The Gut Feelings Machine

After 14 straight hours in a New York City boardroom with her clients, Lori was still remarkably focused. Their CEO was hellbent on buying a two-year-old startup for $3 billion, and his team of strategists had worked out a thick stack of briefing materials explaining why this "bold move" would eventually be seen as sheer genius.

If the deal went through, Lori and her partners stood to make millions. But she also knew that if the deal eventually fell short of these sky-high expectations, they'd be at risk to lose their largest client.

There was just one problem: her gut instinct was screaming that this deal was going to blow up in their faces.

She'd repeatedly tried to air her concerns in a logical and reasoned manner, to no avail. The CEO was already imagining his name in a glowing Wall Street Journal article.

Then she remembered her session yesterday with that Union Square startup, the one that claimed they could enable humans to communicate gut instincts, the way pack animals do when they notice a potential threat. She still had the twin headsets in her purse, the ones they lent her over the weekend.

No... she thought... that would be too crazy. Or maybe not. Saving your biggest client was never crazy.

"Brian," she said to the CEO, "Before you make a final decision, can you humor me for 90 seconds?"

He nodded.

"One of my cutting edge clients just developed Duo brain sensors, and they claim these devices can spot potential threats that conscious reasoning often misses. All we need do is to put the sensor on for 20 seconds, and as long as it doesn't glow red, we're good to go."

Brian lifted an eyebrow. "Seriously?

Lori nodded. "This is $15 million of research led by the smartest guy to come out of MIT in ten years." She handed him one sensor and placed the other on her head. "It may seem ridiculous, but trust me."

Brian sighed deeply, smiled nervously, and placed the sensor on his head.

Lori instructed as she did the same, "Now just press the button behind your right ear."

Three seconds passed, then...

"Holy crap!" screamed Brian. His eyes were darting back and forth. Sweat formed on his forehead, and his breathing became more shallow. "We're going to get crushed."

Lori just looked him in the eye as he processed the gut feelings that had been eating away at her all day.

Brian looked back at her. "You've been trying to tell me this, but I wasn't listening."

She nodded.

"I'm such an idiot," he said. "Let's kill this deal... but, Lori... you need to help me invest in this startup."

Lori smiled. "Absolutely," she said.