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Surrounded by horses and riders

26/6/2013

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Not surprisingly, most of us act as if we are dealing with logical, rational thinking co-workers, be they colleagues or managers. Yet when we remember that every decision we make is taken at an emotional level first and only then rationalised and supported by logic, it stands to reason that they behave for at least some of the time in an illogical way.
Putting a visual framework on that, it's as if they are each two beings in one. Much as their 'emotionally' driven old-brains are inter-linked in many ways to the higher level cortex (which by its size alone makes us uniquely human), they often act as if they were distinct entities.
I find it helps to imagine people as double-brained beings when I interact with them; a rational thinking part which we all pretend to be and a strangely predictable instinctive part which can bring on emotions as varied as being loving and caring to being spiteful and dishonest.
Try imagining your office colleagues as horses and riders; the horse representing their instinctive older brain and their persona as a rider being the rational 'in-control' part we'd all like to think that we are. It would lead to a crowded office but it might explain some of the daily misunderstandings! More at: http://www.lazyhorses.com/the-horse-and-rider.html

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How to make better decisions

12/6/2013

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Many people believe that they can control the emotional elements involved when making decisions. They cannot. In fact those who are most sure of this 'fact' usually excel at post-decision rationalisation rather than having the ability to totally eliminate emotional impact. Examples abound and one that struck me recently was of the senior exec who declared he would never - for a host of very rational reasons - drive a Mercedes  (he drives a BMW).
This video of highlights from a BBC documentary made back in 2008 is still a good ice-breaker if you want to discuss this subject in your management team. Just 8 minutes long, it highlights different aspects of the decision-making process and features Dr de Martino's work which establishes how decision-making is largely balanced between the frontal lobes and the amygdala, a part of the older, reptilian brain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/decisions/highlights/.
He has now moved on to work on establishing the degree of confidence that people have in their decisions, having studied under Daniel Kahneman as part of a Wellcome post-doctorate fellowship.
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Featured in the video highlights: Dr B Martino from UCL London
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If we were truly rational beings...

26/4/2013

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If we were really rational beings… ?

Much of what we do is arguable rational, and the way governments and economists see us is as rational thinking machines. To them we are (or should behave) all like Mr Spock clones in a Startrek remake. 
Even HR departments try to build as much rationality into their departments as possible… the Head of Finance is often asked to only see the world in those terms. And the fact is that if Mr.Spock were to run any department, it would be as Finance Director that he would have the best chance for success… at least if he never had to take a risk or deal with staffing issues.

But I think it’s pretty obvious to most of us that we are not first and foremost rational beings. Indeed, today’s financial led crisis probably would not have happened if the bankers testosterone fueled decisions had not been grounded in so-called rationality. Yet logic and value are trusted and we still mistrust emotion.


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    Author

    James Capon is a founding partner of Lazy Horses. He feels he is rational when he needs to be. But he's probably wrong about that.

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