{"id":448,"date":"2026-05-15T12:55:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/what-were-the-surprises-during-your-research-for-the-book\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:14:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:14:33","slug":"what-were-the-surprises-during-your-research-for-the-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/what-were-the-surprises-during-your-research-for-the-book\/","title":{"rendered":"What were the surprises during your research for the book??"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='full_slider_1'  class='avia-fullwidth-slider main_color avia-shadow   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-first   container_wrap fullsize'  ><div  class='avia-slideshow av-mp5mlid4-d0475f3d77b99b6d9ca887b68b5b8876 avia-slideshow-featured av_slideshow_full avia-slide-slider av-slideshow-ui av-control-default av-slideshow-manual av-loop-once av-loop-manual-endless av-default-height-applied   avia-slideshow-1' data-slideshow-options=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;slide&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:false,&quot;loop_autoplay&quot;:&quot;once&quot;,&quot;interval&quot;:5,&quot;loop_manual&quot;:&quot;manual-endless&quot;,&quot;autoplay_stopper&quot;:false,&quot;noNavigation&quot;:false,&quot;bg_slider&quot;:false,&quot;keep_padding&quot;:false,&quot;hoverpause&quot;:false,&quot;show_slide_delay&quot;:0}\"  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><ul class='avia-slideshow-inner ' style='padding-bottom: 28.666666666667%;'><li  class='avia-slideshow-slide av-mp5mlid4-d0475f3d77b99b6d9ca887b68b5b8876__0  av-single-slide slide-1 slide-odd'><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"wp-image-258 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-258\"  src=\"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read3-1500x430.jpg\" width=\"1500\" height=\"430\" title='read3' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"   \/><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><div id='after_full_slider_1'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap fullsize'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-448'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-1ng2jc-fe2ac214d89abc374b1be3548e21bceb av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_slideshow_full  el_before_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><\/div>\n<div  class='flex_column av-1e4c48-807480c5095f744291cd47f87483a359 av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  flex_column_div  '     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-gaefs-c49bbca8a5f9ddb7b1d5d58336d890f0 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><h1><strong>What were the surprises during your research for the book??<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>In fact there are two pieces of research in the book <em>The subtle superpower \u2013 how intuition is the key to succesfull leadership<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The first was done at the start of the millennium; it gave rise to the Three Dimensions model en later\u00a0 to the book. And now in recent times we interviewed 27 leaders and explicitly asked them about how they experienced their intuition and how they use it in daily life and leadership.<\/p>\n<p>All the results are in the book, of course, but the question was; what were the surprises?<\/p>\n<p>In the first research, we interviewed young high-potentials aged about 35-45 years old. In the more recent research, directly for the book, we spoke to 27 proven succesful leaders. Their age is considerably higher, about 50-78 and yet the similarities are far greater than the differences.<\/p>\n<p>The surprises from the first group were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The phrase \u2018I just do whatever comes to mind!\u2019 and yet they really did know what to do.<\/li>\n<li>The humility of these people and the idea: be ordinary, but think extraordinary!<\/li>\n<li>That even their heroes were unpretentious people.<\/li>\n<li>That they were really extremely observant and eager to learn and that they learned most by observation on the job.<\/li>\n<li>Looking after \u2018their\u2019 people was of prime importance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Jim Collins\u2019 book \u201cGood to Great\u2019 had just appeared and he was their hero. Without exception they recognised his message in their own day to day practice.<\/p>\n<p>From the second round of interviews:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>That these leaders mostly were \u2018level-5 leaders according to Jim Collin\u2019s categorisation and that they clearly posessed such an excellent intuition.<\/li>\n<li>Most had started their \u2018career\u2019 in leadership at a very early age. Often informally.<\/li>\n<li>Again, humility and responsibility<\/li>\n<li>Impatience and eagerness to learn<\/li>\n<li>The art of being in the right place at the right time.<\/li>\n<li>Much more often than you would have thought, these leaders had no formal training (in the area in which they were working) and\/or did any formal training late in life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One of the biggest surprises was that many of these people had had the same experiences as I did. I had often felt\u00a0 relatively alone in my ideas about leadership and all of a sudden I was no longer alone. That was pretty amazing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-18c4qw-345f1162ff584af557b6f322c9c66b5b av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_three_fifth  el_before_av_section  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div  '     ><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-145iog-b14b24b99199046a583c52a1b199f4f1 alternate_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-last  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap fullsize'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-448'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-wnl34-6ccdc8cc40b0ed8a5ce417269ac80db0 av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-6  el_before_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div  '     ><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-2g12w-2383eab2851dea5cf5732ddad8ff48a6 