Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

You’ll likely measure our workplace offerings fairly… only if you:

1. Look more at evidence of our work … than approaches used to get there.
2. Allow for the fact that our brains wire and operate differently from yours.
3. Consider multiple intelligences tossed into the mix of our offerings.
4. Ask questions that invite genuine solutions or parts of an answer.
5. Create more pathways toward creations than trails toward criticisms.
6. Expect inventions that could change and improve your workplace world.
7. Demonstrate and model the benefits of  tone to the finish line.
8. Welcome targets with wings that advance our workplace.
9. Capitalize on brainpower based on new research about intelligence.
10. Lay out expectations clearly  – with more brain chemicals in mind.

Visualize remarkable rewards of  measuring our talents fairly …  and you’ve already begun to draw from hidden and unused talents to improve challenging situations at work.

Is feedback you give about others at work … intelligence fair? Do others measure your talents fairly?

Brain Based Business won two amazing recognitions today … and I am both surprised and humbled by that honor. It’s especially cool … if so many intelligent leaders … continue to drop by … discuss … and try out the brain’s extravagant dividends at work.

Now that is brain based business at its best … and it takes a bunch of brains to get the goods! It also takes the distinct blessing of working together here at the MITA Brain Based Center with Dr. Robyn McMaster on a daily basis! Thanks Robyn for the amazing problem solving talents you share … and the sheer fun and adventure you bring to our brain research and work!

Thanks also Wally Bock for your thoughtful selection of business men and women’s brains  hitting the dust at your Three Star Leadership Review!

The five best posts picked were:

1. From Penelope Trunk at The Brazen Careerist: Research that reveals new paths to productivity
2. From Ellen Weber at Brain Based Business: Why Men and Women Hit the Dust at Work
3. From Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace: Generational Differences That Do Make a Difference
4. From Ken Nowack at Results versus Activities: Want to Increase Productivity? Increase Your Talent’s Flexibility
5. From John Caddell at Shoptalk: Multiplayer games demonstrate a new model for leadership

What a great lineup as is Wally’s blog at Three Star Leadership.

Then today found Brain Based Business appeared in another guru set – thanks to the generosity of Valerie Combs at BuzzLogic.

The Top 25 right as of the close of SOBCon 2008 included:

Liz Strauss

Lorelle

Phil Gerbyshak

Dr. Ellen Weber  

David Armano

The Blog Herald

James D Walton

Timothy L Johnson

Bootsnall travel community

Ben Yoskovitz

Joe Hauckes

Tim Draayer

Des Walsh

Dawud Miracle

Jon Gatrell

Drew McLellan

FutureLab blog

Kent Blumberberg

Geoffrey Philp

Robert Hruzek

Christine Kane
Amy Palko
Problogger
Mary Schmidt
Adam Kayce

Wow --- such an exciting win … leaves a writer hoping to pop out a few worthy words in the next blog or two! Hey … it also adds serotonin builders that could just make it  happen for any of us who write to learn and learn to write together! What a carpet ride it’s been – thanks to a blogging community like you! Stay blessed!     

Some people use research and observation to point out that men are better at numbers while women excel more in language and communication. Do you agree?

Others say it’s not that simple to quantify intelligence. What do you say?

Here’s the skinny of what we know about brainpower differences in men and women.

Men traditionally dominated fields of math, science and engineering… and that imbalance is changing.

Women make up the lion’s share of US higher education students since 1982 and yet women do less well than men on standardized tests used for college entrance or graduate school requirements. The best universities are attracting more men to narrow their enrollment gaps. Have you seen it happen?

Gender differences show up early in life.  School age children show differences in that young women perform better on most verbal assessments … while boys are measurably better at solving problems on standardized tests.

Hormones play a larger role in cognitive operations than once thought. Research shows that when people change their genders … their cognitive patterns also change.

Women often outperform men on tasks that use language processing and draw on more symmetric activation across brain hemispheres. Men often outperform women in tasks that call upon activation of the visual cortex areas. Research shows … through brain imaging .. that even when men and women perform the same tasks equally well … they draw on different parts of the brain to do so.

Should these brain based factors not seem complex enough to get your brain around … there are many other interesting factors that influence cognitive differences within and across genders. And that’s before we toss in tone problems ...  or before we include discrimination that comes when one gender feels threatened by brain differences in the other. If you consider the brain at work … you’ll likely also agree … there are solutions.

