There are some good points weaved in throughout and bits to make you reflect but it is padded out and inflated for my tastes and could be said in a third of the words
July 17, 2025
I had the opportunity to read a galley proof of Professor Huang's new book. This is a business book and self-improvement book in one, based not on the usual anecdotal stories usually found in "how you can do better books," but rather on Huang's detailed PhD research grounded in real theory and years of data collection and analysis. For all that academic rigor it is an amazingly fun read and, yes, it includes some fun anecdotes that illustrate the principles the author has spent a career defining.
You Already Know will give individuals and organizations the confidence to make the decisions in an age where "paralysis by analysis" and risk aversion have make it increasingly difficult to take action. I strongly recommend.
You Already Know will give individuals and organizations the confidence to make the decisions in an age where "paralysis by analysis" and risk aversion have make it increasingly difficult to take action. I strongly recommend.
July 31, 2025
Full Disclosure - I work at the same school and know Laura personally -
That is why I can confidently recommend this book - Laura is a straight shooter and has such amazing and interesting stories, linking practical/useful concepts with captivating insights based on research reaching back to her PhD thesis and lots of data, interviews and personal encounters. If you liked her first book "Edge" you'll love this one too - an easy read with principles you can apply to your professional and personal life.
That is why I can confidently recommend this book - Laura is a straight shooter and has such amazing and interesting stories, linking practical/useful concepts with captivating insights based on research reaching back to her PhD thesis and lots of data, interviews and personal encounters. If you liked her first book "Edge" you'll love this one too - an easy read with principles you can apply to your professional and personal life.
October 6, 2025
Intuition requires a lot of time to master. It takes years and experience. As a new practitioner in healthcare, my intuition is still developing. I can keep reading, collecting cases, and being exposed to multiple scenarios to reflect on what I can do better. The key point is to remember what I am good at, so I can continue to nail it with how I handle the scenarios.
August 1, 2025
My favorite book. It has changed my life. This is a must read for everyone!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews