Last weekend I met one of the most successful CEO’s of my city, running successfully a multi billion dollar company for more than a decade. I out of curiosity and reassurance asked him, don’t you feel that we are always in an pressure to make the right decision, is it even possible to be right always just on the basis of data & facts, he laughed and said, If you were to sit across on that table , what most people expect from a CEO is full composure, data-laden thought process 100% of the times, decisions grounded in financial models, and a sharp focus on ROI. You’d probably assume that every major call we make was backed by research, spreadsheets, and consultations with experts. But that is not the truth? And you know that.

The most critical, life-altering decisions made—both professionally and personally—weren’t based on logic. They were gut calls.

He continued sharing , I wasn’t always like this. I started my career like most middle-class kids from a small town in Maharashtra—with a dream, a degree, and a deep respect for logic. Logic helped me navigate IIT, then an MBA, and eventually the long corporate climb. I analyzed risks like an auditor and forecasted success like an economist.

When I became CEO at 42 of a mid-sized tech firm headquartered in Bangalore, everyone saw it as the logical next step. I had the credentials, the experience, the gravitas.

But in leadership role, I soon learned, it is far less about answers in Excel and more about navigating ambiguity—human emotions, crises, impossible deadlines, and forks in the road that no MBA case study prepares you for.

And it was in those moments—when data was either incomplete or contradictory—that I began to feel something else: a pull from the inside. A gut feeling.

At first, I dismissed it. Then I started listening. Eventually, I began leaning into it.

It was 2020. The pandemic hit like a freight train. Clients were pulling out. Our cash flow projections were grim. My CFO suggested we lay off at least 30% of the staff to keep the company afloat. “It’s not personal,” he said. “It’s math.”

Every logical metric agreed with him.

But my gut said otherwise.

I remembered what it felt like to be a young employee, dependent on a monthly salary, with aging parents back home. I knew the kind of loyalty our employees had shown. It wasn’t just math. It was personal.

Instead of layoffs, I called for an emergency town hall. I told everyone the truth. We implemented voluntary pay cuts at senior levels, paused promotions, and worked with clients to stretch payment cycles.

Many people thought I was being naive.

But six months later, not only had we survived—the very employees we protected worked with a fierceness that helped us bounce back faster than we’d imagined. Loyalty can’t be bought, but it can be earned.

That was the first time I openly let guts beat logic. And I never forgot the result.

Why Gut Works—Especially at the Top

People assume gut is some irrational fluke. But gut is wisdom—deeply stored insights from years of experience, subtle emotional cues, and subconscious processing of facts our conscious mind hasn’t caught up with yet.

Especially in leadership, where every call impacts hundreds of lives, gut doesn’t replace logic—it completes it.

Gut kicks in when the map ends and the terrain gets real.

And as you move up in leadership, you realize: logic tells you what can work. Gut tells you what will work.

What I Tell Young Leaders

In recent past I have been meeting a lot of young Gen Z and my suggestion to them has been:

“Master logic. Respect data. But when it matters most—listen to that quiet voice inside. That’s your edge. That’s your truth.”

I myself have been at senior position for a very long time and I can say that I didn’t held that position by just being smart. I stayed one by being self-aware.

And every time I trusted my gut—whether in a deal, a relationship, or a turning point—it didn’t just change the outcome. It changed me.

Share with me your such experience…