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Neuroleadership
Brain challenges for deciding and leading

James Teboul

with Philippe Damier

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To Claudie
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Contents
Contents............................................................................................................................1
Preface..............................................................................................................................4
Introduction.......................................................................................................................5
Part I Toward the discovery of the brain.............................................................................7
Chapter 1 - A brain in three dimensions..............................................................................8
Why do we and other animals have a brain?....................................................................................8
Vertical integration: The triune brain................................................................................................8
Back-to-front horizontal integration: From perception to abstraction............................................12
Left-right horizontal integration......................................................................................................19
Chapter 2 - We are our synapses......................................................................................27
Neurons and synapses.....................................................................................................................27
Communication at the level of the synapse....................................................................................28
Memory at the level of the synapse................................................................................................31
Memory and new circuits................................................................................................................31
The paradox of neuroplasticity........................................................................................................32
Supplement: Seven important neuromediators..............................................................................35
Chapter 3 - Conscious but unaware of our vast unconscious.............................................41
A myriad of unconscious modules...................................................................................................41
The need for a central command....................................................................................................42
Global working space......................................................................................................................42
The spotlight of attention and working memory.............................................................................45
The myth of multitasking................................................................................................................53
The central role of the prefrontal cortex.........................................................................................54
Supplement: Four strategic regions................................................................................................56
Chapter 4 - Our habits make us........................................................................................64
Mastering new routines: Implicit learning......................................................................................64
The basal ganglia: The curator........................................................................................................65
Habits, norms, rituals......................................................................................................................67
Supplement: Return to the basal ganglia........................................................................................72
Chapter 5 – A very emotional brain..................................................................................75
A useful brain value system.............................................................................................................75
What is the point of emotion?........................................................................................................79
A variety of emotions......................................................................................................................80
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The emotional brain plays a crucial role in reasoning.....................................................................82

Self-control......................................................................................................................................84
When emotions overpower cognition.............................................................................................86
Should we hide emotions?..............................................................................................................88
Supplement : A cast of six important actors....................................................................................90
Part 2 Brain challenges: Biases, memory, predispositions.................................................95
Chapter 6 - The challenges of the emotional brain............................................................96
A first bias: Threat and risk avoidance.............................................................................................96
A second bias: Loss avoidance.......................................................................................................100
A third bias: The pleasure principle...............................................................................................105
Chapter 7 – We are made of memory.............................................................................108
We become another as we remember and learn..........................................................................108
Explicit memory.............................................................................................................................109
Implicit memory............................................................................................................................113
Memory is not what most people think........................................................................................118
In practice: The four steps of the way we learn............................................................................122
Chapter 8 - The unconscious mind has a mind of its own................................................126
The first mode: A predisposition to anticipate..............................................................................126
The second mode: A predisposition to categorize and stereotype...............................................132
The third mode: A predisposition to search for cause and meaning............................................136
The fourth mode: A predisposition to confirm..............................................................................139
The halo effect..............................................................................................................................142
Chapter 9 - Our beloved ego...........................................................................................146
Identity and autonomy..................................................................................................................146
The egocentric bias.......................................................................................................................148
Cognitive dissonance.....................................................................................................................150
Chapter 10 - Cognitive challenges...................................................................................158
The rational is overrated...............................................................................................................158
The anchoring bias........................................................................................................................160
The availability bias.......................................................................................................................163
Overconfidence in the limits of our knowledge............................................................................165
Are we doomed? Spotting decision traps......................................................................................169
Chapter 11 - A deeply social brain..................................................................................171
Social needs are primary...............................................................................................................171
The mirror and the mentalizing systems.......................................................................................172
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The main social motivators...........................................................................................................177

Relatedness: The urge to belong...................................................................................................178
Fairness.........................................................................................................................................180
Status and hierarchy setting..........................................................................................................181
Collective intelligence...................................................................................................................182
Part 3 Decision, leadership, and change.........................................................................187
Chapter 12 – From decision making to creativity............................................................188
Cold cognition and rational decision making.................................................................................188
Heuristics and algorithms..............................................................................................................195
Intuition and insight......................................................................................................................196
Creativity.......................................................................................................................................201
Chapter 13 - Leadership challenges................................................................................210
Why are we so obsessed with leadership?....................................................................................210
The management perspective.......................................................................................................211
Strategy and execution..................................................................................................................217
The leadership perspective...........................................................................................................218
Chapter 14 – Managing change......................................................................................225
Change in action............................................................................................................................225
The need for a process..................................................................................................................225
Chapter 15 – Return to identity and personality.............................................................233
The construction of a coherent identity........................................................................................233
Personality....................................................................................................................................239
On gender.....................................................................................................................................245
Conclusion......................................................................................................................251
Appendix........................................................................................................................254
Final word and thanks....................................................................................................255
Bibliography..................................................................................................................257
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Preface
It is possible now, with recent progress in the neurosciences, to start understanding
what happens in the brain when it comes to deciding or making a change. But, is this
knowledge useful for a manager who has little time available? In fact, beyond a
legitimate curiosity, this knowledge can, indeed, have concrete value for leading
people, defining strategic choices, and/or managing change. Just as high-
performance athletes need to develop a better understanding of their body to
perform at their best and avoid injuries, managers can, with better knowledge about
the functioning of their brains, improve their decision-making and leadership abilities
while taking into account the limits of rationality and avoiding systematic errors and
biases.

Because any decision is associated with risk and chance and remains a bet on the
future, it is important to understand how a choice, which is supposed to be rational,
is often limited by predispositions or biases that could have damaging results if we
are not prepared to face them.

Thus, this book should help you make your way through the essential elements in
the brain associated with decision and change management, including the
permanent dialogue between the rational and the emotional that often escapes our
attention, the main structures at play and their interactions, the cerbral management
of uncertainty and risk, and the impressive ability of the brain to adapt and learn
(which contrasts with some resitance to change). In chapter after chapter, concrete
advice and some avenues for improvement are suggested.

As should be expected after each action, decision, or interaction, attentive readers

will notice that their brains have been transformed. They should have a better
awareness of the way they behave, decide, and anticipate some reasoning limits and
traps. And, finally, they should have an enlarged and integrated vision of the
functioning of their brains.

Philippe Damier
Neurology Professor, University Hospital of Nantes (France)
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Introduction

Is it still possible today to ignore the amazing capabilities and limitations of the
human brain to learn, decide, and act?

This book explores in detail the workings of this complex structure. With it, you will
discover that you are more intelligent than you thought you were as you learn how to
navigate with your three brains: the cognitive, emotional, and social brains.

When we are confronted with the physical world, we recognize our limitations and
act accordingly. When we practice a sport, we try to understand and take into
account how our body works. But when it comes to thinking or deciding, we tend to
reason in terms of abstract signals, messages, and languages, whether
mathematical, economical, or technical.

This is a world of representations that can exist outside of the brain. It thus seems
that to make a rational decision and be efficient, we must cut off references to the
senses and the body and resist the attraction of momentary emotions. But nothing is
less the case. We do not realize the extent to which we depend on neuronal
processes operating at a subconscious level.

Actually, remaining attentive so as to retain what is of interest is difficult and

consumes considerable energy because we are constantly distracted by many
varying types of alarms and information. The fact is that the reality of the brain’s
workings is largely hidden from us. We do not have direct access to the majority of
the processes that influence our behaviors and choices. The only thing we can refer
to is the result of these inner operations.

Thus, a system of automatic reactions, more powerful than we can imagine,

determines how we think, feel, and behave. Moreover, our representation of the
world and our identity both depend on a host of special inner effects that can amplify
or distort our perceptions or beliefs.

In reality, our brain is not made for producing rational behavior. Our aptitude for
reasoning seems impressive, but our ability to be rational is overestimated. Cold,
logical reasoning is influenced by multiple factors, our emotions being the main
drivers.

In addition, rational reasoning is costly in terms of attentional energy. The best

efforts made by people in the workplace are inefficient not because those individuals
are not working hard enough, but because they are working too hard. The brain has
its limitations, and the profusion of information and distractions of modern life can
easily invade and overwhelm our overstimulated circuits.

The challenge, therefore, is to learn about and pay attention to the inner workings of
our brain, including its possibilities and limitations. In particular, we need to be aware
of specific biases and learn how to take them into account. For example, by realizing
that memory is physically hardwired in neuronal circuits, we can understand our

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tendency to predict and confirm what will happen to us, which can trick us by
suggesting a false sense of control.

In the same way, multiple factors can distort our reasoning, but locating and naming
them gives us a way to protect ourselves from them. For example, admitting that our
aversion to loss is hardwired within our neuronal circuits provides us with the means
to be more prepared for such losses.

We must also remember that a great deal of our brain’s activity is dedicated to social
interactions, an aspect that we often neglect. When our status within a group is
threatened, we react as strongly as if we were faced with a physical threat. And if a
colleague or superior gives us negative feedback on our behavior, we feel a deep
physical discomfort. Just think of the damage done by performance appraisals within
organizations.

Finally, learning about the brain allows us to consider in a concrete way the
leadership practices required to run a modern organization in a dynamic
environment. Such knowledge underscores the advantages of an adaptable,
diligent leadership style. This style must be practiced, just as physical sports require
regular training. A coach may then help you, for example, to avoid the natural
tendency to slip back into the old habits of traditional, vertical, regressive leadership.

Just as an athlete who, thanks to his familiarity with himself and his body, improves
his athletic performance, managers, teachers, and leaders can learn how to better
understand the workings of their own brains in order to be more efficient, make
better decisions, stay calm under pressure, get along better with others, and be
flexibile enough to adapt to uncertainties and complexities within their environment.

By better understanding our brain and our experiences and more closely observing
our behavior, we will broaden our horizons, boost our self-confidence, and become
more proactive. And this will even make us more empathetic and caring.

Our brain can change, but change requires effort and even pain. Because we cannot
simply erase what we have learned, we must create new networks and connections.
It is a matter of remaining attentive and regularly activating the right circuits.

This book is not only an invitation to understand and discover the brain but also to
take action, because there is no possibility to make lasting changes without regular
practice.

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Part I
Toward the discovery of the brain

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Chapter 1 - A brain in three dimensions

We start this chapter by stressing the fact that the brain is a predictive machine. We
then explore the brain along three dimensions: bottom-up, to retrace its construction
across evolution; then back-front, from sensory perception to abstraction; and finally
left-right, to show how the two hemispheres complement each other. With this first
exploration, we highlight some key ideas because our objective is to relate the study
of the brain to decision making and action. Thus, we stress the importance of vision,
and we learn how to better use our left and right brains.

Why do we and other animals have a brain?

Clearly, not every species of living thing on our planet has a brain---trees and plants,
for example, do not---so what is our brain for?

To say that it enables us to perceive the world and think may not acknowledge the
most important reason. We have a brain to move, to perform adaptive and complex
movements critical to our survival and reproduction. Trees and plants do not have
brains because they do not move.1

To be able to walk and avoid obstacles in our way, our brain constructs stable virtual
representations of our environment by using information from our senses. These
internal maps determine how we see the world and tell us how to move around. The
properties of the external world are embedded in our neural circuitry.

So, our brains create our perceived reality, and we do not see the world as it is but
as our brains represent it to us through virtual models. Moreover, to help us move
around, the brain uses these models to anticipate our next move. It is, essentially, a
prediction machine.

Some information about the brain

A brain weighing about 3lbs (1300g) contains nearly 100 billion neurons (86 billion,
more precisely). With up to 10,000 connections between neurons, we have close to
1015 or almost a quadrillion synaptic connections (about the memory of the most
powerful computers).

With a moderate consumption of just about 30 watts, the brain works 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Representing only 2% of our body mass, our brain expends 25% of the energy our
body consumes at rest. So, it seems that we live in order to feed our brains. This
means that the metabolic cost is 500 kcals out of the 2000 kcals we need each day.

Vertical integration: The triune brain 2

We start our exploration of the brain with a simple model (Figure 1) that shows how
the brain has evolved in complexity over time. The three parts of the triune brain---

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the instinctive brain, the emotional brain, and the cognitive brain---are layered
vertically on one another and refer to the evolution of the human brain in three
stages:

The oldest part---the brain stem and cerebellum---constitute the instinctual brain,
also called the reptilian brain because it deals with instinctive and motor functions
and, in particular, with basic physical survival. Layered over it is the emotional brain,
also called the limbic system. It better deals with emotions and integrates rewards to
facilitate learning. The third layer is the cognitive brain, a massive cerebral cortex in
charge of abstract thought, language, cooperative planning, and empathy.

In fact, the three brains are not that clearly separated for humans, as we will see
later, but this description is good enough as a starting point for understanding the
vertical integration across evolution.

Figure 1: Vertical integration

The instinctual or reptilian brain

The spinal cord that brings in data from all over the body enters the skull in an area
called the brain stem. This is the essential part of the brain of reptiles and fish, which
depends on the contextual environment. For example, the temperature of their body
is determined by the external temperature. The brain stem helps regulate our basic
physiology, temperature, breathing, and swallowing. It also directly controls our
states of arousal and drives such as hunger or sexual desire.

For humans, the brain stem, together with the limbic area and the cortex, is in
charge, in particular, of assessing safety or danger and subsequently shapes our
states of mind. When this first system tells us that we are safe, we let go of the

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tension in our body. But, in case of danger, when we need to react instantly to a
situation, we enter into the fight-or-flight mode of alertness. The body readies for
action, adrenaline pours into the blood stream, cortisol is released, and our
metabolism is prepared for the demand of energy that will be required. However, if
we believe that we are helpless, we then freeze or pass out, simulating death.

The emotional or limbic brain

The limbic3 region of the brain developed markedly with the arrival of mammals 200
million years ago in order to allow for emotional attachment and a fuller expression of
emotions. It turns sensory perception into emotional and physical responses and
assigns value to whatever situation or object is being encountered.

Two hundred million years of evolution have made the limbic system a refined
instrument capable of making fast decisions with little information. One central
component of this part of the brain is the amygdala, a kind of alert system that reacts
to emotionally relevant stimuli and threats. This region is, for humans, at the core of
our elementary motivations according to the classic mechanism of avoid-approach-
attach.4 First, we must avoid harm and “sticks” to survive, then we will approach
rewards and look for “carrots,” and finally we will attach ourselves to others and bond
within a group. We can easily recognize this attachment dimension in our pet dog
and notice its absence in a frog. But it is much more elaborately developed in
humans through pair bonding, language, empathy, cooperative planning, and
altruism.

The cognitive or cerebral brain

The third level is the cognitive brain. It corresponds to the development of the
outermost area of the brain known as the neocortex or new cortex. Appearing when
we became mammals, it gradually expanded and spread to surround the old limbic
system. With the arrival of primates and then humans, this cortex was able to cover
the more primitive structures from the back of the head to the front. Our
extraordinary capacities to think, love, and understand our universe depend mainly
on a thin, greyish veneer of about 6 millimeters thick under which we find bundles of
long-distance connections that form the white matter.

As a result of evolution, this area increased in complexity and became organized into
a huge number of modules, each with a different goal. The part that has increased
most dramatically in humans and that makes us different from other primates is the
frontal lobe, the rational part of the mind or so-called executive center. It deals with
abstract thought, language, decision making, and empathy. Figure 2 shows a more
detailed view of the cerebral cortex.

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Figure 2: The cerebral cortex

Flattened, the cortex comprises a thin sheet of tissue of about 6mm (6 layers of
cells) that covers an area of about 800 cm², the size of a table napkin. To occupy
less space, it is massively wrapped and folded so it can fit into the skull.

In practice: Three layers and the planet of signs

It is important to remember that we are the result of a step-by-step evolution that
organized our brain layer above layer.

The rational, which we are proud of, has its roots in the archaic brain where simple
mechanisms are found, such as approach and avoid, as well as binary categories,
such as good or bad, friend or foe. It is only in the upper layers of the brain that
different nuances of grey appear. Regulations and limits established at the level of
the cortex remain fragile because they are based on powerful primitive binary
impulses.

Inversely, with the development of language, the brain was able to structure the void
betwen two persons. As Boris Cyrulnik explalined, “The temporal area is able to
detach the information from its context. We don’t listen to the noise of the spoken
words, we perceive directly a representation. Thoughts can exist without any brain in
the fourth world, in the planet of signs, writing and internet.” 5

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Back-to-front horizontal integration: From

perception to abstraction
The posterior part of the cortex is dedicated to perception by our senses and is
organized into regions that specialize in different tasks, such as vision, hearing, and
touch. The front part of the cortex is devoted to abstraction and action. These two
regions are separated by a great vertical fold called the central sulcus.6

Perception
Each sensory region is organized hierarchically. Raw sensory information reaches
the cortex in a primary projection area and is then sent to a series of specialized
structures where it is deconstructed and analyzed before being further integrated into
a stable representation in higher regions of the brain. This may eventually lead to
action in the frontal cortex. For example, let us consider vision, which plays a central
role for humans.

Vision
Visual processes evolved over millions of years, so they are much more efficient for
communication than is language, which is much more recent. Far from being a
camera, the brain actively deconstructs the information received through our eyes,
pushing it through a series of filters and then reconstructing a representation of what
we think we see.

The process begins when neural signals recorded on the retina travel to an area in
the back of the brain (the occipital lobes) in the primary visual area. It is interesting to
note the crossing of optic nerves that occurs on this trajectory. The right visual field
projects onto the left hemisphere of the brain, and, inversely, the left visual field
projects onto the right hemisphere (we will refer to this crossing at the end of the
chapter when we consider split-brain patients).

In this primary visual area, signals from the retina form a map of the perceived visual
field. This map is then broken down and analyzed according to different and simple
attributes, such as orientation, color, luminance (brightness without color), contrast,
motion, form, or depth. Subsequently, information about these separate features is
distributed to several far-flung regions of the parietal and temporal lobes. These
specialized regions are organized hierarchically, and each echelon carries out
increasingly sophisticated tasks through an enormous amount of feedback and
crosstalk. We have the impression that our perception is direct and unitary, but it is
actually the result of a large amount of deconstruction and reassociation according to
a complex hierarchical knitting process.

Nonhuman mammals probably have fewer than a dozen visual areas and no or little
color vision, but humans have as many as 30 visual areas, and the final result is a
stable representation that can be maintained in a sensory buffer of small capacity.
For example, if we close our eyes after looking at a picture, we can still see the

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picture for a second or so before it fades away. Sensory buffers are represented in
Figure 3, which shows the primary projection areas of three senses: vision, touch
and hearing.

Figure 3: Back-front integration with sensory inputs

Perception of stimuli occurs in the rear half of the brain.The occipital lobe
deals with visual information, the temporal lobe with sounds, and the
parietal lobe with tactile sensations.

Sensory maps

The incoming signals from the other senses are treated similarly to vision. This is
particularly true with touch. On the surface of the left and the right hemisphere of the
brain, toward the rear of the central sulcus, sensory maps represent in miniature half
of the body. In fact, it is a rather strange representation, with the body upside down.
Some regions of the body occupy exaggerated areas in the brain, in particular, the
lips, tongue, and fingers. These sensory maps are dynamic and are modified and
transformed according to our experiences, perceptions, and actions.

Global representation
It is important to recognize the efficiency of the associative operations of each of our
senses as well as between those senses before our brain develops a final global
representation of our environment. For example, when we come across an apple,
our sensory perceptions about it (color, shape, texture, aroma, etc.) are translated
into an integrated network of connected neurons that fire together. These firings are
not concentrated in one region of the brain, that is, there is no “apple region.” Rather,

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the apple information is spread over a complicated network in the cortex. After this
information is dynamically integrated in the frontal cortex, it is sent back to the
regions it came from, and we have the experience of encountering the apple.

In the rear part of the brain, the part in charge of perceptions, two main pathways
can be distinguished: the “where” pathway and the “what” pathway.

The dorsal or “where” pathway in the parietal lobes

The dorsal or “where” pathway starts at the occipital cortex and moves toward the
parietal lobes (see Figure 4), where spatial relationships are processed. It integrates
information from different senses in a number of maps of our body and the space
around us. This is where our body schema and sense of balance come together to
allow us to relate with the world.

The parietal lobes help us position what is above or beneath, what is on the right or
left, what is near or far. They provide us with relationships between the things we
see (e.g., we position a chimney on the top of a house). They also analyze the
trajectory and speed of objects.

In fact, “where,” in this case, could mean where in time, that is, “when” along a time
line. “Where” could also serve to represent personal relationships or how characters
in a story relate to each other.

Figure 4: “What” and “where” pathways

The ventral or “what” pathway in the temporal lobes

As its name suggests, the ventral stream deals mainly with the recognition of objects
and what they mean to us. This pathway projects from the visual regions to the
inferior face of the temporal lobes (Figure 5). Inside this ventral region, specific areas
are specialized for the recognition of certain categories of important and familiar
objects.

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Actually, the ventral part of the temporal lobe mainly performs a dry classification of
objects with a sophisticated system of pattern recognition. It discriminates Ps from
Qs, and Joe from Jane, and classifies and labels them into discrete but not
overlapping conceptual categories.

The left side of the ventral region allows us to recognize at a glance a word, whether
it is written in capital or small letters, handwritten or printed. On the right side, we find
a specific facial recognition center because the human face is considered an object.

Figure 5: Ventral areas of the temporal lobes

It is worth noting that the “what” pathway evokes on its trajectory not only the name
of an object but also memories and facts about it. Once the meaning is extracted, the
message is relayed to the amygdala so as to recall feelings about what or whom we
are seeing.

Face recognition

The face is recognized as a whole, but in order to recognize a face, our brain
measures the relative sizes and distances between its features. It creates a general
template of a human face by averaging together the thousands of faces it has
previously encountered. Then, whenever we encounter a new face, we compare it
with the template and note the differences, for example, the bulbous nose and large
ears of General Charles de Gaulle. In fact, a caricature is simply an exaggeration of
these differences (Figure 6).

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Figure 6

Frontal cortex
Beyond the posterior cortex responsible for perception, we come to the frontal cortex
in charge of thinking, planning, and initiating action but also relaying reason and
emotion.

In humans, the frontal cortex represents a third of the surface of the cortext
compared with a tenth for our near cousin, the chimpanzee. This is the most
uniquely human of the brain regions. Being more connected to all parts of the brain,
this sophisticated area is sensitive and vulnerable to all kinds of disorders.

Figure 7: Prefrontal cortex and working memory

(Adapted from Baars & Gage, 2013, page 26)

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Prefrontal cortex
The prefrontal cortex7 is situated in front of the motor and premotor areas, as can be
seen in Figure 7. It performs the most advanced and complex functions, the so-
called executive functions, which correspond to purposeful behaviors. It can produce
thoughts and abstract representations and lead to concerted action by fixing
objectives, planning, and implementing them. This results, most often, in behaviors
that are prepared in the premotor cortex and executed in the motor cortex.

Figure 8 shows the working memory, which represents a set of mental processes
temporarily accessible for use in striving toward current goals. It is mainly located in
the prefrontal lobes, but its activities engage different parts of the cortex.

Figure 8: Working and long-term memory

(Adapted from Baars & Gage, 2013, page 26)

Metaphorically, the central executive function in the working memory can be

considered the boss or the conductor of the orchestra. It includes supervisory control
over all voluntary actions and is close to what we mean by the “self.” With this
vertical control, we can take some distance and decouple ourselves from the
influence of the context with a sense of free will.

Long-term memories are represented at the bottom of Figure 8. They are stored as
nonconscious archives but can be retrieved by our working memory and then reenter
consciousness.

With the prefrontal cortex (the anterior part of the frontal lobes), we enter into the
area that sets us apart as a species. This is where we find our amazing capacity to
anticipate and predict, the place that deals with abstract and symbolic forms of
information, and where we create representations of concepts and moral judgments.

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From perception to abstract thinking: A simplified

framework

Broadly speaking, the back of the cortex is in charge of most of the work of sensation
and perception. The farther one moves forward, the more the brain is trying to
interpret the signals and doing more and more abstract work.

Figure 9: A basic framework showing the movement from perception to

abstract thinking
(Adapted from Baars & Gage, 2013, page 26)

Sensory and motor maps on both sides of the central sulcus (the central
groove) represent, in miniature, half of our body, one in each hemisphere.
On the left side of the central sulcus are the somatosensory maps as
represented in Figure 3, and on the right side of the central sulcus are
similar motor maps of the body upside down.
From left to right, the frontal lobe first deals with motor and premotor
action, then thinking becomes more and more abstract toward the frontal
pole (the anterior most rounded point of the frontal lobe). Above the
prefrontal cortex we have represented the schematic representation of the
working memory.

The activity of the brain can be represented as shown in Figure 9, which separates
perception from thinking and action planning. Sensory activity (touch, vision, hearing)
is represented on the left of the diagram with the corresponding buffers; then, on the
right, working memory is in charge of abstract thinking and execution. Long-term

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memories are scattered throughout the cortex. This organization will be further
explained in subsequent chapters.8

In practice: The centrality of vision and images

Given the brain territory it governs, vision is central to humans and more important
than all our other senses. The visual system can resolve form recognition problems
in ways that surpass any available software. It is thus essential to recognize its
importance and take advantage of it.

Images are, by far, the easiest things for the human brain to recognize and
remember. Two thirds of all stimuli reaching the brain are visual, and almost 50% of
the brain is devoted to processing visual images.

We are incredibly efficient at remembering pictures. For example, simply by looking

at up to 10,000 distinct pictures (each for 5 seconds), we can learn to recognize
each one over several days.9 The capacity of our visual memory is so large that its
full size has yet to be estimated.

Along with pictures, we also communicate through facial expressions and tone of
voice. People are hardwired to recognize faces, perhaps because the ability to
recognize the mother’s face or to differentiate between friend and foe was crucial for
survival. For example, typically we can identify 90% of our classmates 35 years after
leaving school.

Visual images grab our attention through color and motion, and the cliché that “one
picture is worth a thousand words” is true. However, this is not readily understood or
applied when we communicate. Because the information content of verbal
exchanges is quite limited, we should use less text and more pictures. Moreover,
reading text takes time and is less efficient because the brain sees words as pictures
before it understands them.

When you hear a piece of information, 3 days later you will likely only remember
10% of it. But if you add a picture, then after 3 days you will probably remember
about 60% of it.

The conclusion is that we would do well to integrate all sort of images, drawings,
schemas, illustrations, icons, ideograms, and pictograms in our presentations and
reports.

Left-right horizontal integration

The brain is made up of two cerebral hemispheres, the left brain and the right brain.
They are connected by the corpus callosum, a large bundle of fibers that transmits
information between the two hemispheres.

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Over human evolution, the left brain and right brain have developed separate but
complementary functions. With the growing demand for cortical space and the
development of brain structures to facilitate language on the left side, brain capacity
was able to expand further by reducing redundancy.

In the 1970s, popular culture viewed the left hemisphere as the logical brain, devoid
of emotions and rather boring, and the right hemisphere as the creative brain or the
cool side. This oversimplification was overused and served, in particular, as the
basis for defining personality types or artistic talent.

However, recent research has shown that brain asymmetry is more complex,
although the distinction between the hemispheres remains valid and useful. The right
side, which develops early in life, analyzes the global form of objects. It is the realm
of imagery, holistic thinking, and nonverbal communication. The left brain, which
develops later, is responsible for spoken and written language, logic, making lists
and categories, and focusing on details.

To illustrate this distinction, we contrast the working of the two sides of the brain on
some key dimensions (Figure 10).

Figure 10 : Left and right brain

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The right hemisphere

Global properties of forms and objects
The right hemisphere is about big-picture thinking and holistic reasoning. It allows us
to grasp the context of something, the global perspective, and to make sense of the
whole. It is well adapted for dealing with images that can condense a huge amount
of information. Thought is often amplified through the use of pictures that assemble
all the elements of a situation and show some of their relationships (see comments
on mind mapping further on).

Parallel processing and creativity

The right brain can process information in parallel and simultaneously. It is thus able
to make unlikely connections, which is the essence of creativity. It helps us
appreciate humor and jokes, understand metaphors, 10 and bridge unrelated ideas.

Nonverbal communication
Whereas the left hemisphere handles the literal meaning of words (as we will see
further on), the right deals with the emotional functions of language and nonverbal
communication, that is, the prosody, intonation, and facial expressions.

By extension, the right side is able to assess the congruence of a communication by

noting inconsistencies among body language, facial expression, or tone of voice and
the actual message. These inconsistencies may serve to signal when a person is not
telling the truth.

From the beginning of life, we communicate with one another nonverbally. As

babies, nonverbal signals were our lifeline, the only way we could convey our needs
and wants. We became attached to our caregiver(s) through these nonverbal
patterns. Babies have a larger right hemisphere until the end of their second year
because it is only then that the left hemisphere begins its growth spurt. In fact, the
right hemisphere dominates the brain for the first 3 years of life.

The left hemisphere

Articulation and comprehension of language
For most people, language originates in the left side of the brain. The Broca area,
which is close to the motor cortex, deals with articulation and spoken language; the
Wernicke area, at the crossroads of word recognition and speech comprehension, is
situated in the rear part of the brain (see Figure 11). When we speak, we operate in
sequences, assembling words and strings of words to create sentences. It is
interesting to note that speech processing on the left side of the brain seems to be
rather literal, without prosody or intonation, aspects that are dealt with by the right
side.

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Figure 11: Left brain: Language areas

Logical and sequential reasoning

Most education deals with left hemisphere skills such as reading, mathematics,
geography, all sort of sciences that involve sequential reasoning, and thinking along
linear chains of logic with the use of symbols. The left brain favors linear, logical, and
systematic thinking. We take notes in meetings and organize presentations in a
sequential way: A1, A2; then B1, B2; and so on. We solve mathematical problems
with logical chains of statements.

Details and categories

People using the left side of their brain thrive not just on details but also on details of
details. They analyze and break things down into manageable elements. In so doing,
they categorize information into hierarchies or likes and dislikes. They will, for
example, describe and judge how things are categorically different (e.g., name the
parts of a flower or dissect the image of a rainbow). They label the perceptions
processed by the brain and organize them into lists.

To simplify, we could say that when we see a forest, the left brain focuses on the
trees and leaves and the right brain on the whole forest or the whole picture.

The left-brain interpreter

In the left hemisphere of the brain, there seems to be an interpreter module that
helps us find order in chaos and to fit things into a coherent story. It is driven to infer
cause and effect or some kind of structure, even when no pattern exists. It grasps
the first and easiest explanation it can create using the information that is available.

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The interpreter will catch the gist of a situation, try to explain it at all costs, and reject
what does not fit in. It seems to be the bossy, know-it-all side of the brain, which
often overpowers the right side.

Learning from split-brain patients

Split-brain patients have had the two hemispheres of their brain separated in an
effort to control epilepsy. This operation was proposed in the past for severe cases.
Following the surgery, the two parts were isolated from each other and could no
longer communicate meaningfully.
In his book, Michael Gazzaniga 11 recalls the story of a split-brain patient who was
presented with the picture of a chicken claw in his right visual field and a picture of a
snow scene in his left visual field. So the left hemisphere (connected to the right
visual field) only saw the claw picture, and the right hemisphere (connected to the
left visual field) only saw the snow scene. The patient was then asked to choose a
picture from an array of pictures placed in full view so that both hemispheres could
see them.
The left hand (connected to the right hemisphere) pointed to a shovel, which is
appropriate for the snow scene, and the right hand (connected to the left
hemisphere) pointed to the chicken picture, which is appropriate for the chicken
claw.
“We asked why he chose those items. His left hemisphere speech center replied,
“Oh, that’s simple, the chicken claw goes with the chicken,” easily explaining what it
knew (it had seen the chicken claw). Then, looking down at his left hand pointing to
the shovel, without missing a beat he said, “And you need a shovel to clean out the
chicken shed.”
“Immediately, the left brain observing the left hand’s response without the knowledge
of why it had picked that item, managed to put it in a context that would explain it
(see Figure 12). It interpreted the response in a context consistent with what it knew,
and all it knew was: chicken claw. It knew nothing about the snow scene, but it had
to explain the shovel in this left hand. Well, chickens do make a mess, and you have
to clean it up. And that rationally makes sense.
“The left hemisphere did not say, ‘I don’t know,’ which truly was the correct answer.
It made up a post hoc answer that fit the situation. It confabulated, 12 taking cues from
what it knew and putting them together in an answer that made sense.”

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Figure 12 : Split-brain
The left hemisphere of the split-brain patient confabulates, that is, imagines a
justification for its behavior to preserve the illusion that it still controls the whole body,
although, in fact, it only controls one half. The right brain is puzzled as it has no
access to language (hence the question mark in the bubble).
It seems that in the role of interpreter, the left hemisphere has the job of telling a
coherent story to induce a feeling of certainty and control. It has to convince us that
we are the authors of our actions and that our behavior is rational and can be
anticipated.

Verbal overshadowing13

Describing a previously seen face impairs the recognition of that face. This effect,
called verbal overshadowing by Jonathan Shooler, seems to be explained by the fact
that the left hemisphere thinks in words and the right hemisphere in pictures.

If you simply picture the face of the waitress who served you recently, you could
easily recognize her on another occasion. Her face will just pop up in your mind,
straight from your right brain.

But if you are asked to write down, in detail, what she looks like---describing her
face, the color of her eyes or what she was wearing---you would have more difficulty
in recognizing her in a group. As you describe the face in words, you displace and
reconstruct your visual memory, introducing in the process foreign elements.

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We are much better at visual recognition than at verbal description.

In practice: Using both parts of our brain

The conclusion we can draw from all of this is that we need to use the two sides of
our brain---we need a whole-brain approach. This is well illustrated by the mind
mapping approach developed by Tony Buzan.14

Mind mapping
A mind map is a diagram used to outline information visually. A mind map is often
created around a single word or text, which is placed in the center of the map, with
associated ideas, words, and concepts arrayed around it. Major categories radiate
from the central node, and lesser categories are subbranches of larger branches.
Categories can represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items related to the central
key word or idea (see Figure 13).
Mind mapping encourages people to generate new thinking, to come up with lots of
ideas, because it uses a nonlinear rather than a sequential framework. Connections
can start and go in any direction. The use of a global map with images and color
inspires imagination and creativity. This creative part should then be completed by
adding a more analytic phase to sort out the important ideas and put them in order.
We may oversimplify this approach by saying that creativity and right-brain
associations should be completed by evaluation and left-brain judgment.

Figure 13 : Mind mapping

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In this chapter we have considered the amazing development of the brain along
three dimensions: vertical integration reflecting the story of our evolution and linking
the brain stem to the limbic area and the neocortex; horizontal back-to-front
integration, which evolves from concrete and contextual experience to abstraction;
and finally, left-right integration, which gives rise to two complementary perspectives
and shows the amazing role of our left-brain interpreter.

It is important to keep in mind that the brain is an amazing prediction machine that
constructs our reality. We give great importance to communication that involves
language and words, but we communicate much better with signs, images, and
representations. So, one important challenge is to take advantage of the central role
of vision and the power of images---that is, use less text and more pictures.

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Chapter 2 - We are our synapses

In this chapter we continue our exploration of the brain by going down to the
microscopic level of the synapse, the basic unit of the neural system. The objective
is to understand how an electric signal gives rise to a chemical transmission of
neuromediators at the level of the junction between neurons. Neuromediators and
hormones play a crucial role in modulating our interior states, drives, and emotions.
We have listed seven of them at the end of the chapter for further reference as it is
not easy to keep in mind their specific roles. We also show how memory becomes
hardwired between neurons by the multiplication of dendrites and synapses. Finally,
we address the paradox of brain plasticity and the challenge of managing change.

Neurons and synapses

The brain is a massive organization of complex and densely packed cortical
networks containing up to almost 100 billion neurons, 600 million of them projecting
from one hemisphere to the other in the corpus callosum. It is interesting to note that
we have in our intestines a more modest network of about 100 million neurons to run
the chemical refinery of our gut brain with a high degree of autonomy.

A neuron can produce a voltage like that of a battery and generate invariant electric
pulses called action potentials. It is the variation in the frequency of these action
potentials that carries information within neural networks.

In the brain, neurons are embedded in a supporting structure made up of glial cells
that provide them with energy and oxygen. Each neuron is composed of three
elements: the cell body (nucleus and mitochondria, genome and governing genes),
the axon, and the dendrites that extend out from the cell body and are terminated
with synapses. Each neuron has a large number of dendrites and up to 10,000
terminal synapses.

Each neuron functions as a unit of integration that receives electric inputs from
thousands of other neurons via a cluster of dendrites and sends its output by way of
the axon, which can measure up to one meter for some cells. The electric signal
(action potential) travels along the axon until it reaches a point of contact with
another neuron through tiny terminal junctions called synapses. Then the
communication between neurons takes a chemical form, with chemical exchanges at
the junction (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1: The neuron

Communication at the level of the synapse

Each synapse has a double function. It is both the point of communication between
neural cells and the site of memory storage and learning. Let us first consider the
communication function.

The neuron transmitter is separated from the neuron receptor by a thin space or gap
called the synaptic cleft. There is no physical contact between neurons; the
continuity between them is realized by the exchange of chemical neuromediators.

The arrival of the electric signal releases small quantities of neuromediators (e.g.,
dopamine) that are enclosed in vesicles that open up on the membrane of the
neuron transmitter. Then the neuromediators travel across the synaptic cleft and
attach themselves to receptors on the other side of the gap.

The fixation of neuromediators on these receptors gives rise to another action

potential in the neuron receptor (excitation) or blocks the electric signal (inhibition).
This electric event is combined with other signals received by the neuron receptor at
the level of its dendrites and cellular body, and the result is transmitted along the
axon until the next destination.

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These emissions of neuromediators occur a few times per second, and then the
neuromediator (e.g., dopamine) is recaptured to avoid a prolonged action and the
ensuing loss of this mediator.

Neuromediators
Neuromediators are either neurotransmitters that excite or inhibit the transmission of
signals, neuromodulators that enhance or diminish the overall effectiveness of the
connection, or hormones that work at greater distance in the bloodstream. Some of
them can have all three functions (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: The synapse

Neurotransmitters
For example, the neurotransmitter glutamate functions as an activator, and the
neurotransmitter GABA acts as an inhibitor when neurons transmit orders from one
point to another. Both act quite fast throughout the brain at the corresponding
synapses.

Neuromodulators and hormones

More specifically, neuromodulators regulate the transmission of signals at synapses
that are already active. Their widespread action makes them useful in broadcasting
the fact that something significant has happened, although it does not identify
exactly what was happening. “In this, the modulatory system functions rather like an
alarm going off in a small-town fire station. Whilst the alarm alerts the firemen to the
fact that there is a fire, it doesn’t tell them where exactly it is.” 15

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As neuromodulators or hormones modify the functioning of synapses in the nano-

space of the junction, they modify our perception of reality and modulate our interior
states. For example, dopamine and acetylcholine drive attention, serotonin
conditions our mood, and noradrenaline influences our vigilance and alertness. This
range of neuromodulators forms an amazing tool that enables us to evaluate our
environment and adjust to it according to its potential interest.

Modulating systems
As a result, neuromediators play a major role in the regulation of the brain. We have
listed the most important with their properties at the end of this chapter. They are
part of modulating systems that are able to predict and regulate our behavior.

These systems function like the volume dial on a radio rather than a command on-off
switch.They are made up of a relatively small number of neural cells (in the order of
a few hundred thousands) that have their nuclei situated in the brain stem.

These neural cells project their axons to many areas of the cortex and the limbic
regions in order to regulate bottom-up arousal, motivation, mood, or learning by
manufacturing and spraying a number of neuromediators into these regions. Each
modulating system deals with a different aspect of our emotional life and works in
tandem with others.

We have represented two modulating systems in Figure 3. The most familiar is the
dopaminergic system, which is involved in anticipation and prediction of rewards or
in the recording of salient events.

The cell body of the concerned neurons are located in two adjacent areas of the
brain stem: the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the substantia nigra. The neurons
of the VTA send their axons to the prefrontal cortex and the limbic brain, whereas
neurons from subtantia nigra project their axons to the basal ganglia (as described in
Chapter 4). All these cells produce dopamine and sprinkle the concerned areas while
eliciting motivation and specific behavior.

The other system, the serotonergic system, is involved in a variety of emotional

states, including arousal and mood. The neurons are clustered in the brain stem and
extend their axons to several regions of the cortex and the amygdala. Low
concentrations of serotonin seem to be associated with depression or aggression,
and extremely low levels correlate with suicide attempts.

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Figure 3: Neuromodulator pathways

Memory at the level of the synapse

Two types of memory appear at the level of the synapse: short-term memory of a
few hours and long-term memory that can last years.

Short-term memory involves transient changes in the connections between neurons.

Although there is no anatomical change, existing synapses are strengthened for a
while to form a nonlasting memory.

On the other hand, long-term memory involves enduring changes that result from the
physical growth of new dendrites with synaptic connections. And when information is
repeated, neural signals use the same paths, making them grow thicker with larger
bushes of dendrites and corresponding synapses.

Synapses are modified and reinforced by neural activity. The more synaptic
connections are used, the stronger they become and the more information is able to
flow down the activated paths.16

Thus, learning and memorizing results from a physical change: the growing of new
dendrites like roots from a tree.

Memory and new circuits

So, long-term memory and learning result from a physical change that takes the form
of a multiplication of synaptic connections in neural networks. These circuits become
hardwired in the brain throughout education.

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The process starts very early, even before we are born. Sensory information and
motor movements shape the brain by establishing new circuits day after day. Axons
set off in search of other neurons to establish new lines of communication that are
reinforced with use. With learning and repetition, the circuits become more strongly
embedded in the brain. This explains the major impact of events experienced in
one’s early years on the rest of one’s life.

Furthermore, the structure of the neural cells themselves is modified. Most axons are
coated with a fatty substance, the myelin, which acts as insulation. As this myelin
sheath becomes thicker, electrical stimuli travel faster, and the networks become
more efficient and self-sustaining. They develop into a sort of highway system made
up of long axon fibers that link distant regions. The more a skill is practiced and the
highways are used, the thicker the network and the better and faster we are at
performing that skill.

Therefore, education is about brain building, and we can expect that a student will
leave the classroom with a different brain from the one she walked in with---if she
learned something.

More generally, we can say that our brain is constantly rewiring itself after
memorable new experiences. Every fact we know, every idea we understand, and
every one of our actions take the form of a network of neurons and synapses.
Learning and memorizing is thus simply the process of shaping our brain circuits,
that is, hardwiring our neuronal networks.

As our habits, thoughts, skills, and/or beliefs become firmly embedded, they define
how we see the world, how we decide, and who we are. This explains the
importance of education in the first years of life. As we grow older, it becomes more
and more difficult to undo or change the established hardwiring.

The paradox of neuroplasticity 17

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Figure 4 The snowy hill metaphor

Neuroplasticity refers to the way the brain is modified in response to a stimulus. This
is well illustrated by the snowy hill metaphor (Figure 4).

The first time we go skiing downhill on fresh snow, we can follow almost any path.
The second time we go down that same slope, we will likely follow a path close to
the one we took before, though not exactly the same. If we continue skiing the whole
day, we will develop deeper and deeper tracks in the snow and eventually may
become stuck in that rut.

According to this metaphor, it is easy to start on a new path, a new way of doing
things, but soon it becomes increasingly difficult to leave this path and change. We
have a good deal of flexibility when we do something for the first time, but we lose
that flexibility when we repeat the action. As a consequence, the brain only really
goes forward and not backward. We do not easily eliminate the wirings we do not
want, but we can create new ones. There are no mistakes in life, only learning!

In fact, brain plasticity does not always work out for the best. According to Norman
Doidge,18 “If you do something that’s good for you, the circuitry will fire faster,
stronger, and more clearly. Over time, it’ll take up more cortical real estate and
become your default circuitry. But it’s also true that if you do something that’s bad for
you, the same thing happens.” Good habits can become solidified, but, if we develop
bad ones, they will be hard to correct.

This explains why unlearning is often much harder than learning and why education
should start early.

In practice: Being solution focused

If we stay focused on trying to remove a bad habit, we will not get rid of it. To the
contrary, we will provide our original wiring with more links and reinforcement and
further embed the habit into our brain maps.

In a more general way, when we focus our attention on a problem, we take the risk
of remaining fixed on its difficulties or impossibilities while reinforcing the neuronal
networks that deal with it.

Attention is better directed toward possible solutions, solutions that can be imagined
beyond the problem by creating new representations and new ways of looking at the
situation. Reframing the problem and opening new perspectives is at the core of the
practice of coaching. The aim is help managers focus on future solutions and
opportunities while trying to go beyond blockages.

Edward Taub and learned nonuse

The basic principle of neuroplasticity is that brain tissue, in some respects, works like
muscle tissue in that it becomes stronger with use and weaker with nonuse.

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The corollary is that if you do not stimulate a certain part of the brain, that cortical
area is taken over by other functions. Actually, nonstimulation or nonuse is a way to
delete the circuits we do not want to keep. In other words, we have a use-it-or-lose-it
function in the brain.

Edward Taub,19 who discovered the principle of learned nonuse, explained it this
way: “If, for example, a stroke leaves me unable to use my left hand, I will stop trying
to use it during the typically six weeks of brain swelling that follows a stroke. During
this time, the feedback mechanism of the brain will be telling me, ‘The left hand
doesn’t work. Stop trying to use it. Use your right hand more.’ But if I focus too soon
on doing things with my right hand, the left hand will have no opportunity to
recover.”20

Taub discovered that in such circumstances, preventing people from using their right
hand and forcing them to do even tiny motions with the left hand resulted in their
being able to use their left hand much better.

Brain scans of patients who had been through Taub’s therapy showed that other
brain areas had taken over for the one that was damaged during the stroke. This
confirms the use-it-or-lose-it principle. The competitive nature of the brain's plasticity
means our brain will find a way to rewire itself to occupy some cortical real estate
that is less vital or not used.

This principle can be generalized. The more frequently we use a word, the more
easily we will find it again. But if we do not use that word for a while, it will fade away.

In Practice: Application to organizational change

When it comes to organizational change, managers in charge would be well advised
to use the same principle to induce new practices. The objective is to quit some
habitual ways of behaving and replace them with new ones.

Telling people to change or trying to convince them to change may only work in the
short term. Good intentions and resolutions may not suffice. As the saying goes, the
road to hell is paved with good intentions, and we know what happens to New Year’s
resolutions.

According to Taub’s principle, a better way is to modify the rules and constraints in
which the change actors are placed. Change will occur out of the necessity of
adapting to the new context.

For example, by making fewer resources available, scarcity will force people to be
more resourceful because the “business as usual” path is no longer available.
Another way to induce new attitudes is to change the reward structure and, for
example, base career advancement on performance rather than seniority.

If the objective is to develop a more democratic culture and a better listening

downward to subordinates, then managers should be evaluated by the people who
report to them and by customers and not only in terms of their financial results. They
need to balance all three objectives---customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction,
and business results---and adjust their performance accordingly.

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Similarly, to make an organization less vertical and top-down, an obvious solution is

to make the management structure flatter by increasing the span of control and
reducing the number of hierarchical levels. Of course, this will need to be done step
by step with proper safety nets.

Again, what is important is the regular exercise of new behaviors to consolidate

them. It is an intensive process that requires effort and application. We will further
explore the change process in Chapter 14.

Practice and education

When experiencing great change in their personal life or at work, people need time
to rewire their brain networks and let go of the mental frames that are holding them
back. And this is not what they feel like doing, because this effort takes energy and
attention.

Change will only endure with regular practice. Repetition through practice uses the
same neural paths over and over again resulting in reinforced neural efficiency.
Repetition is the glue that makes practice perfect.

We should, by now, have a better understanding of the electrical and chemical

functioning of the synapses. The electric signal that arrives at the junction gives rise
to the chemical transmission of neuromediators before being transformed into
another electric signal. This will continue the journey until the next junction. The
neuromediators play a crucial role in modulating our interior states, drives, and
emotions. For further reference, we have listed the most interesting ones at the end
of this chapter.
It is essential to keep in mind that memory is inscribed at the level of the synapse.
Long-term memory and learning are hardwired in the brain through the creation of
bushes of dendrites, the multiplication of synapses, and the consolidation of neural
circuits. The paradox of brain plasticity explains that it is easier to learn than unlearn.
The brain is malleable but not that flexible.This is a real challenge when we have to
deal with change

Supplement: Seven important neuromediators

Dopamine: The energizer
Dopamine is the neuromediator that provides a surge of energy and pleasure to urge
us onward toward a hoped for objective. However, it is actually associated more with

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the search for and anticipation of a reward (e.g., the search for food or a sexual
partner) than it is with the experience of the pleasure itself (eating or having sex).

When the result is different from from what we expect, dopamine focuses our
attention on the plus of surprise or the failure to reach the expectation. The lack, 21 in
particular---that is, the difference between what were hoping for and what we get---
makes us move and defines the intensity of our desire. Thus, dopamine plays an
important role in the expression of our motivations.

All addictive behaviors, from gambling to the use of drugs (whether cocaine, heroin,
alcohol, or tobacco) trick the brain by increasing the release of dopamine, which
reinforces the reward circuit.

Cocaine and amphetamines

Within minutes of absorption, cocaine and amphetamines dramatically increase the
concentration of dopamine at the level of the synapse. This occurs either by
increasing the level of dopamine with amphetamines or by blocking the recapture of
dopamine at the junction with cocaine (Figure 5). Neurons become stuck in the
active state, like a light that cannot be turned off. Receptors are stimulated more,
and we feel more pleasure. By hijacking our dopamine system, addictive substances
give us pleasure without our having to work for it.

Figure 5: Blocked recapture of dopamine

As a consequence, both drugs increase our creative production by enhancing our
power of attention. The world is suddenly saturated with intensely interesting ideas
that are kept active in our working memory. However, as the brain becomes

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habituated to the dopamine kick, we need to increase the intensity of the stimulus to
obtain the same level of arousal and pleasure---hence the addiction.

Endorphins
The neuromedicators endorphins and opioids resemble morphine and other
derivatives from the opium family in their ability to block painful stimuli and create a
sense of well-being.

Endorphins will help a wounded animal to continue running without feeling pain.
Similarly, analgesia experienced as a result of fear, physical effort, or fight gives rise
to euphoria because natual opioids and endorphins remain in the bloodsteam for a
few minutes.

The same molecules offer satisfaction and pleasure, whatever the stimulation (e.g.,
food, sport, sex, or art). However, this pleasure is more neutral than desire and
craving. Without dopamine, we might enjoy a reward but do nothing to obtain it as
we are not motivated, that is, we are not in movement.

But, once we are in a hedonic state of happiness, our brain usually clings to this
sense of pleasure and that drives addiction.

Serotonin: The mood regulator

Serotonin plays a key role in sleep and mood regulation. It increases synaptic
transmission to stimulate our motricity or cognitive functions, particularly when we
learn something new.

People who generate less serotonin are slower and more peaceful than average,
and they remain stressed for longer periods. The smallest disagreement will hurt and
affect them. They prefer routine activities, a peaceful life, and reliable connections.

At the other extreme, people who generate a good deal of serotonin seek intense
situations in order to obtain the feeling of being alive. Under the influence of the
drug, they have a feeling of invulnerability and a desire to take risks. However, they
may burn themselves out quite fast.

A number of drugs used to control depression work by modifying a person’s

serotonin levels. Normally, serotonin does not stay long in the synaptic space. After
having its effect, it is recaptured at the synapse with a system of small pumps so it
can be used again. Selective inhibitors of serotonin, such as Prozac, slow the action
of these pumps, which has the effect of keeping the serotonin active in the synapse
longer. Thus, stress is felt less strongly and mood improves.

However, if you are not depressed, why not eat chocolate or bananas instead of
Prozac? The brain produces serotonin from tryptophane present in these foods.

Drugs such as LSD that regulate certain classes of serotonin receptors lead to
euphoria and hallucinations that often have a spiritual component.

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Noradrenaline: The overamplifier

Noradrenaline (also called norepinephrine) is a neuromediator that controls the
performance of the neuron. It is released as soon as an important or surprising event
requires more attention and vigilance and, in particular, when we are attracted by
something new. When we learn and are on the lookout for what could surprise us, it
provokes the effet of “Whaoo! It’s cool!”

High levels of noradrenaline function as a security system that can alert the brain in
case of serious danger. The resulting massive increase of noradrenaline and
dopamine in the prefrontal cortex can block the executive system. This leads to
attention problems and a loss of the memory of the traumatic event.

Acetylcholine: The learner

Acetylcholine is secreted throughout the cortex by neural projections from the
nucleus basalis in the brainstem. This chemical enables neurons that are
simultaneously activated to strengthen their connections.

When we focus our attention on something important, and when some neural
networks are simultaneously activated, the nucleus basalis is stimulated to secrete
acetylcholine. This neuromediator then reinforces the connections of the activated
networks and consolidates memory and learning. It is like telling the brain, “This is
important, you have to remember it.” So, each time a child is rewarded for good
results, her brain will secrete dopamine and acetylcholine to help her tune in to the
learning and consolidate it.

Cortisol: The gladiator

When we are threatened, cortisol prepares us for the angry response and the
willingness to fight for life and limb.

Our body is hardwired to protect us against threats, but in so doing, it treats all the
hassles we face every day (e.g., shouldering a heavy workload, meeting a budget,
taking care of social difficulties, etc.) as threats. The hypothalamus, a tiny region at
the base of our brain, sets off an alarm system and prompts our adrenal glands,
located atop our kidneys, to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and
cortisol.

Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, enhances our brain's use of glucose and
increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. Cortisol also curbs
functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation.

So, stress hormones are a normal body response, but constant stress can lead to
long-term health problems, such poor sleep, weight gain, and increased anxiety.

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Oxytocin: The pacifier

This hormone settles and calms even the fiercest of beasts and reinforces bonding,
specifically, maternal bonding. It increases empathic ability and builds trust and
openness, romantic love, and attachment. It promotes feelings of relaxation and
safety.

So, for example, a hug from your partner after a hard day's work will release oxytocin
into your bloodstream, thereby increasing your feelings of tenderness and
attachment.

Oxytocin surges when people are enjoying close social bonds. It is nature’s way of
weaving people together. It promotes in-group favoritism but can generate hostility
toward those who are not part of the in-group.

As Jonathan Haidt explained, “William James 22 ‘melting moods’ are similar to the
feelings of elevation. People feel whole and at peace. The old self is washed in an
instant. People feel reborn. They surrender their will to a higher power and are
granted direct experience of deeper truth.” 23

Testosterone: The dominator

Testosterone activates dominant and aggressive circuits in the brain and leads to the
compulsion to outrank others. It is the hormone that arouse sexual feelings in
females and males.

According to Louann Brizendine, “Hormonally driven changes in perception prime

girls’ brains for emotional connections and relationships, while boys’ hormones
(testosterone, in particular) prime them for aggressive and territorial behaviors. But
they will need to learn how to control these innate impulses as the brain is primed by
hormones for getting them into trouble.” 24

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Chapter 3 - Conscious but unaware of our

vast unconscious
In this chapter we contrast the limitations of our conscious mind with the vastness of
our unconscious. We focus on awareness, which is the narrow gate of attention, and
on working memory, which has a surprisingly limited capacity. These processes
have a global access function that allows them to broadcast specific information to
the rest of the brain and to connect to any other region. To illustrate the role of
attention and working memory, we use the metaphor of a theater stage lit by
spotlights.

This leads us to examine two key challenges: selective attention and attentional
blindness and the myth of multitasking.

We then consider how attention and working memory systems are mainly associated
with the prefrontal cortex according to three key regions that organize and support
our conscious mental activity. These regions are further described in a supplement
at the end of the chapter.

A myriad of unconscious modules

As human beings, we are not simply the products of our conscious thinking but
depend on activities that occur below our level of awareness. The brain works at full
capacity, day and night, awake or asleep, but only a small part of this activity is
accessible to consciousness. As a result, we are unaware of why we do most of the
things we do or how we do them. It is amazing to realize just how little we know
about the workings of our own mind.

According to Joseph Ledoux,25 “The conscious brain may get all the attention, but
consciousness is only a small part of what the brain actually does, and it’s a slave to
everything that works beneath it.” So, our conscious awareness is merely the top,
visible part of the iceberg of our consciousness.

Our vast unconscious is not a single entity but is made up of an enormous number of
specialized local networks that simultaneously perform different tasks and operate
largely in parallel, like one great society. Their joint processing capacity is huge, and
they are responsible for virtually all the work.

These networks, known as modules or processors, are made up of millions of

subnetworks that are interconnected and operate effortlessly at a rapid rate. These
modules are specialized to perform certain tasks, and only the results of their
computation are passed on to the other modules. This provides local processing
and, at the same time, quick communication with other structures. It is an efficient
way to reduce the number of interconnections between different regions of the brain.

This distributed organization of modules allows all sorts of simultaneous

nonconscious processing to occur. For example, as we drive our car, we
simultaneously keep in mind the route, judge distances, control the speed, decide
when to push down the clutch and/or shift gears, follow the traffic laws, and speak to

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our spouse or sing, all at the same time. Quite impressive! This involves thousands
of modules, each one doing its own thing.

The need for a central command

Is this system linking a myriad of unconscious modules able to manage itself without
a central command?

Illusion or not, we are convinced that we sit in the driver’s seat, being unified into a
“self” that is in charge of our intentions and actions and that decouples us from the
millions of parallel processors that we have just described. We call this supervisory
system the director, the conductor, or, more modestly, the central executive.

We feel in charge, we have an overwhelming sense of being at the helm, even if we

cannot control when to fall asleep or how to keep ourselves calm when we need to.

It is useful at this point to refer to a concrete analogy. We can compare the mind to a
trainer riding an elephant. The rider can only direct things when the elephant does
not have desires of its own. The trainer is more an adviser than the real boss. As
Jonathan Haidt26 wrote, “The rider placed on the elephant’s back helps the elephant
make better choices. The rider can see farther into the future and learn valuable
information by talking to other riders or by reading maps, but the rider cannot order
the elephant around against its will.”

In fact, it would be difficult for us to function effectively if we always had to

deliberately control our mental processing. On the one hand, with too much
automatic processing, we behave impulsively. With too much control, we become
paralyzed by indecision.

Even when we think and ponder, we have to trust automatic processes beyond some
level of detail. For example, as we speak we must rely on a number of automatic
processes that control our elocution. Our unconscious takes care of many of the
minor mental details in our lives, giving us more time to concentrate on the main
problems of adaptation and eventually to enjoy the day.

Global working space

In the first chapter of this book, we reviewed the perception systems that deconstruct
the stimuli received by our senses before associating and reintegrating different
components into a stable representation. We also mentioned long-term memories
that record our past in order to better anticipate the future. We noted motor systems
in the fontal cortex that prepare us for action. In Chapter 5 we will consider the
evaluation systems that give us the taste of things. And presently, we will look at
attentional processes, a fifth system that help us focus on key selected elements and
allow us to think and reason by decoupling us from underlying automatisms. They
are all represented on Figure 1, where we use the notion of a global work space 27 to
understand the role of consciousness.

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Figure 1: Global Workspace

(Adapted from Dehaene & Changeux, 1998, 2014, page 229)

The best way to represent this global workspace is to use another analogy: the stage
of a theater.28 On this stage converges perception from our senses, information from
our past, and evaluation of what we perceive, which together result in a prediction
and future action.

It is obvious that consciousness will only be able to process a tiny part of this deluge
of information. This is why powerful attentional systems are necessary: to filter and
select the few messages that deserve to appear on the stage of consciousness.

As shown in Figure 2, these messages are represented by actors on a stage. They

are under the spotlights of attention and broadcast information to the audience in the
dark, that is, to the myriad of unconscious processors in the brain.

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Figure 2: The stage of consciousness

To get into the spotlight, a number of signals connect together and synchronize to
form vast coherent networks large enough to provoke a sudden amplification, like a
neuronal “flashover” that will project a conscious representation on stage.

In the absence of sufficient amplification, subliminal representations will not be able

to access consciousness and will fade away. This means that a large number of
preconscious representations stand about, in back-stage memories, in the hope of
being selected before they disappear.

Thus, as Stanislas Dehaene29 wrote taking on the ideas of Bernard Baars, it seems
that “consciousness is nothing but the global broadcast of information to the whole
brain. We can keep in mind for a long time what we are aware of after it has
disappeared from our senses. Once the information has been transfered to the
working space, it remains stable. … We can then use it in many new ways and, in
particular, we can send it to language areas to name it. … We can also keep it in our
long-term memory or integrate it into our action plans.” In so doing, we can create
our own representations, which can be transmitted to any processor to be integrated
into a sequence of mental operations.

In fact, the global workspace allows the brain to overcome the problem of the
specialization of processors that work separately according to programmed
procedures. These processors are thus able to share the same information from a
command center that speaks with a single voice. Of course, the message must
remain succinct and plain to be understood by all the processors.

As explained by Stanislas Dehaene, “Consciousness can be compared to the

spokesperson of a large organization. … The president relies on briefing notes …
and only one representative is allowed to speak. … It seems that the role of
consciousness is to simplify the perception of the environment by proposing a
relevant summary that is transmitted to all other areas concerned with memory,
decision, and action. To be useful, this synthesis must be stable and unified.”

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The spotlight of attention and working memory

Let us return to the process of awareness, which consists of amplifying the
information that deserves to be taken into account and that is represented by a few
actors that operate on stage under the spotlight of attention. The information is then
processed by a specific structure: working memory.
The attention mechanism
As already mentioned, the brain does not have sufficient capacity to process masses
of information. It thus uses a trick, a filtering mechanism we call attention, to select a
tiny part of what it perceives. Only a few significant messages---that is, actors---will
manage to reach awareness on the conscious stage under the spotlight of attention.

So, thousands of potential thoughts, sensations, and images will queue up at the
back of the stage and compete to get under the light, but only a few will be
sufficiently amplified to prevail and reach the front of the stage. Actually, the chance
to be selected depends on how recent the mental representation occurred, how
familiar it is, and/or its emotional value.

As a result, the winners of this competition for awareness will influence our behavior
and our learning.30 A message given out by the actors under the spotlight is
broadcast globally and interpreted individually by the audience (i.e., the myriad of
subconscious knowledge processors). It will then be incorporated into action plans.

Thus, only a few actors are highlighted on a part of the stage (Figure 3). The way the
rest of the stage and the decor is set up and lighted will influence and frame our
perceptions and mood. “The stage background, that is the decor, is created by scene
setters, behind-the-scenes operators that shape the context of conscious events.” 31

In particular, the lighting technicians, who are responsible for operating the lights and
creating the proper ambiance, represent the neuromediators that modulate and
regulate our behavior.

For example, dopamine and acetylcholine will help steer the spolights of attention,
serotonin will create special effects that condition our mood, and noradrenaline will
play on our alertness. The whole line of neuromediators provides us with an array
of mechanisms that help us adapt to our environment.

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Figure 3: The stage of consciousness.

However, focusing attention is costly given the amount of energy required and the
background of competing distractors, interests, and alarms. This leads us to the
fragility and limits of the working memory system in charge of processing available
information.

The working memory system

Working memory is the structure that processes the information represented by the
few actors under the spotlights of attention. It is where we visualize action and
decisions, where we talk to ourselves or imagine all sorts of things, such doing a
math problem or calling our favorite restaurant.

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Figure 4: Working memory

(Adapted from Baars & Gage, 2013, page 26)

As can be seen in Figure 4 here (already presented in Chapter 1), working memory,
which prepares action and underlies our mental work, is made up of two essential
elements: the central executive and working storage, the latter of which consists of
short-term memory that maintains the information online so it is available to the rest
of the brain.

As we will see a bit later, this structure is mainly located in the prefrontal cortex, an
area that receives input from and generates output to the rest of the brain.

The central executive

The central executive system is a sort of administrator that frees us from the
automatic flow of experience and enables us to prioritize our goals and plan our
actions to adapt to our environment. It makes sure that plans are followed and
actions are aligned with them. It is crucial to our every action, from carrying on a
conversation to planning a holiday or driving a car.

Because we are only aware of our conscious thoughts, we tend to assume that they
are the prime movers in our brains. We thus have a subjective sense of autonomy, a
sense of being the initiator of our actions. This feeling is a fundamental element of
our behavior because we need to be reassured that we are in control.

However, this feeling of being able to make a conscious choice is exaggerated

because much of the time we are operating on automatic pilot. Our mental life is run
according to two main systems: the executive system and a system of habits that
will be explained in the next chapter.

For example, we listen to our talk more than we control our speech because we
speak about three words per second, and it is impossible to choose each word
consciously. So, we tend to use ready-made phrases and clichés. Most of our

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actions are similarly based on a wide repertoire of habits and automatic actions, with
no awaress of them on our part.

Working storage
Working memory allows us to hold and update multiple pieces of information in
working storage. For example, we are able to keep two numbers in mind long
enough to work out which is larger or a phone number long enough to dial it. While
reading a sentence, we must hold in mind the beginning of it until we get to the end
in order to understand the complete train of thought.

Involved in all aspects of thinking and problem solving, our working memory holds in
working storage what we are currently thinking about or paying attention to. It allows
us to deal with current situations, such as where we parked our car, how to direct
ourselves using a map, how to play with abstractions, and how to recall memories or
inhibit negative feelings. The contents of our working storage are constantly updated
many times per second, and unless the information is considered memorable
enough to be transferred to our long-term memory, it rapidly vanishes.

Juggling and mental work

Working memory also provides us with access to ongoing rules, beliefs, or
assumptions while we are performing a task. If we are asked to count every
occurrence of the letter “f” on this page, doing so will take some effort, but we will
improve with practice. However, if we then are asked to count the commas on the
same page, that will be harder because we will have to erase and overcome the
memory of the previous task.

Thinking involves juggling mental items---comparing, contrasting, judging, and/or

predicting them. And, like a juggler playing with several balls in the air, it is not
possible to slow down the process because the information in our mind has only a
short life. Similarly, any act of writing requires us to maintain a coherent train of
thought while juggling several words and ideas according to specific rules.

This reflective system proceeds in steps, doing one thing at a time. It is slow,
deliberate, and consumes a good deal of energy, especially if there is time pressure.
And when it must work on multiple unrelated tasks, it can easily overload and
become confused or freeze. It has a processing capacity millions of times weaker
than the multiple unconscious systems. However, it is able to focus attention and
take a long-term perspective, thereby escaping the tyranny of the context.

By contrast, the unconscious operates effortlessly and at fast speed. It is able to

process massive amounts of data while making creative leaps. But it has its
shortcomings. It is primitive, impulsive, emotional, and needs supervision.

Distractions: The battle for attention

We have seen that access to consciousness results from a highly competitive
process, a physical battle played out in our brains. Different sensory signals
physically compete for attention, with the strongest winning out. But success is not
stable, and attention can easily derail. For example, we may have trouble focusing

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on an abstract problem if, at the same time, the amygdala sends a danger signal or if
an attractive person catches our attention.

The executive system can set from the top down a number of objectives together
with the necessary information, but super signals coming from the environment may
also capture our attention from the bottom up if they are surprising, important, or
stimulate the reward circuit (e.g., food or sex). You may, for example, be in a deep
conversation with a group of people at a party, but if someone behind you mentions
your name, you will, most probably, pick up this signal and turn your attention toward
where the voice is coming from.

Caricatures, decoys, and lures make super signals and create super perception.
They are more than true. They simplify, exaggerate, and amplify the signal.
Typically, they deal with food, sex, or territory and capture our attention because we
expect them, we crave them, and we are eager for them.

The paradox of limited working capacity

As can be inferred from the stage metaphor, we have a limited capacity to process
conscious information. As a result, our rationality is quite limited if it is not assisted
by a number of methods and supports. This is in line with the concept of bounded
rationality introduced by the economist Herbert Simon in the 1960s. 32

As a result, when we analyze a situation and develop arguments toward making a

decision, we can only consider a limited number of options. And it seems that this
number does not exceed on average of seven elements at a time. This famous
upper limit33 might explain why seven is often considered a magic number.

For example, it could explain why telephone numbers are generally limited to seven
digits and why there are seven primary colors, seven days in a week, seven notes of
music, seven dwarfs, seven wonders, seven capital sins, seven seas, seven arts,
and so on. In fact, this number drops rapidly to three or four when we are unable to
rehearse the items or hold them on paper or with other memory supports. Just try to
remember the name of the seven dwarfs without forgetting one.

So, we usually deal with three or four chunks of information at any one time. And
fewer is even better. It is like juggling with three or four balls in the air while keeping
track of their motion. Working memory must then constantly and rapidly bring new
chunks of information online while letting go of the old ones, making rapid transitions
from one task to another. In fact, working memory does not contain the information; it
relays it to other parts of the brain to do so.

In practice: The 7/3 rule

If you want your message to be effective and memorable, you have to limit it. To
better inform, you must communicate less. If a message exceeds three or four
elements, listeners will have difficulty remembering it.

All too often, we enumerate ten or more arguments and make long lists that are
easily presented in a report or on a screen. But that is a mistake because listeners

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will only remember a few. Limit your presentation to three or four points or chunks by
regrouping information (it is as easy to remember three words as three letters). This
is the principle of effective messaging.

Try to apply the rule of 7/3: Consider up to seven elements but only present
three.

Chunking and building on previous knowledge

Here is a list of 15 letters. Read and remember them. You will have to recall them in
one hour's time:
USAYMCAIBMKGB
You will probably find this task difficult and fail to remember some of the letters. But if
you regroup them like this---USA YMCA IBM KGB---then you will have no difficulty.

In a brain of 100 billion neurons, this conscious processing capacity is fantastically

small (a cheap calculator can do much better). It is vastly inferior to the processing
power of the rest of the brain. It is like comparing a 10-cent calculator to a million-
dollar computer.

Moreover, the executive system has its limits: Basically, it can only do one thing at a
time. This is why we forget a phone number if we are distracted while dialing. We put
the phone number into our working memory, but as soon as a new task enters that
memory, the phone number is bumped out.

So, one can only be surprised by the contrast between our conscious processing
limits and the massive capacity of our subconscious systems. The answer to this
paradox is the global access function in our brain (Figure 5).

We are able to access any part of our brain, any source of knowledge or routine,
once we decide to focus the spotlight of our attention on that specific demand. This
is analogous to a computer’s global search command. We can ask for any document
by keyword, but the number of windows we can open on the screen is as limited as
the number of actors we can have on the stage of our consciousness. Still, this
capacity to instantly access a tiny fraction of all the available knowledge is quite
fascinating.

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Figure 5: A global search command

Learning occurs as soon as we put something under the spotlight of attention. The
learning engine is not located in the working memory, but it is one of the modules in
the “audience” that actually does the job. After conscious access, this learning
remains implicit and not actively conscious. “We merely place an actor in the
spotlight, and the audience will silently remember the speech.” 34

In practice: Selective attention and attentional blindness

With a narrow spotlight of attention, we are often blind to the unexpected and mostly
take notice when our predictions do not materialize. In fact, we experience far less of
our visual world than we think we do, and we are completely unaware of those
aspects of the world that fall outside our current focus of attention.

Attention is essentially a zero-sum game. If we pay more attention to one place,

object, or event, we then necessarily pay less attention to others. This is the cost of
our exceptional ability to focus our minds.

Magicians fool us
The brain is only capable of holding one representation of a visual object at a time,
the one to which we are paying attention. This is the main technique used by
magicians, who depend on our selective attention to fool us.

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The invisible gorilla experience35

In this experiment, volunteers were asked to watch a video of two teams playing
basketball and to silently count the number of passes made by the players wearing
white and ignore any passes made by the team playing in black. The pass-counting
task was intended to keep participants engaged in doing something that demanded
that they concentrate on the action taking place on the screen.

In fact, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons were actually testing something else.
Halfway through the video, a female student wearing a full-body gorilla suit walked
onto the scene, stopped in the middle of the players, faced the camera, thumped her
chest, and then walked off. In total, she spent about nine seconds on screen.

Amazingly, roughly half of the volunteers failed to notice the gorilla.

As surprising as it may seem, each time the experiment is repeated, almost half of
the participants do not notice the gorilla.

This error of perception results from a lack of attention to an unexpected object.

Looking is not the same as seeing.

Another example is the incidence of runway incursions, that is, occasions when
planes try to land on the wrong runway. This has been a common cause of airplane
accidents and occurs because pilots are focusing their attention on the task of
landing.

In practice: Window of attention and framing

Because the focus of attention is quite narrow, a situation will only be considered
from a specific point of view according to the orientation of the spotlight of attention.
We see it through one frame or window at a time, and this framing is necessarily
partial, limited, and simplified so as to be easily transmitted to the concerned
processors in the brain.

This point of view draws attention to certain aspects while leaving others in the
shadows because no single window can reveal the entire panorama. Frames
themselves are often hard to see because they are so familiar and natural that we
lose awareness of their existence. They are thus hard to change. We have to step
back from a window to be able to see it and eventually look from another
perspective.

For example, some people will see a bottle half full and others will see it as half
empty. Some will think that making an error is a fault, and others will view it as a way
to learn. Training may be considered as an expense or as an investment.

Similarly, different ways of presenting the same information often evoke different
emotions, and this emotional framing can influence preferences. Knowing that you
have a 90% chance of survival after an operation is far more reassuring than

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learning that the mortality rate is 10%. When buying food, “90% fat-free” is more
attractive than “10% fat content.”

The myth of multitasking

In our modern world, multitasking has become the rule at work and at home. Most
professionals see it as unavoidable and believe they are good at it. They are even
proud of this ability. But, in fact, effective multitasking is a myth. Our working memory
cannot multitask well given its limited capacity to pay attention. It can only manage
one task at a time.

The only time we are able to pay attention to two events at the same time is either
when they are part of the same process (e.g., juggling different elements of the same
task) or when one activity has become almost automatic, such as typing text on a
computer. We type automatically according to ingrained routines, without using
neural networks that deal with attention.

When we try to multitask, we have to switch between tasks, to wipe off the old stuff
to make room for a new idea or action. Task switching slows us down and
deteriorates the quality of our brain work. We feel busy but we are much less
productive.

When interrupted while performing a task, it takes 50% more time to complete it, and
we make 50% more errors.36 Another danger is that, as the brain tries to keep the
two task sets in its memory, they can be mixed up and create confusion. Moreover,
this is stressing and consumes more resources.

Alternate tasking
Get ready to count as quickly as you can from one to ten. Ready? Go!
That probably took you about 2 seconds.

Now get ready to recite the alphabet from A to J quickly. Ready? Go!
That also took you around 2 seconds.

If you put these two tasks together, one after the other, it would take you 4 seconds.
But, if you now interweave the two tasks as fast as you can---that is A, 1, B, 2, and
so on---how long would that take? Ready? Go!

That probably took you 15 to 20 seconds, and you problably made some mistakes.
This demonstrates that constant shifting activities in working memory comes at a
cost, not only in time but also in accuracy and attention.

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In Practice: Distractions and interruptions

In a world of information overload, we have immediate access to masses of data at
the click of a mouse. To digest all of this, we must learn what to keep, what to filter,
and what to block from the start so as to focus only on what is most important.

Information technologies are not the main factor to blame here. The real issue is that
we are not able to control them. Some people cannot turn off their mobile phone for
more than a minute, craving the vibration even in a meeting. As Théo Compernolle
explained, we have made our information and communication technology a weapon
of mass distraction37 in the hands of “homo interruptus,” who is easiily distracted by
all kinds of activities and/or signals.

Being always connected and overloaded certainly exhausts our brain power and
ruins meetings. “It causes a chronic unrelenting background stress which
undermines abstract, logical, creative or empathic thinking.” 38 What organizations
need most is to help people learn how to free themselves from this addiction. To be
able to think at the right level, we must ruthlessly reduce task interruptions and
maintain some moments of isolation to protect the brain from distractions.

Jean-Philippe Lachaux recommands beginning with clear intentions while separating

what is important and pertinent from the rest. Then, the assigned mission can be
broken down into shorter segments to avoid interruptions. “Once each activity is
fragmented into simple and concrete ‘mini-missions,’ it is easy to move from one to
the other without any interruption within the mini-mission.” 39

Multitasking while driving

Driving a car while simultaneously answering the phone draws heavily on our mind’s
limited attentional resources. In the absence of clues such as facial expressions or
body gestures, our brain must work harder to determine the true meaning and intent
of the caller’s words. Such a distraction of attentional resources significantly reduces
the driver’s response time and ability to make quick decisions. This becomes as
serious as driving while drunk. Worse, texting a message requires considerable
visual attention and finger-hand coordination, which is dangerous if not insane. 40

The central role of the prefrontal cortex

The working memory operates mainly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which
integrates information from all other parts of the brain. As described earlier, we are
able with the PFC to transcend automatic behaviors and manage the most advanced
and complex functions, particularly cognitive flexibility and emotional learning and
regulation.

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Broadly speaking, the frontal cortex is composed of three main regions that are
interconnected in various ways: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the orbitofrontal
cortex, and the anterior cingulate cortex.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is the reasoner, the center of logical
thinking and cold cognition. It is the conductor, the integrator that allows us to
reason, decide, and keep our attention focused on a goal.

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is the emotional regulator-evaluator, which

resists emotional takeover by evaluating the social and emotional consequences of
our actions. It integrates the ventromedial cortex, the accountant or evaluator,
which plays an important role in measuring the value of what we perceive.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is the controller, which lights up when we are
diverted from our predicted path.

These three regions are represented in Figure 6, and we describe them in more
detail in the following supplement. (For the sake of simplicity, the medial prefrontal
cortex and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex are considered in the next section as
part of the the orbitofrontal cortex.)

Figure 6 : Prefrontal cortex

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In this chapter we have contrasted the vastness of our unconscious--the million-

dollar computer---with the limited size of our conscious processes.

The stage of awareness is a powerful metaphor that illustrates a striking paradox:

the limited processing capacity of our working memory but its amazing ability to
address any part of the brain. From then on, we were able to consider two key
challenges: attentional blindness and the myth of multitasking.

We then met the three main regions that organize our conscious processing in the
prefrontal cortex: the reasoner (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), the emotional
regulator-evaluator (the orbitofrontal cortex), and the controller (the anterior
cingulate cortex). We describe them in detail in the following supplement.

Supplement: Four strategic regions

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: The reasoning brain or
the reasoner
Located toward the top and lateral sides of the frontal lobes, the dorsolateral part of
the brain is like the hat of the prefrontal cortex (see Figure 7). It is always active
when people are making conscious choices and weighing evidence and is the center
of logical reasoning and cold cognition. It acts like the conductor, the director, the
integrator and decision maker (as long as we feel in charge). It is involved in the
maintenance and manipulation of explicit memory, making recent events readily
accessible so as to allow the person to make decisions. This part is responsible for
holding information consciously in mind (e.g., remembering a phone number);
juggling concepts and numbers; examining options and the context of a problem;
weighing costs, benefits, and probabilities; anticipating and elaborating behavior; and
keeping our goals in mind.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is involved in the process that inhibits choices
driven by immediate rewards to favor choices the effect of which will manifest further
in the future. It is also associated with impulse control and social norm compliance
(e.g., stopping us from making embarrassing confessions or stealing from a store).

In fact, the dorsolateral is the last brain area to fully develop in humans, which can
explain the difficulty teenagers sometimes have in controlling their behavior.

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Figure 7: The DLPFC, the reasoner

The orbitofrontal cortex: The emotional regulator-evaluator

The orbitofrontal cortex is situated in the lower third of the prefrontal cortex, at the
bottom of the frontal lobe and just above the orbit of the eyes (hence its name). This
region includes the ventromedial and medial cortex, the parts of the cortex that are
facing each other between the two hemispheres (hence the designation of “medial”).
For the sake of simplicity, we include both of them in the orbitofrontal cortex (see
Figure 8).

The orbitofrontal cortex is profoundly integrative and connects, in particular, emotion

and reason. Some researchers consider this region part of the limbic area as an
expansion of the emotional brain. Not surprisingly, the orbitofrontal cortex has dense
neural connections with the structures below the cortex involved in generating
emotional or pleasurable states, such as the amygdala and the reward centers.

In fact, there are ten times more connections linking the amygdala to the OFC than
there are connections from the OFC to the amygdala to regulate it. Let us recall that
the amygdala is the hot spot, the emotional button of the limbic brain that is in charge
of emotional surveillance of our environment. In other words, the amygdala connects
to the OFC through motorways, whereas the OFC regulates the amygdala by taking
country roads---a serious imbalance indeed.

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Figure 8: The OFC, the emotional regulator

This implies that the orbitofrontal cortex essentially works as an emotional regulator
whenever the brain is wrestling with emotional issues. It resists emotional capture
and puts the brakes on the amygdala to avoid reason becoming “the slave of
passion.”41

Moreover, the orbitofrontal cortex gives us some cognitive flexibility by telling us

how to behave and appraise situations, thus enabling us to pause before we act.
This explains why, when we are angry, we are able to control our response.
Similarly, if we feel thirsty in the middle of a conference, we do not stand up and take
a drink in front of everybody present; rather, we wait politely until the end of the
session. To sum it up, this intelligent regulator is involved in emotional, social, and
moral supervision that guides our decisions.

The ventromedial part of the orbitofrontal cortex is often referred to as the

accountant or the evaluator because it measures the value and attractiveness of
objects or situations. It helps us integrate costs and benefits, rewards and
punishments into our decision-making process. Whether we are drawn to a meal or
an attractive person, or repelled by rotten food or discordant music, it guides us by
providing an emotional evaluation that makes us choose to approach or avoid the
situation. (This will be further developed in Chapter 5.)

To sum it up, the orbitofrontal cortex acts like a restaurant guide tracking and
recording the value of each alternative while taking a long-term perspective. If this
neural connection is severed, we lose access to the wealth of opinions that we
normally rely on to make decisions.

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In case of damage of this region

People who sustain damage to their orbitofrontal cortex may remain highly intelligent
and functional but will lack good judgment. They have lost access to the wealth of
opinions they would normally consult before acting and so cannot adjust their
behavior in order to avoid risks or control their impulses. They favor actions leading
to short-term rewards and lose all interest in their own future. They can articulate the
consequences of wrong behavior but fail to act accordingly.

The anterior cingulate cortex: The controller

The anterior cingulate cortex is made up of two long brain structures that hug the
corpus callosum and face each other in the medial part of the frontal lobes (see
Figure 9). It connects with the amygdala, the insula, 42 and the reward centers of the
brain. In that sense, it represents another pathway that connects the reasoning and
the emotional brain.

In fact, the orbitofrontal cortex mainly deals with emotions, whereas the anterior
cingulate cortext is tightly connected to divergence and corrective action. The ACC
exists so as to make things right. It controls the execution of tasks, measuring the
divergence between the prediction of an action and its outcome. More generally, it is
implicated in resolving ambiguities and conflicts, in monitoring and correcting error,
and in planning and carrying out motivated actions. This is why it is also called the
conflict detector.

Figure 9: ACC, the controller

The anterior cingulate is also an important part of the brain’s attentional system,
scanning the external and internal environment. As soon as a divergence is
detected, an emotional signal is sent to focus attention on it. As a consequence, the
emotional signal makes us angry with ourselves and we swear. This is why this

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circuit is sometimes referred to as the “Oh, shit!” circuit. We made an important

prediction, and we are disgruntled with the outcome.

This region is also highly responsive to signs of social exclusion. When we are
rejected from a group, we feel a deep pain quite similar to a physical pain. (This will
be dealt with in Chapter 12.)

In practice: On the importance of remaining coherent

In the case of conflicting priorities or contraditions between message and action, we
expect that our anterior cingulate will fire up and that others will have the same
sensitivity to lack of coherence. (We will come back to this point in Chapter 9 when
we deal with cognitive dissonance.) For example, if as a manager you do not seem
to believe what you tell your subordinates, or if your messages do not match your
actions, you can expect your subordinates to react strongly. They will easily
perceive the divergence, and you may be left with the task of calming down their
anterior cingulate.

The Insula: The body sensor

We have added this region, which is physically hidden beneath the overlying folds of
the parietal and temporal cortex that form the Sylvian fissure, because it is strongly
connected to the anterior cingulate (see Figure 10).

The insular cortex, also called the insula, is responsible for the representation and
control of visceral functions. It informs the brain about the state of the body in case of
problem or pain. By integrating a body reference to our emotional experiences, the
insula is able to to express gut feelings such as disgust or social emotions such as
contempt or guilt. This is why we call it the body sensor.

When we must make important decisions, it is sometimes useful to listen to our

visceral signals, which are often linked to intuition.

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Figure 10: The body sensor

According to Bud Craig,43 the insula and the anterior cingulate are both crucial for
emotional cognition and necessary for attending to feelings that arise in our body. “In
every brain imaging study ever done of every human emotion, the right frontal insula
and anterior cingulate cortex light up together.”

These two areas seem important as well for self-monitoring and noticing bodily
sensations of pain and hunger or recognizing that one has made a mistake or has
been rejected from a group.

People who meditate are in close contact with the gut feeling of what happens inside
their body, and a number of studies have shown that the longer they practice, the
thicker their insula becomes.

What is the relevance of Freud’s model of the psyche in terms of

modern brain science?
In his book The Age of Insight, Eric Kandel44 considered this question and quoted
Marc Solms, who explored Freud’s 1933 structural model based on the id, the ego,
and the superego in terms of brain science.

The best way to understand Freud’s model is to refer to a metaphor used by

Jonathan Haidt45, who compared the mind to “a horse and a buggy in which the
driver (the ego) struggles frantically to control a hungry, lustful and disobedient
horse (the Id) while the driver’s father (the Superego) sits in the back seat, lecturing
the driver on what he is doing wrong. The main idea is to strengthen the Ego (the
self) to give it more control over the id (the instinctual drives) and more
independence from the Superego (moral and cultural norms).”

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Thus, according to Solms, the dorsolateral cortex, or reasoner, and the entire
posterior cortex, which deals with perception by senses, could correspond, in a very
broad way, to the ego. The id would be represented by the limbic brain and the
superego by the orbitofrontal cortex, which regulates emotions and selectively
inhibits the amygdala.

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Chapter 4 - Our habits make us

“First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”
Charles C. Noble

It is important to be aware of the enormous importance of the automatic procedures

and habits that govern our behaviors. So, in this chapter, you will become
acquainted with the basal ganglia, a cluster of small structures in the center of the
brain that plays a key role in mastering our routines and defining our personality.

Using the metaphor of a rider and an elephant, we will show the importance of
repeated practice to educate “the elephant” and reinforce our willpower. And when
we have to deal with change in an organization, the challenge is to be able to
question implicit rules and norms and help people become prepared for new ways of
interacting.

Mastering new routines: Implicit learning

By working intimately with our senses, the brain provides us with a continuous
representation of the world. This allows us to survey our environment while
simultaneously walking, avoiding obstacles, or holding a conversation with others.
We thus remain able to adapt our behavior to unforeseen situations with voluntary
action conducted by the executive system of the brain.

However, the limited capacity of the working memory implies that beyond a certain
level of detail, the executive system will rely on automatic procedures. As we talk,
walk, or recall memories, we are unaware of the myriad unconscious processes that
support these activities.

As William James, the famous American psychologist, wrote at the end of the 19th
century,46“Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred and ninety-nine
thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual from our rising in the
morning to our lying down each night. Our dressing and undressing, our eating and
drinking, our greetings and partings, our hat raising and giving way for ladies to
precede, nay, even most of the forms of our common speech are things of a type so
fixed by repetition as almost to be classed as reflex actions. . . . So far as we are
thus mere bundles of habit, we are stereotyped creatures, imitators and copiers of
our past selves. … It follows first of all that the teacher's prime concern should be to
ingrain into the pupil that assortment of habits that shall be most useful to him
throughout life. Education is for behavior, and habits are the stuff of which behavior
consists.”

The brain is built to turn conscious knowledge into implicit knowledge with repetition.
The first time we drive a car our gestures are awkward, and it takes our conscious
attention to learn the right moves. We then improve our driving skills through trial and
error, and we master the task through constant repetition. However, once the skills
have been acquired, we can drive for miles on autopilot, chatting to a passenger,

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listening to music, or chasing other thoughts, all without consciously attending to the
road ahead. We avoid bumping into other cars and stop at red lights, but these
movements are carried out automatically because they have been learned and
overlearned. In effect, these routines have become habits that take over the driving.
Nevertheless, when faced with an unforeseen situation, we immediately return to
conscious control of our driving.

So, when something is repeated a number of times---be it a way of thinking, reacting,

or feeling---the brain tends to reproduce and automate it. These automated
procedures considerably lighten the task of the executive function, which then does
not have to take care of routines and details.

Driving, reading, writing, or calculating are actions that were repeated thousands of
times until they became implicit and automatic, leaving our conscious mind free to
work on new things. We all have established a huge repertoire of habits and
stereotyped processes that we call on every day, such as moving our legs, finding
our words, or driving our car.

As Joseph Ledoux explained, 47 “By allowing evolution to do the thinking for you at
first, you basically buy the time that you need to think about the situation and do the
most reasonable thing.”

Much the same applies to musicians and athletes who are able to focus consciously
on the nuances of their performance while avoiding some perils of execution based
on the sum of stereotyped behaviors acquired over long years of practice.

In the reflexive mode, it takes energy and attention to think and decide. So we only
use our working memory system and the resources of our front brain at some
specific moments, and much less than we think according to the principle of least
effort. And even when we do adapt to a new situation, we still have to use a number
of automated routines that are wired into specific parts of the brain (e.g., the parietal
lobe and the basal ganglia).

The basal ganglia: The curator

The basal ganglia comprises a cluster of small structures the size of two symmetrical
golf balls of about 30 grams situated in the deep center of the brain at the base of
the two hemispheres (see Figure 1). Part of the reptilian brain, these structures
appeared in evolution a long time before the cerebral cortex and can function well
without conscious thought, thus requiring much less energy to operate.

Any motor, intellectual, or emotional function managed by the cerebral cortex

immediately affects the basal ganglia through a permanent back-and-forth
movement of information.

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Figure 1: The basal ganglia

As soon as we repeat an activity, the basal ganglia starts to take over, selecting and
fine-tuning patterns of behavior that are learned and overlearned, thus freeing our
limited resources for activities such as decision making and self-control. As far as we
know, memories of automatic behaviors are stored in different neural circuits of the
basal ganglia, forming a huge library holding a myriad of behaviors and associations.

In the human brain, the basal ganglia operates in tight connection with the cortex. It
receives information from the whole sensory cortex about the internal and external
environment and project a program of appropriate behavioral patterns onto the
premotor and motor cortex, which then execute these behaviors. It also maintains a
close link with the cerebellum (a mini-brain situated behind the brain stem), which
further improves the accuracy of moves within very short times. This structure allows
us to reach with precision a moving target or to regain our equilibrium when we
stumble.

A disciplined curator
It should be noted that the structures of the basal ganglia are disciplined performers
that work with method. By selecting and filtering information coming from the cortex,
they ensure harmonious and adapted movements in response to the changing
environment. Once a neural pattern has been acquired, this learning is added to the
huge repertoire of behaviors responsible for our automatic know-how.

Dopamine plays a major role in the recording and stabilization of motor moves
between the cortex and the striatum, the entry area of the basal ganglia. If a
behavior leads to the expected result, there is a reward and the release of dopamine,
which stabilizes the connections between the cortex and the striatum. This
reinforcement makes the motor movement faster and more effective.

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What would life be like if we constantly had to think about every action we wanted to
make? Luckily, our basal ganglia oversees many of those boring and unrewarding
tasks, such as learning, memorizing, crafting, and executing each movement.

Global movement and chunking

The process by which the brain converts a sequence of actions into an automatic
routine is known as chunking, which refers to the grouping of the different elements
of the sequence. This is at the root of how habits form, and we rely on hundreds of
these behavioral chunks in our everyday lives. So, for example, if while driving a car
we get too close to the vehicle in front of us, our basal ganglia kicks in and identifies
the stored sequence of activities that relate to putting on the brakes.

Whether we play a sport or a musical instrument, different components of the

movements needed to carry out that activity are integrated into more global
sequences. This enables us to combine, at will, a rich vocabulary of chunks in order
to produce more complex sequences. Similarly, language acquisition results from an
assembly of programs made up of words and sequences of words.

Once the movement has been learned, it will be considered as a whole. So any
attempt to pay attention to just one specific component will make us lose the fluidity
and harmony of the movement. For example, if we try to analyze the way we run, we
may well stumble.

Actions follow each other in sequences according to past learning. What do you do
with a bicycle? You climb on the saddle and pedal. Habits concern not only our
motor activities but also our cognitive and thinking habits. Each element leads to the
next according to a rigid schema that any interruption will hamper.

Emotional information
The ventral striatum is in the emotional region of the basal ganglia. It functions as a
relay, a transfer hub that controls our emotions and transmits affective information to
the rest of the brain. Any emotion, whatever its nature, will involve the ventral
striatum. (This aspect will be further discussed in Chapter 5.) This small region can
be selectively activated for an expected reward without our awareness. Thus,
unconscious motivation exists next to a conscious one.

Habits, norms, rituals

We all have, at one time, resolved to change something in our life (e.g., lose weight,
stop a bad habit, etc.), only to find that a few months later we are back to our usual
ways.

As noted by Jonathan Haidt,48 who refers to the metaphor of the rider on an

elephant, “The rider can’t just decide to change and then order the elephant to go
along with the program. Lasting change can come only by retraining the elephant,

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and that’s hard to do. Pop psychology programs succeed not because of the initial
moment of insight but because they find ways to alter people’s behavior over the
following months. They keep people involved with the program long enough to
retrain the elephant.”

Formation and changes of behavior are the result of years of attentive practice.
Without thinking about it, most people treat strangers courteously and avoid
needless confrontations. But, in fact, such polite or moral behaviors are part of skill
sets acquired with repeated practice and guided by beliefs hardwired into our brain
networks.

As memories of learned habits become embedded, they become difficult to get rid of,
as mentioned in Chapter 2. If we want to change them, the best solution is to rewire
a new set of connections, repeating the new behaviors regularly in order to practice
the change until it becomes hardwired and implicit.

Our lack of understanding of this process probably explains why, for example, many
of us fail so miserably when it comes to diet and exercise. We think we are in control,
but, in fact, we are not, as the current increase in obesity, hypertension, and drug
abuse shows. Our fragile decision-making and control systems are easily derailed by
the machinery of appetites and desires, and the last recourse, the veto option or the
just-say-no option, is unlikely to be effective. Successful naysaying requires lengthy
conscious preparation. Thousands of rules, routines, and ritualized skills will help us
discipline our self-control.

The process of repeated practice in mastering a skill is, in effect, a conscious action
program gone underground. We force ourselves to go to the gym or start our
homework at specific times, and once that groove is well established, we go even
deeper into it with practice. That is why signing children up for piano lessons or
sports is so important if they are to learn the required skills.

One way to help obese people go on a diet is to ask them to become aware of the
problem (the attentional process again) by writing down everything they eat, at least
one day a week. Slowly, they start keeping a daily food log. Eventually, they find
patterns they did not know existed---snacks at different moments of the day or
impulse food buying---and they can then begin making different choices (e.g., to
keep an apple handy for midmorning breaks or to start planning future menus).
Finally, this becomes a pattern of healthy habits.

