---
id: "quote-instinct-is-preparation"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶17"]
tags: ["leadership", "decision-making"]
related: ["concept-manufactured-instinct", "contrarian-instinct-is-preparation", "framework-tough-calls"]
quote: "What appears to be instinct is usually the product of preparation, emotional control, pattern recognition, social awareness in the moment, and accountability in the aftermath."
speakers: ["Alan McCall", "Adrian Wolfberg", "Johann Bilsborough", "Ricard Pruna"]
sources: ["execution"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-execution"
originDay: 8
articleStem: "hbr-cl-77-new-data-using-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/new-data-on-how-were-really-using-ai"
sourceTitle: "New Data on How We’re Really Using AI"
---
# Instinct is the product of preparation

> *"What appears to be instinct is usually the product of preparation, emotional control, pattern recognition, social awareness in the moment, and accountability in the aftermath."* — [[entity-alan-mccall]], [[entity-adrian-wolfberg]], [[entity-johann-bilsborough]], [[entity-ricard-pruna]]

The central thesis of the sports-coaching study. It dismantles the romanticized view of 'gut instinct' and redefines it as a complex, highly trainable set of cognitive and social skills — the definition of [[concept-manufactured-instinct]] and the claim behind [[contrarian-instinct-is-preparation]]. Note how the sentence itself maps onto [[framework-tough-calls]]: *preparation* (Before) → *emotional control + pattern recognition + social awareness* (During) → *accountability* (After).