Start with a few quick brain facts to rate your workplace for instance …  and you’ll see amazing new windows of opportunity … based on new facts about human brains.

Where could your organization begin to value and develop the differences in both men and women’s offerings?

Have you noticed that people who have confidence that they will do a good job … also tend to work in an organization or department that uses their unique mix of intelligences? It’s as if their talents and problem solving ability make work an easier place to be.

What’s the difference between people who go to work feeling new zip daily because of the challenges they’ll face and the success they expect ... and workers who hate their jobs?  

The difference is not usually the workplace itself. The difference is how people view and present their offerings.

What was your offering at work today? Did it capitalize on any of your multiple intelligences? Add any brainpower to your organizational intelligence today? Does your workplace fit your intelligences?  

According to New York Times’ columnist David Brooks … the work place is bombarded with “colossal Proustian memory bullies who get 1,800 pages of recollection out of a mere cookie bite.”

Have you seen it where you work or socialize?

If intelligence consisted of fact storage alone … then these memory bullies win hands down. So why do we question their brainpower?  

It's actually quite simple. Research has changed what it means to be clever.

We live in a time when knowledge acceleration means more facts to race through more minds in less time. Memory bullies have intimidated others for a long time, though.

They’re the colossal extraverts … who ask questions about far-flung facts they’ve studied and … show others up … on details they’ve recently struck into memory. Have you seen it happen?

Memory bullies appear to gloat that they alone can spit out “correct” answers … in ways that shout victory for their gray matter. The problem?

It’s not intelligence by itself … in spite of the fact that some can intimidate others who believe that memory is the mind’s dynamite … and that they lack its light.

So what is intelligence … if memory is not? I’d like to hear your wisdom – before I share research about who’s really intelligent.  I’m referring to ways that can prosper and grow the entire organization.

What do you think?

If intellectual capital is the key to a new economy … and I think it is … then it’s worth another look at our fit in the knowledge economy.

That's what the May edition of the Harvard Business Review did in its latest conversation ... with brain expert John Medina and Diane Coutu ... on the Science of Thinking Smarter.

Here’s the skinny on how the brain operates at work:

1. Be careful who tells you how you apply brain facts to the brain in business. It’s a new field for many and one person’s information could be less reliable that another’s.

2. Run from stress. Medina points out that our bodies aren’t built for the kind of stressors coming at us daily. In his words … Enduring chronic stress is a little bit like taking a giant airplane and sticking it into water. The airplane wasn’t built to be in water; the brain wasn’t built to endure chronic stress.

3. Memory takes a long time to settle into its permanent form. Currently our understanding of how long and short term memory operate is “approximate at best.”

4. The brain is built for lifelong learning – and “the more activity you do, the more experiences you have, the larger and more complex the brain becomes.”

5. Exercise improves brain health … and also reduces the instances of microstrokes as well as the likelihood of falling victim to Alzheimer’s.

6. Popular personality tests are fast outmoded by new brain facts. Many of the common tests used in workplaces were designed and normed long before we knew amazing new facts about the brain … and so tests such as Myers-Briggs should be considered carefully for their relevancy against current neuroscience backdrops.

Basically this article affirms the fact that reliable experts help your business to apply and benefit from the best news out there about the extravagance of human brains in your organization. Others may hype the facts for personal advantage. Have you seen it happen?

Work against vital brain facts … as sinking firms tend to do … and you work at your own peril. Work with the brain … and you’ll also add to your competitive edges … since brain science is astonishing us daily with keys to the best in business. 

This blog is a response to my invitation to GL Hoffman's thoughts on business intelligence.

I laughed when I read GL's opener ... "This Was Intimidating..." But the wit and wisdom I'd looked forward to most ... flowed freely from GL's blog below!

Ellen asking me to write a guest post for her blog, Brain Based Business!!!, is a bit like Derek Jeter asking me to come over to Yankee Stadium to catch some grounders with him.  Sounds fun at first, but there is a very real chance I will embarrass myself, my family, my company and all my dead relatives.  Plus the uniform will make me look like I am wearing tightie-whities from head to toe.  This could get ugly fast.