Politicians and religious leaders have always relied on similar methods when asking
their followers to observe disciplined rituals. Such rituals often involve heightened
emotions, even pain, as a way of etching the desired mechanism into the followers’
brains.

We can raise alcohol-related risks to consciousness by reinforcing the danger of

drinking through lecturing and examples, but if the unconscious attitudes toward
alcohol have been reinforced by years of positive association between drinking and
pleasure, the person may overindulge when meeting up with friends. One solution is
the repetition of good habits and strategies that help them control their attention and
thus their lives. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous uses the practical slogan “Fake
it until you make it.”

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How to keep harmony between partners

John Gottman49 reports that effective partners in intimate relationships are able,
whenever they feel provoked, to avoid the tendency to respond to negativity with
more negativity (negativity as expressed by criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and
stonewalling). To be able to avoid that kind of negativity, they must first observe their
behaviors with some distance before they are able to rewire their automatic and
impulsive reactions. Sometimes this has to be done with the help of a therapist.

Frontal syndrome
People affected by frontal dementia are unaware of their problems. They become
inert and indifferent to the success of their objectives, and they lose the capacity to
reason and plan action. However, the routines embedded in their brains are
preserved and even exaggerated.

As the basal ganglia becomes free from frontal cortex control, adaptive behaviors will
disappear, and automatic, overlearned behaviors will take over. Individuals
experiencing this will then depend on their immediate environment for cues about
how to act. As long as the right cues are given, they will automatically follow the
script dictated by their basal ganglia. In addition, they will often be unable to control
their urges or drives, which can lead to such behaviors as bulimia or exhibitionism.

Stereotypical reactions under stress

When the executive system does not function properly---for example, when we are
under intense stress, experiencing strong emotion, or feeling overburdened---we
may have less access to our conscious mind, and our adapted behaviors and
rational thinking may be taken over by our habits and rituals. This can lead to
exaggerated and stereotypical reactions. For example, a meticulous person will
become unbearably scrupulous, and an active person will become restless and
compulsive. Or when preoccupied and worried while driving someplace that is not
familiar, we may unthinkingly follow more habitual routes and become lost.

Interestingly, some simple, repetitive tasks (e.g., writing emails) offer quick results
that can be quite rewarding, which may explain why we are driven to do them.
However, they can also drain a good deal of energy, so it may be better to shift such
activities to the end of the day when our brain is tired and less active. We should
keep our fresh morning brain for interacting with people or dealing with creative
projects and complex decisions.

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In practice: Lessons about change in organizations

An organization’s culture is based on multiple routines, standardized procedures,
and rules for decision making, which represent the analogue of habits that sustain
accumulated learning.

But as routines and standards multiply and become ingrained in an organization’s

culture, change becomes increasingly problematic. The business model becomes
fully integrated from the shop floor to the board of directors, and its success does not
bring new learning but only reinforcement. As the saying goes, “Nothing fails like
success.”

So, the directors of any change process will have to deliberately question the status
quo and the routines, a challenge that is all the more difficult to the extent that the
directors remain blind to the deeply rooted and implicit cultural norms.

The hopeful part of this challenge is the incredible power of the brain to change as a
result of learning and practice. The cautionary part is that it often takes a good deal
of time and intensive practice to create those changes.

We can refer back to the paradox of neuroplasticity and the analogy of the skier on
the snowy hill that we described in Chapter 2. Learning is a biological process that
takes time. It takes 21 days to hatch a chick from an egg, and if you try to accelerate
the process by heating the eggs with a torch, you will end up with boiled eggs.

So, when managers initiate change, they must convince their subordinates to accept
that they need to create new circuits in their brains. This process takes effort and
engagement, and it will not happen without risk because we often meet with failure
when we try something new.

The natural tendency of those on the receiving end of a request to change is to

refuse to make the effort or to eventually return to their familiar, well-learned, old
routines as soon as they meet some difficulty. It is thus essential to put in place a
systematic change process. This will be further discussed in Chapter 14.

Putting in place a process to manage safety

Let us consider an example 50 of a change process that is put in place in an
organization to increase safety and reduce accidents.
Whenever someone is injured, an automatic routine is launched: The unit manager
must report the case to the boss within 24 hours and present a plan for making sure
the injury will never occur again. And top management will make clear that unit
managers must embrace this system if they want to be promoted.
This is a simple way to illustrate what we mean by putting in place a change process.
Although this approach may seem radical, it works well, but it cannot be generalized
and applied to too many objectives or top managers would be rapidly overwhelmed.

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Education in willpower in service organizations

Interacting with people on the front lines of a service organization (e.g., Starbucks)
can be an intense experience because employees must regulate their behavior and
control their emotions. One way to facilitate this is to make such regulation automatic
through habits that relieve employees from having to think about how to behave with
each customer.51

Self-control is not just a skill; it is like a muscle that grows stronger with practice (as
long as it does not become overexercised).

When faced with unexpected, stressful, or uncertain situations, employees may lose
their self-control and composure. An impatient crowd might overwhelm a barista, and
suddenly she may be on the edge of tears. Employees need clear instructions and
routines to follow when they face such stressful moments.

So, Starbucks developed new training materials that spelled out routines for
employees to use when facing difficult situations. The manuals taught workers how
to respond to circumstances such as a screaming customer or a long line at a cash
register. Managers drilled employees and role-played with them until the employees’
responses became automatic.

Starbucks’s LATTE method

When a customer is unhappy my plan is to:
listen to the customer
acknowledge their complaint
take action by solving the problem
thank them and
explain why the problem occurred.

Actually, these preprogrammed routines only provide the main directions to follow
because employees on the front lines must retain genuine decision-making authority
and a sense of control so they can adapt to each type of customer (e.g., a hurried
customer, one who needs more coddling, etc.).

Habit formation in the military

Military training has been one of the greatest habit-formation experiments in
history.52 The central focus in the armed forces is on understanding and practicing
habits and instant reactions in order to prepare recruits for a high operational tempo
and the rapid exploitation of opportunities.

Endlessly rehearsed routines prepare soldiers to shoot, react if caught in an ambush,

and/or communicate under fire. On the battlefield, every command will draw on these
standardized behaviors, which have been practiced to the point of being automatic.

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In this chapter, we have seen the extent to which our behaviors rely on automatic
procedures and habits hardwired in the basal ganglia, our disciplined curator. This
explains that our personality contains some implicit aspects that are difficult to mask.

Introducing change into an organization presents the challenge of modifying its

culture, which is based on multiple implicit routines, rules, and procedures that are
the analogue of habits. And again, people become prepared for new ways of
interacting through practice.

Supplement: Return to the basal ganglia

The basal ganglia, the curator
As described previously, the basal ganglia comprises two groups of small structures,
symmetrically situated at the bottom ot the two hemispheres of the brain.

Figure 2 : The Basal ganglia

These structures receive information from the motor areas but also from the
associative and emotional regions. The input structure of the basal ganglia is the
striatum, which consists of the caudate nucleus (a large C-shaped region) and the
putamen (an adjacent region). Hence, the striatum manages three sorts of input
information: motor, intellectual (processed by the associative parts of the cortex),
and emotional. The output structures are the pallidum and a series of nuclei,

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including the subthalamic nuclei and the subtantia nigra situated behind the striatum
and in the brain stem (see Figure 2).

What is important is that the association between the cortex and the basal ganglia
occurs at three levels: motor, intellectual, and emotional. The three loops linking the
two structures can be seen in Figure 3. As Yves Agid explained, in the management
of all automatic behaviors, the basal ganglia is responsible for our know-how in the
three domains, that is, how to move, how to think, and how to feel. 53

Information from all parts of the cortex converges en masse on the basal ganglia,
which then suppresses, maintains, or facilitates some automated activities in order to
adjust to the new situation. The corrected information is then sent back to the cortex
after passing through the thalamus. 54 In fact, the basal ganglia acts as a relay in
derivation, bypassing the cortex.

Figure 3: The basal ganglia as a relay in derivation 55

The motor, intellectual, and emotional associations between the cortex and the
basal ganglia are represented by three loops showing, in particular, the entry of
information into the striatum (the input structure of the basal ganglia). Nuclei in
the ventral tegmental area (VTA) project their connections to the frontal cortex
and release dopamine. Similarly, some nuclei in an adjacent region, the
substantia nigra, spray dopamine into the basal ganglia and, more precisely, into
the striatum (dotted arrow). The latter is literally immersed in a bath of dopamine.

Loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra is one of the main causes of
Parkinson’s disease.

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In summary, the basal ganglia implicitly manages all the grunt work, leaving us free
to think about how to enjoy our day or what to do next. This is why we call it the
curator, the grey bureaucrat responsible for managing our know-how. It not only
manages the tedious work but also controls survival reactions. For example, should
we see a snake crossing our path while walking in the forest, we would immediately
jump back.

The arousal and activation machinery

We have already noted, in Chapter 2, that the brain stem contains a number of
nuclei thought to be responsible for the arousal of the frontal lobes and the activation
of diverse limbic structures through a number of modulating systems. And we have
considered, in particular, the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems.

These systems manufacture and spray a number of neuromodulators into the cortex
and limbic areas, thereby initiating movement, motivation, and/or learning. They act
like backstage operators manipulating the stagelights that illuminate the scene and
the décor and so influence our perceptions and our moods. As already mentioned,
we can imagine the dopamine spotlight preparing action and the serotonin spolight
influencing our mood.

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Chapter 5 – A very emotional brain

To guide our behavior and choice, evaluation systems in our brain measure
whatever is important around us. These systems are at the origin of emotions that
signal our intentions and prepare action. We will thus discover new regions of the
brain that are essential to introduce the important mechanisms of fear and reward.
We then consider the traditional dichotomy that places the rational in opposition to
the emotional and show the essential role the emotional brain plays in reasoning. As
emotions clearly overpower cognition, a key challenge is to learn how to manage
and regulate them.

A useful brain value system

The main business of the brain is prediction, that is, the creation of anticipatory
patterns to help us move around and prepare for the future. But for prediction to
function and guide our choices, we need to appraise our internal states and our
environment with some kind of value system. Every creature, even a one-celled
organism without a brain, must possess such a value system in order to orient itself.

Value signals tell us what is agreeable or unpleasant and help us to compare the
available options so that we can eventually decide to invest energy in one specific
task in preference to another.

In the limbic brain and some prefrontal areas, a number of circuits are organized into
a sort of cockpit or a brain value system that can measure the value of each
encounter as well as diverse kinds of objects and color them with a specific emotion.

As Jonathan Haidt explained, “Animals make decisions effortlessly and automatically

by having what is sometimes called a ‘like-o-meter’ running in their heads all the
time. There is no need for a weighing of pros and cons, or for a reasoning system.
Just flashes of pleasure or displeasure. We humans have a like-o-meter too and it’s
always running. We have a like-dislike reaction to everything we are experiencing,
even if we are not aware of the experience.” [reference or note for this?]

Haidt also reminded us of the metaphor of the rider on the elephant to illustrate our
binary judgments. “The most important words in the elephant’s language are ‘like or
dislike,’ ‘approach or withdraw,’ ‘go or stop,’ ‘eat or don’t eat.’ Fortunately, humans
go beyond this primitive level and are able, at a higher level of representation, to
make more refined evaluations. With our map-making abilities, we have the means
to introduce shades of gray and sophisticaed variations into our evaluations.”

With this amazing tool, we measure the subjective value of what we have in front of
us according to its potential interest. Quick and emotional evaluations and reactions
favor the most useful behaviors for maintaining our organism in a comfort zone (e.g.,
eating when we are hungry).

In fact, these emotional reactions guide us to identify the level of threat or

satisfaction and prepare us to act or react. The words emotion and motivation have
the same latin root, movere, which means “to move.” Emotions are thus a powerful

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source of motivation that orients our behavior to maximize our interests or the
interests of others who matter to us.

Let us start with the mechanisms that evolution has put in place to protect us from
danger and focus, in particular, on the central role of the amygdala. We will then
consider the reward circuit.

Amygdala
If we were to push our thumb far into our brain just above our ears, we would find an
area called the amygdala. We actually have two amygdalae, left and right, located
deep within the temporal lobes. For the sake of simplicity, we will use amygdala in
the singular.

As an alert system and relevance detector, the amygdala performs emotional

surveillance of our world, gauging the emotional significance of everything we see
and deciding whether it is worth paying attention to and becoming emotional about,
even before we are aware of it. With its connections to our senses and all other
regions of the brain, the amygdala orchestrates all our emotional experiences,
whether positive or negative.

Is it food, water, or danger?

Is it just mundane?
Is it friend or foe?

The amygdala (almond in Greek) is the hot spot, the fear button. Acting as a kind of
smoke alarm or panic button, it is responsible for identifying danger. We might call it
the “amygdalarm.” It can pick up fear signals unconsciously, without the conscious
brain knowing anything about them. Thus, when we are in a climate of fear and
distrust all day, even if we are not aware of it, our amygdala is still on overdrive and
our brain picks up a certain level of anxiety.

In case of threat, the amygdala reacts according to two different neural paths: a fast
one and a slow one. The fast track fosters an immediate reaction to avoid the
danger, and then the slow track leads to awareness and deliberate action.

Fear reaction: Fast track and slow track

The amygdala can receive information directly from the senses and make us spring
into action through a fast-track circuit before the prefrontal cortex has even fully
interpreted the signal. This fast track is a direct pathway ensuring a preconscious,
rapid, and coarse emotional appraisal of the situation. It is separate from the main
pathway, the slow track that induces conscious feelings and generates a more
refined reaction.56

Imagine you are walking along a path in the woods and you see a snake ahead of
you. Before your front brain has fully realized what is happening, you have jumped
aside. Luckily, your emotional system has taken control of your reactions before you
are conscious of what is happening. The brain has taken an automatic,

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nonconscious shortcut through the amygdala, which is directly connected to the

brain stem, and the fight-or-flight response is activated.

Then, and only then, will you become aware of the situation. Sensory inputs from the
visual and auditory systems are sent to the corresponding areas of the cortex that
process the information. The result is relayed to the frontal cortex for higher mental
and integrated evaluation. You may then decide to confront the animal or run away.
Your conscious process is slow, and without the automatic reaction, you could have
been badly bitten by the snake (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Slow track/fast track

As Michael Gazzaniga explained, “You may say that you jumped because you
thought you saw a snake. Your explanation is from post hoc information you have in
your conscious system. But you jumped way before you were conscious of the
snake. You did not make a conscious decision to jump and then consciously execute
it. You were confabulating, giving a fictitious account of a past event, believing it to
be true. It was an automatic non-conscious reaction to the fear response set into
play by the amygdala. … Our human brains are driven to infer causality. They are
driven to explain events that make sense out of the scattered facts. The facts that my
conscious brain had to work with were that I saw a snake and I jumped. I did not
register that I jumped before I was consciously aware of the snake.” 57

In the same way, we recognize faces with the two systems: the fast track or
ultrarapid but approximate system that helps us decide if we are in front of a friend or
a foe, and the slow track, a more complete and integrated system for recognizing the
person.

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The challenge is that emotions emerged from evolution in order to solve important
and recurring problems, such as survival, and they are not necessarily well suited to
the decisions we make in our daily lives now. We often face a multitude of incidents
and problems that make us overreact.

Reward circuit
Avoiding threats is important, but we also need to find new resources and rewards to
conduct our lives and survive. So, let us now consider the reward circuit, which
evaluates our satisfaction level at any given moment.

When this circuit is activated with dopamine, we have a positive feeling if what we
perceive is better than expected and a negative feeling if it is not. Figure 2 shows the
main brain structures that interact in this large network. 58

Figure 2: The reward System

We quickly describe here the various interconnected regions that communicate with
each other. (These will be described more at the end of this chapter.)

In the prefrontal cortex, there is the orbitofrontal cortex (the emotional regulator) that
is mainly mobilized when the situation is new and complex. The ventral striatum (the
rewarder) is a specific region of the basal ganglia that was described in the previous
chapter. The amygdala (the alert system) that was just described and the
hippocampus, which is the center of memory recording (refer to chapter 7), are two
other important coactors in this area of the brain.

The hypothalamus is the final receiving area for the signals filtered by the whole

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system. It is a sort of black box that receives projections from all the other structures.
After receiving sensory stimulus indicating a reward, for example, the hypothalamus
will instruct the ventral tegmental area (the VTA) to release dopamine and broadcast
the signal to a number of areas of the brain via various diverging projections. It is
important to notice that all stimuli---visual, auditory, or other---are filtered by the
same reward system.

Thus, in the prefrontal cortex, dopamine prepares cells to respond mainly to strong
input, thereby focusing attention on current goals and away from distracting stimuli.
When a reward is delayed, dopamine-producing cells increase their activity, pumping
out even more dopamine to energize the brain to strive harder to acquire the reward.

Rewards and punishments activate populations of neurons that are adjacent but
different in the amygdala, the ventral striatum, and the orbito frontal cortex. The
proximity of these two populations introduces a sort of competition between them,
with mechanisms of mutual inhibition. Reward neurons will try to stop the activation
of punishment neurons and vice versa, thus reducing the risk of ambiguity.

What is the point of emotion?

Emotions are quick, spontaneous, involuntary action programs carried out in our
bodies that signal our intentions and prepare important actions and survival
reactions. They communicate important messages through a variety of facial
expressions and body language ranging from postures to internal changes. The
amygdala plays a key role and becomes active as soon as the sensory system
detects emotionally competent stimuli that set in motion specific repertoires of action
and memories.59

Each emotion has evolved in order to take care of a specific problem: the imperative
to avoid danger and pain, the necessity to approach rewards such as food, the
importance of being included in a group and relating to others, and the pleasure of
being anchored in the here and now and enjoying the moment.

We have seen that conscious feeling appears after the triggering of automatic
emotion. The feeling of fear only appeared after we stepped aside in front of what
seemed to be a snake and after perceiving our rapid heartbeat. Feelings are thus
conscious representations of what was happening in our body and mind when we
were experiencing automatic emotions, and they serve both as the witness to and
the barometer of life management.

As such, emotions provide a compass that guides us toward things or people

associated with positive value and away from them when the value is negative. We
seek rewarding stimuli and avoid aversive ones.

As Joseph Ledoux has said, “The brain states and bodily responses are the
fundamental facts of an emotion, and the conscious feelings are the frills that have
added icing to the emotional cake.” 60

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A variety of emotions
Emotions color objects, places, and events with fear or pleasure, admiration or
disgust, and they command body reactions such as smiling or avoidance, approach
or revulsion.

Six primary emotions seem to be hardwired into the brain’s architecture: fear, anger,
happiness-joy, sadness-sorrow, disgust, and surprise. Well described by Paul
Ekman,61 they are communicated with a number of facial expressions or body
language.

With fear the eyes widen and make the white more visible, the eyebrows slant
upward, the forehead skin creases and folds, and the mouth usually opens. The
body is in red alert for self-protection, ready to flee, withdraw, or hide.

The look and demeanor of anger is unmistakable: Eyebrows squeeze together to

form a crease, and the eyelids are tight and straight. Anger and rage prepare us to
fight by accelerating breathing and releasing cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that
divert blood to our muscles and prepare our body to strike out and react in impulsive
ways.

Joy and happiness lighten the face with a wide, real smile signaling feelings of love,
care, and play.

Inversely, sadness displays with slanted eyebrows, a frown, and looking downward.
It is coupled with feelings of loss and helplessness and a drop in metabolism.

Disgust is expressed by violent rejection and a specific grimace. It activates, in

particular, the insula, which processes taste information. There is an association
between a repulsive taste in the mouth and the expression of disgust on the face.

Finally, a look of surprise is easily identified by widened eyes and gaping mouth. The
emotion of surprise or shock is a close relative of fear.

Social emotions are softer and more blended: shame (when we feel we are not living
up to some ideal), guilt (when we feel we have transgressed some behavioral
norms), indignation and contempt (when someone else has transgressed some
behavioral norm), but also sympathy, pride, jealousy, envy, gratitude, admiration,
and so on.

Six universal emotions

Paul Ekman recognized six universal emotions as described by the Facial Action
Coding System. The basic programmed routine of each emotion is stereotypical at
every level of execution, from external motions to visceral and endocrine changes
(see Figure 3)
These emotions are produced across cultures and are recognized because their
facial expressions are quite characteristic.
Emotion expressed from high to low intensity:

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Fear: From terror … to worry

Anger: From rage … to annoyance
Joy-happiness: From joy … to satisfaction
Sadness: From grief … to pensiveness
Disgust: From loathing … to boredom
Surprise: From amazement … to curiosity

Figure 3: The six emotions

The D-Smile: The Duchenne smile62

The D-smile, first described by Guillaume Duchenne, is an authentic, full-blown smile
accompanied by crinkles around the eyes.
The non-D-smile, or the fake or social smile, is more likely to be asymmetrical and
lack activation of the orbicularis oculi muscles around the eyes.

The asymmetrical processing of emotions

The two hemispheres of the brain process emotions differently. The right brain is
more in tune with our emotional and social selves and offers us a more direct sense
of the whole body; hence, it is more involved in negative emotions and stress. The
left hemisphere, by contrast, is more removed from our physical sensations, limbic

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feelings, and attachments. It is more joyful, optimistic, and involved in positive

emotions,

According to Elkohnon Goldberg,63 “People with an optimistic, sunny disposition

consistently exhibit the preponderance of activation in the left prefrontal regions. By
contrast, gloomy, habitually dysphoric and brooding types, given to depression,
consistently exhibit a preponderance of activation in the right prefrontal regions.”

In fact, people with damage in their left prefrontal lobe (their right is fine) may
withdraw from the social world and appear depressed, whereas when the right
prefrontal lobe is damaged (the left is intact), the person may appear rather euphoric.

By keeping our left side active, we can demonstrate resilience. Left-brain activities
(e.g., reading, talking, solving a math problem, etc.) can bring relief from mild anxiety
or depression by inhibiting negative emotional responses from the right side of the
brain.

The emotional brain plays a crucial role in reasoning

Antonio Damasio’s studies of the relationship between emotions and reason show
that the emotional brain plays a crucial role in the machinery of rationality. 64 The
brain generates quick, emotional evaluations that guide reasoning and allow us to
know and behave according to what is good for us.

Damasio has examined people who have suffered impairment in their emotional
brain, more specifically, damage to the orbitofrontal cortex that left their cognitive
abilities intact. They are intelligent and still function well, but their brain value system
is not operating. They lack access to their emotional evaluation of things and events.
Although the building blocks of rationality are still in place, they show a lack of
interest in their emotional and social behaviors and are unable to concentrate on
what really matters.

Elliot
In Descartes’ Error, Damasio described Elliot, a patient who had a tumor removed
from his orbitofrontal cortex. Elliot was intelligent, well informed, and well mannered.
However, after surgery, he showed a number of problems that prevented him from
leading a normal life. He started doing irresponsible things and became easily
distracted. Each decision would take ages because he could not make up his mind
between options. For example, he might spend over 30 minutes trying to decide
what date and time would be optimal for his next appointment. Without an emotional
evaluation of options, he continued to hesitate between alternatives. His rational
mind looked fine because he could solve problems and recall events, but he was
incapable of showing emotions. In fact, he could not live a normal life using only his
rational brain. Guided only by reason, he behaved unreasonably.

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Rational-emotional dichotomy
Western philosophy tends to place in opposition reason and emotion, rational and
irrational, logic and gut feeling, the clarifying light of reason and obscurantism. The
triumphs of the industrial revolution and the world of technology celebrate our
rationality, our capacity to plan the future and to act logically. We are not expected to
express emotions in public, and we are more at ease talking about than feeling them.
Thus, as we improve our ability to reason rationally, we risk cutting ourselves off
from our sensations and emotions.

Fortunately, we are increasingly able to put reason back in its place and to see how
it associates with emotions. In reality, our brain is not designed to produce purely
rational behaviors that are devoid of emotions. As demonstrated by Damasio,
cognitive and emotional processes typically work together and are closely
connected. Decisions are more or less influenced by emotions, which prepare us to
evaluate, filter, and weigh what happens around us.

Our sophisticated emotional system, which has been refined over millions of years,
plays a major role in guiding our behavior. Reason, which evolved more recently and
is represented by the rider on the elephant, depends on the work that is done
underneath it in the emotional areas of the brain.

Motivated reasoning
Drew Westen studied how people decide whom to vote for in presidential elections,
and he observed that their reasoning is motivated. When something matters to us,
we experience a specific emotional evaluation that colors our corresponding rational
thoughts. “The capacity for rational judgment evolved to augment, not replace,
evolutionarily older motivational systems.” 65

His reseach confirmed that the political brain is not a dispassionate, calculating
machine. “Voters think with their guts. … Democratic strategists cling to the
dispassionate view of the mind by focusing on facts, figures, policy statements, costs
and benefits, and appeals to intellect and expertise. … They think of voters as
calculating machines who add up the utility of positions on the issues. But … we
don’t pay attention to arguments unless they engender our interest, enthusiasm,
fear, anger, or contempt. We are not moved by leaders with whom we do not feel an
emotional resonance. … Reasonable actions almost always require the integration of
thought and emotion.”66 Motivated reasoning is a way to support our emotional
investment.

In practice: Being aware of our emotions

More often than not, people make judgments and decisions by consulting their
emotions. What we feel colors what we think.

The emotional tail wags the rational dog, and our emotional attitude toward big
issues drives our beliefs about their benefits and risks. 67 In fact, these feelings result

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from underlying processes we do not have access to, and we often invent reasons
on the fly after our judgment has already be made.

Moreover, when emotions swamp the stage of our working memory, there is less
space available for rational evaluation, which is then quite disturbed and influenced
by these emotions.68 Fear, in particular, can seriously disrupt the thinking brain.

Emotional intelligence
The concept of emotional intelligence, which was introduced by Daniel Goleman, is
based on an understanding of our capacity to analyze and reason about our
emotional reactions. It is based on two abilities: to perceive and understand our inner
emotional states and to effectively manage and regulate them.

Self-awareness is necessary to assess our personal drives, limits, and biases and
to understand our inner beliefs and values. Being aware of how we feel and function
emotionally enables us to validate and prioritize our choices and eventually to
distance us from our emotions. The objective is to become more assertive and self-
confident.

But it is important to remember that self-awareness is difficult to achieve because we

do not have direct access to our unconscious processes. We only know the result of
our internal computations, and the danger is inventing and confabulating reasons
and explanations after the fact.

Self-management is about self-control, managing our emotions, and staying calm

under pressure. It also involves our ability to align our actions with our values and
beliefs. The objective is to become more adaptive and ready for surprises and
change. But, again, we face the same limits resulting from our limited knowledge of
unconscious processes.

Self-control
Self-control is the ability to stop or prevent some urge or reaction. The drives and
impulses that make us avoid danger or that guide us toward desirable outcomes
have a survival objective, but they often need to be controlled and restrained for our
own good. Whether we want to avoid that extra portion of cake or that overreaction
when we do not feel respected, we have to exert an effort to control our impulses.

One brain area that seems to be active in nearly every instance of self-control is the
ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (see Figure 4). It is among the only regions that
becomes active when we resist the tendency to follow our own inclinations and
preferences. “It is larger in the right hemisphere than in the left, and this asymmetry
emerges in late adolescence, when self-control skills significantly improve. For these
reasons, it is appropriate to characterize the ventrolateral as the central hub of the
brain’s braking system.”69

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When the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex is impaired, self-control is also impaired,

leaving individuals less able to be rational and to overcome their impulses or
aversions. In fact, self-control seems to work more by reframing perception in a
productive way than by exercising direct control on unconscious processes.

Figure 4: The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex or brain braking system

Willpower and reason are often required in order to exercise self-control, but they
soon reach a limit, like a muscle that becomes tired and requires time to recover.
Most diets fail because the conscious forces of reason and will are simply not
powerful enough to control powerful drives. For decades, smokers and drug users
have received information about the dangers of addiction, and yet information
programs alone are not sufficient to change behavior.

We saw in Chapter 4 that it takes a long time and much practice to reeducate
nonconscious processes and embed new learned habits into the brain’s neural
circuits. The process involves forging a new pathway in the brain using constraints,
threats, and eventually rewards.

A solution proposed by Daniel Ariely 70 is to inflict a penalty on oneself: “Would you

be willing to commit to a $200 deposit, refundable only if you arrived at the
appointment on time for a painful health test?”

Constraints and threats may work when we have no other choice than to abide by
them. But as soon as the constraint disappears, we revert to the previous behaviors
unless the constraint lasts long enough to hardwire new circuits in the brain.

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Self-control and marshmallows

Around 1970, Walter Mischel at Stanford University launched a series of famous
experiments in which he presented kids with a conflict between short-term
gratification and delayed reward.

“He sat a series of 4 year old kids in a room and put a marshmallow on the table. He
told them they could eat the marshmallow right away, but he mentioned that he was
going away for a short period, and if they waited until he returned he would give
them two marshmallows.

In the videos of the experiment, we can see the children squirming, kicking, hiding
their eyes, and banging their head on the table, trying not to eat the marshmallow.
The kids who could wait several minutes possessed some impulse-control abilities
and a certain level of self-confidence. They had a way of reframing the situation and
shifting their attention to maintain a calm control. They looked away from the
temptation or were able to think about other activities. These thinking skills are an
aspect of emotional intelligence, an ability to understand and regulate one’s own
feelings and desires.

But as soon as some kids engaged the “hot” networks in their brains, there was no
way they could not eat the marshmallow. “It’s hard for the controlled system to beat
the automatic system by willpower alone. Like a tired muscle, the controlled system
soon wears down and caves in, but the automatic system runs effortlessly and
endlessly.”71

A number of years later, Mischel followed up to see what had happened to the
children in his experiment. Those who had been able to wait did much better in
school and had fewer behavioral problems. They generally succeeded at what they
set out to do, and 30 years later they had much higher incomes.

Since this discovery linking self-control and academic outcomes, various other
findings also point to self-control as one of the greatest assets a person can
possess.

The Navy SEALs (Sea-Air-Land special operations force of the US Navy) are a good
example of individuals who push to the extreme of limits of self-control . We can see
in action the human qualities, the motivations, and the training necessary to
overcome weaknesses of will.

When emotions overpower cognition

A good integration of reason and emotion is only valid as long as these factors
balance each other out. The emotional mind deserves its bad reputation for being
primitive, unruly, or irrational when emotions overwhelm reason. It can reveal the

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worst in us (e.g., fear, rage, contempt, or disgust) while distorting the way we reason.
The brain’s limbic system takes over our intellect.

It turns out that even a small thing like being in a meeting with someone we do not
like has a measurable impact on the way we behave or decide. Even that small
amount of threat takes a good deal of space on our conscious stage and creates
uneasiness.

In the extreme, then, when we face a real threat concerning our safety, our status, or
any other important matter, we are set on a fight-flight, reactive, and defensive
mode. We are under stress, so forget about being calm and rational or even creative.

At its current stage of evolution, the cognitive and emotional systems of the brain are
not well connected, a price we pay for having newly evolved cognitive capacities that
are not yet fully integrated.

As we have already mentioned, the connectivity of the amygdala to the frontal cortex
is not symmetrical. The connections of the amygdala to the orbitofrontal cortex are
much stronger than vice versa, by a ratio of 10 to 1. So the ability of the amygdala to
control the cortex is much greater than the ability of the cortex to control the
amygdala. Metaphorically, we use country roads to calm down our emotional brain
when the emotional brain uses superhighways to swamp consciousness.

Because the prefrontal lobes are among the last brain areas to mature, adolescents
and young adults are naturally predisposed to allow emotions to guide their
decisions, which can make them prone to risky behavior. But even after
adolescence, brilliant people with rational minds, like anyone else, can fall victim to
sexual seduction, jealousy, envy, or road rage.

Education and social experience help us to construct appropriate responses to

common situations according to habits and cultural norms in line with society’s
expectations and laws. We learn to keep our cool when waiting our turn in line or
when we are cut off on the highway by an erratic driver. We remember to say “thank
you” to the store clerk whether we mean it or not. But when our emotions become
too intense, we lose control of ourselves.

The hijack of the forebrain: Overarousal and meltdown

When emotions grab hold of us, we are unable to predict the degree to which they
will take control of our behavior. We forget about safe sex or the risk of driving while
texting. The limbic system impairs the prefrontal cortex and reduces its performance.
The brain becomes more automatic, old and regressive stereotypes reawaken,
recent learning becomes blurred, and unwanted thoughts are difficult to remove from
the stage. And the more we feel emotional, the less we can access our rational mind
and the less we are ourselves.

Under highly stressful conditions triggered by fear, anger, or ecstasy, the emotional
response may become so intense that rational and cognitive processes are
suspended. The orbitofrontal cortex or emotional regulator can no longer regulate all
the energy being stirred up by the lower limbic and brainstem emotional centers, and

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we are thus left “mind-blind.” The coordination and balance of the brain is disrupted
and we are said to “flip our lids.”72

In particular, the amygdala, faced with what it considers a serious threat (burglary,
car accident, our boss shouting at us, or simply giving a speech), has the power to
override the prefrontal lobes. Within a split second it will overwhelm the cortex and
hijack our ability to act reasonably. Our internal systems drastically limit the amount
of information that we can deal with in favor of a heightened awareness of the threat
directly before us. We remember an attacker’s gun but not the color of his eyes.

And once panic sets in, it is unrealistic to expect a person to rapidaly calm down and
behave rationally. It actually takes a few minutes to flush the chemicals released by
emotions out of the bloodstream.

In practice: Hot buttons and hot spots

Hot buttons are patterns of experience stored in the limbic system and tagged as
annoying, upsetting, or dangerous. When activated, they can trigger limbic arousal
and hijack the amygdala. The emotional reaction is automatic, violent, and
unstoppable and is characterized by a signature “if this happens, then I react this
way.”

We are all set off by different things. We may react strongly if we feel disregarded; if
the other person is not reliable, lacks orderliness, and misses deadlines; or if he or
she is self-centered, unappreciative, or micromanaging. Being aware of our specific
hot spots can give us better control of our behavior.

Should we hide emotions?

Once emotion kicks in, should we hide our feelings and reactions? Most of us have
learned that we should try not to show some aspects of our emotions in social
situations or at work.

But it takes a lot of cognitive effort to control an emotion and maintain a stiff upper
lip. Even if we do not express an emotion, our limbic system remains just as
aroused: Our heart races, we find it hard to speak, and the effort to hide and monitor
our feeling and behavior uses so much of our brain resources that we are less able
to carry out any other cognitive tasks. So, for example, we lose the thread of a
conversation, or we have some difficulty remembering an experience we went
through.

On the other hand, we find it disturbing to be with people who do not sound
authentic, and we notice when their behaviors do not match their inner feelings.
Their body movements betray them (e.g., “Her smile never reached her eyes”).
Gestures and emotions are prompted by the speedy limbic system and come first,
before language. It takes time and practice to develop the ability to control our facial
expressions, tone of voice, and body language like an actor or a good poker player.

Research published by James Gross and Philippe Goldin 73

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showed that when people try to maintain unexpressive faces during disgusting
scenes, their amygdala and insula (the body sensor described in Chapter 3) become
more active. But when they are able to reconsider and reframe the meaning of what
they have seen, this activity is lessened.

Thus, the key to managing emotions might be to shift into a cognitive mode, that is,
to step back and reappraise the situation in order to calm the emotional response
before it becomes unmanageable. This a form of vertical, top-down control that can
be done by labeling the situation or reappraising it in cognitive terms. In fact, this
reframing is the basis of cognitive behavioral therapy as introduced by Aaron Beck. It
is a way to increase the activity of the dorsolateral cortex (the reasoner) and the
orbitofrontal cortex (the emotional regulator), two regions of the brain that have direct
connections with the amygdala and the hypothalamus.

In practice: Naming and labeling emotions

By identifying and labeling our emotions, we can diminish their intensity. Labeling
activates the left brain and linguistic processing, and It appears that cognitive activity
such as reading, talking, filling out forms, or doing crossword puzzles can bring relief
from mild anxiety and/or depression.

Imagine, for example, that in a meeting you are suddenly filled with a strange
aversion to another participant and that this feeling starts bothering and distracting
you. If you are able to understand and name it, you can wipe that worry from your
working memory, and nobody will notice your trouble. You might think, “Oh! I’m upset
because I feel angry at that person. She did not seem to listen to me and made me
lose my focus. This is a well-known situation. A single troublemaker can derail
attention. So, I’m not concerned. Let’s smile and continue. ”

Cognitive reappraisal
The other useful technique to use in such circumstances is cognitive reappraisal,
which is also referred to as reframing or recontextualizing. It requires a fast response
when an emotion arises. You may only have a few seconds to use this strategy,
which implies being quickly aware of your feelings and able to use your emotional
intelligence.

The strategy of cognitive reappraisal is based on the idea that what makes us
emotional is not the situation itself but the way we think about it, the way we
represent it, and the way we interpret and frame it in our working memory. This
implies (referring back to the theater metaphor) that we are able to quickly change
the decor and lighting of the stage, that is, to change the context and framing of the
situation. By taking another perspective, we are able to experience the situation
differently.

Imagine, for example, that as you drive to work, you are stuck in traffic. You may
soon become bothered, impatient, or anxious. But you can avoid this emotional loop
if, as soon as you notice the difficulty, you decide to reframe it and find three or four
advantages of the situation: “Let’s avoid a bad day and use this time to call a friend,
listen to good music, or prepare for my next meeting.” You only have a few seconds

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to change perspective because as soon as you are in the grip of an emotional

takeover, your prefrontal cortex is overwhelmed by your stress.

By reframing the situation, you wipe the bad feelings from your working stage. This is
what happens to optimistic people who see life through slightly rose-colored glasses.

Actually, reappraisal is what we often do with the help of a coach or a therapist when
we are not able to distance ourselves from the situation and play with our emotional
intelligence.

In this chapter we have reviewed the main characters at play in the emotional brain
and the systems that help us appraise and evaluate our internal states and our
environment. We have discovered some new structures that complete the picture.
We have reviewed a variety of emotional responses and should be convinced by
now that we have to go beyond the traditional dichotomy between emotion and
reason and understand the crucial role of the emotional brain in supporting
reasoning.

However, in the case of emotional overarousal, the challenge is to find ways to put
the brakes on by using cognitive awareness and reappraisal, some forms of
emotional intelligence.

Supplement : A cast of six important actors

We will now describe in more detail the six regions that we have already briefly
presented. However, it is important to keep in mind that no brain structure has only
one function and that every mental activity operates through complex circuits linking
various regions throughout the brain.

The amygdala: The alert system or “amygdalarm”

The amygdala is not just a fear detector (even though we like to call it the
“amygdalarm”) but an emotional relevance detector that processes all kinds of
emotions according to their significance. It is connected to all our body systems---
gut, skin, muscles, eyes, ears, and so on---to look out for incoming emotional stimuli,
that is, emotionally arousing things and events.

In setting off emotional responses and encoding emotional memories, the amygdala
helps us to regulate emotions such as fear or anger as well as those that are
affection related, such as friendship and love.

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The ventral striatum: The rewarder

As seen in the previous chapter, the ventral striatum (the limbic part of the striatum)
is a key component of the reward system (see Figure 5). It is the rewarder, the
craving button. It encodes the positive and negative value of what we experience
and helps us to detect and anticipate a reward and plan specific action to obtain it. It
sits at the junction of emotion and movement and can be activated without our
awareness. This means that motivation is partly unconscious.

The ventral striatum is also one of the most primitive parts of the brain, representing
its “wild” side, so to speak. It sparks temptation and the desire for immediate reward,
that is, something we want right now. This explains the excitement of sex, gambling,
drug addiction, or, more simply, the pleasure of receiving money.

Figure 5: Amygdala,ventral striatum, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is part of the OFC, is often called the
“accountant” or the “evaluator” because it provides the action center of the brain with
a balance sheet of risks and benefits.

The hippocampus: The expliciter

The hippocampus, which is shaped like a small seahorse (hippo as reference to
horse), is situated near the internal face of the temporal lobes. It is the central

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structure for storing, retrieving, and integrating explicit, conscious memories. It is a

necessary passage when we remember something and place it into its context.

We will further describe the key role of this structure in Chapter 7, which deals with
memory, but we want to acknowledge here that this explicit memory system almost
never forgets a stressful situation, such as a fight or an accident, or a pleasant
moment, such as a romantic encounter.

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC): The emotional regulator

As described in Chapter 3, the orbitofrontal cortex is responsible for recognizing and
regulating emotions while putting the brakes on the amygdala. This evolutionarily
younger structure provides the mechanism for more refined and more conscious
emotional control.

When making a decision, we need flexibility to deliberate, change perspective,

and/or play with options, even while keeping the past in mind. The OFC provides this
operating flexibility to manipulate different associations according to rules stocked
over time. So, once learned, rewards and punishment are organized into rules that
are used as a guide in choosing the best action (e.g., the best food in a restaurant).
This helps compensate for the short-term reaction of the amygdala.

For example, people who keep in memory the bad feeling resulting from overeating
and the pleasure of feeling in good shape after eating moderately are able to
establish a rule of conduct that will help them regulate their short-term desires with
regard to food. Rules and experiences memorized by the emotional regulator help us
keep potential rewards in perspective. Although we may be tempted for a moment by
a huge slice of cake, in the best case, the OFC brings us back to reality and tempers
our decision about whether to eat it.

There is strong competition between the long-term orientation of the OFC (more
generally of the prefrontal cortex) and the short-term orientation of the limbic system.
As the concentration of dopamine increases in the brain, the reward neurons of the
ventral striatum react less and less to the signals coming from the prefrontal cortex
and even stop listening to them. The amygdala and the hippocampus take over
control of the ventral striatum and, in large measure, orient the person's behavior
toward short-term rewards and pleasure. This mechanism is at the heart of addiction.

The hypothalamus: The activator

The hypothalamus is the conductor of the hormonal symphony. It monitors the
individual’s internal states and regulates a wide range of behavioral and
physiological activities, including hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sexual
activity.

As the control center of the endocrine system, the hypothalamus orchestrates the
release of hormones via the pituitary gland. It sends out messages about the
emotional state of the brain into the body. Hormones are responsible for our
inclination to do things, and although they are slower and less precise than
neurotransmitters, they are compelling.

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If we are in danger, the amygdala will signal the hypothalamus, which will then
release cortisol into the bloodstream to help our body extract metabolic resources
and prepare a vigorous defense. However, repetitive alerts can lead to chronic stress
that will have a detrimental effect on the immune system and deteriorate some key
structures (e.g., the hippocampus).

The ventral tegmental area (VTA): The sprinkler

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is responsible for the arousal of the frontal lobes
and for broadcasting important signals (including reward signals) to the rest of the
brain by sprinkling dopamine via neural pathways to different brain structures.

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Part 2
Brain challenges: Biases, memory,
predispositions

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Chapter 6 - The challenges of the

emotional brain
We are now able to consider key biases generated by our emotional system. The
first overriding predisposition is our negative bias, a bias that makes us avoid threat
and losses at all costs. We managed to survive over the ages because our
ancestors developed a somewhat paranoid attitude so they were prepared for
dangers and threats. We have kept part of that attitude, and it resurfaces when we
are faced with uncertainty and risk in our environment. Losses ofen loom larger than
gains, and they sometimes push us into irrational perseverance and regret. Only
then are we ready to approach rewards. But by reacting in this way, we drastically
discount the future and remain dramatically shortsighted. Fortunately, some
networks based in the orbitofrontal cortex (the emotional regulator) can help us take
a more prospective approach.

A first bias: Threat and risk avoidance

Only the paranoids survive
In our evolutionary history, threats in the form of predators, natural hazards, or social
aggression have had more impact on survival than rewards in the form of food,
pleasure, sex, or social bonding.

Our ancestors did not have much time to decide between possibilities such as these:

 Thinking there is a tiger in the bushes when there is none

 Thinking there is no tiger in the bushes when there is one

It is better make the first mistake a hundred times so as to avoid making the second
once. Those who did not remember this lesson would not live long enough to pass
on their genes. We were thus wired for the quick decision: have lunch or be lunch.

Rick Hanson concurred: “When it comes to threats and rewards, sticks usually
determined mortality, carrots, not. If you fail to get a carrot today, you’ll likely have a
chance at a carrot tomorrow. But if you fail to avoid a stick today –whap! – no more
carrot forever.”74

To facilitate identification of a potential danger, the limbic system tends to contrast

differences between crude categories---friend or foe, good or bad---and attenuate
differences within the same category. A face that is not familiar triggers the alert
system and generates distrust and fear. But familiar people who are close, who
share the same language or behave similarly, generate friendship and trust.

When he wrote his book “Only the Paranoid Survive,”75 Andrew Grove was well
placed as the head of Intel Corporation to understand the role that threat plays in a
competitive environment in which successful companies are regularly dislodged by
new technologies or new champions.

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Negativity dominance
The result of the processes just described is that the brain will naturally focus on the
negative, on threats and uncertainties, overestimating dangers and underestimating,
or failing to pursue, opportunities.

For example, if we meet someone we really like on our way to work in the morning,
this pleasant encounter sends a positive signal that we experience as a reward. But,
if further along we see someone who recently criticized our work, we suddenly
receive a negative signal that will wipe out all the positive and stay much longer in
our brain. It actually takes quite a number of positive interactions to undo a negative
one and thereby cool down the amygdala.

Rick Hanson confirmed, “Just having positive experiences is not enough; they pass
through the brain like water through a sieve, while negative experiences are caught.
The brain is thus like velcro for negative experiences but teflon for the positive
ones.”76

The negative trumps the positive in many ways.

According to John Gottman, 77 the long-term success of marital interactions depends

far more on avoiding the negative than on seeking the positive. He estimates that a
stable relationship requires that good interactions outnumber bad interactions by at
least 5 to 1.

Our brain processes angry faces faster and more efficiently than happy ones. An
angry face pops out of a crowd of happy faces, but a single happy face does not
stand out in an angry crowd.

Food can be easily perceived as contaminated by a minor impurity. Emotionally

loaded words such as war or crime attract our attention faster than do words such as
peace or love.

In fact, the amygdala-hippocampus system tracks negative experiences more

prominently in memory than positive events, and we learn faster from pain than from
pleasure.

Negative feelings
There are far more varieties of negative feelings than of positive ones: an infinite
assortment of negative shades of emotions like disgust, anger, sadness, shame,
guilt, contempt, and associated expressions like disrespected, downgraded, insulted,
sighted, rejected, abandoned, isolated, cheated, intimidated, betrayed, threatened
weakened, disabled, misled, undermined, and so on, to be compared with joy,
happiness, pleasure, satisfaction, and contentment.

Negativity bias
Negativity bias may induce us to generalize and overextend a negative aspect. For
example, if information about budget difficulties is not appropriately communicated

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throughout an organization, it can be rapidly transformed into possible redundancies

and soon become the serious threat of mass layoffs.

Journalists often play with this bias and give priority to bad news in order to capture
popular imagination, whether the threat is ecological, nuclear, or health centered.
Terrorism is effective for the same reason, and vivid, dramatic images are reinforced
by media coverage. The threat is under the spotlight of attention and forces
awareness of it, even if the chances of it occurring are minimal. In fact, we are not
able to differentiate between few chances, very few chances, and a negligeable
probability, even though these are not the same thing at all.

That an event has one chance in one million or a billion of occurring makes a big
difference in theory because the outcome is weighted by the probability of its
happening according to rational calculation. But that abstract calculation is
meaningless when the threat is tragically present on the front stage, stimulating our
emotional networks. Do not try to convince somebody who is afraid of traveling by
plane with calculations about their chances of being in an accident.