av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  flex_column_div  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-m5088-b5f4199ce0973825fe493a30b89327c2\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-m5088-b5f4199ce0973825fe493a30b89327c2{\npadding-bottom:10px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-m5088-b5f4199ce0973825fe493a30b89327c2 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-m5088-b5f4199ce0973825fe493a30b89327c2 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-m5088-b5f4199ce0973825fe493a30b89327c2 av-special-heading-h3 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-8  el_before_av_magazine  avia-builder-el-first '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Read the other stories:<\/h3><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  id=\"avia-magazine-1\"  class='av-magazine av-ej4ns-0af890497a027dc95cf208c12a820810  avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_heading  avia-builder-el-last   avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_heading  avia-builder-el-last ' ><div class='av-magazine-group sort_all'><article class='av-magazine-entry av-magazine-entry-id-448 av-magazine-format-standard av-magazine-type-post av-magazine-entry-1 av-magazine-entry-small '  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class=\"av-magazine-thumbnail\"><a href='https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/what-were-the-surprises-during-your-research-for-the-book\/' title='Link to: What were the surprises during your research for the book??' class='av-magazine-thumbnail-link'><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read3-80x80.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-447 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-447 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read3-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read3-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read3-180x180.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"av-magazine-content-wrap\"><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: What were the surprises during your research for the book??\"><time class='av-magazine-time updated'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-05-15T12:55:39+00:00\" >May 15, 2026<\/time><h3 class='av-magazine-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href='https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/what-were-the-surprises-during-your-research-for-the-book\/' title='Link to: What were the surprises during your research for the book??'>What were the surprises during your research for the book??<\/a><\/h3><\/header><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><article class='av-magazine-entry av-magazine-entry-id-419 av-magazine-format-standard av-magazine-type-post av-magazine-entry-2 av-magazine-entry-small '  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class=\"av-magazine-thumbnail\"><a href='https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/can-your-intuition-be-wrong-and-how-do-you-prevent-that\/' title='Link to: Can your intuition be wrong? And how do you prevent that?' class='av-magazine-thumbnail-link'><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read2-80x80.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-418 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-418 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read2-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read2-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read2-180x180.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"av-magazine-content-wrap\"><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: Can your intuition be wrong? And how do you prevent that?\"><time class='av-magazine-time updated'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-05-10T12:55:07+00:00\" >May 10, 2026<\/time><h3 class='av-magazine-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href='https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/can-your-intuition-be-wrong-and-how-do-you-prevent-that\/' title='Link to: Can your intuition be wrong? And how do you prevent that?'>Can your intuition be wrong? And how do you prevent that?<\/a><\/h3><\/header><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><article class='av-magazine-entry av-magazine-entry-id-386 av-magazine-format-standard av-magazine-type-post av-magazine-entry-3 av-magazine-entry-small '  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class=\"av-magazine-thumbnail\"><a href='https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/how-do-you-write-a-book-together-you-just-do-it\/' title='Link to: How do you write a book together? You just do it\u2026' class='av-magazine-thumbnail-link'><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read1-80x80.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-385 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-385 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read1-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read1-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/read1-180x180.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"av-magazine-content-wrap\"><header class=\"entry-content-header\" aria-label=\"Post: How do you write a book together? You just do it\u2026\"><time class='av-magazine-time updated'  itemprop=\"datePublished\" datetime=\"2026-05-05T00:46:37+00:00\" >May 5, 2026<\/time><h3 class='av-magazine-title entry-title '  itemprop=\"headline\" ><a href='https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/how-do-you-write-a-book-together-you-just-do-it\/' title='Link to: How do you write a book together? You just do it\u2026'>How do you write a book together? You just do it\u2026<\/a><\/h3><\/header><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/p><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-8hvo8-189b81cd1edab7a4f3a7c59dd1e49e49 av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-10  el_after_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div  '     ><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":455,"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions\/455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benitaplesch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}