I learned long ago that I blog best when I don’t think so much.  This is probably very apparent to the readers of my own blog.  Carrying the baseball analogy further, wasn’t it Yogi Berra who said, “Think?  How the hell are you gonna hit and think at the same time?”

So here goes.

I like being around smart people.  I guess they have either bigger brains, or somehow have made better uses of it.  From what I read, it is likely not so much an accident of birth, but upbringing, practice,  experience, education and willingness to adapt that makes one person seem smarter.

In my little hometown of Abilene, Kansas, I was not the smartest kid around but I usually made the honor roll, so whoopee.  One of my earliest claims to fame was that I got to sit down one Saturday morning with Ike Eisenhower, an Abilene native who had asked to meet me because I was about to go off to a military academy just like he had done sixty years earlier.  Anyway, I left his suite that morning thinking very clearly, “That was the smartest person I have ever met.”  I asked such dumb questions and he answered each one graciously.  He must have left our meeting thinking just the opposite about me.

Funny how smart people have since stuck in my mind.

In 1975, I worked part time  in Wichita, Kansas, for the United Way.  I can vividly remember sitting in a big meeting, must have been 25 people there talking over some program.  And like a lot of volunteer-oriented programs, the talking and meeting were a bit out of control.  And then the Director of the United Way for Wichita spoke.  His name was John Rush, and he was the little man, maybe 5 foot six, and very un-assuming, mild, and certainly not charismatic, at all.  This was one of the few times, that I simply sat mesmerized by how John condensed, summarized and then articulated all the opposing views into one or two paragraphs.  Here was someone who could just dominate a room by the power of his mind,er, brain.  It inspired me, truly.

Later, I had a board member of one of my companies who was the same way,  Erwin Kelen is a local, well known board member of young companies.  From Hungary originally (like Andy Grove), he would sit in board meetings apparently nearly asleep until the discussion would wind down.  And then when he spoke, I always felt like just adding, “what he just said.”

There have been other smart people in my life, sure.  But these three stick out because, contrary to the old saying that NO ONE IS 15% SMARTER OR DUMBER THAN ANYONE ELSE, these three were waaaaay smarter,  way-way-way.

Does this mean that only articulate people are smart?  No, I know better.  Or that people who can summarize complex issues and make others understand it better are smarter than those who can’t?  Nah.

What I am saying is that each of us, I am betting, have been exposed to someone like my three.

If you think about it, your life is richer because of it.

When goals grow with you  … they stay within reach on the one hand … and evolve forward on the other. Do your goals keep your business brain alive?

Motivation’s the best test for goals that stay alive … in that it stalls when targets die and sprints forward for useful goals.

Kumiko Watanuki used a five year goal plan to attain her dream of running the Iranian division of AT&T. When Iran’s revolution forced her out of the country she continued her goals in New York, and today heads up a company that advises leaders on international trade affairs.

Where will you plan take you? In spite of inevitable detours and a few unexpected setbacks … people with a plan tend to make it to the peaks. Have you noticed?

While it could well be that work … or life in general … is tossing you more pressures that you feel able to handle  … stressors can work against your own well-being.

5 urgent reasons to bolt from stress at every turn:

1. It shrinks your brain … literally … according to research!

2. It prevents you from finding solutions and intensifies problems.

3. It floods you with cortisol chemicals which shut down thinking.

4. It alters tone in ways that rob your goals as well as your memory.

5. It blocks brain chemicals you need to refuel in difficult times.

Ever noticed how people who cling to stress ... tend to be “I can’t” kind of folks?

Run from stress and you also increase serotonin … decrease cortisol … and reboot your brain for calm in the midst of a storm. Could it happen where you work?

Skeptics said that online writers would never make much difference from what they post. Too many voices … too little organization … too many raw talents … too few experts…. Have you heard the buzz? Do you believe it?

Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton organized a new book, The Age of Conversation: Why Don't People Get It … to prove the significance of online conversations. How will it happen?  

Soon 275 authors … plan to flood the global business community … with articles that will revolutionize business in ways many skeptics only dream of.

Know any of the book’s contributors?

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

Writers of  The Age of Conversation: Why Don't People Get It … organized by Drew McLellan, and Gavin Heaton … will say it best in The Age of Conversation 2008. Do let us know what you think.