So, one of our main concerns in any setting is to avoid risk or at least manage it by
reinforcing our ability to cope with it. We are ready to use all kinds of resources
(money, information, status, autonomy) to control threats and uncertainties.

In practice: The drive for certainty: A strong motivator

As a prediction machine, the brain craves certainty and likes to control what is going
on by recognizing patterns. The familiar makes us feel good and secure. We have an
innate drive to seek out known faces and persons whom we can trust and
predictable situations that make us feel safe by offering rewarding reassurance.

We feel safe with people who are similar to us, who have common values and
attitudes. We trust them because we feel we belong to the same clan. So we marry
people who are like us, we live in neighborhoods full of people like us, and we work
with people who share our values and beliefs. We build institutions, systems, and
cultures that reaffirm our values, even though they blind us to alternatives.

Consultants make their money by reassuring executives with their supposed

expertise in forecasting and strategic planning.

The challenge of risk aversion in an organization

Change, which focuses our attention on the future, activates uncertainty and
generates a threat response. Consequently, we either try to fight it or become
defensive and remain entrenched in our certainties. To accept change, we need
strong motivation to focus our attention on the new approach and accept the need to
move in a different direction.

The paradox is that we often accept change only when we face an inescapable
threat, when we are on a burning platform with fire under our feet. We would have
been in a better position to manage the change process if we had acted at the first
signs of an impending crisis, but we are somewhat lazy, guided by habits, and

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mainly risk averse, so we prefer to maintain the status quo as long as possible,
avoiding any kind of failure that could stain our reputation.

The default mode is thus a culture of risk aversion that we often find in bureaucratic
organzations. The rules of the game are only modified with strong incentives or
imperative constraints.

However, in organizations that thrive on innovation, leaders must accept and

manage risks. Ideo, a famous design consulting firm, puts forward the provocative
motto “fail often to succeed sooner.”

The capacity to accept and manage failure is an important cultural dimension not
only at the organizational level but also at the level of a whole country. For example,
we would expect North Americans to be more prone to accept risk, whereas in Asia
and Europe, failure is met, more often than not, with embarrassment or shame.

Thus, the drive for certainty and control is a powerful motitivator that we must keep in
mind along with autonomy, which will be examined in Chapter 9. The picture will then
be completed with three social needs---status, relatedness, and fairness---which we
will consider in Chapter 12.

Giving feedback
We need feedback to learn and improve our skills, and, fortunately, most of the
feedback we receive is generated automatically by the circumstances and situation.
That is what happens when we acquire a new task by trial and error, such as
learning how to talk, walk, or ride a bicycle.

But when feedback is given by a manager to a subordinate for a job not done as
expected, there is a fine line between doing it in a way that is supportive or in a way
that makes the recipient feel rejected and thus undermines his or her willingness to
accept and learn from it. The fact that the feedback is given by a superior is not
unrelated to this reaction.

As long as feedback remains focused on a solution to the problem, recipients

generally perceive it more positively and find it useful for helping them to cope with
the situation. This occurs at the level of knowledge processing in the prefrontal
cortex, and both parties are usually able to talk about specific concerns and useful
suggestions. Such exchanges remain at the cognitive and rational level, and, in
theory, emotions are not invited.

But this optimist view is contradicted by the disproportionate influence of negative

bias. A hint of negativity can erase all positive messages and make us revert to a
primitive binary mode: If the feedback is not all positive, it becomes negative. A
simple criticism becomes a total rejection. A mistake blows up the whole job, and
hurt feelings rapidly lead to anger and aggression.

So, the danger is that feedback is easily perceived as an evaluation or attack on the
person’s core identity, which can make it as painful as a physical attack. The pain
and distress mobilize our attention to help us fend off the attack, and we fight back to
neutralize the damage to our self-esteem. For example, if your memo is globally

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criticized, with no serious suggestions about how to impove it, you are likely to react
with anger: “My boss is unfair. He never shows appreciation. He was wrong to do so.
I hate him!”

Even when performance feedback is supposed to be constructive, subtle threats are

picked up by our deeply emotional brain, no matter how nicely the feedback is
worded. This is obvious before, during, and after traditional annual performance
reviews because people become anxious when they find out what others have been
saying about them.

Even in 360-degree feedback, the perception of threat is present because the

feedback of peers, bosses, and/or subordinates often directly assesses the person’s
identity instead of focusing on specific results or concrete observations. Moreover,
such feedback will reveal some natural tendencies the person is fighting against
every day, with more or less success. For example, you may be told: “You don’t
delegate enough!” “You are too bossy!” “You don’t listen enough!” But would any of
this be a surprise? The fact is, such behaviors are deeply ingrained in each of us.

One way to partly solve this problem is to turn the situation around by encouraging
people to ask for feedback. Doing that is less threatening because the individual can
be more specific about what he or she wants feedback on. He or she can choose the
best time for receiving it and whom to receive it from, and the information can be
provided rapidly.

A second bias: Loss avoidance

Loss aversion
Loss aversion can be considered an extension of negativity bias. It is an innate
predisposition in human beings.

Do you prefer a sure gain of 100€ rather than playing a game of heads or tails that
gives you a 50% chance of winning 200€ and a 50% chance of winning zero? The
two proposals are equivalent in theory because the expected value of the game is
100€ (200 x 0.5 + 0 x 0.5)

Normally, people prefer the sure gain, unless they are real gamblers. But what would
your choice be if you were to win 300€ or 400€ on heads at the same game? You
will agree to play at a certain level of gain, so we have to raise the stakes for you to
take the risk of losing. In this case, the estimation of the expected value is rather
intuitive.

The situation is more complicated when probabilities are very low, as in the case of
insurance that we take to avoid a loss. This possible loss will come on the stage of
our consciousness and occupy most of the space, even if the probability of
occurrence is small, even negligible. Hence, we are ready to purchase expensive
insurance when we buy big, expensive equipment to avoid the risk of failure and
possible costs of repair. As the idea of future expenses and worries caused by the

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default risk occupy most of our mind, the exact probability of failure is no longer
relevant. The fact that the reliability of the equipment improved dramatically over
time is not on the agenda of our emotional brain.

Emotional framing: “Losses loom larger than gains”78

Here are two situations that will be viewed differently according to their emotional
framing.

You are given 100€ to choose between two options: keep 40€ or play a lottery that
gives you a 40% chance to keep the 100€ and a 60% chance of losing everything. A
simple calculation shows that the lottery has an equivalent expected gain of 40€ (by
multiplying gains with probability, thus 40% x 100€ + 60% x 0€ = 40€). Unless you
are a gambler, you will prefer to keep the 40€ for sure rather than risk losing
everything.

Now, let’s reframe the situation: You still are given 100€ to choose between losing
60€ or play the same lottery with a 40% chance to keep the 100€ and a 60% chance
of losing everything. In this case, the perspective of being sure to loose 60€ will
make you choose the lottery. This is what is generally observed. When facing a sure
loss, we would rather play and have a 40% chance of keeping the 100€.

However, these two situations are identical from a rational point of view. Keeping
40€ from the 100€ is the same as losing 60€ from the same 100€.

It is thus the case that gains and losses do not have the same weight as they are
measured in our brain reward system. One can easily imagine the amygdala firing up
to signal losses. This asymmetry between losses and gains shows up on many
occasions.

In practice: Failure to achieve a goal or exceeding it

Actually, the failure to achieve a goal represents a loss that is more painful than the
pleasure will be from exceeding it. This is why sales people are conservative in
setting their sales quotas. Their priority is to reach their sales objective. Missing it is
perceived as a painful, visible loss, whereas exceeding it is considered to be a
simple gain. So, they do their best to achieve their goals, and they reduce their
efforts once their objective is attained.

In a win-lose negotiation, the concessions we make are losses for us but gains for
the other party, and it is difficult to balance gains and losses because they have
different perceived values.

This adds to the difficulty of introducing change in organizations. Potential losers will
be quite vocal and active.

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Rational calculation to regulate emotions

Fortunately, we are able to control emotions by making rational calculations. That is
why consultants are called on to make cold, quantifiable analyses. But whether you
are an expert or not, the amygdala remains active. What makes the difference is the
activity in the prefrontal cortex, which controls rational thinking.

The more active the prefrontal cortex, the more we are able to deal with our irrational
feelings. We do not perceive fewer emotions, but we are more able to regulate them.

Emotional bonus and malus

As could be expected, bonus (reward) and malus (penalty) are not symmetrical. A
bonus, like a financial gain, triggers pleasure in the ventral striatum; a malus triggers
pain in the amygdala, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the insula. Remember,the
anterior cingulate is the controller that signals deviations and errors and the insula is
the body sensor that represents our visceral functions and informs us about the state
of our body in case of problem and/or pain.

In practice: We overvalue what we have and worry about

losing it
We overvalue what we have and, as it becomes part of our identity, we worry about
losing it. When we are the owner of something we are selling, our expectations of its
value are at the “ceiling,” but when we are the buyer, our view of its value is at the
“floor.” For example, if someone must sell a ticket he won for a football game, he will
value it at a much higher price than a possible buyer will agree to pay. The money
the seller receives will seem meager conmpensation for the lost experience.

The classic “30-day money-back guarantee” encourages a purchase by giving the

buyers the chance to change their mind later. But once home, they will likely view
what they bought as their own and returning it as a loss.

Irrational perseverance and escalation of commitment

We may hold on to a bad investment longer than we should because we overvalue
the choice we made in the past and feel pain when we have to accept a loss.
Refusing to admit a loss is a way to postpone the pain and sustain the illusion that
the loss did not or will not occur. Thus, investors are more inclined to sell winning
stocks than declining stocks.

Why we cannot let go of our losers79

Accepting a loss is hard to take, but avoiding a loss can be much worse.

Although some investors take their losses, most grimly sit on them, which could be a
mistake. Research published in 1998 by Terrance Odean of the University of
California showed that individual investors are 50% more likely to sell a winning

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stock than a losing one, even though, on average, the stocks that they sell go on to
outperform, whereas those they keep underperform.

Selling an underwater asset, says Mr. Odean, “isn’t primarily about economic loss,
it’s about emotional loss. You can no longer tell yourself ‘I still made a good choice,
and it’ll come back’.”

We have difficulty letting go when the project we are managing fails because we
have developed an increased commitment to our past decisions and emotional
investments. Rather than facing losses and moving on, often we continue to pour
energy into the same choices, even if they did not prove successful. For the same
reason, we continue investing energy in a doomed relationship because we have
difficulty letting go due to past emotional commitments.

The need to appear consistent and reliable and the fear of losing face can further
explain the escalation of commitment in losing circumstances. This occurs regularly
with executives who, faced with serious losses, persist in the same direction, hoping
for the best. To avoid compromising the firm’s future, boards of directors often have
no choice but to replace such executives.

Giving up on your investment80

You have spent a good deal of time and energy hiring and training a new manager.
The early reports suggest that she is not performing according to your expectations.
Should you fire her? Keeping in mind your previous investment, you may think that
she is still in the learning phase, so you provide additional resources for further
training and experience. She improves but does not perform as expected. Should
you continue or give up?

Sunk-cost fallacy
This difficulty in giving up on an investment that cannot be recovered and has no
future is often referred to as sunk cost.

Treating sunk costs as sunk means that we forgo past commitments, reputation, or
investments and avoid throwing good money after bad. As rational decision makers,
we should be able to segregate prior losses from current decision and focus on the
future consequences of our choices.

The sunk-cost fallacy consists of investing valid resources in a losing account when
better investments are available. This fallacy is the reason people stay too long in
poor jobs, unhappy marriages, and unpromising research projects.

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We stay in an unhappy relationship or merely one that is going nowhere because we

invested so much time and emotional energy in making it work.

We stay in a deadening job because we focus on all the reasons to justify carrying
on, and we are unable to clearly assess the benefits of leaving.

We buy a lemon of a car because it looks gorgeous, spend thousands of dollars to

keep the damned thing running, and invest even more energy in justifying that
doomed investment.

American Homeowners’ Crisis

I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that I can’t repay the $100,000
we owe. The good news is that if you’ll loan me another $200,000, I’ll pay off the
original $100,000.

Good frames and theater tickets81

A woman bought two $80 tickets to the theatre. When she arrives at the theater she
opens her wallet and discovers that the tickets are missing. Will she buy two more
tickets to see the play?

A second woman goes to the theater intending to buy two tickets that cost $80 each.
She arrives at the theater, opens her wallet, and discovers to her dismay that the
$160 with which she was going to make the purchase are missing. Will she buy the
tickets?

This problem involves mental accounting and the sunk-cost fallacy. When the loss of
tickets is posted to the account associated with the play, the cost appears to have
doubled. When the loss of cash is charged to the general revenue account, there is a
small reduction of disposable wealth.

The cash loss introduces a better frame perspective because the loss is sunk with no
influence on future decisions, and sunk costs should be ignored.

Regret
We experience regret when we realize that, if we had chosen a different course of
action, we would have had greater success or a better outcome.

We tend to avoid actions that might cause regret, even if refusing to take action will
produce worse consequences.

Regret is an emotion but also a punishment that we administer to ourselves when we

make a decision that leads to a bad outcome. The emotional reaction is stronger
when we commit to an action than when we let go and fail to act. For example, if we
decide to sell a stock and lose money doing so, we will regret our decision. We

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would have been better off not selling, that is, doing nothing, because then the loss
would not have been registered.

“How could I not have known! How stupid I was to take action,” we may say in
hindsight, considering the outcome that now looks so obvious.

Because we are loss averse and regretful, we dislike changes that can entail
potential loss or failure. All reforms and organizational changes involve losses as
well as gains. Because gains are uncertain and in the future, we prefer to avoid the
regret of taking action that may lead to possible failure that will remain visible and
may be criticized again and again. So, the status quo wins, over and over.

A third bias: The pleasure principle

Approaching immediate reward
We have survived as a species thus far by anticipating and avoiding danger but also
by finding new resources and benefits that help us to adapt better to our environment
with our brain value system. With this reward system, we are wired for finding new
sources of gratification. And novelty is particularly attractive.

However, can we accept the principle of immediate pleasure, of rewards without

control? Should we surrender to the pleasure principle? Should we crave the
chocolate now and abandon the project to lose weight? Should we spend now on a
vacation instead of saving the money for retirement?

According to Jonathan Cohen’s research,82 when someone wants a gift straight

away, the limbic system (more specifically, the ventral striatum) is activated and the
ventral tegmental area sprinkles dopamine on these regions.

However, when the same individual contemplates a future gift, the prefrontal cortex
associated with rational planning and anticipation is more active. And the longer the
person is willing to wait for the reward, the greater the prefrontal activity.

Discounting the future

There is strong competition between the long-term orientation of the prefrontal cortex
(the cold system) and the short-term orientation of the limbic system (the hot
system). When the concentration of dopamine increases in response to a potential
reward, the neural cells of the ventral striatum (the rewarder) react less and less to
the signals coming from the prefrontal cortex, and above a certain threshold, they
stop listening to them altogether. The amygdala and the hippocampus then take over
control of the same ventral striatum and orient behavior toward immediate pleasure.
As a result, two different systems are activated according to the intensity of desire: a
network that is rather reasonable and able to make calculations and use long-term
reasoning and an emotional network that is more reactive to short-term desires.

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We then tend to overvalue immediate gains while discounting long-term rewards by

giving them increasingly less weight as they become more distant in the future.

To cite examples often used by Dan Ariely, we would rather have half a box of
chocolates now than a full box in a week’s time or $20 now rather than $25 next
week.83

But, what about half a box of chocolates in a year's time and a full box in a year and
a week? Or $20 in a year and $25 in a year and a week?

The longer we postpone our decision into the future, the readier we are to accept
waiting an extra week and thus reversing our first impulsive decision. Thinking far
into the future, we tend to behave more rationally than emotionally by activating
mostly our prefrontal cortex.

In fact, it is the orbitofrontal cortex (the emotional regulator) that allows us to bring
into the present moment the value of a reward that will happen in the future. By so
doing, the emotional impact of the reward is integrated into the whole value system
by putting it into perspective.

For example, you may crave a cigarette, but the orbitofrontal cortex will link this
temptation to a guilty feeling or to an opinion about the dangers of smoking or to
some other belief.

Thus, the value given to something by orbitofrontal neurons is modulated according

to the richness of the opinions or beliefs that we have accumulated. This richness
allows us to take into account and anticipate long-term consequences of a decision,
and this, fortunately, compensates for the short-term reaction of the amygdala or the
ventral striatum.

In this chapter we have reviewed three challenges generated by our emotional

system: threat avoidance, loss avoidance, and the pleasure principle.
Our overriding predisposition to avoid threats leads us to look for certainty and
familiarity and to avoid risk and uncertainty at all costs.
To avoid losses, we are confronted with irrational perseverance, escalation of
commitment, sunk costs, and regret.
Finally, we are guided by the pleasure principle, which leads us to look for
immediate rewards while discounting the future. But we can resort to our emotional
regulator to counteract this tendency.

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Chapter 7 – We are made of memory

In this chapter we consider the two aspects of long-term memory---implicit and
explicit memory---and learn more about the hippocampus or the expliciter. Emotions
play a crucial role in the way they affect different types of memory, and memory is,
in fact, a dynamic reconstruction process. You may be surprised to discover that
what you remember might be different from what you experienced. Finally, we look
at the way we learn and how this process unfolds.

We become another as we remember and learn

Being alive involves being made of memories, that is, keeping in networks of cells
the trace of what has disappeared. It follows that the brain is essentially a memory
system. It has a remarkable capacity for storing information, and we assume, at our
current level of knowledge, that this capacity is almost unlimited.

We inscribe each new experience in our neuronal cells, and in so doing, we

transform ourselves and become different. What we learn is hardwired into our
brains and influences both our present perceptions and our interpretations of the
past.

Types of memory
We process and encode our experiences according two main types of memory:
explicit and implicit (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Explicit/implicit memory

We assemble our conscious experiences into explicit memories: collecting

autobiographical and factual information such as what we have done this week and
the fact that bananas are yellow.

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Implicit memory is less conscious and quite vast. It begins in the womb and
predominates throughout our early years. From our emotions, perceptions, actions,
and bodily sensations, we create implicit mental models that shape our expectations
about reality and the way we represent the world. All of this occurs without effort or
intention, and our implicit mental models continue to influence our behaviors without
our self-awareness.

In Chapter 3 we saw how the memory operates at the basic level of the synapse,
how short-term memory becomes consolidated into long-term memory over days
and weeks and months by the modification of neural cells and the creation of lasting
new connections (bushes of dendrites and corresponding synapses).

Explicit memory
We refer to our explicit memory when we recall a conscious experience (e.g., the last
romantic dinner with our partner) or when we refer to facts and general information
(see Figure 2). It is called explicit or declarative because we can explicitly refer to it
during a conversation.

Explicit memory is mainly distributed in the temporal cortex, particularly in the

internal area where the hippocampus is located. This important structure (mentioned
in Chapter 5) plays the role of entry door for information that arouses our interest and
reaches consciousness under the spotlight of attention.

Because this memory only matures after the first years of our life, we have no explicit
memories of our earliest years and experience what is referred to as infantile
amnesia.

Figure 2: Explicit memory---hippocampus driven

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Episodic memory: The remembering memory

Episodic memory involves remembering specific personal experiences with their
context. We single out special events---such as the moment we broke our ankle, our
first visit to Singapore, or the day we got married---with specific details, such as
where, what we did, and who came. It is our autobiographical memory.

When we recall events, we gather together a number of representations from

different regions of the brain, including the areas that originally processed the
experience.

In remembering our last vacation, for example, we assemble fragments of that

experience from our different senses: the layout of the hotel, images of the
environment, the taste of tea cakes, the smell of coffee, the smile and face of the
waiter, and so on. These fragments, spread about in different areas of the brain, are
combined and held together in the hippocampus. To remember the vacation as a
whole, the hippocampus simultaneously activates the various brain areas that hold
the input about different aspects of the event.

The hippocampus: The expliciter

The hippocampus, a double structure in the internal face of the temporal lobes,
regulates learning and consolidates spatial memory (see figure 3). It is the center of
memory recording, receiving simultaneously all the information linked to an event:
visual, auditory, olfactory, internal, and emotional.

Figure 3: Hippocampus and amygdala

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The hippocampus associates events over time and space to create conscious
memories of specific events, people, and places. It is a necessary step if we are to
remember something and situate it in its context.

As the master integrator, the hippocampus does not store the memory itself but
rather draws together the separate fragments of images, sensations, or emotions
from various parts of the cortex and turns them into an explicit form.

What is inscribed is a re-creation linking the different elements into a coherent

representation. This can involve wiping out some details so as to give an impression
of continuity in time, the equivalent of a narration.

Recent memories, first inscribed in the hippocampus, are gradually transformed into
lasting memories as they shift toward the cortex, being remodeled and becoming
more abstract and general in the process. It is during sleep that recent memories are
transformed into long-term memories. Familiar and more autobiographical memories
tend to stay in the hippocampus.

H. M. patient and anterograde amnesia

Because the hippocampus is critical for the formation of new memories, any damage
to it will suppress the capacity to acquire new conscious memories and can cause
anterograde amnesia, that is, the disappearance of elaboration and fixation of new
memories (retrograde amnesia involves difficulty in keeping and maintaining old
memories).

Anterograde amnesia was well documented in the famous case of H. M. (Henry

Molaison), a patient with anterograde amnesia who was studied from late 1957 until
his death84 in 2008.

H. M. had his two hippocampi and some neighboring areas of the brain removed in
an attempt to cure his epilepsy. After the operation, his intellectual and emotional
faculties as well as his automatic behaviors remained normal, and long-term
memories of his early years were preserved because they were stored, as normal, in
other areas of the cortex. But because the hippocampus is necessary for the
acquisition of new memories, its removal made it impossible for H. M. to develop
new memories.

Hippocampus and spatial memory

The hippocampus is also in charge of topographic and spatial memory. It is where
we record the map of the spaces through which we move. Survival, in prehistoric
times, depended on remembering where food or enemies were located, and the
hippocampus is involved in memorizing where we are, how we get a sense of
distance, and how we find our way from one place to another. It inscribes the
memory of space in the form of maps, with place cells working with grid cells to
constitute a remarkably accurate coordinate system for determining location.

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London cab drivers

Acquiring knowledge modifies the structure of the brain. Of interest in this regard is
that the size of the hippocampus in London taxi drivers is larger than in the normal
population.
Cab drivers must acquire considerable topographic and spatial memory, including
the name and location of 25,000 streets in a radius of 9 km around Charring Cross
Station as well as thousands of specific sites.
Only half of those who train as cab drivers for a few years succeed in the exam.
Successful candidates spend, on average, twice as much time studying than
unsuccessful candidates, and in the end they have a map of London in their
hippocampus (a real GPS). And the longer they are on the job, the larger the size of
their hippocampus.85
It should be noted that this structure renews itself regularly. New cells replace old
ones at a pace of 1-2% per year.

Semantic memory: The knowing memory

Whereas episodic memory concerns specific events, at specific times, and remains
fragile, semantic memory is made up of general and impersonal knowledge, facts,
and symbols. The memories of specific experiences are transformed and simplified
into knowledge that is no longer part of our personal history.

Semantic memory is like an encyclopedia in which we accumulate factual and

general knowledge as well as concepts and labels. We memorize the names of
things and the addresses or faces of people we know. Our semantic memory
remembers that snow is white and bananas are yellow, that Napoleon won the battle
of Austerlitz on December 2, 1802, or that Germany won the World Cup in 2014. We
know the name of the country in which we live and its capital, the multiplication table,
the age of our children, and so on.

We select the type of information we need at any given moment out of the huge
reservoir of knowledge available to us, and we make such decisions automatically
and effortlessly. We have already noted the importance of the global search
command, which allows us to access a tiny fraction of our total knowledge in a split
second. It is like instantly finding a needle in a haystack.

In practice: Mnemonic technique: The "method of loci”

The method of loci is an mnemonic technique known to the ancient Greeks and
Romans. It consists of memorizing the layout of a building or the arrangement of
shops on a street or any geographical entity composed of a number of discrete loci.
To remember a set of items, the person “walks” through the building or the street and
associates an item to each locus by forming an image of the item and any
distinguishing feature of that locus. Retrieval of items is achieved by walking through
the place along the successive loci to activate the memory of any of the items that
have to be recalled.

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Implicit memory
Implicit memory is made up of three key components: the procedural memory, the
emotional memory, and the priming effect (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Implicit memory

Procedural memory
Implicit procedural memory is not directly conscious but enables us to write, walk,
ride a bicycle, type text, play a musical instrument, or react spontaneously in a
dangerous situation. It refers to knowledge and memories to which we do not have
direct access, including motor and perceptual skills, and automatic behaviors, habits,
and reflex pathways that originate in our basal ganglia (see Chapter 4).

Through trial and error and repetition we construct implicit mental models that
organize our perceptions and behaviors and influence and eventually bias our
experience. We then practice what we have learned automatically, without thinking
about it, and this implicit learning pervades every aspect of our life.

A computer is barely powerful enough to calculate how to track and catch a tennis
ball, but a 10-year-old will eventually learn how to do it after some practice, without
being able to explain how to do it.
As already noted, during the first two to three years of life, we rely primarily on
procedural memory systems because of the slow development of the hippocampus
and the related explicit memory system. However, the amygdala is almost fully

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formed at birth, and emotional memory begins at an earlier age than explicit
memory.

Emotional memory
Research by Joseph LeDoux and others has shown that the amygdala orchestrates
our emotional bodily response and our emotional implicit memory, whereas the
hippocampus provides explicit memory of the facts and context linked to that
emotion. We remember explicitly who we were with, what we were doing, and
whether the experience was good or bad.

The hippocampus works closely with the amygdala to integrate the details of an
experience with the emotional memory of it. Because the explicit system and the
emotional system are activated at the same time by the same stimuli, the two kinds
of memories seem to be part of one single memory. Thus, we not only remember the
factual result of an outcome, good or bad, but also the emotional aspect that gives
us the intense feeling of familiarity when we relive our past.

As LeDoux explained, "The hippocampus is crucial in recognizing the face you see
as that of your cousin. But the amygdala adds that you don't really like her.”

Lesions in the amygdala can lead to the loss of the affective aspect of our
perception. For example, someone may know exactly who she is meeting, but if she
has lost the emotional feeling of familiarity, the other person will seem foreign to her,
like an imposter.

Implicit memory of a handshake

In 1911, Swiss physician Edouard Claparede published his observations about an
amnesiac patient suffering from Korsakoff’s disorder, a disabling condition that can
produce complete amnesia for recent events. Despite repeated interactions,
Claparede had to reintroduce himself every time the patient reentered the room. She
never recognized him as someone she had already met.
One day, Claparede concealed a pin between his fingers when meeting and shaking
hands with the woman so that the pin pricked her hand. The next time he introduced
himself, the patient, who had forgotten her previous meeting with him, refused to
shake his hand for reasons she could not explain. Consciously, she knew she was
meeting a doctor whom she had no need to fear, but unconsciously she had learned
to associate his hand with a pricking pain. The implicit memory that the handshake
was dangerous was burned into her amygdala. She knew it implicitly but could not
remember the experience that led to it. The amygdala was forming its memories, but
the hippocampal memory system was not.

Emotional memories
Emotions are important for recalling events. Generally, emotionally charged incidents
are remembered better than nonemotional events. And the stronger we feel, the

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easier we recall. For example, do you remember what you were doing on September
11, 2001? Or what you were doing during the preceding 2 months?

It seems that our strongest emotional memories are engraved on the amygdala like
on a stone tablet, and they are all the more indelible because they are implicit.

We only remember some highlights of an experience

What remains from our experiences, what is left of the pleasure or the pain we went
through? What is the difference between what we experience and what we
remember?

Research conducted by Daniel Kahneman 86 on 154 patients undergoing a painful

colonoscopy provides an answer. The patients were prompted every minute to
indicate the level of pain they were currently experiencing. When the procedure was
over, all participants were asked to rate the total amount of pain they had
experienced during the procedure.

The experiment showed the difference between what is really experienced and what
is remembered. The experiencing self answers the question “Does it hurt now?” and
the remembering self answers the question “How was it on the whole?” The results
of Kahneman’s study showed that the remembering self does not sum up the total
pain that has been experienced.

For example, patient A’s colonoscopy lasted 8 minutes, with the procedure ending at
a bad moment. Patient B reported experiencing about as many painful moments as
patient A over a period of 24 minutes, but the pain was reduced toward the end of
the procedure. The result was that patient A retained a much worse memory of the
episode than patient B.

The experiment revealed two important findings: The global pain the subject reported
experiencing during the procedure was well predicted by the pain level reported at
the worst moment and at the end. The duration of the procedure had no effect on the
overall level of pain reported.

In practice: The tyranny of memory

Our remembering self more often retains memories of intense moments and tends to
offset our experiencing self. We remember the best and the worst parts of what has
happened to us. What is average, banal, or unremarkable is usually rapidly
forgotten. This is the tyranny of the remembering self, which tends to focus on
significant and memorable moments rather than integrating the whole experience.

For example, a few false notes may ruin the pleasure we had in listening to some
music, or an unfortunate fall may spoil the enjoyment we experienced from a dance
performance.

Accordingly, we might wonder if happiness is more the result of pleasure

experienced at memorable moments than of the sum of enjoyment over time. Does
that mean that fewer great moments are preferable to an averaged pleasure with
fewer ups and downs?

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Another example: Tourists who obsessively take photos aim more at collecting
memories for future evocation than at savoring the present moment. Pictures are a
tangible support that can rekindle memory traces in associative networks. The
evaluation of one’s holiday is thus often based on memorable highlights. A gifted
manager of a holiday resort can turn a rainy vacation into a great experience by
organizing memorable events and happenings.

When we hear people who climbed a treacherous mountain describe their

experience, it is hard not to think that it was pretty miserable. They were cold, out of
breath, and exhausted, and when they reached the top, usually they could not sit
there and enjoy it. Instead, they had to climb down as fast as possible. For them, the
real value of the experience resides in specific highlights and achievements made
memorable with pictures or storytelling, and the rest is forgotten.

As professors we know well that there are key moments that condition what kind of
evaluation students will give of our teaching: the first five minutes, discussion of
challenging issues, a few jokes from time to time, and the conclusion.

Likewise, job satisfaction is largely affected by situational factors: positive ones such
as the opportunity to socialize with coworkers or applause after a presentation as
well as negative ones such as time pressure or negative feedback from a boss.

When the hippocampus goes off-line

Alcohol is notorious for being able to temporarily shut off the hippocampus. People
who black out after drinking are awake but do not encode their experience in an
explicit form. They may not remember how they got home or how they met the
person who is in bed with them the next morning.

Rage and states of high emotion can also shut off the hippocampus by way of
release of excessive stress hormones. If the hippocampus is blocked during a
traumatic experience, integration of implicit memory into explicit memory can be
disrupted.

PTSD: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Under highly stressful conditions, the fight-flight-freeze response floods the body with
cortisol, a hormone that can temporarily shut down the hippocampus and block the
formation of explicit memories.
However, the same intense reaction that leads to the blockage of explicit memories
simultaneously heightens the encoding of implicit memory, searing into the amygdala
implicit traces of the original traumatic experience (by way of adrenaline).
These implicit memories may surface latter as flashbacks and/or vivid and explosive
emotions.
The perceptions, emotions, bodily sensations, and behaviors related to the past
trauma are experienced as nightmares during sleep or reexperienced as symptoms
while awake. They are like free-floating memories in disarray, fully in awareness but
not integrated or tagged with the feeling they are coming from the past.

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Expressed in a less traumatic form, some phobias, such as the fear of crossing a
bridge, can be established by Pavlovian conditioning. This can sometimes be treated
by cognitive behavioral therapy that traces the origin of the association and gradually
erases it through deconditioning.

A third type of implicit memory: Priming expectations

Finally, implicit memory creates something called priming whereby the brain is
prepared or primed to respond in a certain fashion. For example, when we come
home we may be primed, from previous memories, to expect the good smell of
coffee or a hug from our spouse.

So, as we put on our bathing suit, our swimming habits are primed and prepare us to
enjoy the experience. Similarly, the word face will prime us to see two faces instead
of a vase87 in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Vase or faces

In practice: Subliminal manipulation

Subliminal images are not consciously recorded if they are shown very briefly or if
they are not detected because the person looking at them is inattentive.

Do subliminal images influence voters, such as the insertion of a politician’s face in a

news broadcast or highlighting the letters “rats” at the end of the word democrats in
an advertisement during an American presidential election? 88 Should we expect the
same effect from images of objects such as watches, cars, and beverages that are
flashed on screen for a split second?

The work of Stanislas Dehaene showed that a word can be identified and
understood without being perceived consciously. “However, the unconscious activity
remains within the temporal lobe where the networks responsible for understanding
language are located. By contrast, a conscious word spreads across very large
networks extending to the frontal lobe. One has the feeling of having the word in the
head.”89 Thus, invisible words do not seem to have the same influence as words
perceived consciously.

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Memory is not what most people think

A dynamic revision machine
Memory has been regularly associated with various metaphors: a soft wax tablet, a
library that stores events as if they were books, a tape recorder, a video camera, or
random access memory (RAM). These metaphors are popular and reassuring but
wrong.

Recalling a memory is not like taking a photo out of a box, retrieving a file, or viewing
a film. Memories are not written down or engraved so that they remain perfectly
preserved for future recall. In actuality, they are constantly remodeled as they are
recalled.

Our memory is a dynamic revision machine that does not merely retrieve information
but refashions it. We may reproduce poetry or jokes by rote, but when we remember
complex information, we reshape all the retrieved elements together into one
integrated account or coherent story line. We are reconstructing in the present what
happened in the past. This reconstruction and recomposition mobilizes multiple
traces and fragments spread over a number of networks throughout the brain.

So, for example, if we want to tell someone about our last birthday party, we will take
different memory fragments scattered in different parts of our brain and assemble
them into a coherent story: where we were, who was with us, what we ate and drank,
and so on.

A dynamic reconstruction
Because memory is reconstructive, we change the story every time we remember
something, and our brain can easily modify or distort our conscious recollection. It
might insert false information or fill the gaps to make sense or to find a better fit with
our present views and needs. We can confuse an event that happened to someone
else with one that happened to us or come to believe that we remember something
that never happened at all. A perfectly faithful memory is a myth.

We recognize our face in a mirror over the years with no surprise. The network of
cells that are responsible for this recognition adapt to the modifications due to aging.
We know it is us because we have forgotten that our face has changed. The image
of our face is reconstructed at each evocation.

Once we adopt a new view of the world, we immediately lose much of our ability to
recall what we used to believe. Newly encoded information reshapes existing
representations and sends the re-created whole to new storage space. Previous
traces are reactualized and replaced with new traces. Thus, when we remember
something as if for the first time, we are unaware that we are recalling it from the last

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time we remembered it rather from longer ago. Often we will not believe we ever felt
differently.

We can thus say that memory retrieval is a dynamic process that alters successive
recollections and is heavily influenced by interpersonal or emotional cues. The notion
that the brain ever holds anything like an isolated memory of an event is untenable.
Rather, it holds in associative networks the memory of what went on during the
interaction, including past memories and the context.

This is the secret of the Proustian effect, which describes how the emotion Proust
felt when tasting a madeleine in a cup of tea leads him to reconstruct, step by step, a
forgotten memory. This is the reason we often recall contexts rather than just
isolated events.

A simple taste or smell may lead a number of associated perceptions and memories
to resonate, with multiple associative networks of synapses linked to each other.
Activating one part of a network tends to spread activation to other parts and other
networks, and the content of some networks that were not conscious reaches
consciousness with the activation effort.

Memory fidelity
This dynamic process implies a loss of memory fidelity, but it has the advantage of a
permanent updating of our memory and learning according to the present context.

Our memory prepares us for the future by calling back our past. There are no crystal
balls to read the future, only a rear view mirror. Any prediction is an extrapolation of
what we have learned and understood from the past.

All this activity is processed in our subconscious, and what the brain computes, our
conscious mind is the last to know because consciousness occurs at the very end of
the process. Thus, Michael Gazzaniga 90 maintains that biography and autobiography
are hopelessly inventive. In fact, the literature regarding false memory is voluminous,
as illustrated by fantasized memories reported during psychotherapy or the notorious
unreliability of first-hand witness testimony in court. Managers are also prone to
misleading recollections that may result in overconfidence.

Despite some limitations, the good news is that our memory does not work like a
compact disk with limited space on it. The more we learn, the more we combine and
recompose our knowledge and the more we enlarge our learning capacities.

Sleep well, remember well

Once we fall sleep, the prefrontal cortex shuts down, and the brain is free from the
constraint of reality and the tyranny of sensory input. Two stages of sleep alternate:
so-called deep sleep and rapid-eye-movement or REM sleep.

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Deep sleep (non-REM sleep) is characterized by slow waves of large amplitude

while the brain is globally underactive. This sleep plays a key role in the
consolidation, restoration, and long-term storage of memories.

Sleep plays an especially important role in consolidating recently acquired

memories, including organizing recent learning and reinforcing some changes.

Memories migrate night after night from the hippocampus to different regions in the
cortex where they are inscribed as lasting memories. This inscription is all the more
important and persistent if experiences were intense, repetitive, or emotional.

Sleep is important not only for consolidating what we learn but also for forgetting part
of it and restoring our capacity to learn and acquire new memories. During the
waking state, multiple experiences become inscribed into our memory through the
creation of new synapses or their reinforcement. If this state were maintained, we
would rapidly reach saturation and have difficulty inscribing new memories. We have
to forget some things to free up space for others.

The selection between what we keep in memory and what we forget allows us to
prioritize events and reinvent ourselves.

As we will see later, ample sleep is the bedrock of creativity, and lack of sleep may
increase stress and lead to burnout.

In practice: Keeping track of decisions

Because memory is a reconstruction of the past that can be altered by subsequent
situations and circumstances, it is important to take a few minutes at the end of
meetings to document what has occurred. This can prove useful in settling later
disagreements about the nature of assignments.

Trying to remember lost information

The harder you try to remember something, the more your working memory
becomes occupied with your worry and the effort to remember and the smaller the
chance of finding it. As your consciousness becomes busier, the missing information
is less likely to pop up. Once you give up, the information may come to mind more
easily.

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Desirable difficulties in learning

The following learning experiment consists of four patterns of study (“S”) sessions
followed by testing (“T”) and then a final assessment (“A”) to check the quality of the
learning.

The four patterns are numbered 1 to 4:

1. S S S S —A
2. S S S T —A
3. S S T T –- A
4. STTT—A
Of the four, which one do you predict will work the best?

Most of us would predict that the first pattern of four successive study sessions
would work best because we tend to believe that block learning and repetition help
us to remember better. But, in fact, the fourth pattern, which is just one study session
followed by three short testing sessions, outperforms all the others. It turns out that
instruction that creates difficulties for the learner and slows the rate of learning
improves retention.

This conclusion was established by Robert Bjork’s research 91 in a number of

experiments similar to the test just described. Those who learned in blocks of study
performed poorly, and their predictions about how well they would perform 24 hours
later was way off. There was a negative correlation between their performance and
their prediction of success when they operated on the first mode, that is, blocking the
learning (one session quickly following another). They thought that they knew more
than they actually did.  

So, would 2 weeks of intense preparation before an exam lead to better results than
learning that is spaced out over a few months?

Further experiments have established that spaced learning is greatly superior to

massed learning.92 Students generally forget 90% of what they learn in class within
30 days, and most of this forgetting occurs within the first few hours. However,
forgetting allows us to prioritize events, and relearning in a different mode and
context reinforces memorization.

Desirable difficulties---such as spacing study sessions, testing, and interweaving

rather than blocking practice sessions---can, in fact, enhance retrieval and optimize
long-term retention.

This is contrary to general opinion. Whatever the domain, be it military drills, athletics
training, workplace learning, or school teaching, we tend to believe that block
learning will lead to better retention. However, beyond a certain minimal amount,
repeated studying does not seem to matter much.

As Robert Bjork explained, blocking gives us a false sense of security because our
prediction of future recall is inflated by repetition. But, as we interweave tests and
recall, we feel more anxious to become prepared for the subsequent learning, which
is reconsidered within a different frame. Testing not only assesses what we know but

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changes the way we memorize that knowledge. Repetition leads to short-term

memory boost, but testing and retrieving enhances long-term retention.

In practice: The four steps of the way we learn

The way we learn can be broken down into four steps that interact in a way that
better activates the hippocampus and leads to more efficient recall of what has been
learned. These four steps---represented by the sequence attention, connection,
emotion and spacing (ACES)---are intimately linked.

Attention
Attention drives learning because without it there is no access to explicit memory
and long-term memory. Hence, to learn something, we need to give it enough
attention over enough time.

We know that attention is selective and will only allow limited information to come on
stage under the spotlight. So the teacher’s role is to help the student focus attention
on pertinent information while ignoring the rest. This is difficult because we know
only too well how multitasking and distractions can divide and divert attention in a
world saturated by media and communication channels.

It is important to remember that this entry stage in the working memory has a limited
capacity. So, as the cognitive load grows, working memory is rapidly saturated and
overwhelmed. Loading on more means retaining less: The information enters and
leaves the mind without being retained and connected.

Connection and appropriation: Transforming information

into knowledge
The role of educators cannot be reduced to the transmission of knowledge. They
contribute to building and structuring their students’ brains by ensuring that the
learning becomes embedded in associative networks.

Learning involves developing and hardwiring networks of associations while linking

new knowledge to existing networks. An idea arises: We write it down, visualize it,
talk about it, link it to previous knowledge, question it, experience it, and the
information becomes inscribed and weaved into thicker and denser webs of neuronal
cells. Hence, we see the value of multiple ways of learning through many sensory
channels.

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Information is not supposed to go in one ear and out the other; we want it to stay
between them. So, we must transform it into knowledge, that is, something personal
and meaningful associated with our previous knowledge, part of who we are.

Emotion
Emotions and motivators are commonly used in education and training to capture
and focus attention and to amplify the memory of experience.

To be motivated, learners need to be interested in the task, its value, and the
potential reward they might get from it. All of this leads to the release of dopamine.
The autonomy, self-esteem, and/or excitement individuals get from learning can also
influence social motivators, such as an increase of status or the pleasure of being
part of a group.

Each time the teacher does something to encourage the student or make the task
interesting, amusing, or exciting, dopamine is released, new connections are
created, and the learning is more likely to persist.

Similarly, a feeling of reward can come from the pleasure of discovery. The human
brain is constantly in search of newness and enjoys it. It is thus important to organize
new activities or to vary learning techniques in order to reinforce motivation and
capture the learners’ attention. Reward can also derive from the pleasure of
receiving encouragement and positive feedback and/or from sharing the new
knowledge with colleagues or teammates.

Spacing
As described previously, distributing learning over time is better than cramming it into
long study sessions. Spacing learning reinforces long-term memory, which is
amplified during rest periods and sleep. Spacing also leads to forgetting, so the
learning feels harder. But the retrieval difficulty, questioning, and relearning
contribute to better retention in the end.

More efficient ways of learning might, in fact, be based on brief sessions followed by
questioning exchanges and confrontation within working groups.

Unlearning
When it comes to unlearning, we know that it is difficult to modify any hardwiring that
has been firmly embedded (see Chapters 3 and 4). It is far easier to leave the wiring
where it is and take a new route with new associations, or, using the analogy of the

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 120

skier on a snowy hill, it is better create a new path rather than trying to modify the
existing one.

In this chapter we have reviewed a number of interesting challenges.

The hippocampus or expliciter is the entry door to explicit memory and attention, and
repetition is the means by which memories are fixed in place.

The amygdala still has a strong emotional and priming effect at the level of implicit
and explicit memory. We remember the highlights of an experience more than what
actually happened overall.

Memory is a dynamic reconstruction process, so to avoid distortions, it is useful to

cross-check the information with different sources and to take notes at the end of a
meeting.

It is important to keep in mind the four steps of the learning process: attention,
connection, emotion, and spacing (ACES). With connection to other neural
networks, it is possible to transform information into knowledge. Learning is
consolidated through repetition in different contexts and spaced out over time.

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 Chapter 8 - The unconscious mind has a
mind of its own
In this chapter we consider the main properties of the unconscious mind, that is, four
modes of functioning that organize our subconscious life: the power of expectations,
the unrelenting creation of categories, the associative activity in search for meaning,
and the natural tendency to confirm and extend our knowledge.
As a prediction machine, the brain functions by averaging and stereotyping. As an
associative machine, it is in search of cause and meaning and abhors randomness,
ambiguity, and chance. It is a machine driven by the search of confirmation.

The first mode: A predisposition to anticipate

We only have access to a representation of reality
To navigate through life and behave reasonably in a chaotic world, we need to give
shape to our environment and to make sense of the billions of stimuli we receive
every second. Our brain must filter what we perceive through simplified mental
maps. In other words, all our brain knows and notices is patterns and maps of
electrical firings in a variety of separate locations, patterns that are further associated
and integrated into coherent ensembles.

We live in a representation of the world that we have constructed by collecting just

the right amount of information to build an adequate and sufficient representation to
allow prevision and action in real time. We simplify and amplify what happens by
taking in what is useful and forgetting the rest.

In fact, perceptions are constrained by the architecture of our brain. A mental

operation as simple as recognizing a face uses a hierarchical distribution of dozens
of neural structures in the occipital lobe of the brain. The image is broken down and
analyzed according to separate components of the perception, such as the
orientation of segments of lines, contrast, luminance, colors, distances, movement,
and so on. Then the image is reassembled by associating the different elements to
provide a stable representation.

White light
Here is Michael Graziano93 explanation of the mystery of white light: “White light
contains a mixture of all wavelengths in the visible spectrum. It is the dirtiest,
muddiest color possible. But the visual system does not model it in that way. Instead,
the visual system encodes the information on high brightness and low color. That is
the brain’s model of white light – a high value of brightness and a low value of color,
a purity of luminance -- a physical impossibility. Why does the brain construct a
physically impossible description of a part of the world? The purpose of that inner
model is not to be physically accurate in all details, which would be a waste of neural
processing. Instead, the purpose is to provide a quick sketch, a representation that is

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easy to compute, convenient, and just accurate enough to be useful in guiding
behavior.”

So, in fact, we do not see things as they are, and we do not have access to objective
reality because we only perceive the world according to our own internal maps and
frames.

Moreover, we cannot make sense of what we perceive without a priori references

and judgments, that is, theories and rules that allow us to shape the world and to
structure things. Without the concepts of space, time, quantity, and causality, we
would not be able to make sense of any observation.

For example, we cannot understand something like playing rugby without knowing
the rules of the game. Imagine watching a rugby match with a friend who has no idea
of what it is about. If you ask her to describe what she sees, she might reply, “I see a
lot of noisy and vociferous men covered in mud who pile up on top of each other and
fight.”94

Fortunately, the representation of the world we obtain from our perception system is
quite realistic because it has been refined over millions of years through massive
interactions with a concrete and stable reality. But we still need years of practice and
learning to refine the construction of this reality.

However, this representation is sometimes misleading, as we can see with some

visual illusions. For example, the perspective rules that were set up to facilitate our
understanding of distance trick us when we look at a picture that represents three
figures of the same size at different distances. It is almost impossible to fight against
the impression that their sizes are different (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Perspective illusion 

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And when it comes to understanding our own behaviors and interactions with others,
the situation is much more ambiguous than in the real world. In fact, we rely mainly
on our personal and subjective experiences and interpretations. Moreover, we do not
have access to our unconscious processes but only to the results of their
computations. So the explanations of our actions remain approximate, and we often
imagine or confabulate interpretations and explanations that are quite distant from
reality.

Objectivity bias
We find it immensely difficulty to accept that our interpretative representation of the
world is not the way it actually is. We think that we see reality directly as it is and
that our perceptions are accurate, realistic, and unbiased. But this is an illusion.

