Instinct or Big Data: Who decides?

Never before have we had easier and more comprehensive access to information than today. Technological development opens up countless possibilities for us to evaluate it. On what should we base important decisions? On the B for gut or better on the B for Big Data? Are instinct-based or Big Data-based decisions more successful? Is it a combination of both? Given the abundance of data, do we even allow our instincts to take over? Presentations from global experts explored these questions from a variety of perspectives. "Once again, the forum inspired me in many ways," said Lukas Braunschweiler, President of SMG and Chairman of the Board of Tecan Group.

Jinlong Wang: "Addressing happiness and emotions".

China is considered the birthplace of tea, and its tea tradition dates back to around 2700 BC. How did a Western power brand manage to turn instinctive tea drinkers into Starbucks consumers for millennia? Jinlong Wang played a crucial role in this in his role as President of Starbucks Asia Pacific and Chairman of Starbucks China. Under his aegis, the original 1017 Starbucks coffee shops tripled to 3300 between 2013 and 2018 alone. Today, Jinlong Wang applies his consumer instincts to China's private equity industry at PizzaExpress and as Managing Director & Operating Partner of Hony Capital. "To be able to bring something new in a confessed culture, you have to be able to address happiness and emotion very fundamentally."

Carsten Koerl: "Everything we work up for the fan is good for the sport".

It took Carsten Koerl just eleven years to bring his company Sportradar to a valuation of over CHF 2 billion and to bring Switzerland a "Unicorn". Sportradar analyzes more than 400,000 matches in 60 sports every year, generates around 5 billion data records from them every day and is the world's leading provider of sports data and audiovisual content. The more data available, the more simulations are possible, says Carsten Koerl: "It's amazing what decisions algorithms can make based on lots of data analysis." Although all this data can also be used to measure the performance of individual athletes, it is handled cautiously simply for data protection reasons. For Spoerl, "Everything we process for the fan is good for the sport.

Nicoletta della Valle: "Employee profiles have changed in the age of Big Data".

Nicoletta della Valle has been Director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) for five years. Global, networked and digital: crime is a reflection of society. The Fedpol fights terror, mafia, money laundering, corruption or white-collar crime. Data and fact analysis has always been at the center - but today it presents itself in a digital form. Employee profiles have changed accordingly. Nicoletta della Valle is convinced that instinct is something innate, not learnable. It is crucial for survival, she says: "I can't control instinct, it happens without my head." Intuition and experience complement our talents, but what is needed above all in today's world is Brain and a flair for Big Data.

Instinct or Big Data from the perspective of neuroscience: "Using the brain and not instinct alone".

The brain has evolved over millions of years and has adapted across different situations. "Instinct sometimes plays tricks on us when it comes to financial matters, for example," says Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren. He earned his doctorate with honors after studying medicine at Humboldt University in Berlin and became head of the Max Planck Research Group "Neurocognition of Decision Making" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in 2005. Since 2009, he has been a professor of biological psychology and cognitive neuroscience at Freie Universität Berlin. Using the "Monkey Business Illusion", he showed how selective our perception is. Based on his experience in neuroscientific decision research, he recommends separating facts from feelings: "We should use the brain and not instinct alone."

Dr. Christopher E. Mason: "Our instinct is to discover".

"Moon is the proving ground, Mars is the destination" - a clear announcement by Nasa 50 years after the first moon landing. This is linked to plans for humans to walk on the moon again in 2024 and for a manned landing on Mars to be possible by 2035. No other species is as instinctively driven by the spirit of discovery as humans. "Our instinct is to discover," said Christopher E. Mason, associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, who researched the effects of spending more time in space as part of Nasa's recently published twin study involving astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly. The biggest challenges to Mars today are distance and radiation. To that end, Mason shows spectacular approaches to solving the medical challenges.

Rahaf Harfoush: "It takes time today for us to understand each other".

Thanks to our data traces, we are becoming transparent consumers. In her bestseller "Hustle and float " Rahaf Harfoush devoted herself to this analysis. On the subject of instinct, she explained that instinct and creativity need space and time: "Stop and listen to what you are thinking about. It takes time today to understand each other. Personal relevance is more important than general relevance." The Canadian with Syrian roots focuses her research on the impact of Artificial Intelligence, algorithms, social networks and Big Data on humanity. As think tank Red Thread, she supports institutions such as Unesco, Estee Lauder and IBM in transforming digital trends into strategic opportunities.

Fabrice Leclerc: "Putting human instinct at the center".

Fabrice Leclerc's exceptional innovative strength makes him a major partner of various Fortune 100 companies. He has led Innovation Labs for companies such as Apple, L'Oréal Prestige and Nespresso. Fabrice Leclerc's approach is clear: "If you want to innovate successfully, you have to put human instinct at the center. Because there is no stronger emotional approach than through feelings that we carry within us for millions of years." The trained veterinarian and business economist has been operating according to this principle since his time as CEO of Häagen Dazs.

Source: Swiss Management Society