Neuroscience in Business: What we can't do while 'multi-tasking'

February 10th, 2009

The brain does not multi-task.   This simple biological fact has huge implications for business. 

What if your corporate culture accepts – even demands – multi-tasking?  You’re as sharp as a drunk driver. You will miss – and misinterpret – as much of what is going on around you as someone who could be arrested for DUI.

Not only will you miss important information, you certainly will not generate new questions or solutions.  Responsive to market changes?  Forget it.  Figuring out new ways to deploy resources?  Not a chance.

Imagine that you’re an auto manufacturer…Or an SEC official….Better yet, imagine that you find yourself in the midst of an economic downturn. Markets are jittery; customers and employees are fearful.  Your enterprise will thrive – or not – based on your ability to:

  • Notice what’s going on – Be curious about what might be valuable in this new reality
  • Generate new solutions for new concerns
  • Provoke Customers’ curiousity about new solutions.

Multi-tasking may be the most dangerous habit we’ve ever allowed.

Filed under Business Anthropologist, Leadership, neuroscience in business | Comments (7)

The Power of Leading Through Inquiry

February 2nd, 2009

It’s extraordinary in so many ways to have a real leader at the helm of our country.   His first TV interview as President -  with Al Aribiya, a Saudi station – was magnificent in a number of ways.  

At the foundation was the power of a question:

“…the bottom line in all these talks and all these conversations is, is a child in the Palestinian Territories going to be better off? Do they have a future for themselves? And is the child in Israel going to feel confident about his or her safety and security?

 

Who can be indifferent to those questions?   The comments following the interview reveal McCain supporters joining middle eastern citizens in gratitude and optimism. 

 

  “And if we can keep our focus on making their lives better and look forward, and not simply think about all the conflicts and tragedies of the past, then I think that we have an opportunity to make real progress.”

 

I’m leading myself with questions, eg “What can I do to minimize the suffering in my community from the economic situation?”   The question moves me away from concern about my own bank account and focuses my attention on commonweal: the real wealth.  Like most living creatures,  humans thrive – or not – in communities. 

 

How are you stepping up to our many quandaries?  Any powerful questions you feel like sharing?   

Filed under Leadership, Leading Through Inquiry, Reflections | Comment (1)

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    Blog promise:

    A thriving enterprise is what every business wants, but blueprints are not readily available. Despite $$bb invested in B schools, informed design is rare: few business cultures generate competitive advantage; few leaders know how to ask the vital questions that enable resilience and responsiveness.

    In the trenches as Business Anthropologist for nearly 3 decades, I've been honored to work with leaders committed to being the best - bringing the best of themselves to the task of building thriving enterprises -- knowing that part of their task will be to inspire the best in others.

    It's been my pleasure to illuminate the core dynamics of commerce, many of which haven't changed since the first human communities - perhaps 350,000 generations ago. Nothing makes leading easy, but mastering those dynamics fuels commerce: opening opportunities, continually improving execution, and minimizing risk - no mater what may be happening around them.

    This blog addresses the tough questions that test leaders in business. I'll offer examples, inquiries, and insight inspired by the glorious ingenuity people bring to the task of creating value.

    Please jump in. What are you thinking about thriving enterprises? I look forward to the dialogue.

    Marsha Shenk