The fact that our brains are built to make us believe that we have an objective
representation of what is really out there leads us to believe that everybody should
see reality the same way we do and agree with us. This naïve belief is implicit and
nearly impossible to recognize. It is the source of objectivity bias. We are so
confident that we see reality as it is that we believe that anyone who sees things
differently must either be wrong, blind, or biased by their ideology or personal
interest.

In fact, every brain is wired differently, and everyone has his or her own way of
representing the world. There is no single perspective from which people view,
interpret, or understand things. We view things through contingent frames, as can be
seen in the ambiguous picture in Figure 2, which represents a young woman and an
old woman. Some viewers will immediately see the young girl and others the old
lady.95

Figure 2: Ambiguous picture of a young woman and an old woman

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Fortunately, reality and our representation of it converge most of the time, especially
when we operate with objects and hard facts. However, when we deal with the
interpretation of experiences or events, we will usually find some, if not a lot, of
divergence.

Perception is an active construction

Perception is not a passive process but an active construction. When we see, hear,
feel, taste or smell something, the incoming information is fragmented into basic
elements that are analyzed and then associated as they move up the cortical
hierarchy. At each level the information flows both ways, bottom up and top down.
The brain is comparing the incoming information with what it already expects or
believes until the information is recognized and confirmed. For every fiber feeding
information bottom up from the perceived stimuli, there are ten fibers feeding
information backward toward the senses. This massive reentrant, top-down traffic
synchronizes the firing of neurons and thereby coordinates perceptions.

By using reentrant signals, the brain communicates with itself and sets up
expectations and predictions that serve as reference. What we perceive does not
come solely from our senses but from a combination of our brain’s memory-derived
predictions and what we sense. In many cases, the feedback prediction may correct
our perception. Believing is seeing.

Anticipation to save time and energy

This way of functioning is pervasive throughout the brain. Every region of our
neocortex is simultaneously trying to make predictions about everything we see, feel,
and hear, which saves us time, effort, and energy as we build our perceptions on
expectations.

As already noted, we can say that believing is seeing more than the other way
around. We see what we expect to see. We experience what we expect to
experience. We hear what we expect to hear. It follows that predictions can work
against us by interfering with our ability to see things anew or to notice the
contradiction between our expectations and an “objective” reality (i.e., as recognized
by others).

So, the brain acts as an “anticipation machine” that continually prepares itself for the
future. For prediction to occur, the neurons involved in sensing become active before
actually receiving sensory input. When the input arrives, it is compared with what
was expected.

For example, as we listen to music, we predict the next note before it is played. We
expect a regular beat, a repeated sequence, or the end of a melodic phrase on the
tonic pitch. If we do not hear what we have anticipated, we are surprised and pay
attention.

Prediction is the primary function of the neocortex and the foundation of an

intelligence that allows us to plan, imagine, and hypothesize but also worry and
anticipate the worst.

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This is well illustrated by the invisible gorilla experiment of Christopher Chabris and
Daniel Simons mentioned in Chapter 2. If we keep our attention on the basketball
game, we do not expect to see a gorilla, so we have few chances to see it.

Silent intervals
People who know a piece of music well do not notice a silent interval of a few
seconds that is introduced surreptitiously, whereas people who do not know the
music will notice the silence immediately. The brains of those who know the music
re-create the missing part from previous knowledge. Each act of perception is thus
partly an act of prediction.

The context can prime expectations

The context can shape our initial expectations and influence our behavior. The
imaginative menu descriptions of the dish we are eating, the presentation of the food
on the plate, and the glasses set out for different wines may lead us to expect a
great experience. This positive framing effect is quite robust and can influence the
pleasure we get from the meal.

For example, the famous violinist Joshua Bell looked like an average street
performer when he stood playing his violin in a subway station wearing jeans with a
baseball cap on his head.

How do you read this display?96

Figure 3: Reading the same sign according to context

The same sign can be read in Figure 3 as B between the two letters and as 13
between the two numbers. The ambiguity is resolved by the context, which primes
us to see letters or numbers.

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In practice: The brand can primes expectations
In a famous Pepsi-Coke challenge, random people were asked to taste Coke and
Pepsi and then decide which one they preferred. 97

The ads created by Pepsi announced that, based on blind tasting with tests using
standard plastic cups, people preferred Pepsi to Coke. At the same time, ads for
Coke proclaimed that people preferred Coke to Pepsi, but in that case they could
see what they were drinking from the can (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Pepsi-Coke challenge

To understand the difference, neuroscientists conducted their own tests in an fMRI

machine. They discovered that people's brain activation was different. After a sip of
Coke or Pepsi, the pleasurable value of the drinks turned out to be similar. But when
participants knew they were going to drink Coke, their working memory in the
prefrontal cortex was activated. Then the advantage of Coke over Pepsi was due to
Coke’s branding, which activated the higher-order brain mechanisms and released
dopamine from the front brain to the pleasure centers.

The price can prime expectations

In experiments run by Hilke Plassmann and Antonio Rangel, 98 participants were

asked to blind taste cabernet sauvignon wines that were distinguished solely by their
retail price, from $5 to $90. When wines labeled $5 and $45 were sipped inside an
fMRI machine, the more expensive wine made the medial orbitofrontal cortex (the

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part of the OFC encoding pleasure evaluation) more excited than when the cheaper
one was tasted. The volunteers consistently gave higher ratings to the more
expensive wines. High prices consistently enhanced the subjects’ experience of
pleasure.

The orbitiofrontal cortex seemed to respond to the price of the wine rather than to the
taste of the wine itself. According to Antonio Rangel, “If you believe the experience is
better, even though it’s the same wine, the rewards center of the brain encodes it as
feeling better.”

In another example, the price we pay for a theater ticket affects our enjoyment, and
bargain tickets result in less attendance.99

We do not realize how powerful our expectations are. They can modulate every
aspect of our experience, and if they are based on false assumptions, they can be
very misleading.

Placebo or the power of prediction

Placebos operate on the power of suggestion, which is a way to prime expectations.
They are effective because people believe in them. We swallow a pill and feel better
because we believe that it will reduce our pain, even when it has no active
ingredient. This belief is strong enough to increase the activation of prefrontal
regions related to mental control and reappraisal and to reduce the activation of
pain-related structures. The expectation of relief seems to release neurotransmitters,
such as endorphins or opiates, which rival the effect of an analgesic dose of
morphine. The more expensive the placebo, or the more convincing the medical
advice, the greater the effect.

Similarly, the expectation of relief can bring immediate relief, as demonstrated in a

series of electric shock experiments conducted on volunteers by Tom Wager. 100 The
subjects that were supplied with a fake pain-relieving cream (which had no analgesic
effect) said that the shocks were significantly less painful. This placebo effect
depended entirely on the prefrontal cortex, which responded by inhibiting the activity
of the emotional areas that normally respond to pain. Because those people
expected the experience to be less painful, they ended up experiencing less pain.
Their predictions became self-fulfilling prophecies.

The second mode: A predisposition to categorize

and stereotype
The creation of forms and categories
Our unconscious mind is programmed to perceive global forms and patterns and to
group things together when they are similar to each other or share a common
destiny. This fundamental ability to classify and condense information into categories

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helps us simplify our perceptions, save energy, and create order out of chaos.
Actually, we take this ability for granted and exercise it automatically, without effort.

So, a melody is not just a succession of notes of music but a global structure. If a
flock of birds flies overhead, we see it as a single flock, sharing a common
destination. Every time the flock shifts direction we do not have to track the
trajectories of each bird, but if one flies off on its own, then we take notice. Similarly
we can recognize forms in a noisy background (see Figure 5)

Figure 5: Forms in noisy background

Do you see a form101 in this noisy background? This may take you some
time and attention. But once acquired, the form will persist. The
association is stable.

Cognitive oversimplification: Averaging and stereotyping

To process the massive inflow of information we receive, we automatically condense
what we get into patterns that can easily be matched with similar patterns and
overlaid onto each other in order to summarize and combine similar aspects into
prototypical representations and norms.

A prototype is a typical exemplar that averages similar elements. For example, we

may have a prototypal representation for all the faces of a specific population, and
each individual will be distinguished according to small variations from the prototype.
The power of a caricature is in exaggerating some specific differences as can be
seen in the caricature of General de Gaulle in Figure 6.

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 Figure 6: Caricature of Charles de Gaulle
We hold in memory well-defined forms that condense and average similar elements
in the same category. All drawings and representations of circles are imperfect and
different, but we end up with the concept of a perfect circle by overlapping and
averaging them. It is such a perfect abstraction that you may think, like Plato, that
our souls learned about these forms before birth. 102

Stereotypes are thus energy-saving devices that allow us to make better predictions
and efficient decisions. We expect an elderly person to need help. We expect a
doctoral student to be intelligent.

However, this quick, convenient way to refer to broad categories comes at a price in
terms of a loss of information. We flatten out differences within a category and
exaggerate differences between categories. It is us versus them, friend versus foe.
All members of the out group or the opposition are put into the same category, and,
at the extreme, they will end up being homogenized, dehumanized, or demonized.

Invariant forms, invariant representations

To be able to transmit information from one structure to another and consolidate
predictions, every region of the cortex must form invariant representations. There
can be no ambiguity. We recognize a word as an entity, whatever its orientation or
distance, in capitals or italics, even if the individual letters are not all distinguished. In
fact, many words can be recognized with only the first and the last letters.

Words as a whole

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr

the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at
the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. This is
bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe.
Amzanig, right?

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For example, we recognize our friend’s face every time we see her. What makes her
face recognizable is the fact that she has two eyes, a nose, a wide face relative on
the eyes, a longer nose, and so on. About three times every second our eyes fixate
one point then suddenly jump to another point where our brain sees something
completely different.

We fixate on one eye, then the other, occasionally the nose, the mouth, or other
features, going back and forth. Then our brain constructs a stable representation of
the face, filling in the missing or messy sections with what it thinks should be there.
And the face remains the same, whether the person is near or across the room,
facing us or to the side, smiling or yawning, standing in bright light or in the shade.

The stability of the face is found in some specialized areas of the ventrotemporal
cortex form recognition area, where certain sets of cells will remain active as long as
our friend’s face is anywhere in our field of vision (refer to Figure 5 in Chapter 1). We
are at the top of the mechanism of association and recomposition of the image. But it
should not be forgotten that at the first levels of the visual region, specialized
structures analyze fast-changing details according to a number of dimensions
(position, movement, color, contrast, and more).

In the same way, we have invariant representations of some motor programs that
produce specific actions, such as putting our key into a lock or signing our name.

In practice: The brain craves invariance and certainty

The brain is a prediction machine that likes to know what is going on by recognizing
well-known and unambiguous patterns. Uncertainty is not in the repertoire of our
unconscious processing, which abhors doubt and ambiguity. That is why, when we
are uncertain, we automatically bet on an answer, according to the current context,
and the choice is made without our knowledge of the ambiguity.

And when certainty is met, we experience a feeling of reward. Consultants and

experts make their living by giving managers a reassuring feeling of increased
control through planning, forecasts, models, and strategies.

Now, when we want to consciously face uncertainty and keep in mind conflicting or
incompatible interpretations, we have to use our working memory, and this requires
a good deal of mental effort.

Jumping to conclusions: Generalization

Our brain is built to categorize and generalize what it perceives, sometimes to
excess. Stimulating a fragment of a network may be sufficient to fire the whole thing.
Our mind has an imperative need to complete a form or a move just sketched out.
We can immediately recognize our friend by only seeing her gait at a distance, or we
can recognize a melody by just hearing a few notes.

This explains why we quickly jump to conclusions on the basis of little evidence and
we are quick to put people in general categories from limited observations. And, as
we generalize, we become overly inclusive, and “once” means “always.”

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How often have we said to someone, “You never do this, or you always do that,”
thereby generalizing her behavior from a single observation. If a person is disloyal or
dishonest on one occasion, we extended this to all occasions. And the label will
stick.

This form of overgeneralization is pervasive and can be applied to ourselves. After a

painful failure we easily generalize: "I'm a born loser."

Prejudices
Prejudices emerge from our disposition to process information into categories. The
difference is that categories can be reconsidered under the weight of disconfirming
evidence, whereas prejudices are hard to dislodge and remain impervious to
dissonant information and reasoning. This will be discussed in the next chapter when
we consider cognitive dissonance.

The third mode: A predisposition to search for

cause and meaning
Beyond chunking information into categories, our unconscious mind works by
association to detect relationships between elements and to construct predictions
through causal chains. Giving a meaning to what happens, to what we do, is a
natural tendency that is deeply wired into our brain. We need causes to put order
and coherence into the world, and we hardly accept randomness and chance. So we
are ready to make sense at any cost, even when no discerning pattern exists, even if
correlations are shaky.

As soon as our unconscious mind associates a sequence of two consecutive stimuli,

it will inevitably use one to predict the other and make sense with our left-brain
interpreter.

This need to connect cause and effect must have been a necessary condition for
survival. According to Albert Michotte, 103 we see causality just as directly as we see
color. This compulsion of our left-brain interpreter to make sense is often the source
of many superstitions. This could explain, for example, the multiple and convoluted
conspiracy theories that emerged after September 11, 2001.

The hot-hand fallacy

A well-researched example of this need to make sense is the hot-hand fallacy, which
refers to the hot streaks that basketball players are supposed to go through. 104

Two successful shots do not increase the probability of making a third one. The
chance is not higher if we believe in randomness and probabilities derived from
shooting percentages. But players who go through winning streaks think that they

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are likely to continue winning, even though their wins are the result of chance and
the distribution of probabilities.

A simple probability calculation will shed some light on this, as we only have to look
at a large group of players or gamblers to be quite certain that a few of them will
show extraordinary results, just by mere luck.

Imagine we have 2000 gamblers who play a simple game that gives a 50% chance
of winning and the same probability of losing a specific amount. At the first game, we
can expect 1000 gamblers to win and 1000 to lose. As they continue playing, 500
players would have won twice consecutively after the second round. After 10 games,
one or two players would have had a long streak of 10 consecutive wins. This is
simple probability, but from the point of view of the winner, this long winning streak
will look too extraordinary to be explained only by chance. There must be another
explanation, a “because.”

In practice: Finding cause and meaning

As Daniel Kahneman confirmed, randomness and uncertainty are unsettling
abstractions, so it is reassuring to find cause and meaning. 105

“We all have a need for the reassuring message that success will reward wisdom
and courage. Many business books are tailored to satisfy this need. CEOs do
influence performance, but the effects are much smaller than a reading of the
business press suggests. Consumers have a hunger for a clear message about the
determinants of success and failure in business. …The idea that large historical
events are determined by luck is profoundly shocking although it is demonstrably
true. The fertilization of the three eggs that produced Hitler, Stalin and Mao had
momentous consequences for the world, and make a joke of the idea that long-term
developments are predictable.”

Phil Rosenzweig insisted on the after-the-fact reconstruction: 106 “We may look at
successful companies and applaud them for what seems, in retrospect, to have been
brilliant decisions, but we forget that at the time those decisions were made, they
were controversial and risky. McDonald’s bet on franchising looks smart today but in
the 1950s it was a leap in the dark.” This decision turned out well, but a number of
rivals were less lucky and disappeared. “Post hoc reconstruction permits history to
be told in such a way that chance is minimized as an explanation. But chance does
play a role and the difference between a brilliant visionary and a foolish gambler is
usually inferred after the fact, an attribution based on outcomes.”

This is hindsight attribution, as we describe later.

Silent evidence
According to Nassim Taleb, the problem with the human race is that each of us is a
surviving Casanova. As he wrote in The Black Swan,107 “When you start with many
adventurous Casanovas, there is bound to be a survivor, and guess what? If you are

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here talking about it, you are likely to be that particular one. We may think that the
odds would be too low to be there just by luck. But think about what happened to the
others? They all have disappeared.” The evidence of those forgotten witnesses is
gone. We only see the survivors while the others remain silent.

We only see what is there, and we ignore the countless events that failed to happen.
The concept of silent evidence is similar to Daniel Kahneman’s famous formula, the
“WYSIATI”: What You See Is All There Is. We are led by a strong unconscious bias
to ignore what we do not know, and we only see what is there to see.

Intentional attribution
The need to find causality can be extended from things and events to persons. We
are born prepared to make intentional attributions. Infants less than a year old can
already identify bullies and victims.

A friend passes you and fails to say hello. There could be many rational reasons for
that, but an immediate interpretation may jump into your mind: "She is ignoring me,
she does not like me anymore."

If the information we receive is incomplete for any reason, we are disposed to

assume that the cause is deliberate or even malevolent rather than accidental or the
result of chance.

Most generally, we consider that we are responsible for the good things that happen
to us and blame other people for the bad ones. This attribution is immediate and
automatic and excludes any alternative explanation.

Organizing the world into explicative and coherent stories

Stories provide coherent and causal explanations of complex events, and as such,
they give us valuable insights and are easy to remember and recall.

With our left-brain interpreter, we strive to make as much sense as possible from a
situation, linking and organizing a number of disparate pieces of information into a
coherent and explicative story. Suddenly, the gist of the situation appears and makes
increasing sense as we reinforce its coherence with whatever fits in and toss out
conflicting information. Then, as the story is remembered and retold, it is integrated
into extensive, powerful brain networks.

As Phil Rosenzweig108 remarked, “We want the world around to make sense. We
want to feel that we know what happened. … We want the comfort of a plausible
explanation, so we say that a company strayed or drifted (for a specific reason). …
We can’t look into the camera and say that the Dow Jones is down half a percent
today because of random variations.”

So, quite often, we take what comes easily to mind, and often what is familiar, to
build a coherent story we will believe in. But the story is as good as the quality of the

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information it is based on. As we ignore what we do not have access to, we create
“good” stories based on limited evidence.

The coherence of a story is more important than its validity because what is essential
is to suppress doubt, contradiction, or ambiguity and make the world look as
predictable and coherent as possible. But what looks familiar and coherent is not
necessarily true.

The fourth mode: A predisposition to confirm

Confirmation bias
Our brain tries to make whatever we sense or think fit into existing mental models
and maps. Our associative memory combines, merges, and integrates patterns of
information with what already exists, contributing to a general confirmation bias. We
build on what already exists.

Whatever the hypothesis or belief we hold in our mind, our brain will naturally look for
evidence to confirm it. If we think people are talking about us, we will find the
confirmation that they are.

In fact, our conscious mind is lazy and has an automatic tendency to rely on existing
knowledge and established beliefs. We have to make a special effort to disprove and
abandon what we already know or elaborate. Once we have built a theory, we are
more likely to confirm it than to revise and change it.

The scientific method

Science, in large part, is based on inductive reasoning, which aims to extend
interesting discoveries from particular instances to broader generalizations and laws.
We replicate and multiply experiences in order to check that we obtain the same
result each time. For example, we can easily show that water regularly boils at 100
degrees Celcius at sea level. From these repetitive experiments, we tend to draw a
general law.

But the theories that are derived from inductive reasoning still remain beliefs. For
example, we may believe that all swans are white because all recorded observations
show that they are all white. But as soon a single black swan is observed, the theory
collapses. In fact, the scientific method tests the limits of inductive reasoning by
organizing experiments that may prove that the theory is wrong. The theory is only
accepted as long as it cannot be proven wrong.

Scientific reasoning forces us to face the possibility, even the dire reality, that we
were mistaken. It forces us to confront our self-justifications and put them on public
display for others to refute.

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Confirmation or refutation

Figure 7: “A” in the top half and “1” on the bottom half?

Hypothesis: Whenever there is an “A” in the top half of each card, there is a “1” on
the bottom half (Figure 7).
Your task: Name those cards, and only those cards, you would need to unmask in
order to find whether the hypothesis is true or false. You don’t need to unmask all
four cards (solution in notes109).

Karl Popper and falsification

Karl Popper, the Austrian-British philosopher, is known for rejecting the classical
views of the scientific method based on induction and confirmation. Instead, he
favored the idea of falsification.110 That is, the objective of the scientific method is to
refute theories with experiences that can prove them wrong. A theory can never be
proven right, but it can be falsified, meaning that it should be scrutinized by decisive
experiments with the objective of contradicting it. As long as it cannot be proven
false, the theory is valid.

Disconfirming assumptions

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David Ogilvy, the British advertising expert, said that he succeeded because he was
always ready to run a few ads he thought were losers. Some of these happened to
be huge winners, which caused him to revise and improve his theories concerning
effective advertising.

It feels good to confirm

It feels good to be right and certain. We feel a surge of comfort and pleasure, a
surge of dopamine, from the messages that confirm our position or the coherence of
the story we construct. Our reward circuits are activated, but we are not choosy
about the quality and the amount of the information that supports our beliefs. In
fact,we are lazy and not naturally inclined to spend a lot of energy to activate our
working memory and check the information.

When new information corresponds to our convictions, we think it is well founded

and useful and we feel good. But if the information is not what we expect, we feel
some pain, we shoot the messenger who brings the dissenting information or reject
the person who holds a contrary opinion.

We selectively read studies, articles, or news that support our views, our theories, or
our political beliefs, and we ignore conflicting information.

In many examples of mergers and big strategic moves, 111 CEOs were often
persuaded that their choice would lead to tremendous success, and they ignored
advice or data that was inconsistent with their beliefs. They increasingly sought
validation for what they believed in rather than listening carefully to dissenters.

Confirmation bias also concerns our identity. We actively seek confirmation of our
most cherished beliefs, the ones that are a vital part of who we are. Having to modify
and update them makes us uncomfortable and often triggers difficult feelings and
resistance.

Pushed to the extreme, confirmation bias blinds us to some truth or other points of
view and leads us to arrogance and an attitude of superiority about our own beliefs.

Hindsight confirmation
This is the “I-knew-it-all-along” effect, even though the outcome was unforeseeable.

Once we learn the outcome of an event, we feel as though we always knew that it
would happen. The event seems more predictable and inevitable after it occurs. We
reconstruct the past to make it consistent with what we know of the present.

Hindsight tends to be unkind to managers, who are often given little credit for
successful moves that did not provide a positive outcome or appear obvious after the
outcome is known. This is the problem of measuring the quality of a decision by
focusing on the outcome rather than on the process.

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In the case of September 11, 2001, the officials who failed to anticipate the event
were accused of negligence. But all their efforts to avoid such an event were
silenced by the conspicuous fact of what had occurred.

The halo effect

The brain is a prediction machine, and we have noted the priming effect of initial
expectations. Our first perceptions and impressions are powerful and will set up our
expectations, even if they are based on faulty information. Once we develop an
opinion, we rarely change it, and we discount new, potentially contractictory
information, even if it is more accurate. And months later, our first impressions may
still influence us.

The halo effect is the extension of a positive aspect of a person or a product to the
overall perception. As soon as one aspect is considered positively, that first
impression will radiate a positive aura over the whole person or object.

The perception of one desirable trait (e.g., attractiveness, optimism, type of

personality) can prepare us to extend this positive evaluation to other traits and
abilities (e.g., job performance, leadership), leading us to deny, overlook, or forgive
some negative aspects. We become blind to information that contradicts what we
believe.

The advantage of being tall

We are primed to expect natural leadership qualities in people who are tall.
Heads of companies are almost all tall, about 6 feet (1.82m), with a third standing six
foot two inches (1.87m) or taller. “In America today, each inch of height corresponds
to $6 000 of annual salary.”

Interestingly, there appears to be a corresponding advantage in earning power in

relation to height when men try to attract women. “Several studies of online dating
have shown that short men can be as successful as a tall men in the dating market if
they earn more. A man who is five feet six (1.67m) can do as well as a six footer
(1.82m) if he earns $175 000 a year more.” 112

In practice: Halo and prediction

The halo effect is used as a shortcut to make predictions about things that are hard
to assess directly. We cling to a tangible, salient aspect to evaluate other features
that are more ambiguous or abstract. In job recruitment we focus on tangible
elements of information such as a diploma, the university of origin, or some
elaborated “intelligence test.” And, often, it is the ability of the candidate to tell a
coherent story that will determine our choice.

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Interestingly, it is the results and the performance of the company that cast a halo on
the quality of the leader. As Phil Rosenzweig 113 writes, “Good leaders are often said
to have a handful of important qualities: clear vision, effective communication skills,
self-confidence, personal charm and more. But several of these qualities tend to be
in the eyes of the beholder, which is affected by company performance. …While the
company was successful people say that the leader has all these qualities and when
the company’s fortunes turn, the very same man is demonized as arrogant, too
controlling, and abrasive.” The problem is that successful leaders come from
successful companies, an after-the-fact conclusion.

The halo effect and self-fulfilling prophecy

The halo effect is probably the most common bias in performance appraisal. A
supervisor may single out a positive aspect of an employee’s behavior---such as the
fact that she stays long hours at her desk or that she demonstrates great enthusiasm
in her work---to color the entire evaluation of her performance. But this aspect could
be quite misleading because the employee would be better off visiting clients or the
enthusiasm may not reflect a real ability to perform the job.

As a priming process, the halo effect also influences and molds future performance.
It is often referred to as the Pygmalion effect 114 in a number of experiments in
education. Great expectations placed on children, students, or employees make
them perform accordingly.

In a typical experiment, trainees are randomly classified into three categories, with
scores corresponding to three levels of skills: high, regular, or unknown. The trainers
who are not aware of this random classification are then asked to read and
transcribe each trainee’s evaluation into the form that will be used for the training.
The trainees who perform best on tests at the end of the training are the ones that
were thought by the trainers to have high skills according to the first information they
received. The high expectations of trainers positively influenced the behaviors of
trainees. They took on the characteristics ascribed to them.

This self-fulfilling prophecy can be observed at work. If our bosses value what we do
and believe in us, we tend to rise to their expectations, and vice versa. If we are
infused with poor expectations, we may internalize this negative image and fail. This
is called the “shadow effect” whereby managers unintentionally communicate their
lack of confidence to subordinates who will underperform accordingly. They may pick
out a negative event and dwell on it almost exclusively. And the shadow of the “one
big mistake” that has been told and retold so many times will darken any future
success.

This shadow of low confidence may induce a set-up-to-fail syndrome 115 leading
people to fail, even if they have great potential. “The problem stems from the fact
that while most managers empower and encourage star performers, they tend to
micromanage and control perceived ‘weaker’ performers in ways that stifle their self-
confidence and drive. The unwitting result: The latter group lives down to
expectations, rather than living up to its true potential.”

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The halo effect and attractiveness
Decisions in recruiting or promoting are likely to be influenced by characteristics
such as physical appearance, gender, and/or race.

Some features---such as size, square jaw, high cheekbones, or large eyes---suggest

high leadership competence in men. According to Malcolm Gladwell, almost 60% of
the CEOs from Fortune 500 companies are six foot two (188 cm) or taller, yet only
4% in the general population is that tall.116 People perceived as being attractive
appear to benefit in all sorts of situations and are more likely to be considered
trustworthy and friendly.

According to Daniel Kahneman, interviewers are overconfident in their intuitions

because they assign too much weight to their personal impressions and too little to
other sources of information, thus lowering the validity of the recruitment process. To
avoid the halo effect, it is important to collect information on one trait at a time,
scoring each one before moving on. The final score is then computed by adding up
the scores, with no further input from the interviews.

In this chapter, we reviewed four basic properties of our unconscious mind.

First, the brain is a prediction machine. Believing is often seeing. Expectations prime
us to predict and anticipate, hence the power of suggestion in terms of brand or
price and the importance of the placebo effect.

The brain needs to actively generate categories and invariant forms in order to
navigate a complex environment, with the risk of oversimplification and
overgeneralization.

As an associative machine, the brain searches for meaning and coherent

explanations, attributing intentions to people or telling convincing stories. The
objective is to avoid uncertainty and chance at all costs. Confirmation bias, then,
searches for reassurance by going deeper into the same traces. It feels good to
confirm what we think we know, and we are quick to extend first impressions by
means of the halo effect.

The challenge now is to understand how our unconscious operating systems

condition our conscious life, how beliefs and expectations orient our perceptions and
behavior, how stereotyping distorts our interpretations, how we experience causality
just as we see colors, and how confirmation bias keeps us going down the same
path. We have to curb our biases if we are to prevent them from dictating our
behavior.

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 Chapter 9 - Our beloved ego
We are guided by habits and structured by expectations, we average and categorize
to understand the world, we see causality as we see color, and we extrapolate
through confirmation. Fortunately, we are not prisoners of our automated processes,
and we evolved to have a conscious self that gives us some autonomy and control
over our destiny. However, as we center on and overvalue our beloved self, we risk
overconfidence, self-inflation, and self-justification that can lead to the amazing
effect of cognitive dissonance.

Identity and autonomy

Constructing a stable identity
As we saw in Chapter 2, our conscious brain can remove us from the immediacy of
an experience and decouple us from the responses of our automatic and quick
unconscious brain. This provides us some autonomy and room to decide on a
course of action.

As a serial processor, the conscious brain is slow, consumes a good deal of energy,
and easily becomes tired and overwhelmed. But it speaks with one voice, which
gives us the strong conviction that we are unified into a “self” that is in charge of our
actions and is overseeing our intentions and behaviors.

Establishing a solid self is quite a relief, because without integration and unity we are
more or less at the mercy of various brain structures and their competing foci and
agendas. Our sense of self gives us direction and the drive to keep going, even in
the worst of circumstances. We may cruise on autopilot most of the time, but we still
feel pretty much in charge, making the decisions and pulling the levers.

We have seen how we understand and frame the world by constructing a rather
faithful representation of reality by bumping against it. With the self, we similarly try
to construct a stable, coherent identity by interacting with others. This identity
integrates our beliefs, values, personality, affiliations (race, gender, religion, political
party), and even our possessions.

Beliefs and identity

Our beliefs are gradually established from the multitude of concrete experiences we
have gone through, and they become deeply rooted and embedded in our brains,
rather like habits. They average the result of our experiences to prepare us for future
action without having to process enormous amounts of data. They are like backstage
managers who set up the guidelines of the scenarios that will organize our future life.

We identify with our beliefs and values. They are the backbone of our identity, and
we tend to fight hard to hold on and to confirm them. General beliefs and rules give
us an intuitive sense of what is right and wrong, how to evaluate success, how to
behave and interact. For example, we may define happiness in terms of fame or

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status, or we may believe that to be successful we must be popular, wealthy, and
have everybody love us.

The strength of beliefs

Our beliefs are hardwired into stable associative networks of neural cells organized
by accumulated experience. When the adaptation to a new situation necessitates a
change in our beliefs and representations, we often feel threatened and ready
ourselves to defend them vigorously.

According to Sandra and Matthew Blackeslee, 117 “Your beliefs make you well. And
they can make you sick. Beliefs can even kill. In the Caribbean, many people believe
in voodoo. When a witch doctor puts them under a curse, in extreme cases they
sicken and die. Whether you believe your witch doctor … your faith healer … or a
new medical breakthrough … the belief dividend for you is the same. Energy fields,
astral planetary travel, prayer, guided imagery, relaxation techniques, they can all
work, if you put your faith in them.”

Autonomy
Like the need to control risk and uncertainly discussed in previous chapters,
autonomy is another powerful motivator.

The ability to detach ourselves from automatic behaviors and to exercise autonomy
is rewarding in itself. Autonomy is a deeply felt need that we want to preserve and
develop as we adjust to our environment and act on it. We are motivated by what we
do, and we feel stressed when we are not in control of what we do.

Deciding on the level of autonomy given to individuals and their margin of action is
one of the most widespread, nagging problems organizations face. Actors in
organizations usually strive to defend and increase their autonomy. They want more
resources and some freedom to act so that they can work in peace and adapt to the
context they are in. They want to be able to evaluate and control their own
performance.

In fact, autonomy is different from independence. It is possible to have a high degree

of autonomy and still be happily interdependent with others.

The mind-body conversation

Our body talks directly to our mind in a constant two-way exchange through brain
maps of the body. When we feel good, our mind and body are in equilibrium, that is,
in a state of homeostasis.118

The idea that we sense our emotions from our bodies has long been known, and it is
found in expressions such as having a broken heart or being frozen with fear. The
physical-emotional connection, the heartfelt sense from bodily sensations, seems to
occur principally through the insula, where feelings from the body and emotional

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awareness unite (we described the insula in Chapter 3). It represents and controls
the state of our body and integrates that body component with our emotional
experience. We called it the body sensor for this reason.

When we must make important decisions, it can be useful (as we will see in Chapter
12) to encourage the explication of gut feelings. Doing so supports the expression of
intuition and what is at stake emotionally.

The egocentric bias

Overconfidence
Because we are the center of our attention, we tend to reinforce our self-esteem.
This leads us to overvalue who we are, what we think, what we know, what we have,
and/or what we make. We overvalue our own capabilities and chances of success
and undervalue the capabilities of others. (We would expect the inverse trend for
depressed people.)

We believe that we are better than average in a whole host of different ways: driving,
attractiveness, communication, leadership, or teaching abilities. For example, more
than 90% of teachers think that their pedagogical aptitudes are above the norm.

We think that we pay attention to more than we do, that our memories are more
robust and detailed than they are, that we know more than what we really do.
Moreover, we overestimate our ability to understand and control ourselves.

Overconfidence applies in all professional domains and limits our ability to accept
feedback and evaluation from others. It is enhanced by a position of power or
expertise and may lead to inconsiderate risk taking.

Overconfidence may lead to vanity and turn into hubris, 119 an excessive amount of
pride, arrogance, and omnipotence that can lead to foolish and grandiose projects of
acquisition or fusion that may fail miserably.

In practice: We overvalue what we make

Being the center of our attention, we boast about our own creations. We only have to
look at the way we overvalue the piece of furniture that we have assembled
ourselves. The process of joining the different pieces of wood and screwing bolts in
and out probably took much more time and energy than expected, but we do feel
proud of our creation.

Similarly, it was found that when instant cake mixes required simply adding water,
the process was simplified so much that customers did not feel the cake was theirs.
So, food manufacturers increased the labor part by requiring, for example, the
addition of eggs and oil as well as water to provide customers with an increased
perception of value and ownership.

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The “not invented here” syndrome
When we generate some new idea, thought, or concept, we consider it our own. We
trust our thinking more and our creation seems more useful and important than
similar ideas from others.

The good news is that the feeling of ownership makes us more committed to the idea
or task, but we also tend to defend our own ideas with obstinacy and even
stubbornness, devaluing the proposals of others.

Self-interest and self-serving bias

Much economic theory is based on self-interest, and in the words of Adam Smith, “It
is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we can
expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. 120

So, we are biased toward choices that are in our self-interest. In fact, we believe that
we are less ego centered than others and that we cannot be easily influenced or
corrupted. For example, “Medical practitioners maintain that promotional efforts by
drug makers don’t influence their practice, but a number of studies establishes the
contrary. Even what we see as fair process is often biased by our self-interest.” 121

We believe that our success is due to hard work, persistence, and intelligence and
not to chance or favorable events: “I got this new job because of my abilities and
intelligence, and I left the previous job because the economy was bad.” Our failures
are due to others or to circumstances.

To defend our self-esteem and positive self-image, we undervalue our responsibility,

but we are quick to attribute the mistakes made by other people to their bad
dispositions: “I made a mistake because I was stressed, but you made this error
because you are clumsy.”

We can expect CEOs and politicians to attribute any success they have to their
superior abilities and to explain failure as resulting from bad luck or unforeseen
circumstances.

A self-serving narrative
We establish our identity by constructing a stable, positive representation of
ourselves and by making up a coherent story about ourselves, a narrative of our life
that we revise regularly. We identify with the characters, and the scenario makes
sense like in a novel, although it does not necessarily correspond to reality.

Narrative fallacies will inevitably arise from our continuous attempts to capture a part
of what we cannot observe. So we create fictions that we believe in and that become
our mental reality.

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We can fool ourselves with explanations, rationalizations, and/or denials to smooth
over discrepancies and preserve the coherence of our self and the stability of our
identity. Any information that does not fit into the structure is discarded in order to
reduce dissonance and provide sense and coherence.

We are thus tempted to rewrite history in the service of our self-image by giving our
narrative a self-enhancing spin. After a few corrections, the story gets better and
clearer, some facts or events are transformed or even invented, and disconfirming
evidence is forgotten. Our memory becomes our personal, self-justifying biographer.
“If mistakes were made, memory helps us remember that they were made by
someone else. If we were there, we were just innocent bystanders.”

Cognitive dissonance
We are masterful spin doctors to preserve our self-image
It is quite surprising to realize that most people, when directly confronted with new
information that would lead to questions about their beliefs or even prove them
wrong, are not inclined to accept it and change their course of action. They refute the
painful evidence and tend to justify their position with new arguments,
postrationalizations (i.e., rationalizations made after a decision or action), or fictitious
evidence in order to feel reassurred and good.

Did we do the right thing, marry the right person, choose the best car, or enter the
right career? To avoid the negative feelings these questions may elicit, we find more
arguments to comfort us in our choice, calm our worries, and make us feel good.

We are ready to transform reality to get a feel-good interpretation, and we rapidly

spin our perceptions to preserve our views and emotional investment. It is not always
to our advantage to see the world accurately.

A bad result on a test of performance may be a blow to our self-esteem, so we do

our utmost to deny that the test has any value, to find flaws in it, or to prove that it
was inadequate in some way.

We are masterful spin doctors and justifiers, wearing rose-colored glasses to avoid
looking at our flaws and to retain a positive self-image. We believe that we are good
people and that our actions are motivated by good reasons. So we conclude that
there is no problem.

Cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance takes us a step further, to a painful state of confusion when we

try to hold in mind two incompatible and conflicting views or beliefs.

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This conflict elicits a feeling of pain, and the easiest way to reduce the pain is to
reestablish a coherent representation by eliminating one of the views and finding
good reasons to defend the remaining position.
For example, a heavy drinker who reads the latest health statistics highlighting the
dangers of excessive drinking might try to reduce the dissonance by disparaging the
statistics and by convincing himself that he is only a light social drinker.
Smoking two packs of cigarettes a day could kill you. But if you are too addicted to
resist the craving, you will have to face the dissonance between the ominous danger
and your addiction. So, you try to reduce the painful feeling by denying the proximity
of the danger: “The statistics are exaggerated” or “I’m quite young.” And then you
will try to feel good: “It helps me to relax and prevents me from gaining weight” or “I
will stop as soon as this or that happens.” 122
Philippe Damier123 gives the example of someone selling a defective car to a friend:
“I am a nice, honest person, but I didn’t behave honestly. I sold my friend a car that
had a hidden defect. I acted in contradiction to my own beliefs and convictions.”
Will this person offer to repair the error, face the truth, and/or offer explanations for
his dishonesty? Most probably not. He will probably try to rationalize his behavior: “I
was in a difficult financial situation” or “It is well known that my friend is not that
honest. Actually, I did what she would have done.”
Cognitive dissonance produces emotional discomfort that is all the more painful
because it relates to an important element of self-esteem and typically occurs when
we do something that is inconsistent with our core beliefs or convictions.

However, the greater the dissonance, the greater the need to maintain coherence by
silencing the disconfirming evidence or emphasizing the good things about the
choice made.

Origin of the theory of cognitive dissonance

The theory of cognitive dissonance was developed by Leon Festinger,124 who tested
his ideas in 1954 on a newspaper story headlined “Prophecy From Planet. Call to
City: Flee That Flood. It’ll Swamp Us on December 21.” A certain Marian Keech
constructed this belief on the basis of automatic writing. She and her followers
expected flying saucers to transport them to other planets before the cataclysm
occurred. Festinger was interested to know how believers would respond when their
deeply held belief were refuted by events.

Actually, Mrs. Keech and her followers continued in their faith, which became
stronger than ever with justifications such as “The goodness of the group saved the
world from the flood.” Disconfirmation made their belief even stronger!

Just imagine a follower of Marian Keech who gave away his house and possessions
to follow her. He surely did need solid justifications to silence the dissonance and
save his self-esteem: “My faith saved the world from destruction.”125

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Cognitive dissonance raises questions about reintegrating violent extremists who
took action and survived. Will they think that they survived because their mission is
incomplete? Is it possible to make them change their convictions?

How does the brain process dissonance?

To analyze the behavior of voters who were supporters of a certain U.S. presidential
candidate, Drew Westen126 used an fMRI machine to view how their brains were
processing dissonant or consonant information.
Partisans were presented with actions taken by their candidates that contradicted the
voters’ own declarations. When asked to evaluate the level of contradiction, the
voters’ anterior cingulate cortex, the insula, the amygdala, and the orbitofrontal
cortex were activated to signal conflict and pain (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Conflict between the anterior cingulate cortex and the

amygdala127
As Drew Westen128 explained, “When partisan participants were confronted with
potentially dissonant information concerning their candidate, their amygdala and the
orbitofrontal cortex became active producing distress. The brain then managed to
shut down distress through faulty reasoning, and it did so quickly by disregarding or
excusing contradictions of their candidate and by increasing the contradiction of the
opposing candidate. But the political brain did something we didn’t predict. … It
worked overtime to feel good, activating reward circuits that gave partisans a jolt of

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positive reinforcement for their biased reasoning.” The jolt of pleasure was a rush of
dopamine in brain regions responsible for positive reward, in particular, the ventral
striatum.
The pleasure of finding the thoughts they agreed with, or eliminating the ones that
made them uncomfortable, created the same kind of euphoria and reassurance that
an addict feels with his drug.
“Partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusion they want,
and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative
emotional states and the activation of positive ones.”
In addition, when participants were confronted with dissonant information, the
reasoning areas of their brain (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or the reasoner),
virtually shut down to block out disagreeable points of view. “Voters think that they’re
thinking, but what they’re really doing is inventing or ignoring facts so that they can
rationalize decisions they’ve already made.” 129
It seems that passion and beliefs prohibit reasoning, which only serves to rationalize
the ideological option after it is committed to. Is this not appalling to those who
believe in the proper use of reason?
We silence, distort, and rationalize away threatening evidence in order to avoid what
is painful and to feel good. It is a sort of defense mechanism.

How, then, can we get cognitive circuits to light up in case of dissonance?

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the reasoner, becomes involved when we are
dealing with contradiction and conflicting tasks that do not imply emotional
involvement. This happens, for example, in the Stroop test when participants are
asked to name a color by reading it printed in a different color (e.g., reading the word
“red” when it is printed in blue).

Let us return to Drew Westen’s experiments. When partisans of one candidate had
to evaluate the contradictions of the candidate they were not voting for, they were
perfectly capable of detecting them by using their dorsolateral cortex. As shown in
Figure 2, there is a connection between the reasoner (the dorsolateral prefrontal
cortext) and the controller (the anterior cingulate cortext) that shows a contradiction
that can be corrected.

Thus, it seems that dissonance can be reduced when we are able to reframe the
situation and get some distance from its emotional impact. As the dissonance
becomes visible and conscious, we are more able to revert to normal reasoning
through the activation of the reasoner. But we must react fast enough, before
emotions flood our consciousness.

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 Figure 2: Conflict between the anterior cingulate cortex and the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. No cognitive dissonance:
The perceived gap leads to a correction

Willful blindness
In a sense, cognitive dissonance is a theory of willful blindness, of how and why
people blind themselves to avoid questioning their behaviors and/or convictions.

We silence dissonance by closing the narrow door of awareness. The thing does not
exist as long as I do not become aware of it and cannot think of it with the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or reasoner.
This is especially the case with devout believers or political experts who selectively
interpret data so that they prove them right. Fundamantalists and extremists have
such a huge psychological investment in their extensive ideals and beliefs that they
become impermeable to evidence that contradicts their group mythology. Ideology is
not ignorance; it is knowledge that wants to remain ignorant of itself.
We thus hide regrettable or shameful action and refuse to be aware of some of our
defects, unhealthy habits, or flaws. We deny truths that stare at us and cry out for
acknowledgment or action in the face of them. But these truths may be too painful to
confront or require too great an effort to change. We already know them but remain
impervious to what can be said about them.

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The challenge is the dissonance that we prefer to ignore in order to feel good. And
the recompense is a blissful surge of dopamine in the reward circuits. Change is so
effortful and uncertain that we prefer to imagine that what we ignore will not hurt us.

But, being blind does not make us safer; in fact, it often leaves us exposed and
powerless. Ostriches imagine that their body is concealed when they put their head
and neck flat on the ground in an effort to elude their predators, but by doing so they
actually make themselves even more vulnerable.130

In practice: Willful blindness is a real challenge in

organizations
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Inertia exerts an inordinate pull within organizations.
Every change carries with it the possibility of discomfort, conflict, and dissonance
between what we hold to be true and reality.

“Just ignore it and it will go away!” We shut down the reasoner in our brain in order to
feel good. It is easier and safer to stay in a familiar and comforting environment. Our
mind is made up, and the status quo requires less mental and emotional energy. So
we discount the threat until we are deep in trouble.

Chapter 14 will deal more specifically with managing change, a difficult task that we
must face if we do not want to remain stuck in outdated attitudes and situations.

Counteracting confirmation bias

Accepting evidence
Fortunately, more often than not, we accept the evidence and the need to change,
sometimes with the help of a coach or a therapist. The insight will help us undo the
wrinkles and contradictions that we were previously experiencing. But the “Ah ha!
moment” is not enough; we need action and practice.

Introducing contradiction
One of the only ways to counteract confirmation bias is to encourage some inner
dissonance. We must force ourselves to think about the information we do not want
to consider and pay attention to the data that disturb our entrenched beliefs. We
should not conclude this process too quickly, without enough consultation.

To avoid complacency and stubbornness from setting in, it is imperative to foster

diversity and to introduce competing views. For example, to enhance the exchange
of opposing opinions in a team, specific roles can be assigned to some members.
Someone can play the devil’s advocate or another the fact checker. This addresses
the groupthink bias that we will consider in Chapter 11.

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A premortem procedure
When an organization has almost come to an important decision but has not formally
committed to it, Gary Klein proposes that the group members gather to review the
decision.131 “Imagine you are a year into the future and have implemented the plan
as it exists. The outcome was a disaster. Please take 5 to 10 minutes to write a brief
history of that disaster.”

The main virtue of such a premortem procedure is that it legitimizes doubts and
encourages the search for opportunities and threats not yet considered.

In this chapter we have seen how strong beliefs help us to establish a coherent
identity and how the self as the rider of the elephant is eager to get autonomy and
control. But, as we develop our self-esteem and self-confidence, we run the risk of
being too ego-centric and overconfident, overvaluing who we are and what we
make.

The need to avoid cognitive dissonance, preserve our self-esteem, and feel good
leads to willful blindness, a bias we can control by learning how to spot it.

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 Chapter 10 - Cognitive challenges
In this chapter we reexamine our conscious brain. Our frontal lobes are a fragile but
flexible integration center that works slowly and sequentially. Its functioning mode is
quite limited when compared to the subconscious brain, the capacity of which is
enormous and which operates swiftly and in parallel.

We then consider three main cognitive biases that can affect our reasoning:
anchoring, availability, and knowledge overconfidence. We have to learn to spot and
name these biases to mitigate their effects. To keep them easily in mind, we only
have to imagine how they play out on the stage of consciousness.

The rational is overrated132

Using our prefrontal cortext requires effort
What is 1 + 1? As an adult, the result comes easily to mind, automatically, without
using our prefrontal cortex.

What is 10 + 10? It’s the same, no PFC needed.

What is 566 + 273? We are more reluctant to do this calculation because it requires
referring to our working memory, and doing so is demanding. In addition, because
our attentional capacity is limited, we will have to interrupt other activities.

To do the calculation, we operate sequentially, one step at a time, applying

calculation rules and juggling intermediate results in our working memory. The
conscious processing is slow and controlled but flexible because we can rapidly
move from one task to another or change the rule.

