The Competitive Advantage Goes to Leaders Who Apply Cutting-Edge Science to Real-World Problems!

Introduction: The Brain Advantage

THE BRAIN ADVANTAGE
“LEADING WITH THE BRAIN IN MIND”

Leaders are in charge. They are in charge of people, of budgets, of production lines. Most leaders also believe that they are in charge of their greatest resource—their own brain.

But how true is that?

The more we understand about how the brain works, the clearer it becomes that our brain often makes decisions before we get a chance to consciously decide anything for ourselves. Here are just a few examples:

1. The more expert we become, the less we “think.”

As chapter 2 discusses, the brain automates much of what we do repeatedly. As people increase their expertise in driving a car, writing a computer program, or painting a portrait, their brain can shift routine aspects of that skill over to “autopilot.” Sometimes people say, “I could do this in my sleep.” That’s a sign that what they are doing requires no conscious thinking. In his book Everyday Survival, Laurence Gonzales describes what happened to international rock climber Lynn Hill. Hill threaded her rope through her harness but then, instead of tying the required knot, she stopped to put on her shoes. distracted by a conversation, she never returned to tying her harness rope. As Gonzales says, the similarity between tying her shoes and tying the rope “tricked” Hill’s brain into thinking she had done what she needed to do. Fortunately, Hill survived the seventy-two-foot fall that resulted.

2. Our brain can trick us into being sure that we are right — even when we’re wrong.

Neurologist Robert Burton argues that our brains often manufacture a sense of certainty that we are right. Sometimes, of course, we are right. The problem, discussed in chapter 14, is that the brain can create this feeling even when we are drastically wrong. In a dramatic example, neurological patients with Cotard’s disease ignore logic and insist that they are dead.

When we make decisions based solely on the feeling that “I am sure I’m right,” we are often in trouble. As Burton points out, the brilliant mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan had a notebook of theorems that he was sure were correct—he just needed more time to prove them. After his death, other mathematicians were able to demonstrate that some of Ramanujan’s concepts were right on target. But others turned out to be “dead wrong.” We should not always believe it when our brain broadcasts an internal message that says “You are absolutely right about that!”

3. Without consulting us, our brain decides whom to trust.

When editors at the New Republic trusted journalist Steven Glass, they were probably influenced by his likability. Glass endeared himself to his colleagues, regularly inquired about their families, and brought bagels to the office. Glass created a sense of connection between himself and others. As chapter 5 notes, the brain reacts to this feeling of connection by producing oxytocin, a hormone that, in turn, increases our tendency to trust. Maybe oxytocin led the editors at the New Republic to trust Glass— until Forbes revealed his reporting to be full of fabrications.

So who really is in charge? Our conscious, thinking selves—or other brain processes that work outside of our awareness? Clearly, we are not in control of as much as we thought we were. As neurologist Richard Restak says, “The brain has a mind of its own.”

That is the unsettling news.

The good news is that leaders can use insights from the latest brain research to manage their own brains more effectively. That is the first Brain Advantage. Just as important, leaders can use that knowledge to manage other people more effectively. That is the second Brain Advantage. Here are some brief examples of how neuroscience can help business leaders be more effective…

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