In contrast, automatic mental operations such as recognizing a face, walking, or

reading are fast, demand little energy, and call on multiple processors that operate in
parallel. But this kind of processing is somewhat opaque and far from our control.

Thus, conscious operations require sustained concentration, and we would rather

use shortcuts, memorized results, or automated processes. A quick test proposed by
Daniel Kahneman133 illustrates this tendency to shift away from effort and look for
shortcuts.

“A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much
does the ball cost?”

Most likely our immediate answer would be 10 cents, as we can neatly separate the
$1 from the 10 cents to attribute value. Daniel Kahneman recalled that more than
half of a group of MBA students at the University of Michigan gave precisely that
answer, which is the easy one but wrong. The ball costs $0.05 and the bat $1.05. 134

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This kind of exercise is mostly used to test our logico-mathematical intelligence, that
is, the capacity of our working memory to do these types of operations. It is likely that
this capacity is strongly correlated with IQ (intelligence quotient).

The use of mental energy is more than a mere metaphor because on the stage of
consciousness we need a good deal of lighting, just as working memory needs a lot
of glucose to perform well. Fortunately, the energy demand diminishes as we
become more skilled at a task and it becomes automated.

We automate the task as soon as possible

Before we feel comfortable with a new idea or behavior, we have to own it, to
hardwire it into our brains. We must forge a new pathway, a new circuit that does not
currently exist. This focuses attention and takes energy. Then, as the new neural
circuits become established and stronger due to repetition, we let the unconscious
do most of the work, relieving our prefrontal cortex from the task.
As described in Chapter 4, the skills, habits, and routines that have been honed
through practice are essentially embedded in the basal ganglia.

Heurisitics and intuition

The fact is, we exercise our conscious reasoning much less than we think. As we will
see in Chapter 12, we prefer to use heuristics or intuition to make something easier.
According to the law of least effort, we often resort to shortcuts, general rules,
algorithms, or computer programs---or we refer to common sense along with intuition
instead of making a conscious effort.

In practice: More is less

When we become tired and overloaded, we start to economize our cognitive
resources. We reduce the amount of information we take in and favor information we
can access easily. We are less able to consider the wider consequences of our
decisions and fall back on routines or cut corners. We are also inclined to make
selfish choices and superficial judgments.

All this may lead people under pressure in large organizations to make errors, to
overlook important information, and even to turn a blind eye to fraud.

According to Herbert Simon, "A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

More is less. If we focus on too many variables and details, we may miss the most
important factors.

We thus must manage the resources of our prefrontal cortex wisely and focus them
on meaningful activities. Deleting emails, for example, can be done almost
automatically, but scheduling a meeting will require more attention because it
involves keeping in mind and juggling all sorts of data, including content about
where, who, and when. Writing a report will need even more attention because we

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will have to build a plan, define a strategy, and obtain and aggregate multiple pieces
of information, that is, a number of activities that will consume a good deal of glucose
and oxygen.

David Rock135 observed that when beginning their work day, many people start by
doing the simplest tasks and leave the more complex ones for the end of the day.
This is not a good strategy because as the day goes on, we have fewer mental
resources available. “Our brain becomes tired, noisy, and less effective. We should
better focus on the difficult tasks when the brain is fresh and rested.”

Switching activities: Saying no to distractions

People in organizations often switch activities every few minutes, for example,
making a call, speaking to someone, searching for information, or working on a
document.

Changing activities too often makes our thinking less productive and effective.
Constant interruptions build up to a state of chronic emergency and distraction. We
may forget good ideas and lose valuable insights. The best advice is to control
external distractions by switching off all communication devices for rather long
periods, especially when the task at hand is complex.

Concentrating on the task and being in the flow

According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,136 people are in the “flow” when they are totally
immersed in a challenging task that matches their competence. They sometimes
expend considerable effort for long periods without having to exert willpower. A
dancer, for example, is in the flow when she is completely absorbed in her
performance. She has the skills to meet the challenges that engage her attention,
and she receives immediate feedback about how she doing in each moment.

Flow neatly separates two forms of effort: either concentration on the task by being
in the flow or a deliberate control of attention. Being absorbed in an activity requires
less exertion of self-control, thereby freeing resources that can be directed to the
task.

The anchoring bias

Anchoring is the tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information we have in
mind when we make a decision. This is the anchor, and any information gathered
after that point could be influenced by it.

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The anchoring bias is well illustrated by a simple experiment that has been
conducted at INSEAD with a wide variety of participants, from MBA students to
executives.137

The group is asked to estimate the total number of member countries in the United
Nations. Half of the participants receive this recommendation: “To make your
estimate, I suggest that you start with a value of 300. First, decide whether this value
is too high or too low, and then move upward or downward from this value to what
you feel is the true value.”

The other half of the group receives a different recommendation: “To make your
estimate, I suggest that you start with a value of 95. First, decide whether this value
is too high or too low, and then move upward or downward from this value to what
you feel is the true value.”

The true value is 192 countries, but when the anchor (the suggestion) is 95, the
average of estimates is around 135, and when the anchor is 300, the average is
about 235.

This bias remains quite robust throughout experiments with different examples and
different groups, to the bemusement of participants. When people have in mind a
particular value before making an estimation, their guess stays close to that value. It
seems that the anchor is part of associative networks that prime values close to it.

Using our theater metaphor, we might say that the anchor that is more or less
present on the stage of consciousness will call out other information that is
compatible and part of associated networks (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Anchoring

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In practice: Examples of anchors

A meaningless anchor, a simple random number, can have a strong impact on a

number of common decisions, such as sales forecasting, investment, or pricing.

Negotiators need to carefully define their first offer because it will serve as a
reference point or anchor for the rest of the negotiating process. Thus, an
outrageous proposal from a vendor in a bazaar makes us leave immediately so as to
avoid being stuck to an anchor that may be too far from our acceptable window of
negotiation.

The problem is that the rational brain is not good at disregarding information and
facts, even when it knows they are useless. Anchoring makes us far more
suggestible and gullible than we are ready to accept.

An inflated price tag posted in the window of a car dealership will act as an anchor
that then allows the salesperson to make the real price of the car more acceptable.

“Similarly, a $30 bottle of wine may seem expensive surrounded by $9 bottles of

wine, but it seems cheap when surrounded by $149 bottles of wine (which is why
wine stores stock those super expensive wines that almost no one buys)….Selling
pool tables starting with the lowest priced table up or with the highest priced table
down shows a large difference in turnover.” 138

A quick estimation

Could you evaluate in less than 5 seconds the result of the following calculation:
1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8x9
What is your estimate?
Could you do the same for:
9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1
What is your estimate?
Because your anchors are the first numbers you read---1,2,3, or 9, 8, 7---and
because all these numbers are below 10, you are led to underestimate the result.

Moreover, experiments show that when subjects anchor their estimate to the first
numbers (1, 2, 3), the average guess is about 500, whereas when they anchor on
the numbers 9, 8, and 7, the average estimate is above 4000 (which is actually far
from the actual result of 362,880).139

Anchoring applies to negotiation as well

Would you expect the same type of negotiation and outcome when you first discuss
a 1 million dollar purchase and then a purchase of a few thousand dollars or when
you first discuss a $100 purchase and then a purchase of a few thousand dollars?

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First impression
The anchoring bias brings us back to our previous discussion concerning the
confirmation effect of a first impression. Our estimates and judgment are heavily
influenced by the first data or impressions that we collect. They stand as anchors,
but this time as visible, conscious anchors.

For example, the car is clean and shiny, and the receptionist welcome us with a big
smile, so we feel quite reassured that they did a good job repairing our car, even if
we have no idea of the quality of that work. Likewise, the estimate provided before
an auction is also an anchor that will influence future bids.

To avoid this kind of bias, it is important not to focus on a single point of reference
but to consider ranges or multiple anchors.

The availability bias

The availability bias is the tendency to act and decide according to the information
that is the most readily accessible and reaches consciousnss first. This bias is
directly linked to the mechanism of attention.

You might think you are more likely to die from a shark attack than from a falling
airplane part because shark attacks are more widely publicized. In fact, deaths from
falling pieces of planes occur more often (they are 30 times more frequent), but they
are less widely reported.140

Information easily available

In addition to anchors influencing our decisions, we also base our judgments on
information that we can easily access, retrieve, and recall, that is, information that
readily pops up on the stage of consciousness. (This is not a physical transfer of
information but a connection to a specific part of the brain.)

The available information is either new or recent, frequent or salient, or familiar with
a strong emotional content (see Figure 2).

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 Figure 2: Availability

Familiar information is easily accessible and reassuring. For example, in the United
States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, more than 90% of equity investments are
allocated to domestic equities, and investors tend to concentrate on familiar and
well-know stocks.

New information commands our attention, such as the opening of a presentation or

the surprising parts of a speech. Recent events also influence our judgment: It is
easier to solicit donations right after a disaster than weeks later.

The strength of a memory is highly modulated by its emotional context.

Dramatic events reported with strong images, such as the collapse of the Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, can be easily recalled
into consciousness.

In practice: We are swayed by the sensational

As described well by Nassim Taleb,141 vivid experiences attract our attention:

“We love the tangible, the confirmation, the palpable, the real, the visible, the
concrete, the known, the seen, the vivid, the visual, the social, the embedded, the
emotionally laden, the salient, the stereotypical, the moving, the theatrical, the
romanced, the cosmetic, the official, the mathematicised, the crap, the pomp, the
Academie Française, HBS, the Nobel prize.”

Media coverage that plays on vividness and immediacy strongly influences decisions
and allocation of resources after natural disasters, plane accidents, or terrorist

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attacks. Governments create programs and spend billions of dollars to fight rare
threats to life while neglecting common ones. Issues such as traffic-related death
rates should be of serious concern, but the problem is habitual and so deemed less
salient. We fear traveling by plane even when we know that car accidents are
significantly more frequent.

“After the United States was attacked on September 11, and after repeated televised
terror alerts, a voter was likely to weight the likelihood of terrorist attack as higher
than a car accident, even though tenfold more people died in car accidents in 2001
than in the Twin Towers.”142

The challenge is to remain aware of the availability bias and try, instead, to consider
objective data, even if it less familiar or readily available. For example, if you want to
obtain feedback about your product, it might be wiser to look at nonbuyers instead of
traditional buyers or to focus on extreme users or nonusers instead of average ones.

Overconfidence in the limits of our knowledge

We dealt with overconfidence in Chapter 9 when we observed that we tend to
overvalue who we are, what we believe, what we think, what we have, or what we
make.

Here we consider the fact that we overestimate our knowledge. When we make
estimates or forecasts, we refer essentially to what we can access from our
conscious mind because the rest remains silent or inaccessible.

This overconfidence in what we know means that we are blind to the limits of our
own knowledge. According to Daniel Kahneman’s WYSIATI (What You See Is All
There Is) formula (see Chapter 8), we focus on what is visible or accessible.

Plans often fail because we think too much inside the box and neglect other sources
from outside. We view the world according to what we know, disregarding what we
do not know and uncertainty.

Referring again to the theater metaphor, we are only aware of the information we
can access from the working stage that is our internal world; outside is the silent
evidence of what we ignore, of what is unknown (see Figure 3).

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 Figure 3: Knowledge overconfidence

A good illustration of this effect is the display of ex-votos 143 (often painted tablets
offered to a saint in gratitude for a miracle) left as a sign of gratitude in some chapels
by sailors who had prayed there and then returned after surviving a shipwreck. The
number of ex-votos attested to the power of prayers. But the silent evidence of the
sailors who prayed and were later drowned is impossible to summon.
Overconfidence is biased by the visible evidence of what is accessible at the
expense of the silent evidence144 of what is unknown (see Figure 4).

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 Figure 4: Silent evidence

Another way to illustrate overconfidence is to test the quality of our knowledge with
quizzes that include a variety questions. 145 Here is an example of three questions
from a longer list.

For each of the questions, provide a low and high guess such that you are 90% sure
that the correct answer lies between the two:

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What is the distance from the Earth to the Moon?

What year was Mohandas Gandhi born?

What is the gestation period (in days) of the great blue whale?

The results show that 50% of the time, the correct answer is regularly outside the
range guessed by the participant. And this applies to most of us, even experts or
professionals. We systematically give ranges that are too narrow. 146

Another example is that when asked to guess a price within a 90% chance, traders
are wrong 80% of the time.147

At a first level, we test how much we know, but at a second level, we should realize
how much we ignore our ignorance, how overconfident we are.

We build up our confidence more by confirming information that is available and

comes easily to mind than by testing the quality and validity of the information.
Overconfidence thus reinforces our intuition.

Evaluating candidates
Daniel Kahneman recalled evaluating candidates for officer training on the basis of a
test conducted on an obstacle field.148

“Because our impressions of how well each soldier had performed were generally
coherent and clear, our formal predictions were just as definite … but our ability to
predict performance at the school was negligible. The global evidence of our
previous failure should have shaken our confidence in our judgments of the
candidates, but it did not. We had no reservations about predicting failure or
outstanding success from weak evidence.

“This was a clear instance of WYSIATI. We had compelling impressions and no good
way to represent our ignorance of the factors that would determine performance.”

We have an unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.

In practice: Optimists and experts

Optimist entrepreneurs have faith in their judgment and take more risks than they
realize. They focus on what they know best, their strengths and eventual
weaknesses, their strategies, and their funding. They are overconfident about their
ability to make and deliver a good product and to accurately forecast the market, but
they often ignore competition and unforeseen events.

In the same way, we tend to focus on our goals and plans but neglect the action of
others or the role of luck and external factors. Prone to an illusion of control, we
become overconfident in the way we frame the world.

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Overconfidence gives us a reassuring feeling of comfort and control, and this illusion
is readily exploited by professional experts who are in the business of economic and
political prediction. According to Philip Tetlock, 149 they are usually no more accurate
than nonspecialists. Hundreds of studies have shown that their predictions, based on
grand visions and unifying theories, are rarely better than chance. 150

Actually, they are all the more overconfident when they can present a coherent
framework. But when they are wrong, the core of their professional identity is
threatened, and the more self-confident and famous they are, the less likely they will
be to admit any errors.

Instead, they usually come up with long lists of excuses and expost explanations
such as, “I was almost right! I would have been right if only. … “They invoke wrong
timing, unexpected events, different conditions, or outliers, but again, the question is
how much they ignore their ignorance. They could be wrong with no idea of how
wrong.

Philip Tetlock recommended questioning the error rate of an expert’s procedures. It

is important in highly unpredictable social and economic domains to remain skeptical
of overall theories and to gather data from a variety of sources.

Are experts willing to state their opinions in a testable form so that their performance
can be monitored? How do they respond to dissonant data? Do they avoid admitting
errors?

“The dominant danger remains hubris, the vice of closed-mindedness, of dismissing

dissonant possibilities too quickly.”

The fact is, optimists and dealers in hope are highly valued socially, politically, and in
business because managers hate uncertainty and crave reassurance. Truth tellers,
on the other hand, are rarely rewarded.

Are we doomed? Spotting decision traps

Systems that operate unconsciously cannot readily be educated because we do not
have access to the way they function, only to the result. So, we do not have much
control and cannot help it. But this does not mean that we are doomed.

First of all, we have to be aware of the existence of these biases by spotting their
manifestations in day-to-day practice and by naming them. “Ah, once again, that’s
my availability bias playing tricks” or “That’s overconfidence taking over.”

Then, to avoid their expression and the corresponding errors, it is worth taking time
to recognize situations in which they are likely to occur and then to slow down,
analyze, question our knowledge, and multiply our sources of information and
feedback. “Why might we be wrong? What could go wrong?”

Through the practice of spotting cognitive traps, we can create new routines and new
wirings so as to anticipate and avoid them in the future.

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In this chapter we considered some limitations of our cognitive brain and three
biases that we need to be able to recognize and name if we want to make better
decisions: the anchoring bias, the availability bias, and knowledge overconfidence.
Overconfidence is particularly important because we tend to focus on what we see
and ignore evidence that is not easily visible.

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 Chapter 11 - A deeply social brain
After looking at the cognitive and the emotional brain, we finally consider the third
brain, the social brain, which does not receive the attention it deserves. We tend to
forget that social needs are primary for humans and that social intelligence is
essential to managing relationships in all domains. With the mirror system and the
mentalizing system, we understand how others think or feel, and we can respond to
their intentions and/or actions. The two basic motivators---uncertainly avoidance and
autonomy---are now completed with three social motivators: relatedness, fairness,
and status. As we will see, cooperation and teamwork are essential for success in
the world, even if the need to be included in a group can lead to groupthink. In fact,
the capacity to cooperate has enabled relatively weak homo sapiens to survive and
thrive on the planet.

Social needs are primary

It is in our interests to cooperate
Humans have always needed each other to survive. Our ancestors managed
through family life and group cooperation because outside the group they had no
chance. Human babies depend for many years on their elders for food, protection,
and education. And education leads to socialization. We think this means that social
needs should be at the bottom of Maslow’s pyramid 151 of needs rather than in the
middle. “Being socially connected is a need with a capital N, like food and water and
shelter.152

We are born with deep drives to regulate our well-being, to survive, to extend our
territory and status, and to transmit our genes. But we also have a need to cooperate
with our fellow humans because alone, we would have been eliminated. Moreover,
we cannot become ourselves without the influence of others and without a group to
which to belong. And the more we belong to a group, the more we identify with it as
shown by nationalism and religion.

Social intelligence
We have seen how, with emotional intelligence, we are able to understand and
regulate our own emotional states and send appropriate signals to others. In the
same way, social intelligence can be seen as the capacity to evaluate social
situations and manage relationships.

For Daniel Goleman, social intelligence has two sides. With social awareness, we
are able to understand and empathize with other people in order to foster good
communication and relationships. With social management, we are able to
understand social systems, the distribution of power, and networks of influence. We
can also learn how to share missions and rewards and help others to grow.

We have developed a massive social circuitry in our brains for reading other people’s
intentions or emotions, and activities associated with happiness are often social,

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from romantic encounters to teamwork or friend networks. But we tend to undervalue
these social and intimate bonds in comparison with money or tangible things.

Yet the importance of the social nature of our brains and the significance of social
intelligence does not receive the attention it deserves. This is especially the case in
the rational worlds we inhabit, which are dominated by technology and electronic
communication. The Internet, email, and other virtual contacts do not improve the
necessary two-way engagement required by real social relationships.

The mirror and the mentalizing systems

Whether we share the affects and thoughts of others or participate in their success,
empathy is the ability to understand how they feel or think by simulating their mental
states. We are sensitive to the other person’s experience through our own
perceptions. Two systems are in charge of the simulation: the mirror system and the
mentalizing system.

A mirror system makes sense of others’ actions and

intentions

Figure 1: Mirror neurons

Mirror neurons are found in the prefrontal and parietal cortex, including the
premotor and somatosensory areas as well as the superior temporal sulcus, an
area that helps process facial expressions and body movements. We also have
mirror neuron systems (MNS) in the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex;
these systems are use for reading emotions and empathy.

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When we watch someone kick a ball, our brain activates the same circuits in our
motor cortex as those of the person doing the kicking, even though we are not
actually making the same movements. Similarly, if we see someone reach for a cup
of tea, we automatically simulate the same action in our own brain, even though we
do not make the move. This silent simulation involves a special class of nerve cells
called mirror neurons (see Figure 1). They fire when we watch someone else
perform an action and simulate the same action internally. This is how we read the
intentions and motivations of others.

Our brain is wired to copy and imitate actions that we observe. If we watch someone
smile, we smile back. If we see a person being poked with a needle, we feel poked
as well. Actually, it is more than simple imitation because without perception of
intention, there would be no simulation of the move. Mirror neurons only respond to
an act with intention.

Serendipity
Mirror neurons were discovered quite recently by a team of Italian researchers led by
Giacomo Rizzolati in Parma.153 His original experiments involved studying the arm
movements of monkeys by implanting thin electrodes in the motor area of their brain.

One day, by accident, a monkey saw a researcher bring a cup of coffee to his mouth.
Then, to the experimenter’s surprise, a rattling noise came from the amplifier
connected to the electrodes. The brain area corresponding to the movement of the
monkey’s right hand was firing and sending a signal that the monkey was making the
same movement of bringing a cup to its own mouth, even though the monkey’s hand
was not moving. The monkey was automatically simulating in its head the intentional
move it was observing. Picking up a cup or seeing another individual pick up a cup
had the same effect in the mirror neurons circuits.

Not only do we mirror the behavioral intentions of others, we also resonate with their
emotional states and feelings by activating the same brain networks we use for
generating that emotion. When we see a look of disgust on someone’s face, mirror
neurons in our insula give rise to feelings of disgust in our own body. When we see
joy, we feel joy. When we see sadness, we feel sadness.

Dogs, as well as monkeys, are able to decode our facial expressions and body
language, and they often surprise us with their ability to anticipate our moves and
intentions.

Mimicry: Resonating to emotions

Even though most of us are not aware of doing it, we tend to unconsciously mimic a
wide range of behaviors and mannerisms of others, such as facial expressions,
accents, tone of voice, nonverbal emotional movements, and moods.

It is interesting to observe how friends, locked in conversation, mimic and

synchronize their expressions and body movements unconsciously. They smile back

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and forth at each other, nod their heads, and/or laugh in unison. Mimicry fosters
interaction and empathy.

Emotions are infectious. We spontaneously respond to how people are feeling,

catch the mood of people in the room, and resonate with the emotions of those
around us. One person can influence the mood of an entire group. Moods at work
ripple out and influence group dynamics. Emotional contagion in crowds can lead to
shared pleasure and applause but also to violence, as seen in mass demonstrations
at football matches.

In fact, authenticity is not necessary to transmit emotions. Theater actors are trained
to simulate the posture and facial expressions that convey certain emotions,
including sincerity, sorrow, or anger. But without training and practice, our feelings
are easily revealed by our body language or tone of voice.

According to Alex Pentland,154 it is the attitudes and actions of peers, rather than
logic or social norms, that usually influence people’s beliefs and actions. The
mechanism appears to be based on learning by example from the set of peers
relevant to the problem at hand. The prevalence of this type of learning from
example may have important implications for understanding how social networks
function.

The mentalizing system: Mindreading and theory of mind

Mentalizing is the other system in charge of reading and reasoning about another
person’s mind, that is, imagining what she or he is thinking or feeling.

Evaluating the attitudes and anticipating the intentions of others has always been a
crucial adaptive mechanism. In many situations, such as a negotiation, this cognitive
perspective taking shows a distinct advantage because it helps us to understand
what is going on in the other person’s head.

We would be lost without our mentalizing system, an all-purpose mind-reading

machine that helps us credit ourselves and others with thoughts and beliefs. It is so
present that we even attribute intentions to our pets or inanimate objects.

Most animals, however, are tragically authentic. They cannot cheat or imagine that
other creatures can lie and have a mind of their own. They are said to function at the
first order of intentionality: They simply approach rewards and avoid threats.

The second order of intentionality is having a belief about someone else’s belief or
intention. It is well illustrated by the Sally-Ann test (see Figure 2).

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 Figure 2: Mentalizing

Until the age of 4, a child will say, “Sally thinks the doll is in the toy box.” A child at
that age cannot distinguish between her own beliefs and the beliefs of others. From
about 4 onward, the child will say, “Sally thinks that the doll is in the carriage, but I
know it is not.”

At its sixth order, intentionality could unroll into a complicated sequence: “Peter
believes that Ann thinks (2) that Sally wants (3) Peter to suppose (4) that Ann
intends (5) Sally to believe (6) that her doll is the carriage.”

With the mentalizing system, which seems located in the dorsomedial prefrontal
cortex (DMPFC) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), we are capable of
reasoning about the actions of others, recognizing their intentions and motives,
and/or imagining how they view us (see Figure 3).

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 Figure 3: The mentalizing system
The medial wall of the prefrontal cortex can be divided into three regions. We
have already described the ventromedial prefrontal cortex included in the
orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The mentalizing system is centered on the
dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and
the temporal pole.

Associating the mirror system and the mentalizing system

For Matthew Lieberman, the mirror and the mentalizing systems are mostly
complementary, making us the massively social creatures that we are. Both are
essential in allowing us to empathize with others and to experience compassion.

Mirror neurons are focused on how to understand others’ intentions at the lower level
of motor actions: How does the person do what she does? The mentalizing system is
more focused on higher-level intentions, that is, on the why: Why does the person do
what she is doing?

The mirror system acts as a precursor to the mentalizing system. The ability to
identify what someone is doing is the first step toward being able to understand why
she does it. Primates are interested in the what and how (as far as we know), but it
seems that only humans live in a world of why, that is, a world of meaning.

Self-control
To be able to empathize, we need to exercise self-control so as to set aside our
current self-centered goal and attend to someone else. Control of selfish and short-
term drives involves the lateral parts of the prefrontal cortex, the braking system that

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we have discussed in Chapter 5. Evaluation by our peers will intensify our self-
control efforts as well as social compliance.

In practice: Cognitive and social intelligence can be at

cross purposes
According to Matt Lieberman, two distinct neural networks handle social and
cognitive thinking. They require different abilities, and they often work at cross
purposes, “much like the two ends of a neural seesaw. 155

In many situations, the more we turn our attention to cognitive reasoning---solving a

problem, for example---the less the system in charge of social reasoning becomes
active. This then distances us from others who could help solve the problem. We
seem to become blind to our own social wiring when we think rationally. Empathy
seems unbusinesslike.

Developing social intelligence

When it comes to learning about the social world, we are left to our own judgments
and the feedback we receive from others in the different environments in which we
interact.

It is easy to imagine, given the variety of contacts, that we end up with multiple
interpretations, transformations, and distortions. Unlike when we create our own
representation of the physical world, in the social world, we do not have a solid
reality to bump up against. The social world is fluid, subjective, and difficult to
decipher.

We have to learn about this social world and how to behave by increasing our
interactions with others. However, this is not generally the case in the classroom or
at work. In the Western world, in particular, too much time is devoted to factual and
technical knowledge and to languages that involve manipulating symbols at school
or at work. We focus on the tasks at hand without giving enough time and attention
to social encounters, developing our social intelligence, and learning to work
effectively with others. And the new virtual communication technologies will not help
us because they tend to further isolate individuals.

So, it is important to return to basic motivators that will enhance social cooperation.

The main social motivators

Sure, fear constrains us and money motivates us. But, when the simple mechanism
of carrot and stick and, more broadly, reward and punishment, is used as a
motivator, the effect is a short-term boost that wears off rapidly.

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With extrinsic rewards, we get people to do things, but they are not fully engaged.
This is not a problem when the job is conventional and the operating mode well
established and standardized.

But for people to be more fully engaged in demanding and complex tasks, they have
to be fueled by intrinsic motivators and the inherent satisfaction they receive from the
activity itself. They want to be recognized as players, not pawns. They want to have
some autonomy and control over the task and its mode of execution. They want to
feel integrated into the team and to have social status within the organization.

We have already seen the importance of two intrinsic motivators centered on the
self: the need to control uncertainty and the need to have some autonomy. We now
add to these three social motivators that are essential in driving social behavior:
relatedness, fairness, and status.

Relatedness: The urge to belong

Being connected to others in a positive way, feeling a sense of relatedness and
openness, and being included are needs as basic as eating or drinking. And
loneliness generates the same pain as hunger or thirst. We need each other to
survive, and given the urge to belong, we prefer to be wrong than alone.

It is hard to find meaning in what we do if at some level we do not relate to others or

help them. When we come together in like-minded groups, we feel validated and
become more effective.

The pain of social rejection

Rejection from a group is even more painful that separation. It is a sort of
punishment that makes us feel we are being cut off from our sources of attachment
and self-esteem. Social pain---the misery of being excluded, dumped by someone
we love, or humiliated in public---is as real and intense as physical pain.

Not surprisingly, this pain is mediated, in particular, by the anterior cingulate cortex
(the controller), a region that we have already described and that also registers
physical pain.

Ouch! You left me out

In Cyberball, the computer game developed by Kip Williams, we see two figures
tossing a ball back and forth to each other. Participants are represented at the
bottom of the screen and are invited to play. When they are given the ball, they can
throw it back to either of two figures on the screen, thus enjoying the feeling of being
connected to the others and included in the game. Then, suddenly, they are no
longer given the ball and they feel excluded from the game (see Figure 4).

Naomi Eisenberger and Matt Lieberman teamed up with Kip Williams to show that
the brain actually registers social pain in the same structures that register physical
pain. When participants are left out of the game and feel excluded, the upper portion

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of the anterior cingulate cortex reacts in the same way as when the individual
experiences physical pain.

Figure 4: You left me out

This simple game shows that it does not take much to make us feel excluded and
that this kind of exclusion affects us in a way that seems out of proportion to the
circumstances. It is not difficult to test our sensitivity to exclusion: We only have to
think about how we feel when our friend’s gaze shifts away from us or when no one
laughs at our joke.

In practice: The challenge of exclusion at work

It is easy to imagine situations of exclusion in the workplace.

Leaders at the apex of the organization may rely on an inner circle of trusted
advisors, thereby excluding other executives who may feel overlooked and not
listened to.

The fear of being excluded by the organizational communication system may lead us
to rely on an overflow of messages and emails. In addition, virtual meetings and
conference calls may have a negative impact on our engagement because we may
lack a sufficient feeling of belonging and social cooperation.

Is your boss really listening, responding, and being attentive, or is she simply
nodding absentmindedly? Is she familiar with the details of your work? Is she

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recognizing your efforts and contributions publicly? If not, you may feel excluded, as
invisible as cellophane paper, and withdraw.

Fairness
Feeling that one is being treated fairly is a basic need that activates the same reward
system in the brain as winning money. It is a more abstract sign of social connection
than relatedness, and as expected, it fires up the ventral striatum and the
ventromedial part of the orbitofrontal cortex. We mostly decide and act instinctively
from a desire to behave fairly. “The same brain regions that are associated with
loving the taste of chocolate or any other physical pleasures, respond to being
treated fairly as well. In a sense, then, fairness tastes like chocolate.”156

Fairness not only affects us in day-to-day relationships, but it can also significantly
affect job performance and motivation. Are cheaters promoted ahead of us when we
play a game fairly and they do not? A sense of unfairness can lead to demotivation
or retaliation.

Playing the ultimatum game: Cooperation and trust

Fairness behavior is illustrated well by the “ultimum game” used by economists.

You have a partner who has been given money---say $100---and told to share it with
you. He has to decide how to divide the $100, but he has only one chance to offer
you the amount he decides on, and you only have the choice to accept or reject the
offer. If you accept it, both of you will pocket the shared money. If you reject it, both
of you will walk away empty handed.

For example, if your partner offers you a mere $1, and if you reject that offer, both of
you will receive nothing. Rationally, you should take this $1, but most probably you
will turn it down because it feels insulting.

And if you agree to take $20, your partner will pocket $80. How does that feel?

Most of us place a high value on fairness and demand that the money be split more
or less evenly. In most cases, any offer of less than 30% of the stakes is refused. But
it is not often proposed either. Most people make fair offers because they are able to
mirror their partner’s mind. The same kind of behavior was observed all over the
world, regardless of where the game was played. In contrast, however, when people
play the game with a computer, they are never generous.

Given our sense of fairness, we are generally willing to put some faith in others, and
we expect them to follow an implicit code of conduct. In fact, the threat of revenge,
even at great personal cost, can serve as an effective enforcement mechanism to
build social cooperation.

Revenge and trust are opposite sides of a seesaw. “Tit for tat appears to be built into
human nature as a set of moral emotions that make us want to return favor for favor,
insult for insult, tooth for tooth, and eye for eye. We keep track of fairness, debts
owed, and social accounts receivable.” 157

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Returning to the ultimatum game, suppose that the offer is now $20 000 instead of
$20 as proposed previously by the partner. How would you react?

In that case, you might be more tempted to accept an unfair offer, and your
reasoning brain (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) would be interested in making
some money, doing its best to quiet down the emotional brain and override the gut
feelings generated at the level of the insula.

In this game, at least three brain structures are involved and connected to each
other: the dorsolateral cortex (the reasoner), which is known to be active during
thinking and calculation; the insula, which is involved in negative emotional
responses such as disgust and moral indignation; and the anterior cingular cortex
(the controller), which seems to play a mediator role between the other two.

In the case of unfair behavior, if someone who has betrayed you is punished, or if
you are able to exact revenge, or if you learn that a corrupt corporate officer has
been sentenced to prison, your brain’s reward centers will fire up with satisfaction.
And, as would be expected, the two regions concerned with this satisfaction are the
ventral striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex.

In practice: The challenge of managing fairness in the

workplace
Salespeople certainly understand the idea of reciprocity, and they use it, for
example, when they offer something first: a free gift, a free sample, a free book, or a
concession in a negotiation.

Managers often must make decisions about who receives the larger raise, the
promotion, or the assignment of choice. They then have to deal with the negative
reactions of those who feel that they have been treated unfairly or whose
contribution has not been recognized enough.

More money is usually well received, but if it is not distributed fairly, the reward
centers in the brain will not register the material gain. Moreover, inequity can
significantly disrupt engagement and teamwork.

Finally, it is worth noting that fairness is different from equality. Managers may have
to treat people unequally in order to be fair.

Status and hierarchy setting

Status is a key driver of social behavior. We are willing to go to great lengths to
protect or inflate our status. The more we are valued by others and have a place of
importance in the group, the higher our self-esteem.

Research by Caroline Zinc158 showed that hierarchy is wired into the human brain
just as it is in primates. Our status is constantly being calculated against that of
others. “Hierarchy is influential in everything we do, whether it is boss-employee,
teacher-student, coach-athlete. …The way we interact with and behave around other

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people is often determined by their social status relative to our own, and therefore
information regarding social status is very valuable to us."

We send out continual messages related to our status and receive a stream of
positive or negative feedback that cumulatively defines our place in society and
produces either happiness or anxiety and doubt.

“The hierarchical value of rank makes a significant contribution to the ventral striatal
activity of comparable magnitude to that of monetary rewards. Increasing status can
be more rewarding than money; and a sense of decreasing status can feel like pain
and threat. Our data support the notion that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a
role in making interpersonal judgments, including the assessment of social status,”
added Caroline Zink. Knowing how to play well with others and which others to play
with is crucial to success in an organizational context as well as in politics.

Complex maps in the brain reflect our own status and the pecking order of people
surrounding us according to multiple dimensions such as age, money, strength,
weight, or sense of humor. Physical size continues to unconsciously influence our
perception of dominance, even in our advanced democracies.

Being wrong may decrease our status and damage our self-esteem, so we tend to
deny and hide mistakes and/or refrain from taking actions that are likely to turn out
badly.

Collective intelligence
Group intelligence
Group intelligence in large organizations can accomplish what no individual can do
alone. Cities and empires were built, science and industry were born from a shared
culture because multitudes of people collaborated.

At a more modest level, there is a great advantage in being part of and deciding with
a group because we benefit from its collective wisdom and accumulated learning.
We are more effective and think better but also less as we learn shortcuts.

In practice: Why the many are smarter than the few

Aggregation of information in groups results in decisions that are often better than
those that might have been made by any single group member. In his book The
Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki159 offered a number of examples that illustrate
the value of group decisions.

For example, he recounted how Francis Galton, at a 1906 county fair, accurately
guessed the weight of an ox by averaging the individual guesses of 800 others. The
simple average was closer to the ox's true weight than the estimates of most crowd
members and also closer than any of the separate estimates made by cattle experts.

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In-group and out-group bias: Friend or foe
In-group bias refers to the more positive perception we have of people who are like
us compared to those who look different. We feel protected and at ease with familiar
people, including those from our family, network, team, organization, or country.
Foreigners represent a threat.

So, it is friend or foe, trust or distrust? In fact, our ancestors had good reason to
more often mistake friends as foes (a false positive) because treating foes as friends
could be fatal. It was better to make the first error a hundred times than to risk the
second one even once.

In the workplace, we face a serious issue when we hire new employees. Should we
choose candidates who are of similar age, style, and background as members of our
current team or candidates who are very different and thus ready to challenge us? If
we are serious about introducing innovation, we would do better to bring together
very different kinds of people with a wide range of education and experience.
However, this is neither natural nor easy.

Research160 has shown that merely assigning people to arbitrary teams creates a
positive attitude toward their own team members and relative dislike toward the
members of other teams. At the extreme end of the scale, aggressors have a
positive bias regarding themselves and the rightness of their values and a negative
bias toward their adversary, often considered the enemy, the monster, the bastard,
or evil.161

In organizations, people naturally tend to form safe “tribes” with colleagues sharing
the same views. Each specific group, each vertical unit or “silo,” is a kind of “in-
group” as opposed to foreign “out-groups.”

We tend to not listen to someone from an out-group, and we do not see what they
see. But we make an effort to understand someone from our in-group, and more
resources are allocated to in-group members.

In practice: Cooperation at work

The Taylorian view of work organization is essentially characterized by the
segmentation of tasks that follow each other in sequence (specialization and
standardization of tasks). This form of organization is based on rules and well-
defined operating modes that, beyond delivering productivity gains, provide a certain
level of protection to its members.
In fact, these rules give the process some stability and independence that protect
each member from interactions with clients or colleagues from other units, two major
sources of uncertainty. This is particularly true in bureaucratic organizations that
protect their members with rules and regulations. (One only has to think of the chaos
that occurs in such organizations when people go on strike by working to the rules.)
Thus, this protection gives everyone a certain level of autonomy and some control of
uncertainty, two basic motivators that were noted in previous chapters.

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When this protection disappears, however, when the actors have to collaborate
across units to give more value to the final customer, cooperation becomes difficult
and expensive. To cooperate or directly confront others is neither natural nor easy.
Because the others are part of foreign groups and thus not familiar, they may be
considered a source of uncertainty and eventually a threat. The best solution is to
create a climate of trust and commitment that will establish predictable behaviors.
This issue will be adressed further in Chapters 13 and 14.

Groupthink and conformity

We are reassured and feel right when we fit in. Conformity is compelling because
obedience and the feeling of belonging is immensely reassuring as shown by the joy
that some attain by submitting to the message of a guru. A common recitation may
be used as a substitute of truth, for example, “The party is always right.”

“When I was at Lehman, if you didn’t fit in, you just weren’t there, it was their way or
no way,” a veteran of the defunct firm said after the firm’s bankruptcy.

However, this leads to conformity, and the group can then no longer benefit from the
differences among its members and their experiences. This desire to conform is a
source of gradual convergence of opinions toward groupthink, which is rather distant
from the optimum.

Established views and dominant ideas become reinforced by group members, and
tha t support, in turn, enhances confidence in their rightness. Cass Sunstein 162
found that when groups of like-minded people come together, they make each
other’s views more extreme. The process of discussion does not broaden group
members’ attitudes but instead, entrenches their opinions and blinds them to
alternatives. They stop looking at information that could challenge, too strongly, their
closely held beliefs.

According to Irwing Janis,163 who made detailed studies of military disasters, our
sense of belonging to a group or a crowd makes us feel safe, blinds us to dangers,
and encourages greater risk taking. The pressure to maintain a consensus results in
less thinking. A good team player does not ask hard questions.

We would rather be wrong than alone

When we take an independent stand that differs from the group’s opinion, the
anterior cingulate cortex fires up signaling conflict, and the amygdala goes into alert
mode. Independence and distance from the group are threatening and come at a
high cost.

As with cognitive dissonance, we tend to try to reduce divergence between what we

believe and see and what other group members believe and see. To blur the
difference, we eventually change what we see or think to align with the group’s
opinion and thereby reduce dissonance. As we agree with the group, our reward
centers light up.

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The way to counterbalance this effect is to ensure that dominant ideas do not build
up unjustified momentum. This is done by introducing more diversity into the group,
by assigning someone to play the devil’s advocate or the “fact checker,” and/or by
creating teams with opposing views. The blocker or dissenter may add new
perspectives, though sometimes at his or her own peril. 164

We have come to the end of our brain exploration by considering the social brain. It
was reassuring to see how empathy is supported by the mirror and mentalizing
systems. The three social motivators---relatedness, fairness, and status---
complement the other two: uncertainty control and autonomy.

Cooperation and teamwork are essential to carrying out projects, and the
contribution of the group is key in decision making. However, the desire to be
included in the group can result in groupthink. Therefore, we need to balance
conformity and reassurance with divergence and innovation.

Finally, we will see in the next chapters how the five key motivators prepare for the
engagement of collaborators when we consider leadership and change
management. But before we do that, we turn first to considering rationality.

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 Part 3
Decision, leadership, and change

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 Chapter 12 – From decision making to
creativity
We have seen how our brain is keen to use the resources of the prefrontal cortex to
make predictions and choices, but our decisions are never purely rational. We have
thus reviewed many emotional, unconscious, and cognitive inclinations and biases.

The scientific and technological worlds have managed to overcome these limitations
somewhat by staying in the abstract domain of conceptual thinking, cold logic, or
mathematical reasoning. But purely rational decision making does not exist in the
domain of economics any more than it does in ordinary life.

When we refer to the brain, therefore, we must accept that rationality is limited. As
we described earlier, more often than not, we use mental shortcuts in the form of
heuristics and intuition to guide our decision making. Those rely on the accumulation
of experience and the recognition of patterns. It is this accumulation, combined with
a great deal of preparation, that may open up the possibility of improbable and lucky
acts of creation.

Cold cognition and rational decision making

Rational thinking
We are not only pushed by drives or pulled by incentives, and we do not always
have habits to fall back on or time to learn new ones. We are also able to think,
reason, evaluate the consequences of our actions, and integrate information from
diverse sources in order to make decisions. And we do all this with our frontal lobes.

We think rationally when we quantify, formalize, and put information into logical
sequences, formulas, or calculations and/or when we compare options. The word
rational comes from the Latin root ratio, which means measuring and counting.
Because our brain has a limited capacity, we have invented writing and number
systems to process vast quantities of data. So, as a species we moved from an
operating mode using multiple associations in the brain to an abstract world made up
of signs, languages, and sophisticated methods of processing and archiving masses
of data.

Rational thinking has introduced more clarity, coherence, and public scrutiny into the
decision-making process, but it has also moved us somewhat away from sensitive
and emotional references. Thus we have entered a world of symbols and numbers, a
world that has been invented and that can exist without the brain.

In fact, some managers and leaders still believe that emotions have nothing to do
with final decisions. This keeps them from being open to the importance of emotional
and social intelligence.

Clearly, we should not discount the importance of the rational approach, which has
become enormously influential even beyond the worlds of science and technology, in

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fields from finance to economics to marketing, that are interested in decision making.
Statisticians, economists, and political scientists, to name a few, seek rules,
methods, and principles that can be generalized independently from the context.

For example, consider the choice of an investment for which we have to estimate
future expected benefits and cash flows. Remember the discussion about choosing a
box of chocolate now, in a week’s time, or in a year’s time? The intuitive approach
made us change our decision based on the time lag. We wanted the box now and
not in a week’s time, but if, in the distant future, we could have more chocolate one
week later, we could wait.

To avoid this type of difficulty, the present value of cash flows that are to be
expected from a project is calculated using a mathematical formula. By applying a
discount rate to future cash flows, it is possible to estimate their present value (in
today's money) and add them up. The futher the cash flow moves into the future, the
less present value it has, and this mechanism of discounting according to time is
regular and predictable, which was not the case with the intuitive approach.

Decision-making models can take sophisticated forms, but most often they are
derived from simple models, such as the choice between different options that are
evaluated according to some dimensions.

In practice: Multicriteria choice

Let us suppose, for example, that we have to choose between several houses for
sale. After listing a number of key criteria that characterize the houses, we assign
each criterion with a weight that reflects its importance. The choice of house is then
based on to the greatest weighed total as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Simple rational choice model

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This approach is systematic and uses all the information available, and the
procedure can easily be shared, examined, and replicated. However, the choice
could be influenced by factors that end up being irrelevant (e.g., the number of
bathrooms) while other factors are hidden or not sufficiently considered (e.g., the
lengthy commute to work). Further complications may arise with conflicting criteria
and specific constraints, but the approach remains the same.

Note that the mass of information that is now available in today’s world---what we
call big data---can be analyzed and summarized with sophisticated statistical
methods that will extract significant dimensions or compute simplified models that
will guide decision making.

Decision trees are also used when it is possible to compute the probabilities that
affect various outcomes.

The scientific method of problem solving

With problem solving and decision making there exist a multitude of methods that
can all be summarized by a general two-step scientific approach. The first step is
diagnosis, which raises the question of why, and the second step involves a seach
for solutions, which raises the question of how. This can be described with the
following sequence:

 Framing and problem definition

 Diagnosis and verification (why)
 Search of solutions and choice (how)
 Learning: implementation and feedback
 Standardization and generalization of results

Figure 2: General framework for problem solving and decision making

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In Figure 2, the why and the how are each made up of two phases that must be
clearly separated: an opening and a closing moment. The opening phase of
diagnosis starts with the generation of as many hypotheses as possible, and the
closing phase deals with the verification and testing of each hypothesis. It is the
same for the how part of the process: search for as many solutions as possible and
then make a choice.

In practice: Cause-effect diagram

For example, in Figure 3, the problem is to understand the delayed departure of

planes at an airport. All possible explanations and hypotheses about this delay can
be represented on a fishbone diagram---also called a cause-effect diagram---with
explanations regrouped in large families, such as equipment, personnel, and so on.
Each hypothesis must be verified with adequate data and experiments. It might be
the case, for instance, that the late departure of planes could be explained, after
verification, by the late arrival of crew members.

Similarly, the search for a solution to the problem of late departures will start with the
generation of a multitude of possibilities, and the closing phase will determine the
final solution, that is, how to make crew members arrive on time (e.g., by using
incentives or penalties).

A number of iterations and feedback loops are necessary during learning and
implementation because often the problem is not well defined at the start and must
be redefined and reframed with new learning.

Figure 3: Cause-effect diagram

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Problem definition and framing
When a problem is first being considered, it is likely that it will not be well defined
because the spotlight of attention will only show a narrow, partial view of the
situation. This framing effect leads to the problem being perceived from a certain
angle, one that is often simplified. This way of viewing the situation has been shaped
over time with repetition and has become so familiar and natural that we are
emotionally attached to it and reluctant to change it. This difficulty in getting out of
our usual frames and points of view makes innovation and creativity challenging. We
will come back to this issue later in this chapter.

We need to break away from our habitual mindsets in order to uncover implicit
hypotheses or new ways of defining the problem. This can be done, in particular, by
introducing the points of view of other stakeholders. It requires serious effort to
reframe a situation and look at it through another “window.” One must expect a
number of back and forth trials during the learning phases of problem resolution.

Limited rationality
According to the foundations of rational economics, consumers are supposed to
behave with the objective of maximizing their gains. They are represented by the
famous homo economicus, who decides by weighing the pros and cons of various
options while trying to maximize the expected value of the gain.

The notion of value takes into account an element of subjective perception, that is,
the pleasure we attribute to a reward according to our personal situation and wealth.
The fact is, a gain of 1000 usually does not give twice as much value as a gain of
500 because the pleasure diminishes and becomes saturated as the reward
increases. This evaluation is done by our brain value system (described in Chapter
5).

Moreover, it is important to remember that perceived value is affected by the

probability of actually receiving the reward. Thus, the expected value of a gain (or a
loss) is determined by weighting the perceived value of the gain by the probability of
obtaining it, in fact, by multiplying the two factors. For example, if we play a lottery
that promises a value of $1 million, and the chance to win is only one in a million, our
expected value would be reduced to a single dollar by multiplying the two. If the
chance is one in a billion, the expected value is now one thousandth of a dollar.

This is more or less the kind of calculation that we are able to make mainly in the
medial part of our orbitofrontal cortex, but we have to expect that this kind of
processing will be distorted by some of the systematic biases and limitations that we
have encountered. This is why a number of economists have tried to make the
behavior of the homo economicus closer to the real behavior of consumers.

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Prospect theory
The principle of maximization of expected value has been modified, in particular, by
prospect theory, which was introduced by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Twersky. 165

In this theory, value is defined with respect to a reference point. The same amount of
gain or loss does not have the same value when we are rich or poor. And losses
loom larger than gains, as would be expected from loss avoidance bias. 166 Losses
make us despair and activate our amygdala, whereas gains saturate our experience
of satisfaction in the reward circuit of the brain value system.

Moreover, we tend to overestimate small probabilities and underestimate large ones.

We continue to play the lottery because we have difficulty fully understanding the
difference between a chance to win of one in a million, one in a hundred million, or
one in a billion. However, this difference is huge in terms of theory. Of course, we
can make the rational calculation by weighting the possible gain by the probability in
our dorsolateral cortex (our reasoner). But whatever the rational calculation, the big
reward is there, under the spotlight of attention, firing up our emotional circuits so we
keep on betting.

Similarly, the evidence of a loss will come to awareness in the front of the stage,
even if the probability of it occurring is very small, very very small, or even quite
negligeable. The amygdala fires up and wipes out the rational calculation.

Consumers are not only driven by considerations of expected value or explicit cost-
benefit analysis. Part of the calculation of value is outsourced to our brain value
system, which colors the results according to the perception of pleasure or pain. We
need reason to weigh our options, but we also need to listen to our emotional brain.

The importance of the emotional side of decision making can also be seen in politics.
Drew Westen explained how some political consultants operate with a flawed view of
voters’ minds167 by discounting emotions: “They gear their appeals toward
a dispassionate mind, one which makes political decisions by weighing evidence,
reasoning to valid conclusions, and calculating the expected utility of each candidate.
This view is not just outdated and simplistic; it loses elections.”

Problem solving and the Dijksterhuis experiment

Rational methods are quite valid and effective when they are applied consistently by
knowledgeable experts as can be seen in the use of financial evaluation models,
optimization tools in operational research, sophisticated simulations, and statistical
data analysis.

A rational approach may seem convincing and reassuring, but many factors escape
rationality. And in the end, calculations still have to be interpreted by the person who
makes the decision and to incorporate his or her subjective judgment.

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When people are faced with simple purchasing decisions involving just a few choice
criteria (e.g., buying a toaster), they usually have no difficulty evaluating and
comparing options, and they end up satisfied with their decision.

However, when the purchasing decision involves many complex criteria (e.g, buying
a car or house) and they must keep in mind all the details in analyzing their choice,
they often end up confused and less satisfied with their decision.

They often would do better to trust their brain value system (mass processing in
parallel) rather than their conscious judgment (slow and serial processing) for
integrating all the information and guiding their decision.

That is the conclusion of research conducted by Ap Dijksterhuis. 168 In a typical

experiment, participants were asked to choose an expensive item (e.g., a car) from
among many versions, each with many options. One of the choices was the optimal
version, which the research participants were supposed to find.

At the start of the experiment, participants were given time to study ample
information about the pros and cons of each version. Then, when it came time to
make the decision, Dijksterhuis allowed one group to study the information for
another 3 minutes while he distracted the other group with a task that prevented
conscious thought.

Contrary to expectations, it was the second group, who made their decisions without
conscious predeliberation, that fared better. Given the large number of variables
under consideration and the restricted conscious space available for deliberation,
participants had some difficulty making the best choice while keeping in mind all the
information available. In contrast, those who were distracted were able to better rely
on their brain value system, which could automatically process the mass of available
information below the level of consciousness.

Nonconscious processes are capable of some bottom-up “reasoning,” that is, sorting
out, evaluating, and averaging information to guide a decision when the conscious
mind is overburdened. As we learned earlier, our unconscious has a huge
processing capacity and can hold and manipulate a great number of variables,
sorting the information into a synthetic form, somewhat like a restaurant guide that
attributes global evaluation scores.

Unconscious processes can do an especially good job when they have been trained
by years of deliberation. Actually, the training done in the clear light of
consciousness has gone underground into the roomy basement of the subconscious.

As we deliberate, our mind makes an infinite number of value judgments that

accumulate and prepare us to act. But there is still a risk of information overload
when the repetition and preparation are insufficient for clarifying a situation.

In practice: Information overload: More is less

As already mentioned in Chapter 3, the number of things we can keep under the
spotlight of attention is quite limited. In fact, the rule of 7/3 applies. We can increase

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this number by associating and chunking information, but we still rapidly reach a
limit. Thus, more is less.

In experiments conducted by Angelika Dimona, 169 bidders were involved in complex

combinatorial auctions. As bidders received more and more information, she noticed
that the activity in the prefrontal cortex decreased quickly. As their working memory
was getting full and rebelling, the bidders began making dumb mistakes and bad
choices. Emotion started to take over, leading to anxiety and frustration.

To lessen the confusion created by too much information, the rational approach is to
process the “big data” with statistical methods, such as factorial analysis or
regression analysis, so as to reduce the mass of information to key explanatory
factors.

For example, doctors who had to predict heart attacks were confused by the
multitude of factors at play. By using factorial analysis to analyze the data from
hundreds of cases, it was possible to extract a few risk factors. Those were used to
develop a simple decision tree based on the three or four main factors, and that tool
could then be used to facilitate diagnosis.

Predictions by college counselors 170

College admissions officers who have access to large amounts of information---such
as high school transcripts, test scores, essays, and interviews---are less accurate in
evaluating students than a rudimentary mathematical formula composed of only two
variables: the high school grade-point average and the score on a single
standardized test.

Too many facts, illusory correlations, and irrelevant details distort the picture these
officers have of student applicants. The extra information makes the counselors
confident, but it can lead to worse predictions of student success in college.

Heuristics and algorithms

According to Herbert Simon,171 “A human mind has limited information processing
and storage capabilities. Humans must use simple rules of thumb and heuristics to
help make decisions and solve problems.” With too much information, we cannot see
the forest for the trees.

With the repetition of similar experiences, we can do a sort of rough statistical

analysis on the information we gather and come up with simple formulas, rules of
thumb, or heuristics. Our conscious mind, which is somewhat lazy, will take these
mental shortcuts whenever possible to simplify decision making.
The benefit of using heuristics is the reduction of time and effort and the consistency
of the process. But, it allows for no weighing of criteria, and a good deal of
information is lost. Moreover, heuristics are based on specific circumstances, and
their validity becomes questionable when the context changes.

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Examples of heuristics

Judgment: Never make a personal judgment the first time it comes up. Never fire
someone without sleeping on it.172

Restaurant pricing: Price food at three times the direct cost, wine at five times.

Advertising: When writing an ad, use sentences of no more than 12 words. 173

Loan application: Grant loans according to:

- No previous payment defaults
- 20% of income uncommitted
- One year at present address
- One year at present job
- Public employee

Intuition and insight

A repertoire of typical evolving patterns
By blending a large set of similar situations that we have experienced, we develop a
repertoire of typical evolving patterns. These are stored in associative networks at
multiple levels in the brain. They are not formulated and conscious, as is the case
with heuristics, but they emerge from our unconscious mind in the form of intuition or
insight.

For example,174 looking at short video extracts of professors teaching is sufficient to

allow students to reach an opinion about the efficiency and value of those teachers.
This judgment is almost immediate because it triggers patterns that have been
hardwired into the students’ brains after years of experience in classrooms.

Intuition, then, is about learning to recognize and match patterns. It is a mental

shortcut leading to a quick, efficient decision. For Herbert Simon, intuition is nothing
more and nothing less than pattern recognition.

We recognize patterns without knowing how we do it. We feel something is right, but
we have trouble giving a logical explanation for why we feel that way. Trying to
analyze the reasons for our intuitive choice may result in an artificial post-
rationalization because we are blind to our subconscious processes.

But, in fact, we can get in touch with the wisdom of our body through a gut feeling or
a heartfelt sense. Our capacity for quick insight is often related to a feeling registered
in the insula. By integrating a strong body component with our emotional experience,
the insula is able to send information to the prefrontal cortex for interpretation.

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We have already noted that the mind-body connection happens through the
association of the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex. These are crucial centers
for emotional cognition and are necessary for attending to feelings that arise in the
body.

“You feel when something is fishy. You sense it when you have an instant personal
bond with a stranger. Or you are positive that the charismatic politician on television
last night is lying through his teeth.” 175

People with some expertise have collected and memorized over the years a vast
repertoire of patterns from specific experiences in their domain. With this internal
knowledge, they are able to quickly and automatically assess a new situation and
perceive it as familiar or typical when the relevant clues and expectancies are
recognized.

Over time, these cognitive decisions and their emotional messages form a rich pool
of knowledge that percolates into our unconscious mind to form the basis of intuition.
The filtering process is complex and consists of different kinds of combinations that
weigh and average information. Once this is done, we no longer have access to the
process, only to the result.

The intuitive approach of accessing unconscious patterns is often preferable to the

rational approach, which takes more effort and is slower. For example, for
professional poker players, “Think long means think wrong.”

Pattern perception is central to our lives, and skill in many professions is almost
entirely based on the ability to recognize a large variety of patterns. The level of
expertise depends on the domain. For instance, economists operate like economists
and lawyers like lawyers. Soldiers scanning a scene have been trained to detect tiny
cues that suggest the presence of a roadside bomb.

Gary Klein,176 a well-known expert in intuitive decision making, introduced the

concept of recognition-primed decisions, that is, decisions based on recognized
patterns. The first plausible option is evaluated and implemented if it seems
appropriate. If not, it is modified or the next plausible option is considered.

Options can be evaluated by mental simulation using different clues to diagnose a

situation, the same way physicians diagnose disease. They look for combinations of
symptoms, and when they recognize a typical pattern, they can make a diagnosis,
select a treatment, and predict the outcome. Superior diagnosticians have acquired
more patterns and are able to use fewer clues to make a decision.

“The diagnosis is a mental simulation that weaves together different events into a
story that shows how the causes led to the effects.” In the case of jury trials, “people
making jury decisions build stories or mental simulations, trying to fit the evidence
into a plausible account.”177

Learning is not merely about accumulating facts. It involves internalizing the

relationships between different bits of information and remembering the feelings
associated with the corresponding experiences. The emotions attached might serve

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as the rating of actions. The best and the worst things that happened are best
remembered. Mediocre and uneventful experiences are quickly forgotten.

In practice : Managers take action

Instead of planning ahead---that is, aiming before firing according to the famous
formula “Ready. Aim. Fire”---many managers would prefer to take action first, as in
“Ready.Fire.Aim” if not “Fire.Fire.Fire.” 178 They base their decisions on an implicit
knowledge of the situation and intuitively take the first valid option to act. Then they
readjust their action according to what happens.

They do not plan and optimize their choices by comparing the advantages and
disadvantages of alternatives. They choose one option and improve it by looking at
its possible weaknesses. This trying and learning approach, focused on action, is
clearly preferred by managers who mock paralysis by analysis.

The Cleveland firefighter

Gary Klein relates the story of a Cleveland firefighter who had a sudden urge to
escape a burning house just before it collapsed. 179

When the firefighter arrived at the house, his experience let him see the situation
according to a familiar prototype, so he knew the typical course of action right away
and did not bother thinking of other options. It was a simple one-story house fire in a
residential neighborhood.

He then noticed some elements that did not seem right and alerted him to danger.
The floor was hotter and the fire was less noisy than expected. The pattern did not
seem right, and his expectations were violated. So he ordered his men out of the
building. As soon as they left the building, the floor where they had been standing
collapsed. He had no idea that there was a basement in the house and that the fire
had started there.

Fire department commanders rely on this pattern-matching process as a safeguard.

If they read a situation correctly, their expectations should match the events. If their
expectations are violated, they spot anomalies and look for another pattern.

In practice: Examples
Blink or snap judgment
Intuition is often referred to as a quick-and-dirty process that results from an instant
read of emotional centers. However, it is not always accurate, so early detection
needs to be balanced with accuracy.

Casting actors
Soap operas continually add new actors, and intuition is a crucial part of the casting
process. It only takes film directors a few seconds to know if someone is right for a
particular show. A few words or gestures is all they need.

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Buyers lie180
There are two main ways to operate as a real estate agent:
- Listen and list clients’ detailed preferences and then find houses that fit those
preferences
- Visit a wide variety of houses with clients and pay close attention to their
emotional reactions in order to understand what they are really looking for

The analytical, rational approach is useful to build a database, but it may obscure the
intuitive, gut feelings that lead clients to a decision.

Intuition should be properly trained

The acquisition of expertise in complex tasks and professional domains such as
sports, music, science, high-level chess, or firefighting is slow because it requires the
accumulation of a large collection of miniskills and patterns. The best training is
obtained through the multiplication of cases, simulations, and experiments to
develop the trainee’s ability to detect typical and familiar patterns. It seems that the
orbitofrontal cortex is involved very early in pattern recognition because it integrates
coarse aspects of the input, before more conscious processing occurs.

Organizations usually make many decisions and retain the learning obtained through
norms and standards, but they have difficulty managing the knowledge acquired
when the situation is complex and intricate. In fact, managers rarely spend enough
time at the end of a project to extract from the experience the learning that could
consolidate their future expertise.

Fatality rates of commercial airplanes

The fatality rate from commercial flights is about 0.5 accident per million flight hours
for regular companies. This rate is quite low when compared with road accidents,
and it can mostly be explained by the development of flight simulators, which
revolutionized pilot training. Instead of memorizing lessons, pilots train their
recognition-primed patterns in such a way that when they are in the air, they will not
have to waste critical moments trying to remember what they learned. They already
know what to do. When a plane is travelling at 500 miles per hour, they must make
the right decision immediately.

Emotional conditioning
Certain types of intuition are acquired rapidly. A single experience is sufficient for us
to learn when to be afraid or what to avoid. This conditioning is essential because we
may be less fortunate a second time. This emotional learning is quick but different
from intuitive expertise, which usually takes a long time to develop.

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In practice: The 10,000 hours rule
In his book Outliers,181 Malcom Gladwell contends that it takes at least 10,000 hours
of dedicated practice to become an expert at something, be it music, sports, or
science. Of course, this number depends on the person, but it gives a good
approximation. For example, a chess player would need to play 5 hours a day for
about 6 years to become a master. By then he would have become familiar with
thousands of configurations and arrangements of related pieces (50,000 chunks
according to Herbert Simon).

Learning high-level chess can be compared to learning to how to read by

recognizing individual letters and assembling them into clusters of syllables and
words (again, memorizing about 50,000 words). Actually, acquiring expertise in
chess is harder and takes longer than learning to read because patterns of
interacting pieces are more complex than words.

Expertise of chess grandmasters

When the pieces on the chess board are not arranged randomly, highly skilled
players are able to remember the positions of most of the pieces, whereas average
players could hardly remember a few. Average players see individual pieces, but
master players see chunks, clusters, and formations, which, like words in a sentence
or a story, are easy to remember.

Intuition’s clay feet

Intuition is often quite accurate when two conditions are met:
 The environment is sufficiently regular to be predictable.
 Experience is translated into expertise through prolonged practice and
adequate feedback.

However, when the domain is unstable or evolving rapidly, the accumulated

expertise rapidly loses its value and may even be misleading. Because we are blind
to the underlying thinking process of intuition and only have access to the result,
errors are difficult to correct, and we easily fall into the trap of overconfidence. This is
particularly true for experts in domains such as economics or politics, as described
earlier. When their predictions are wrong, they tend to soothe their self-confidence
by coming up with postrationalizations to protect their professional self-identity.

This means that if someone is a novice in a specific domain, it is best to use rational
thinking to deliberate and learn the hard way, even if the process is slow and
effortful. And when predictability is poor, Daniel Kahneman recommends leaving the
final decision to formulas that will extract the best possible prediction from the
information available.

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Creativity
The fleeting nature of creativity and the search for novel
connections
Creativity can be defined simply as the capacity to make uncommon predictions via
unlikely juxtapositions or analogies. As our concrete experiences grow richer, we
allow our brains the freedom to search for still unknown connections. Signals from
different areas of the cortex bounce around through all existing connections and
patterns.

We can talk rationally about creativity, but creativity is not born out of reasoning. It
develops out of the dance of patterns and chance encounters. It is about getting
lucky when searching for new combinations in the wilderness of possibilities. 182

As the mind wanders without logical, conscious thinking, we may gain access to rich
but evanescent representations. As soon as an answer is found, the new idea
emerges into consciousness, like an audience member jumping onto the stage
(according to the theater metaphor). This brings to mind Mozart’s comment that his
music came to him uninterrupted,183 although we are certainly not all like Mozart.

Unlikely encounters and juxtapositions

Post-it notes
Arthur Fry, who worked at the 3M company, was singing in his church choir and was
annoyed by his bookmarks dropping out of his hymn book. He started looking for
something that would stick on the pages without being so sticky they could not be
easily moved when necessary.
Tea bags
Tea bags were first used as packaging for loose tea samples.

Microwave oven
Unexpected discharges from a radar system were melting candy bars in the shirt
pockets of experimenters.

Velcro
George de Mestral invented the interlocking of hooks and loops after observing the
burrs he found on his clothes after a hike.

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Four periods of intellectual creation
Preparation period: A long search
Innovation often comes at a price, whether in terms of money, time, one’s sanity, the
loss of friends, or the breakup of marriages. A large percentage of the exploration
process is just about doing the hard, often boring stuff, failing often and starting over
again.

It involves thinking for long hours about the nature of the problem, elaborating on it,
collecting all the knowledge available, exploring different fields of expertise, and
making connections among various pieces of information and experience.

Thus, the learning process starts with conscious elaboration and the creation of new
mental representations. Once they are assimilated, these representations sink into
our unconscious memory. A great deal of what we know is buried in the mind’s
basement, far away from the forefront of conscious thinking.

Incubation
Ideas are like plants in that the seeds do not look much like the final flower; they
need time and care to survive and blossom. In the creative process, incubation
involves saturating one’s thinking about a problem with all of the efforts and
investments one has made toward finding a solution. Our mind is setting up mental
clues that are ready to fire. During this phase, it is important to have time and the
freedom to relax and let one’s mind wander. Without free time and a protected space
in which ideas can develop and blossom, little innovation will occur.

Illumination and insight

Then there is the classic moment of insight, the burst of inspiration celebrated in the
literature: the “Aha” moment of surprise, Archimedes’ eureka moment, the splash of
insight, the leap in learning, the cognitive snap, the illumination, the epiphany.

Insight represents a breakthrough that appears instantly. A complex set of new

connections is created as disparate observations integrate into a coherent whole and
the answer comes into focus all at once. Two things are important in this process:
the reorganization of knowledge in associative networks and the emotional impact of
the discovery. Both effects will consolidate learning.

However, not everyone agrees with this formulation. According to Tim Berners-Lee,
the man who invented the World Wide Web, “There was no Eureka moment…. It
was a process of accretion.”

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Verification: Refining and implementing the idea
Insight is not the end of the process. Engineers, designers, and others involved in
taking a creative idea to fruition still must usually spend years fine-tuning the
unrefined idea, trying to make it real and concrete.

How insight occurs in the brain

According to Joydeep Bhattacharya, 184 it is possible to predict when someone will
solve a puzzle. Up to 8 seconds before the insight actually arrives, there is a steady
rhythm of alpha waves emanating from the right hemisphere of the person’s brain.
Alpha waves have a rather slow frequency of about 8 cycles per second. Their
precise function remains mysterious, but they seem to be closely associated with
relaxing activities when the brain becomes idle. One or two seconds before insight,
the visual cortex goes dark, shutting out distractions in order to focus on subtle
internal associations. Then, a fraction of a second before the insight emerges, there
is a spike in gamma waves, which have a high frequency of about 40hz and are
generated in the right temporal lobe. This frequency makes neurons in different
regions of the brain fire in unison. At 40 times per second, widely different brain
areas communicate with one another and become synchronized. A new network of
cells, distributed across the cortex, associate into a new pattern that then becomes
conscious.

Mark Jung-Beeman and John Kounios185 also studied what happens at a moment of
insight and found similar results. Once the brain is sufficiently focused, the cortex
needs to relax in order to seek out more remote associations in the right hemisphere.
They observed in successful participants the burst of gamma waves generated when
neurons bind to each other. They also found a spike of activity in the anterior
superior temporal gyrus moments before insight occurred.

As we already know, the left hemisphere deals mostly with sequential and logical
associations, and this type of processing is not suitable for generating unlikely
juxtapositions. Thus, it is the right hemisphere that excels at exploring unusual
perspectives and analogies and/or distant associations between ideas, for example,
when we interpret a metaphor or understand a joke.

Dreams: The royal path to new forms of meaning

Most dreams appear during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep because the brain is
then free from conscious control, sensory input, and/or the need to plan any actions.
This is the ideal state for reflection. We obtain access to nonverbal and primitive
cognitions, key beliefs, random images, and the experiences of our life recycled
through our memories.

In fact, during REM sleep the brain is almost as active as during the waking state.
The result of this activity, caracterized by electrical waves of high frequency, is
unpredictable; the mind seems to be playing with whatever spare elements happen
to be available. These elements connect with each other in the form of narratives
that often seem surprising and puzzling when we wake up and try to make sense of
them.

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Not only does this process facilitate the consolidation of memory, it also allows the
selection and recombination of all of these elements into new forms of meaning. It
allows a change in our representations that may give us access, when we wake up,
to hidden perspectives or new insights. We may be able to discover patterns that we
could not see after several hours of hard work.

“Sleeping is the height of genius,” 186 but “the sleep of reason produces monsters,” 187
as well. In fact, with the release of frontal control, our subcortical regions, and, in
particular, the amygdala, have a surge of activity. The emotional content of our
internalized experiences dominates. Dreams thus rehearse and integrate emotional
memories.

In practice: Innovation is often at odds with efficiency

To understand why organizations, particularly large ones, have difficulty introducing
innovation and creating new businesses, it is important to understand how they
grow.

We can recognize three phases in the evolution of organizations: 188 the emerging
phase of learning and experimenting, the developing phase of rapid growth and
infrastructure buildup, and the mature and well-established phase dominated by
productivity and profitability concerns. Innovation and flexibility gradually give way to
rigidity and standardization.

The contrast between phases one and three is striking. Mature organizations are
dominated by a powerful bureaucracy, and their internal culture is focused on
measuring their profit and controlling operations according to norms and procedures.
Clearly, risk has to be reduced, if not avoided, and uncertainty is the enemy. New
business opportunities are viewed as distractions or threats to the core business
because they do not fall within established business lines, and senior executives
have no time to devote to unproven potential opportunities.

In contrast, innovation is at odds with efficiency, standardization, and reduction of

variability. Real creation is sloppy, and discovery is messy. Creative work does not fit
neatly into plans, budgets, and schedules.

To solve this conflict, organizations must manage phases one and three separately
in order to provide a chance for innovation initiatives to develop successfully.

Innovation necessitates the creation of a safe place that is independent from the
core business and has a culture of its own. This space should act as a business
incubator in which new initiatives will grow freely and survive short-term objectives or
budget crunches.

The structure of this unit should remain flat, with a minimum of approval levels. It will
need a good deal of flexibility to accommodate and support experimentation and
learning, with a generous allocation of time and resources and leaders who see

197
themselves as facilitators. The idea is to build a “just try it” culture that can manage
forgetfulness and accept failure.

Forgetful management189
It is natural for managers to protect what they know and have created from the threat
of emerging ideas. In fact, good habits and traditional ways of doing things should
not be denigrated because they provide safety, stability, and predictability. However,
they also create oases and canyons that are hard to leave.

The real brake on innovation is the drag of old mental models. Faith in the past can
blind innovators who need, at some point, to leave the traditional path, reframe the
situation, break old mental sets, and manage forgetfulness.

Failure management
Searching for new ideas and exploring new ways can be dangerous. Real
experiments entail risks, just as in real life, but that is exactly what is needed for
innovation to blossom. There is no way to avoid failure when doing new things. We
have to accept failing sometimes in order to learn faster and succeed sooner. Failure
must be managed and accepted.

Conditions required for insight

Breaking mental sets and frames of reference
Doing this involves the principle of lateral thinking, an approach proposed by Edward
de Bono as a way to get out of traditional reasoning. The method consists of
choosing a random input, a kind of anchor, on the side of the main track and then
trying to relate it to the task. For example, you open a book at an arbitrary page, you
choose a word, and you see how it might connect with the matter at hand. Similarly,
clues and anchors might come from ideas suggested by other participants in a
brainstorming session. By building new thinking from these various ideas, it is
possible to escape familiar frames of reference.

Developing a quiet mind and light awareness

Insight occurs when the brain goes quiet for a moment, perhaps in the shower or on
the treadmill. Archimedes had his eureka moment in the public baths; Woody Allen
has his best ideas in bed.

As the mind wanders over remote domains, not tightly focused on one thing, we are
open to detecting the subtle connections that lead to insight. With a light focus, we
are able to free space on our working memory stage for remote associations to
“jump on” and connect.

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Focusing on being unfocused: The prefrontal cortex is the
inhibitor
Many experiments show that the prefrontal cortex is not the source of insights but
can, instead, inhibit their generation when we are searching for a solution to a
complex problem.

The paradox is that for insight to occur, we actually must stop thinking and any form
of conscious mental, deliberate process in our prefrontal cortex. So the ability to
develop insight comes from the ability to minimize our overall mental activity.

Trying to force insight can actually prevent it from happening. A highly focused state
of mind inhibits the creative process. Incentives designed to accelerate creativity
often end up doing the opposite. As they narrow the focus of attention to short-term
goals, they limit the breath and depth of the creative process. They may even lead to
unethical behavior and decrease cooperation. Instead, reward should be unexpected
and offered after the result is achieved.

The importance of good mood and teamwork

People who score high on a standard measure of happiness solve about 25% more
insight puzzles than people who are feeling angry or upset .190

The happier we are, the more creative we seem to be. This may be because we
literally open up our field of view when we are happy. So, companies such as Google
encourage fun and create a playful atmosphere in order to stimulate creativity.

Methods of facilitating creativity

Brainstorming
Alex Osborn191 saw the need to separate the creative process into two phases. A first
phase of openness encourages wild ideas as participants get out of traditional
modes of thinking and interdisciplinary teams come up with more perspectives. The
second phase involves evaluation, testing of ideas, and closure.

The social aspects of Osborn’s phases is quite appealing because they create a
positive, fun environment. Participants receive positive feedback and are proud of
their contribution to the group.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is popular at Ideo, the famous Californian design firm. You can see on
the walls large panels that recall key points:

DEFER JUDGMENT Don't dismiss any ideas. Withhold criticism and evaluation.
BUILD ON THE IDEAS OF OTHERS No "buts," only "ands." Modify and combine
ideas. Piggy back. Extend ideas, build on others’ ideas
ENCOURAGE WILD IDEAS Embrace the most out-of-the-box notions because they
can be the key to solutions. Diversify (contrast categories).

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GO FOR QUANTITY Keep moving. Aim for as many new ideas as possible. In a
good session, up to 100 ideas are generated in 60 minutes.
BE VISUAL Use yellow, red, and blue markers to write on big Post-its that are put
on a wall.
STAY FOCUSED Always keep the discussion on target.
ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME No interrupting, no dismissing, no disrespect, no
rudeness.

Creative brainstorming sessions should be preceeded by considerable preparation.

Participants should do their homework, their own learning, and generate their own
insights before joining the group and pooling their ideas.

Brainstorming entails a good balance between the opening phase and the closing
phase. The closure sessions are crucial and should entail a solid evaluation. And as
the project moves on, the critiques should become louder and sharper.

Critique sessions
All participants of a critique session can learn from others’ mistakes because the
entire group feels responsible for the final evaluation. These sessions occur during
the early stage of developing a new product or idea so as to prevent errors as early
in the process as possible. This is often done on crude prototypes. For example, the
motto at Ideo192 is, “Fail often to succeed sooner.”

The critique sessions can lead to more creativity through frank conversations. They
take place at a more rational level with less access to the associative unconscious
mind. But some surprising or critical replies may open up new perspectives because
the idea is to operate from a dynamic sucession of open and closure moments.

In conclusion: Some lessons about making decisions

Balance the important and the urgent
Often trivial decisions that demand a prompt answer are given too much importance.
Their urgency gives them an emotional twist that amplifies the perception of their
importance. It is worth prescreening decisions so as to disregard urgent ones that
are not significant and to focus instead on what is important. When hunting
elephants, do not waste mental energy chasing rabbits.
Take a break to think
When facing an important decision, it is crucial to take a break to think, even if we
are under time pressure. The temptation is always to react by jumping from symptom
to action, without making a proper diagnosis and a decent search for solutions. We
are naturally inclined to follow our gut feeling and look for solutions that come
immediately to mind.

But, can we trust this intuitive choice? In a dynamic environment, our expertise may
lose its value, and we may be seriously misled by it.

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Do your homework
This is the traditional approach, one that is dear to consultants. After multiplying
options and evaluating opportunites and threats according to strengths and
weaknesses, we should come up with a choice based on a number of rational
methods of analyzing the data.

Taking the time to think and process the information is important because our
subconscious mind will work in parallel to average, summarize, and digest the
options and the available information. We should trust our silent alter ego to set
priorities and deliver insights that will complete the rational analysis.
Implement a systematic approach
It is possible to anticipate and correct the effect of some biases and various forms of
undesirable influence by setting up a formal, systematic decision-making approach.
Risks and biases are not the only dangers; the decision makers themselves and their
behavior can create problems. We should check for specific emotional investments
or commitments that might bias our decision or if there are there some anchors or
options immediately available that will blind us to other possibilities.

Is there a risk that specific interests of powerful actors or attractive financial rewards
will influence valuable options with a halo effect?

Can we expect some deciders to be ego-centric or overconfident to the point of

remaining willfully blind?

Can we anticipate failure with a “premortem” approach?

Is it possible to have concurrent teams or specific roles of advocate/prosecutor to

better exploit the collective intelligence of the group?

And so on.

To make better decisions, we must trust our rational brain and rational methods but
not behave as the homo economicus described by economists. We need to keep in
mind that our rationality is bounded and limited and that we are quick to rely on
heuristics and mental shortcuts.

Our brain is a fantastic instrument as long as we are willing to work long hours to
prepare and organize the patterns that support our intuition and common sense. But
caution is necessary to avoid looking at new situations with a rear view mirror and
only trusting our gut feelings.

Finally, creativity is such a fragile and lucky process that we have to create the
proper context in order to allow the flowers of innovation to bloom.

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 Chapter 13 - Leadership challenges
In this chapter we show how traditional management structures and practices
evolved based on the importance attached to hierarchy and status, the
implementation of routines, and the need to control uncertainty. However, as the
environment has become more dynamic and competitive, business organizations
have had to change to focus on the customer and to develop innovative strategies
that can make the difference.

In today’s world, it is thus necessary and important to develop a leadership

dimension that will complement the management approach more focused on
controlling the execution of goals and projects. This type of leadership is less
natural in the sense that now leaders have to challenge the process, manage their
own personality, and organize the context so that it supports the unfolding of their
competitive strategy.

In fact, leadership and management need to complement each other, so we

describe here what we call adaptive leadership. This combines the need to control
execution while at the same time developing a strategic approach. Flexible
leadership requires a serious effort to adapt to the situation and is achieved through
attentive and relentless practice.

Why are we so obsessed with leadership?

MBAs and executives are concerned with the notion of leadership because, at one
time or another, they will be in charge of managing a business unit, a division, or a
whole firm in an environment that is increasingly dynamic, competitive, and even
disruptive.

However, the notion of leadership has been overused in management education and
consulting, and its meaning has been inflated to such an extent that there is no
broad agreement on what it takes to do the job successfully. It is clear that we need
someone at the helm---a boss, a manager, a leader---with the right qualities and
abilities, but the notion still remains vague and too general.

Should we be content with the halo effect, which implies that leaders are great if they
obtain brillant results and bad if they do not?

To shed some light on these issues and yet remain on solid ground, we propose
using what we know about the brain to look at how we have evolved from a
traditional management style that is more vertical, hierarchical, and under tight
control to a broader leadership style based on risk acceptance, personal
engagement, and cooperation. From there we will be able to define what we call an
adaptive leadership style, which combines control of execution and a strategic vision,
one or the other taking precedence according to the situation.

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The management perspective

The traditional management system

As organizations grew in size, the pyramidal structures they developed were the
result of a primal form of dominance, with some members taking charge of directing
others. Because the control of a group could only be extended to a limited number of
people to be effective, the rake structure made up of seven individuals and a boss
led to wider and wider pyramidal structures. With four hierarchical levels, one could
manage 2500 people, with six levels, one could reach 120,000 people.

A good example of a pyramidal structure was the traditional army, with its strict
hierarchy and members at the bottom who were viewed as uniformed pawns who
behaved in uniformed, standardized ways. Discipline was the main strength of the
army and had to be accepted without hesitation or dissent.

This form of dominance within a vertical hierarchy appears to result from a drive
deeply rooted in the brain. As mentioned in Chapter 11, our status is constantly
calculated against that of others, and some people will strive to attain power, sustain
power, and take advantage of power. They will do so for the pleasure of power itself
and the prestige it can bring, as well as any material benefits.

The army has evolved, of course, but not as rapidly as industrial organizations. In
fact, the industrial revolution resulted from the relentless search for ways to reduce
costs, with economy of scale driven by the division of labor and the standardization
of tasks.

The best illustrations of mass production were the famous assembly lines and their
armies of specialized workers. They were organized into strict hierarchies dominated
by a vertical management structure based on planning, scientific organizatiion of
labor, and standardization of processes. These kinds of structures are brilliant
devices for controlling things in a well-defined and stable context.

It is worth noting that organizations memorize a great part of their learning in

standards, rules, and procedures that are written down in manuals to fix knowledge
and control execution. These can be considered the analog of the habits and
routines that are hardwired in neural networks in the brain, all the way down to the
basal ganglia.

As long as the environment remained stable, such a system could almost be

managed on autopilot by mastering standardized processes to obtain expected
results. In case of deviation from the norm, supervisors or controllers (and by
analogy, we think of the anterior cingulate cortex) apply rational thinking to solve the
problem, update the standards, and improve the learning. The great advantage of
norms and rules is that they facilitate cross-functional cooperation by making
predictable the relationships between successive units. Each unit enjoys some
autonomy as long as it follows its local rules and is not accountable for the final
result.

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So, as technical rationality was applied to massive production systems and
bureaucracies, the management objective was to control each process, limit
uncertainty, and capture value through productivity improvement and cost reduction.

Figure 1: Traditional management system

This traditional mode of management is represented in Figure 1, where we can see
that plans and budgets are brokien down into multiple objectives that are deployed
and pushed throughout the vertical power structure. This is done in order to capture
as much value as possible for the entreprise by reducing costs and improving
efficiency.

In Figure 1 we have distinguished two broad perspectives: the management style on

the left and the context on the right.

The management style is rather direct and top down. Managers define the objectives
they will try to sell to their subordinates when a negotiation is possible, although
usually they simply tell people what to do. And subordinates must conform to
standard procedures and well-defined operating modes. They are left fewer
resources and less autonomy as they are farther down in the hierarchy.

On the other side, the context is characterized by the classical functions of job
design and staffing, a vertical structure organized according to parallel silos, and the
definition of operating procedures.

It is clear that this disciplined system needs a stable environment to function well,
and, as a consequence, the control of uncertainty becomes a key challenge. Thus,

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the different actors who have a limited degree of freedom will try to recover, as far as
possible, some autonomy and flexibility to adjust, and their power will be based not
only on the hierarchical structure but also on the capacity to control some
uncertainties and margins of action.

With the study of industrial monopolies, Michel Crozier 193 was able to show that the
source of power in bureaucratic organizations comes from the capacity of key actors
to retain some autonomy by controlling some constraints or important sources of
uncertainty. Even a technician at the bottom of the organization has some power and
can retain more autonomy if he or she is the only one able to repair a machine that
can block a whole production line if it fails.

A source of power: The capacity to control uncertainty

Through his study of an industrial monopoly---a French tobacco firm---in the 1960s,
Michel Crozier discovered that all the factories, organized according to the same
pattern, experienced the same problems.
Each workshop was managed by a supervisor who oversaw the operations of about
100 low-skilled production workers and a few technicians in charge of the set-up and
maintenance of machines. The organization of the workshop and the allocation of
jobs to production workers were governed by clear and impersonal rules and
procedures in order to control the process and maximize its efficiency.
But when the machines broke down, only maintenance technicians knew how to
repair them. This knowledge gave them the power to decide when and how to
intervene to fix the problem. They had power because they were able to control an
important source of uncertainty: the breakdown of the machines. It is thus easy to
imagine the dysfunctional relationships that arose between the three categories of
people. In particular, the maintenance workers, thanks to their know-how, were able
to exercise their power and deny any authority or competence to the supervisors
who were managing the workshop.

Managers drive results

It is not surprising to discover that managers are expected, first of all, to organize
business processes so as to deliver results. With the breakdown of plans into
specific goals, each unit is supposed to be managed by objectives and to respond
vertically to the boss in order to reach the expected objective without worrying too
much about the next unit. Activity and responsibility move up and down, within
vertical silos, rather than laterally across units, especially if those units are not
cooperating well to adjust to va riations. Obviously, in this kind of structure,
changes and uncertainties introduced by customers and/or the environment are not
welcomed.

Hard-nosed executives have been rewarded over decades for driving results, mainly
financial results, using a number of tools and methods to capture and count value.
They have focused on technical skills and rational decision making without seriously
considering interpersonal skills and emotional or social intelligence. (However, the
human relations movement was a tentative attempt to attenuate this trend by
focusing on employees’ motivation and satisfaction.)

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This traditional mode of organization, which I have caricatured to make my point, is a
sort of default mode that seems to fit our natural tendencies. In a hierarchical power
structure, we are told what to do, and we become dependent on the boss to make
decisions. The process is managed with repetitive and habitual operating
procedures, and problem solving remains in the hands of a few experts. It is much
easier to tell and be listened to or to do as one is told and not think. Our front brain is
rather lazy and prefers to avoid the difficulty of working things through.

At the top of the organization, the boss is a manager but not really a leader, even if
he or she has the power, and sometimes an arbitraty power at that. If we still want to
use the term, we may call this kind of style vertical leadership or autocratic
leadership. Some bosses may have great virtues and offers good opportunities for
subordinates, but if/when he or she displays aberrant behavior, the counterpower will
be based on the whole system and the procedures in place. Those will help maintain
the organization, at least for a time.

Evolution toward the customer

As the business environment has become increasingly dynamic, and as markets
opened up under the pressure of competition, the management approach evolved
rapidly. The type of management in which leaders were the pushers who told others
what to do and employees left their brain at the factory gate was leading to huge
waste and hidden costs. And the customer paid for it.

The best illustration of the shift of perspective that occurred is the evolution of
traditional manufacturing systems toward the lean manufacturing system famously
exemplified by the Toyota production system.

In Toyota, processes became driven by customer demand, which now pulled the
whole system, and operational units had to interconnect horizontally to deliver more
value to the customer. To do so, managers had to delegate authority and give more
opportunities to team members to cooperate, reduce waste, and increase efficiency.
In fact, cooperation is not a natural behavior in work situations. People tend to
consider those they deal with in another unit or silo as foreigners and thus potential
threats. They may have divergent interests, and yet you must depend on them. To
organize cooperation, it is essential to create a context in which people have an
interest in working together and a climate of trust that makes people more
predictable by clarifying the rules that govern their interactions.

By giving more responsibility and autonomy back to workers, reducing hierarchical

levels, generalizing teamwork, and continuously improving processes, the new
organization was better balanced and able to improve quality while drastically
reducing waste. Thus, training and empowerment, continuous improvement,
teamwork, and horizontal cooperation became core principles in organizations.

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 Figure 2: Orienting toward the client

The vertical power of management is balanced by the power of the customer. The
organization tilts horizontally to give more value to the customer (see Figure 2).

Evolution toward services

The focus on the customer has been further amplified by the orientation of
organizations toward providing services. According to my operational definition, 194
service is front stage, that is, service is represented by the sum of all interactions
with the client on the front stage (the back stage deals with material operations and
transformations). Because most client interactions are mediated by front-line
employees, the latter have the power to control the relationship with the customer.

The strength of this relationship gives customers so much power that the
organizational pyramid is turned upside down, and the manager must also become a
coach to support front-line employees who are actively delivering the service (see
Figure 3). This effect is even stronger when we consider professional service
providers, such as doctors, lawyers, consultants, and artists. These professionals
have an intimate relationship with their clients, which gives them real power and
revenue based on their estimated competence.

Similarly, in the industrial services sector, mastering the manufacturing of a product

does not guarantee success. For example, in 2000, Michelin, a world leader in the
tire industry, launched a comprehensive offer to large transportation companies that

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involved selling miles instead of tires. With their new business model, Michelin
retains ownership of the tires and offers a full-service arrangement calculated on
miles traveled. This offer provides some peace of mind to managers of transportation
companies by optimizing tire and fuel expenditures and taking care of every element
of the life cycle of a tire: personalized diagnostic, delivery, installation, inspection,
replacement, maintenance, and safety procedures.

This shift provided Michelin with an opportunity to differentiate itself in the tire
business, but this new strategy required redesigning and transforming the traditional
model of the organization. To deliver a service, it is essential to control a large
number of contact points during specific moments in the relationship with the
customer.

Necessary competencies have to be organized into a network that is ready to face

and meet the customer’s demands, wherever they are situated within the firm. The
management of the client relationship becomes vital, and senior executives, who
have difficulty knowing what is happening at the level of this relationship, must trust
the collective actions of their front line.

Figure 3: The service triangle: Turning the pyramid upside down

A change in people’s attitudes and behavior

Mass production and mass marketing were based on a certain level of conformity.
People were motivated by modernity, the pursuit of social standing, and higher-

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status positions with better salaries. They would take superiors as models and follow
their advice as they supposedly knew best.

But as people become more and more disillusioned with the consumer society, they
tend to search, instead, for personal achievement and increased autonomy.
Employees in organizations are less tempted by the pursuit of consumerism than by
feeling in charge and in control. Vertical lines of authority, division of labor, and
standardization are not sought after anymore.

The new orientation toward the customer and providing services parallels this
evolution of attitudes. It shows the need to find a style of management that is more
open and concerned with the aspirations of clients and employees.

The Toyota production system provides the begining of an answer with its reduction
in the number of hierarchical levels, its view of middle managers as facilitators, the
enlargement and enrichment of tasks, the greater focus on teamwork, and the
emphasis on continuous improvement.

Globalization and increasing competition

At the same time, the increased level of competition resulting from globalization
leads companies to tighten up their managerial practices by focusing on short-term
profitability, value for the shareholder, or the anticipations of financial analysts. And
this occurs at the expense of the internal climate and the vitality of the organization.
Clearly, the tightening of controls and the multiplication of reporting systems go
against the aspiration of employees who want more autonomy and meaning.

It thus happens that companies have to face internally the new expectations of their
employees, but also, externally, they must find a way to differentiate their products
and services and offer more value to their customers and stakeholders.

As globalization leads to commodity hell---that is, the standardization of the offer---

the challenge is to find competitive advantages by mobilizing internal resources and
actors. The managerial approach is not adequate anymore, and it is essential to find
another form of leadership that will take into account short-term and long-term
profitability as well as the new aspirations of employees .

Strategy and execution

As Phil Rosenzweig195 explained, “Company performance is driven by two things:
strategy and execution. Strategy is about performing different activities from those of
rival companies, or performing similar activities in different ways. A strategy is not a
goal, or an objective or a target. … It’s about being different from rivals in some
important way. In turn, execution is all about carrying out those choices. It refers to
the way that people, working together in an organization setting, mobilize resources
to deliver on the strategy.”

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Strategy and execution complement each other, and the importance of their
respective roles will depend on the context and the nature of the environment. A
stable environment may require managers who are able to relentlessly control and
improve operations, but a risky, competitive environment will likely need flexible
leaders who are open to new perspectives.

These two modes are both necessary, and just like the two hemispheres of our
brain. they supplement each other. On the left side, we deal with a precise, detailed,
controlled orientation, whereas on the right we deal with a global, interactive
perspective. We can also compare these two modes to the automatic system of
habits centered on the basal ganglia and the cognitive system mainly based on the
prefrontal cortex.

The leadership perspective

Strategic leadership
It is clear that leadership demands an enlarged notion of management, one that
takes into account our various intelligences: cognitive, emotional, and social. We
have described this enlarged notion in Figure 4 according to three main dimensions:
strategic vision, leadership style, and context. These comprise a constellation of
competencies that are less natural and that seriously challenge our frontal lobes.

In the first place, leaders need to regularly challenge the status quo and show the
path forward. They must define a strategic vision that may entail some risks. Then
they have to show the way by becoming personally involved, which implies that they
will need to find and develop their own style and voice. Finally, they must organize
the proper context in which to engage followers and implement their strategy.

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 Figure 4: Strategic leadership

The strategic vision

The strategic vision will clarify how to add value and differentiate from competition.
Strategic leaders will then define key priorities and allocate their time accordingly.
The process is laborious, exploratory, and requires many prefrontal resources in
order to select which decisive information deserves attention. It involves a great deal
of work that the brain is rather reluctant to do, thus the value of consultants who are
called in to help. Eventually, this work must lead to a well-defined course of action
according to clear priorities. The rule of 7/3 should not be forgotten. Would everyone
be able to recall the three priorities that concern them in less than 3 seconds?

Moreover, such leaders must take into account biases and inclinations that can
distort judgment, such as loss avoidance or overconfidence. Even if it is not possible
to erase such biases, it is important to mitigate their influence by anticipating them
and developing specific rules of conduct. This opens a new domain for training future
leaders.

Finding one’s leadership style

Defining a strategy and the priorities is not enough. It is also important to
communicate them to engage collaborators so as to obtain their cooperation and
support.

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We saw in Chapter 7 that good communication is based on four factors that are
present in any learning process. First, it is important to capture the attention and
interest of collaborators by sustaining their personal motivations. Second, they will
then need to integrate the message into other associative networks in their brain.
This can be done with memorable stories, parables, and metaphors that will give
them a purpose and the feeling of being included in the endeavor. Third, emotions---
even dramatization---reinforce attention and recall. Fourth, messages need to be
spaced and repeated regularly to hardwire them more firmly in the brain.

The difficulty is to not only tell a coherent story but also to convince others to believe
it. When this works, the imaginary strength of the message will convince more
people to cooperate and work together toward common objectives.

Thus, leaders who introduce change have to be credible if they are to be followed.
And to establish credibility and develop trust, they are expected to show by example
and to model the way. As they embody the story they tell, they walk their talk, and
“you cannot tell the dancer from the dance.”

Moreover, leaders must come to know themselves better in order to find their voice.
They have to develop their emotional intelligence, 196 that is, the ability to recognize
and manage their own personality with all of its strengths and weaknesses. This is,
again, a new practice that has to be added to the training of leaders.

Organizing the proper context

To establish the proper context, a leader’s first concern is the choice of competent
collaborators. Results will only be achieved by trusting those individuals. So, the
leader must select, develop, and retain the best talent possible because they will be
in charge of implementing the new vision throughout the organization (and eventually
exploring new opportunities). Their vocation is to become leaders themselves.

Accordingly, leadership is distributed among a number of collaborators who will

share strategic developments, champion projects, and explore or exploit new
opportunities. But will all these actors agree to follow the path set out by the strategic
leader? They will only if they are enabled to do so. Therefore, the context should
give them adequate autonomy and resources in a structure that is now more
horizontal and flat as well as closer to the customer This means that leaders must
accept limiting their power, playing a role as facilitator and/or mediator, and agreeing
to recognize their ignorance when that is appropriate.

This progressive mode of collaboration, which is based on trust and cooperation, is

not very stable. It requires deliberate commitment and effort in order to avoid falling
back into a regressive mode triggered by the slightest doubt or error. Biases such as
overconfidence or risk-and-loss avoidance are always ready to reemerge.

In fact, when it comes to enabling people, leaders usually have to fight hard against
their natural drive to retain control and power. It is more comfortable to stay in the
telling and selling mode than to shift to the delegating and consulting approach. The
dynamic balance between autonomy and control is difficult to maintain because it is
hard to know when to step in and when to step back to let others display their
talents.

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Organizations that become more fluid and virtual as they are driven by the market
require both crossfunctional cooperation to align various units and networking
abilities (some outside of the organization). Networking allows organizations to take
advantage of information and communication technologies in order to develop
informal and virtual cooperation beyond geographical constraints.

This means that most members of the organization must cooperate with other actors
whose interests may be quite divergent. This is harder and will demand some
adaptation. It is thus important to create a context and a climate of trust in which
different actors have an interest in working together.

Communicating, explaining, and showing the way are useful but insufficient.
Employees may accept the necessity of change but refuse its practical
consequences in their day-to-day activities. The change leader must then
understand how actors really behave in their working situations and design and
organize the context and incentives that will lead to their engagement. The actors will
behave according to the way they are treated, rewarded, and/or promoted. And this
should no longer be done on an individual basis when the objective is to promote
cooperation.

When it is not possible to develop a culture of cooperation and trust in an

organization, there is a risk of falling back into the type of coercive mode described
by François Dupuy.197 Enterprises rigidify their operating modes by locking their
members into heavy reporting systems and numerous performance indicators that
lead to the withdrawal of those members.

Instead, leaders must strive to construct a context and culture that authorize
innovation and in which collective action and cooperation can be developed in a
climate of trust. Doing so requires new leadership skills that must be learned and
practiced.

Creating value
Obviously, all that has just been described should lead to the expected results. The
need to capture value for the business and to reduce waste and costs is completed
by the more challenging objective of searching for new opportunities to create value
for the customer and main stakeholders.

Adaptive and flexible leadership

So far, we have differentiated between a managerial approach focused on execution
and one that we refer to as strategic leadership. But, in fact, they complete each
other, and it is worth associating them by introducing the notion of adaptive
leadership. This allows the two modes to coexist in dynamic equilibrium, with one or
the other taking the lead according to circumstances. This balancing of strategic
openness and flawless execution is an essential adaptive capacity that helps leaders
and their organizations to stay on course in challenging environments. The ability to
do the thing right and the right thing, to both maintain the gains and seize
opportunities, requires serious attention and is developed through practice. “As
weather shapes mountains, so problems make leaders.”

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The duality of leadership-management parallels the novelty-routinization duality in
our brain’s hemispheric specialization for processing information. According to
Elkhonon Goldberg,198 the right hemisphere explores unusual perspectives and
distant associations, whereas the left hemisphere is the repository of long-term,
generic knowledge and cognitive routines. As we learn, the locus of cognitive control
shifts from the right to the left hemisphere.

With this differentiation, the brain seems to play with two types of strategies: a left
brain, context-independent strategy based on acquired experience averaged over
time, and a right-brain, context-dependent strategy for capturing and adapting to the
specific properties of the situation at hand and custom tailoring the response. In a
normal brain, these two strategies coexist in dynamic balance, with one or the other
leading, depending on the situation.
The leadership-management balance can also be illustrated by reference to the
automatic system of habits centered in the brain’s basal ganglia and the cognitive
system based on the prefrontal cortex.
In summary, adaptive leadership strives to:
- Define, communicate, and deploy a clear course of action and key priorities
- Encourage leaders to find a coherent style
- Recruit new talents who will themselves be leaders at their level
- Organize a proper context that allows innovation, teamwork, and
cooperation but also faultless implementation

What a challenge! Fortunately, all of these competencies can be distributed

throughout all levels of the organization. Everyone becomes a leader in his or her
own unit.
As already noted, this kind of adaptive capacity is fragile because regressive 199
modes can easily drive out any progressive approach as soon as threats and
negative results loom. People then start to resist change. Regressive modes provoke
their same kind, and people regress to old patterns like a row of dominoes falling
over.

In fact, leadership abilities are not mainly developed while sitting in a classroom.
Instead, they are developed through attentive practice and are learned best in the
face of obstacles. Sometimes leadership emerges after some rite of passage, often a
stressful one, which Warren Bennis refers to as a crucible.200 Such an experience is
transformational, a turning point or a defining moment that unleashes new insights
and a new conception of oneself.

The antecedents and early signs that may predispose someone to take on a
leadership role are rather weak. They could include an inclination toward risk taking,
being motivated to gain power and control, confidence in one’s abilities, and some
degree of eloquence.201

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Leadership incompetence
The principal sources of incompetence are described by taking the negative versions
of what is shown in Figure 4. First, there is a lack of a strategic vision and an
unwillingness to exercise authority. The lack of vision may result from
overconfidence, for example, when a leader is unable to listen, learn from mistakes,
and eventually say “I don’t know.” He may surround himself with yes-men and clones
who will isolate him further.

Other sources of incompetence include the way a leader recruits her collaborators,
organizes the context, or interacts socially. She might tyrannize subordinates with
bossy and abrasive behavior, micromanage them with an intense focus on details
and heavy reporting procedures, and/or be unable to understand how they organize
their working relationships in the context in which they are placed.

Personality also plays a role. Manfred Kets de Vries 202 has made a list of personality
types---from narcissistic to suspicious, compulsive, histrionic, or cyclothymic---that
can make leaders self-centered, rigid, inaccessible, or inconsistent. But these types
are hopefully observed more often in rigid vertical or bureaucratic organizations.
They will find it difficult to survive in a context that is evolving rapidly.

Balancing rational and social dimensions

When an organization’s performance is evaluated, results are only one part of the
equation because success also depends on collective action. As we saw in Chapter
11, cognitive and social intelligences seem to be at cross-purposes, at the two ends
of a seesaw. The more we are rational, the less we seem to be socially minded.

According to Matt Lieberman, “This relationship between thinking socially and

thinking non-socially make it hard to do both at the same time,” and “the most
effective leaders are able to bounce back and forth between those mental modes.
That’s the good news. The less good news is that if a person is biologically disposed
to favor the nonsocial network, a simple reframing of the job is unlikely to do the
trick. For someone who has spent a lifetime overlooking the social aspects of the
workplace environment, becoming fluent in social understanding is akin to learning a
second language in adulthood.”203

So, leaders maximize their effectiveness when they are able to combine
interpersonal and social skills with a focus on results. This means that a key
challenge for leaders is to be able to demonstrate enough flexibility to shift modes
effectively. This brings us back to the capacity to adapt.

One interesting question is whether people should be moved into managerial

positions because of their technical expertise or because of their social skills. Are
there classes in which to learn and develop these social skills?

To sum it up, the most important quality of leaders is their flexible capacity to venture
in new directions while controlling execution, to navigate the social landscape
without losing their ability to think rationally and obtain results, and to find their own

215
voice and enable others to express their talents. Such leaders need to be like
gymnists who have practiced these skills with attention and persistance.

But this is not the end of the story. Once a new strategy is in place, once it is
communicated and shared, there still remains a gap between intentions and
implementation. The main difficulty, then, is to put in place a process to reduce the
gap between knowing and doing. That is what we consider in the next chapter.

The adaptive capacity of leaders prepares them to anticipate the future while
managing day-to-day execution. Whereas traditional management seems more in
line with the way the brain naturally functions---that is, according to uncertainty
avoidance and routinization---leaders need to develop a more disciplined approach
in order to challenge the process, find a distinctive and coherent voice, hire the best
and most talented people, and organize the proper context to enable them to
function well. This effort is demanding and fragile because it is easy to fall back into
regressive modes. Training leaders is thus based on understanding and practicing
these competencies.

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 Chapter 14 – Managing change
Change is hard because we have to make a special effort to rewire some brain
circuits, and the conflict between the new perspective and the present situation
activates a threat signal. This difficulty is amplified when change involves the whole
organization, so it is essential to put in place a specific implementation process
when this happens.

Change in action
Change is hard, even for people with the ultimate motivation of choosing between life
and death. In studies of coronary bypass surgery, only one or two in nine patients
adopt healthier daily habits. The others clearly see the value of changing their
behavior, but they do not follow through.

Similarly, we all know well that we should adopt more democratic stances, for
example, listening more even though we love to talk or modifying specific patterns of
behavior such as smoking or eating healthier food.

The change process is costly because we must make a special effort to unlearn what
we are used to doing as well as find and practice new ways through trial and error.
We have to redirect some deeply ingrained beliefs and rewire some brain circuits.
This trial-and-error process entails risk and absorbs most of our attention before we
are able to integrate and automate new learning into comforting habits.

Change is also difficult because a new situation or perspective may conflict with our
deep beliefs and interests. Because we do not easily accept ambiguity, this
dissonance usually generates a threat signal that will activate the limbic system. This
risks overwhelming our frontal cortex, thereby wiping out rational, logical thinking. As
we already know, cognitive dissonance leads to willful blindness.

So, introducing change into an organization places heavy demands on employees.

They may fear they will be replaced and also feel threatened by having to change
well-established mental maps.

The rest of this chapter addresses this challenge, and most of the following
observations and conclusions can be extended to the personal domain.

The need for a process

When we see members of an executive committee leaving a reflection seminar at a
nice resort, we expect them to come up with a brilliant new idea that they will
communicate with great enthusiasm to members of their organization. They will try to
convince them to apply and implement the new vision.

However, most of the time, not much happens. Change recipients are usually not as
excited as their mentors might expect them to be. There will be mostly just talk until
some initiators find a good reason to do something concrete. What is missing is real
engagement; what is needed is a “bias for action.” 204

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To get people to focus on implementation and doing, it is necessary to put in place a
systematic process that will move the whole organization into action. This process is
shown on Figure 1 according to six points, although the three main points are the
why, the practice, and the context.

Figure 1: The implementation process: The why, the practice, and the
context
1- WHY change? How does one get people’s attention, make them aware of the
need to move, and challenge the status quo? Why would they agree to make the
effort and take the risk?
2- Define and share the new vision or direction
3- Model the way by setting an example and being coherent and consistent so as
to inspire trust
4- Practice change: From pull to push, pulling more and more people aboard
before pushing the new approach top down
5- Enable the change process by creating the proper context and culture
6- Recognize contributions by celebrating accomplishments and giving feedback
The process is described here as a linear sequence, but some of steps work in
parallel (e.g., practicing and creating the context), and a number of back-and-forth
movements are to be expected.

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Why Change ?
Do enough people with influence understand that they need to move? How can one
get their undivided attention?

One way to get people’s attention is to introduce enough dissonance to unfreeze 205
the organization and make it more open to change. As the discomfort from a
situation is perceived, change recipients will start moving to reduce their anxiety
(firing up their anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala).

The problem with dissonance is that we tend to maintain our previous views as long
as possible, remaining blind to the discordance or, even more, willfully blind when we
refuse to see what we know to be true. This will go on until the dissonance is painful
enough and the threat decisively fires up the alarm system and triggers action.

It turns out that we need a certain level of frustration and pain in order to pay
attention to the necessity of change, to agree to alter our beliefs and representations,
to rewire our brain.

However, although too much pressure can lead to stress and anxiety, too little can
result in inaction. The influence of frustration on our capacity to adjust is often
referred to as the Yerkes-Dodson effect 206 shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: The inverted U

The Yerkes–Dodson law shows the inverted U-shaped relationship
between stress and performance. Upward movement seems to result from
the energizing effect of arousal and downward movement from the
negative effects of stress on attention, memory, and problem solving.

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When we are not challenged enough, we readily stay in our comfort zone, relatively
blind to sources of discomfort. It is only when we feel vulnerable and at risk that we
agree to move and change, dragging our feet all the way. In fact, we often wait until
we are deep in crisis, on a burning platform, before we respond. We will move much
faster but underperform.

This is a challenging paradox because when the level of urgency is low, the leader in
charge of the change process will have to spend an enormous amount of energy to
get the attention and interest of change recipients, repeating over and over again the
same warnings across the organization to generate sufficient awareness. But when
the crisis looms, the situation and the sense of urgency will show everyone that they
must move quickly. The crisis becomes the messenger that educates people.

Defining and sharing the vision

What is in it for me?
After unfreezing the organization and showing why old ways do not work, leaders
need to share the new approach throughout the company. They should focus on the
positive but, even more, be attuned to their collaborators’ worries and needs, to the
“What’s in it for me?” “How will this affect my way of working? “What is the risk of
recession or layoffs?” “How much control and resources will I be left with?” “What is
the fun part?”

All of us evaluate the pros and cons of something according to personal criteria. A
reward such as money does motivate some people at some times; that is why
companies pay incentives and bonuses. But external rewards deliver a short- term
boost, and the effect usually wears off rapidly.

Intrinsinc motivators have a longer-term effect because they are internalized (refer
back to the five needs described in previous chapters). On the one hand, there is the
need to control uncertainty, to feel in charge, and to have enough autonomy and
resources; on the other, there is the social side, the need to gain in status and
recognition, the need to be included and find meaning, and the need to be treated
fairly.

But rewards and motivators are only one aspect of the evaluation made by the
brain’s value system. Threats and changing costs are also part of the equation.

People are reluctant or resistant to change because they are afraid to venture into an
unfamiliar environment and to make mistakes. Moreover, they will have some
difficulty getting rid of old habits and feeling at ease with new learning.

Even after an initial move in the right direction, people may revert to old ways of
doing things if the context remains stressfull and threatening. As a result, they
procrastinate and come up with ideas and intentions that never come to fruition. This
uses a good deal of energy, so it is important to proceed in small steps, each
positive result reinforcing the next move.

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Communication
Gifted leaders communicate by stirring emotions before giving facts and rational
arguments and by telling convincing stories that engage people. Striking arguments
such as, “The company is losing 10,000 dollars every minute” or “You make ugly
cars”207 may also have some impact.

Benchmarks, measurement of waste and non-value-adding activities, testimonials,

low-risk experiments, and surveys offer facts and rational arguments, but they will be
more convincing if they are presented at an emotional level.

Communication will be all the more effective and memorable if the message is
associated to circuits that are already hardwired into recipients’ brains. It can be
integrated into the professional and affective preoccupations of the audience with a
compelling story that builds commitment to the new direction. The story makes
sense, introduces coherence, and explains how to make the change. The leader is
then able to say, “Let me tell you who we are, where are we going, and how these
facts and numbers relate to our need to change."

The message needs to be repeated regularly, simplified, and made contagious by

using formulas, concrete images, mottos, and/or metaphors.

Finally, at the end of the process, when the change needs to be institutionalized, it
may be necessary to resort to constraints to show explicit, unequivocal resolve.
There is no longer time to explain and negotiate; there is no choice but to comply,
especially in the case of structural change and reorganization, drastic budget cuts, or
personnel layoffs. When the boats are burned and the pots are broken, retreat is not
possible.208 The only option is to face and accept the change.

Model the way in order to reinforce trust and credibility

We have already stressed the importance of leaders making the message credible
and inspiring trust. If people do not believe in the messenger, they will not believe
the message.

Trust is based mainly on two factors: the convincing value of the message (quality of
analysis, arguments, and story) and the engagement of the person in charge. Trust
frees up thinking resources and reduces the pull of the past by decreasing amygdala
activation.

A good way for leaders to show their engagement is by setting an example and
following through on their promises. Their followers not only pay attention to what
leaders say but also to what they do, including how predictably they behave and how
they embody the story and walk the talk.

Incitations, stories, public statements, charters, poster campaigns, slogans, lectures,

and parables are all useful provided they involve action and practice. On their own,
however, they will remain ritual incantations.

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Practice: From pull to push
The change process must be deployed and implemented through a portfolio of
meaningful and challenging projects. For change to operate, intentions have to be
turned into action with the regular practice of new behaviors. By breaking down goals
into smaller elements, it is possible to act in small steps, with each small action
increasing commitment and reducing procrastination. It is regular practice that will
change people’s habits and therefore the culture.

The hopeful part of the notion of brain plasticity is that the brain has the capacity to
change with practice. The cautionary part is that it often takes a good deal of time
and intensive practice to create and consolidate new behavior and the corresponding
neural circuits. The very structure of the brain is changed as new paths are created,
reinforced, and become larger and smoother.

Change practice should unfold in three steps:

 Initiation: Experimenting and learning
Pilot projects and first wins will establish a bridgehead. This movement should
be conducted by innovators who can prime the process. They should be well
connected and have influence inside the organization.
 Pull: Developing the new practice
The next step is to extend and diffuse the new practices by contagion. By
getting more and more followers on board, the objective is to assemble a
critical mass that will lead to a tipping point at which change is adopted by a
large majority.
 Push: Consolidating the new practice
Change should now be consolidated by top-down institutionalization. New
incentives and reward systems are established, and new rules and
procedures are set up to avoid backsliding.

Enable people with proper context

Leaders need to organize the context so that it facilitates action and practice. They
will not have to spend as much energy on extensive communication and motivational
campaigns if the right collaborators or employees are selected.

Hiring and developing the right people around projects

The first priority is to get the right people to team up on projects. Self-disciplined
individuals who are ready to take risks and cooperate do not need to be told what to
do. They know more and will show the way. They thrive in a flat structure when they
are given resources and learning opportunities.

Enabling actors
Leaders will enable practice by setting up the context and preparing the
organizational culture. The head of a business should be an enabler rather than a
doer.

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The first step is to delegate responsibility and give ownership and proper resources
within a flatter organizational structure. We already know that sharing power and
discretion is not natural and goes against our innate drive to retain control. It takes
conscious effort and concentration to resist that pull.

Then, great care needs to given to measurement and compensation systems

because recognition, rewards, and incentives orient employee behavior.

The context is also characterized by the organizational culture along three main
dimensions: how old practices are unlearned, how failure is managed, and how
cooperation is reinforced.

Forgetful management
Organizations are guided by long-held habits, rules, procedures, and routines that
constitute the unwritten rules that represent the organizational memory, a sort of
natural immune system that protects the legacy of prior learning. They run the show
and require little energy to function.

Changing this hardwired system requires significant efforts in terms of awareness

and practice because it is easy to return to old patterns.

Failure management
Changing means taking risks and facing uncertainty, and the fastest way to succeed
is to learn from one’s failures. But the fear of failure increases amygdala activation
and eats up thinking resources.

Thus, leaders are challenged to establish a non-fear-based work environment that

makes failure part of the learning process. Rapidly multiplying prototypes is a sure
way to apply the credo “fail often to succeed sooner.”

Cooperation management and teamwork

One important problem facing organizations is the vertical division of labor
introduced by specialization. Limited transversal communication leads to a kind of
silo thinking, usually with internal competition between units.

In contrast, a customer orientation and the need to develop a competitive strategy

require cross-functional collaboration in order to align processes or to work around
projects. As mentioned earlier, this kind of cooperation requires a climate of trust so
that behaviors can be anticipated with well-established rules of the game that are
accepted by everyone.

Recognize and celebrate contributions

The last step is to focus on how to measure and recognize success. Accountability is
the counterpart of autonomy. We are aware now of the brain bias toward immediate
rewards and, in particular, short-term financial results, but well-led businesses do not
necessarily produce good results in the short term. It is thus important to also focus

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attention on the processes that will lead to long-term results. This, again, is not
natural and requires conscious effort.

Moreover, when the time comes to provide feedback and recognize contributions,
the social aspect is often neglected.

As Mathew Lieberman209 explained, “Our brains crave the positive evaluation of

others almost to an embarrassing degree. Social and financial rewards activate the
same parts of the ventral striatum, a key component of the reward system. A kind
word is worth as much reward to the brain as a certain amount of money.”

He added, “If positive feedback has such a strong effect, why don’t we use it more
often to motivate people? The fact is that we don’t understand the social nature of
our brains and the importance of social motivators such as status, relatedness or
fairness.”

Celebrating accomplishment is a way to retell the story, make recognition public,

garner applause, and add emotion and fun to make the event more memorable. But
we still must be careful with the way we give feedback because the amygdala is
quick to fire up.

To manage change in an organization, it is important to put in place a specific

process to guide implementation. I have proposed a sequence in six steps that can
be modified according to circumstances, but three points are essential: first raising
awareness and engagement with the question ‘”Why change?”, then multiplying
projects with a pull-and-push movement, and finally organizing the proper context.

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Chapter 15 – Return to identity and
personality
In this last chapter we venture into topics that are more controversial, but grounding
them into the brain provides interesting perspectives. We revisit ideas about self-
identity and leader personality and we show how findings of the Big Five personality
traits and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) can be related to the brain. The
domain of gender difference is no less debatable but can be seen in a new light.

The construction of a coherent identity

Modeling the self
We have seen in previous chapters the central role of the self in understanding who
we are and how we make decisions. The self appears as a sort of central agency, a
conductor who provides unity of command and oversees our desires, intentions, and
actions through beliefs, rules, and/or values.

Using cues recognized from prior experiences, our brain models a representation of
the self as a stable, integrated identity just as it models an implicit and internal
representation of the physical world by bumping against a tangible and concrete
reality.

However, because we do not have a solid reality to bump up against in constructing

and fine tuning our identity, we are left to our own devices to understand our
emotional and social interactions. We do not have direct access to our internal
processes, and the feedback we receive from others through mirroring or mentalizing
is often ambiguous or skewed. This leads us to overestimate our introspective ability
and to base our inferences on limited information.

Beliefs, principles, and values

To govern our behavior without having to process too much information, our brain
constructs mental representations and beliefs that take the form of principles, values,
rules (how things must be), or ideals (how things should be).

These mental models have been refined and internalized since our early years
through repeated experiences with parents and family and then during social and/or
professional life. Similar experiences are summarized and averaged into prototypical
representations that are imprinted on our implicit memory and will influence or guide
our behavior without our conscious awareness.

For example, a friend does not return your call. If you hold the deep belief that you
are no good or insignificant, your shaky self-esteem will guide your interpretation of
your friend’s failure to reply. You will think that she is not interested in you when, in
fact, she may simply have forgotten or had another good reason. The implicit belief
that your friend did not reply because you are no good, which makes sense to you, is

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not directly accessible and operates automatically, like a rule of grammar. But it may
be far from the reality of the situation, and you will have some difficuly refuting it.

Thus, beliefs give us an intuitive sense of what is right and wrong, how to evaluate
success, and how to behave and interact. For example, we may define happiness in
terms of fame or status, we may believe that to be successful we need to be popular
or wealthy, or we may measure the quality of our relationships in terms of respect.

Thus, we think, “People should respect me. If they interrupt me, it means they don’t
respect me.” And if we think that the rule has been violated, we react with anger.

If things are not as we think they should be morally or interpersonally, the emotions
engendered may override our self-interest. We are ready to fight hard to correct
unfair treatment, even at great personal cost.

So our identity is made up of representations, beliefs, and categorical imperatives

that are developed early in life and that are hard to change.

To incorporate new knowledge or test our theories and schemas, we have to

seriously focus our attention and apply a disciplined effort. This is similar to the
genuine efforts good athletes must make to correct bad moves and change their
body representation.

Strength of our first misconceptions and understandings

According to Howard Gardner,210 school typically fails to achieve its most important
purpose, which is to establish in every student a solid and genuine understanding of
the world. That should be the objective of the curriculum. Yet, many young adults
trained in science continue to exhibit the same misconceptions and
misunderstandings that one encounters in primary school children.

Preschool children develop models, beliefs, and theories from their earliest
encounters with the physical and social worlds in which they live. They learn a vast
array of knowledge and skills quite naturally. That is how they learn to ride and steer
a bicycle or how they acquire their native language. The conceptions that evolve in
children’s minds are adequate to deal with the everyday world, but they are often
inadequate or wrong. They believe, for example, that the sun revolves about the
Earth, and that is good enough for their ordinary life but quite insufficient later.

“Children by the age of five or six have evolved a quite robust and serviceable set of
theories, about mind, about matter, about life, about self.” These conceptions about
the world and its rules and values, are embedded in the unschooled mind, and are
remarkably robust and resistant to change.

Narrative identity
Our identity is also expressed and recognized by a narrative, that is, a coherent story
that brings together our internal experiences and interactions with the external world

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and gives meaning to our lives. This narrative makes our identity more real and
concrete, and we are keen to revisit it regularly by weaving what we observe into a
story that, with luck, will capture a part of what we cannot observe in ourselves.

Narration is a way to create a theatrical representation of our identity that will

decouple us from automatic adaptations to reality. Like actors, we behave according
to our character and “strut and fret our hour upon the stage.” 211

We have to believe our story to feel in charge, and once we have a good narrative, a
stable representation of our identity, we stick to it. We believe it, confirm it, and
identify with it---it becomes who and what we are. This mental construction may have
more tangible force and be used as a stronger reference than objective reality. The
psychic reality becomes the determinant, and to hell with objective reality! 212

We do not have access to our unconscious processes

Our sense of self and identity gives us the strong conviction that we are sitting in the
driver’s seat, that we are in charge, in control, and able to decide freely. We are
hardly aware of the way in which our self has been constructed over the years, of
how our implicit drives, beliefs, reaction, and habits have been acquired and
developed. This is because we have no access to our unconscious processes.
Repressed memories, unresolved conflicts, false beliefs, and systematic reactions
may affect our behaviors without us being aware of them.

Within a specific emotional setting, we usually respond with a learned reaction that is
rooted in our past. If we grew up in a family in which anger and violence was the
norm, we might become anxious whenever anger is expressed and respond by
avoiding the situation or fighting back. This reaction is immediate, and we are not
really conscious of the implicit processes and interpretations at play.

In Mindsight,213 Dan Siegel explained that if emotional events in our early years led
us to stop listening to the emotional right side of our brain, the link between the right
and left sides may be affected or blocked. As a result, the left side will dominate. We
then become overrational and driven by facts, thereby losing the creativity and
richness that result from both sides working together. And this will happen without us
being fully aware of the disruption.

Or, if after an emotional shock we decide never to feel anything again and to cut
ourselves off from our senses and bodily sensations, we may then accept living in an
emotional desert, cut off from the wisdom of our body.

The challenge of nonconscious access

How to access our unconscious processing
To anticipate future action, make sense of something, or decide, we resort to implicit
beliefs, schemas, and representations that are hardwired in our brains. These
unconscious networks challenge our capacity to change and adapt. How then can
we learn to adjust to reality if we do not have access to our unconscious processing?
How can we gain access to some of our biases or get rid of false beliefs or illusions?

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The first thing we need to do is to question the validity of our interpretations and
beliefs by collecting facts, confronting reality, and practicing in new ways. For
example, we may think that we are transparent, uninteresting, and ignored by others.
But this hypothesis can be contradicted by careful observation and remembering all
of the moments when someone showed interest in or concern for us. This is an
indirect way to gain access to our internal processes and the way they distort reality.

Because it is difficult to test the correctness of our interpretations by ourselves, we

often can benefit from the help of a therapist or a coach to modify implicit
assumptions through the practice of new behaviors.

The therapeutic process

“How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but the light
bulb has to want to change.”

The role of a therapist is to help patients foster their capacity to adapt, change, and
reestablish a better balance and integration of different aspects of their personality
through new experiences and practice. Patients may then break free from bonds that
prevent them from living fully. The objective is to help them recover more flexibility
and coherence by modifying implicit maps and beliefs and revisiting their narrative
identity. By so doing, they will modify the implicit neural maps and networks at the
origin of their distorted beliefs and representations. But for any of this to occur,
patients must be motivated and want to change.

Cognitive distortions
Aaron Beck, one of the originators of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), focused
some of his research on depressed people who hold the deep conviction that they
are no good, that their world is bleak, and that they have no future. From a CBT
perspective, the therapist’s challenge with such individuals is to help them map out
and correct their distorted thought processes.

We are now familiar with some of these thought distortions, such as personalization
(self-attribution), confirmation, overgeneralization, magnification, and arbitrary
inference.

We also impose limitations on ourselves through the tyranny of can’ts (i.e., the things
we cannot do) or the tyranny of ideals (i.e., the objective we should reach at any cost
or the person we should be).

Through daily homework, clients are trained to catch and name their
misinterpretations and to find more accurate ways of thinking in order to counter their
distorted beliefs. Once again, repetition and practice are essential to gradually rewire
the brain and modify automatic thoughts.

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Activation of associative networks
In the “talking cure,” patients may gain access to underlying processes through
emotions that are evoked or relived when they are in situations that resemble
experiences from their past. It is as if they are transferring or projecting their past
experience onto a here-and-now screen.

These emotions are associated with other thoughts, memories, or feelings through
networks of association, that is, networks of synapses that fire together after
becoming linked during specific experiences in the past. Much of our behavior
reflects the implicit activation of these networks of association. As Drew Westen
explained, “Millions of networks of association are linked to each other. These neural
networks represent our knowledge and attitudes toward everyone and everything we
encounter.”214

In Chapter 7, we described the Proustian effect, which refers to the emotion Proust
felt when tasting a madeleine in a cup of tea and that led him to reconstruct a
forgotten memory. A sensory experience (e.g., taste) or an emotion can trigger a
number of associated perceptions and memories that resonate by extension and
become conscious. The content of a network that was not conscious is more likely to
become conscious when some elements are activated.

Drew Westen added, “When Freud developed his method of ‘free association’ as a
therapeutic tool (the encouragement to say ‘whatever comes to mind’), a primary aim
was to try to map the structure of the associated networks underlying his patients’
symptoms.”215 Activating one part of a network tends to spread activation to other
parts of the network, and the content reaches awareness with the activation effort.

The more we are able to bring internal conflicts or emotional imbalances to

awareness on the stage of consciousness, the more it is possible to access the
implicit beliefs, representations, or patterns of adaptation that govern these
behaviors. And having done that, it is then more possible to transform them.

Moreover, through free association and interpretation, patients participate in

constructing a narrative that provides a coherent explanation of their lives. They can
smooth out the wrinkles of internal conflicts and contradictions as well as manage
the negative events that have not been fully assimilated and the black holes that
absorb too much energy. Once an experience is coherently explained and
assimilated into a useful narrative, the person no longer thinks as much about it and
is able to follow another path.

From immaterial mind to material brain

Rick Hanson was keen to establish the connection between neuroscience and
therapy.216 “Just talking about the brain can be a powerful motivator. Skeptics are
more inclined to pay attention when you translate the immaterial mind into the
material brain. During the hard work of therapy, with its ups and downs and pains
and sometimes stagnant spells, clients are encouraged when they realize that their
efforts are leaving lasting traces in the tissues of their brains. And it’s not just clients
who get motivated by neuroscience. The new studies showing how mindfulness
training, meditation, and psychotherapy can change the brain are heartening for

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therapists, too. … These days, I tell a client how the sympathetic (fight or flight) and
parasympathetic (rest and digest) wings of the autonomic nervous system 217 interact
with each other like the two ends of a seesaw: when one goes up, the other goes
down. So raising parasympathetic activation through relaxation lowers alarm signals
in the brain, thus reducing anxiety. When I explain it this way, I see the client’s eyes
snap into focus; my ‘prescription’ is now as concrete as a bottle of Xanax. Reframing
psychological problems as neurophysiological conditions normalizes and
destigmatizes them, making it easier for clients to deal with them squarely. It’s as if
they believe that the brain is both more real and more respectable than the mind.”

The importance of practice

One objective of therapy is to gain access, by different means, to buried schemas
and structures with the aim of rewiring some of them by practicing behaviors in new
ways.

We have to start working humbly at the level of our neural systems, operating and
experimenting by trial and error as we did so well in constructing our representation
of the physical world.

As we find new meaning in our behaviors, we are able to test and modify them
through new practice. Gradually, we leave aside the old paths and increase our
range of action. By so doing, we may rewire some of our unconscious
representations without being fully aware of our internal processes.

The more opportunities we have to practice new behaviors, reframe a situation, or

develop new strategies for dealing with internal conflicts, the greater the likelihood of
modifying our implicit representations, better aligning our internal processes, and
reweaving the storyline of our identity.

We can envision the therapist as a microsurgeon operating at the level of neural

circuits and connections. She helps clients revisit their mental models and
representations by confronting their warped thoughts and beliefs with a more
objective, concrete experience of reality. She will then encourage them to explore
and practice new ways in order to consolidate the new associative networks.

This explains the length of time that may be required for a cure and the importance
of the client’s motivation in accepting this discipline. It involves hard work that we are
not naturally inclined to do.

Revision of one’s identity and beliefs is a difficult journey that requires guidance.
Good therapy, first of all, must be safe because when people go through a change
process, they need to feel secure enough to explore a new approach. It is important
to proceed step by step, with prudent questioning introducing moderate threats that
can be overcome one by one.

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Coaching
The development and growth of the coaching field is a result, in part, of the
disruptive nature of the current business environment and the complexity of
networked organizations, not to mention managers’ concern for their own career
development.

The coaching domain is rather vast and not well delineated. It may concern the
assessment of executives’ personal beliefs and modes of functioning, the
understanding of their leadership and communication style, and their mode of
delegation and teamwork (all of which were covered in Chapter 13).

The role of a coach is to open up new perspectives for clients by redefining the
context and encouraging them to think differently. Coaching works best when clients,
facing an impasse, are able to simplify and reframe the situation and gain insight that
makes sense and opens up the way to action.

Action orientation and lasting change will not occur unless clients demonstrate a
solid commitment and real motivation to both. If they do not, they will tend to
procrastinate and stay at the level of intentions, pulled back by old ways and
routines.

One important challenge is to help clients focus on solutions instead of following the
same old path while remaining absorbed by the problem. They must find the courage
and motivation to leave the past wiring where it is, with its obstacles and
impossibilities, and explore other ways of thinking in a new context with openness to
questions such as: Where are they looking at to anticipate change? With whom do
they spend time and what topics are they most concerned about? What networks are
they engaged in? Are they courageous enough to abandon the past and act on their
intentions? And so on.

Personality
Finding ways to describe personality
To behave reasonably in our social environment, we need a way to represent
ourselves and others, that is, we need maps and compasses to understand how to
deal with others.

A simple way to describe personality is to refer to some familiar characters that can
serve as prototypes: “She behaves like my mother” or “He is like my Uncle Charles.”

In fact, our personality is determined by a permanent interaction between biology

and the influence of our environment. Genetic factors, chance, and experiences at

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home, at school, and in many other encounters are woven together to shape what
we call our personality, with its regular patterns of response that result from the
repetition of similar interactions and habits.

Thus, we end up with some stable traits that define our personality. We can
eventually get out of our character according to the situation or to advance our
projects, but this will demand a special effort at adaptation.

For instance, from early in our lives, we may have shown an inclination toward
extraversion, that is, a systematic tendency to explore our environment in search of
newness. Or, we may have shown an inclination toward introversion, that is, the
tendency to hang back in a new situation and to need to “warm up” before acting.
We can behave according to either mode, but we prefer one, and it is more stable
and habitual. For example, an introverted professor may need to teach using a more
extaverted mode than she is normally inclined toward because she wants to promote
discussions in the classroom. But acting more extraverted than she naturally is will
probably require a large output of energy and may lead her to feel overstimulated.
After the class, she may well want to find a quiet place where she can recover. A
normally extraverted professor, on the other hand, might be happy to continue the
discussions long after class ended.

Because all of these patterns are inscribed in our neural networks, referring directly
to the brain and its organization can provide a more concrete basis for understanding
them.

The Big Five personality traits: The five factor model

In psychology, the Big Five personality traits refer to five broad dimensions that are
used to describe human personality. They are extracted by factorial analysis from
the multitude of words and traits that describe personality in spoken language. They
provide a useful framework for integrating most of the research findings in
personality psychology.

Using the Big Five personality traits, individual differences can be expressed
according to five main factors: neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, and openness---that we summarize with the acronym NACEO.

Neuroticism: Withdrawal and volatility

To better understand neurotism, it is useful to contrast it with emotional stability. Are
you worried or calm? Insecure or secure? Anxious or emotionally stable?

Emotional stability is the kind of equilibrium we experience when we feel alive and at
ease. But, as we lose balance and flexibility, we move toward a state of chaos, with
excessive arousal, or toward a state of rigidity or depression, 218 with too little arousal.

The amygdala plays an important role because some people are hypersensitive to
the slightest negative signal and have difficulty coping with it. They detect, recall,
and ruminate over perceived threats or dangers that a more stable person would not
see.

232
It seems that low levels of serotonin and noradrenalin---two neuromediators that
modulate the system that inhibits behavior---can lead to a lack of control and
restraint.

Agreeableness: Compassion and politeness

At the opposite of agreeableness, we find a critical, distant, distrustful approach.
These two traits are at the two ends of a continuous scale. Are you trusting or
suspicious? Helpful or uncooperative?
This dimension corresponds to altruism and the need to relate and belong, as
opposed to cold and calculating behavior or the exploitation of others. This
dimension can clearly be connected to the social brain and the need to relate to
others. Oxytocin, the pacifier seems to play an important role.

Conscientiousness: Industriousness and orderliness

Conscientiousness can be viewed as the oppositve of irresolute and disorganized.
Are you organized or disorganized? Self-disciplined or weak willed?
This dimension reflects top-down control of behavior in order to follow rules and
pursue long-term objectives. We have seen that self-control uses the brain brakes of
the lateral prefrontal cortex. But more generally, it is the prefrontal cortex and
working memory that help us plan action and follow complex rules. Nevertheless,
spontaneous, implusve behavior can be advantageous when it becomes necessary
to deviate from routines and change direction in a disruptive environment.

Metatrait: Stability
The three factors just described---emotional stability, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness---can be regrouped at a higher level into a metatrait that
corresponds to a form of stability. A number of studies indicate a strong link between
this trait and serotonin, the mood regulator. Low levels of serotonin are associated
with aggression, poor impulse control, and depression.

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Extraversion: Enthusiasm and assertiveness
Extraversion and introversion are traits that are often cited in studies of personality.
But for our purposes here, it is useful to add another dimension: assertiveness (i.e.,
self-confidence and influence). It is helpful to consider this dimension separately for
reasons that will be discussed shortly. The relevant questions for this dimension
include: Are you sociable, able to link easily with others, or rather distant? Fun-loving
or reserved?
This factor reflects the need to explore the world in search of exciting situations. It
results from the tendency to seach for rewards and newness associated with
dopamine. By contrast, introverts are less direct and intense in their interactions.
They are more nuanced when they express their opinions, and they prefer to
maintain some distance from others.

Openness to new experiences: Openness and intellect

Here, openness and intellect are contrasted with conformism and concrete thinking.
Are you imaginative or down to earth? Independent or conforming? Are you easily
bored with material and repetitive tasks or at ease with concrete and practical
things?
This dimension reflects openness to experience and the expression of sensory and
esthetical feelings. The person’s intellect is easily engaged in exploring and
appreciating new ideas and unusual creations. This leads to the refusal to conform
to the influence of the group. By contrast, conformity refers to the desire to remain
nicely installed in the comfort of routines without seriously experiencing new ways.
This factor can be associated with the workings of the prefontal cortex and the
frontal pole in charge of abstract processing and the integration of multiple cognitive
operations.

Metatrait: Plasticity
The last two factors could also be regrouped at a higher level into a metatrait
corresponding to some form of plasticity with a strong link to dopamine, the
energizer. The exploratory disposition of this neuromediator encourages us to search
for rewards and newness or to be in a cognitive mode with the prefrontal cortex.

A sixth factor: Assertiveness and power seach

To be complete, it seems appropriate to separate assertiveness from extraversion
and to limit the latter to the expression of enthusiasm and movement. A sixth
dimension would then correspond to self-affirmation, competitiveness, and a search
for dominance and power. It is worth noting, in this case, the influence of
testosterone, the dominator.

In summary
The six dimensions of personalty provide a solid tool for describing personality, a tool
made all the more credible by connecting these dimensions to our understanding of

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brain functioning. Of course, more reseach is necessary to clarify these
connections.219

Myers Briggs Types Indicator (MBTI)

The MBTI was developed by the mother-and-daughter team of Katharine Cook
Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. It is a personality assessment instrument based on
the theories of Carl Gustav Jung, one of the most influential psychoanalysts of the
early 20th century.

The MBTI is very popular. Between two to three million people take the test every
year. Its validity is adequate, but it has not been as well researched as some other
personality tests (e.g., the Big Five).

The MBTI types do not assess skills or abilities but preferences that are expressed
as opposites. For example, in the case of extraversion-introversion, people will have
both qualities, but one is preferred and expressed more readily. It is like our hands:
We need both hands, but most people prefer one to the other.

Four dimensions of personality

Two orientations: the flow of energy, extraversion versus introversion, and lifestyle,
judging versus perceiving

Two mental processes: the way we collect information, sensing versus intuition,
and the way we decide, thinking versus feeling

The test is easy and enjoyable to take. Most people identify rapidly with their profile.
They usually feel that it is a realistic representation of their personality, and they like
to share it with others.

Extraversion/Introversion (E/I)
Extraversion: Essential stimulation is from the environment, that is, the outer world
of actions, objects, persons, things.

Introversion: Essential stimulation is from within, that is, mainly the inner world of
concepts, ideas, thoughts, and reflection.

This orientation corresponds, in part, to the dimension in the Big Five with the same
name. Extraversion represents enthusiasm well, but assertiveness is not included in
this dimension in the MBTI.

Sensing/Intuition (S/N)
Sensing: Focusing on the immediate, concrete facts and details of an experience;
taking information in by way of the five senses

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Intuition: Being open to possibilities and various meanings of an experience; being
able to take in information with a sixth sense, that is, intuition or insight. The focus is
on the “big picture" and abstract models.

These appear to refer to the two horizontal dimensions of the brain: the back-to-front
dimension (from concrete and contextual perception to increasingly abstract thinking
toward the frontal pole) and the left-to-right dimension (from detailed analysis to the
big picture).

Thinking/Feeling (T/F)
Thinking: The way we decide objectively and impersonally by considering causes
and consequences of events; the driving forces are logical analysis and hard data.

Feeling: The way we lean toward human values and the consideration of others as
we decide; decisions are seldom impersonal.

These two poles refer well to the balance between the cognitive and social
intelligences that seem to be at the two ends of a seesaw. 220 This interpretation
appears to be what the MBTI authors meant, but the wording “thinking-feeling” could
suggest a basic opposition between the rational and the emotional brain, which is
not really helpful. Moreover, this explains a bias for which the test tries to
compensate. The bias is introduced by the social orientation of the female brain in
comparison to the male brain, as explained further in this chapter

Judging/Perceiving (J/P)
Judging: With this decisive and planned orientation, we tend to regulate and control
events in advance. When exaggerated, this style can lead to compulsive control.

Perceiving: With this spontaneous orientation, we tend to explore all options and
remain flexible until the last minute. When exaggerated, this style can lead to
procrastination.

This dimension can be related to the trait of “orderliness” from the factor
“conscienciousness” among the Big Five. Order and self-control are opposed to
spontaneity and impulsivity, so we can refer to the brain brakes in the prefrontal
cortex.

In Summary

In practical terms, the MBTI is a valuable instrument because it is widely distributed

worldwide and has a relatively solid basis in comparison to both the Big Five and our
understanding of brain functioning.

To find one’s style as a leader, it is important to have a simple tool, a compass by

which to understand oneself and others. A further analysis of one’s personality,
beyond what one can learn from tools such as the Big Five and the MBTI, requires
more sophisticated instruments and questionnaires and the help of a professional.

236
On gender
Genotypical gender
“One is not born a woman, one becomes one,” wrote Simone de Beauvoir, a famous
French writer. This comment is in line with a widely shared idea that sex differences
derive primarily from education and social norms. However, this is not completely
true because there are deep differences at the level of every cell. Females have two
X chromosomes, whereas males have one X and one Y. The female brain is
different from the male brain from a very early stage. 221

Comparing averages
When we compare male and female brains, we compare the average male brain to
the average female brain---that is, the central tendency of two different statistical
distributions (see Figure 1). But given the spread of each distribution, some overlap
is to be expected. Moreover, it should be noted that over the course of a person’s
life, the brain will be transformed according to the influence of genes and sex
hormones as well as through the influence of environment and education.

Figure 1: Comparing distibutions and means

237
Asymmetrical development of male and female brains
This section primarily refers to the research and publications of Baron-Cohen 222 and
Louann Brizendine,223 who have intensively studied male and female brains and
abilities.

According Louann Brizendine, “Until eight weeks old, every fetal brain looks female -
female is nature’s default gender setting…. A huge testosterone surge beginning in
the eighth week of gestation will turn this unisex male by killing off some cells in the
communication centers and growing more cells in the sex and aggression centers. If
the testosterone surge does not happen, the female brain continues to grow
unperturbed. The fetal girl’s brain cells sprout more connections in the
communication centers and areas that process emotion…. The girl will grow up to be
more talkative than her brother. In most social contexts she will use many more
forms of communication than he will.”224

The amygdala is larger in men than in women. It is easier to push a man’s anger
button. Even if a woman wanted to express her anger immediately, often her brain
circuits would attempt to control the response, to reflect on it first, out of aversion to
conflict and fear of losing the relationship.

In general, men have superior right hemisphere skills such as those involved in
spatial ability (e.g., map reading). Women’s brains devote less of the right
hemisphere to spatial skills in favor of language. For example, they speak faster than
men, especially in a social setting.

On average, the hippocampus---the center of episodic memory---is larger in the

female brain, as is the brain circuitry for language and observing emotions in others.
After emotional situations, men remember facts and figures, whereas women not
only record the facts but also every shade and detail of emotional interactions (e.g.,
their first date).

“The most important area that has grown in the male brain during that testosterone
marination is an area in the hypothalamus called the ‘area for sexual pursuit’ that
grows to be 2.5 times larger in the male brain than in the female. … So mother
nature made it so that males are supposed to search out fertile females and
impregnate them.” In addition, “Females, need to be able to keep helpless infants
alive. They have to be able to read subtle expressions, verbal or emotional, all kinds
of cues that the infant is communicating to the mom.” 225

Some aspects of the female brain

Empathizing
Women’s brains are hardwired for empathy, and EQ refers more to empathy quotient
than emotional quotient. Women are much more interested in the emotional aspect
of interactions. Their mirror neuron system allows them to feel the same emotional
pain as others.

238
Communication sensitivity
Women tend to have well-developed brain circuits for reading faces and hearing
emotional tones of voice that help them to comprehend very early the social approval
of others. They are able to pick up all sorts of nonverbal signals and sense emotional
changes.

Social orientation
Most girls enjoy interacting verbally with others, especially friends. They often speak
faster and use more words than boys, and the type of talk determines the status of
the relationship.

Women tend to make friends and to build and preserve relationships. Most women
are more sensitive to social cues and better at handling social interactions than most
men. They may also sometimes suffer from their social orientation because their
neurons keep reviewing, turning over, and ruminating about interactions and
exchanges even after they are in the past. Men’s neurons may do the same thing but
usually with less energy. Women prefer to avoid and diffuse conflict because discord
puts them at odds with their urge to stay connected and to preserve harmonious
relationships.

Figure 2: Some interesting differences between male and female brains

Some aspects of the male brain

We have represented some interesting differences between male and female brains
in Figure 2
Lower empathy and communication skills
In contrast to female brains, male brains are not as adept at reading facial
expressions and emotional nuances, especially signs of distress and despair. Often
men only realize that something is wrong when they see the tears. This makes it
easier for them to objectively evaluate an individual’s contribution to an organization

239
and decide rationally on his or her future, without worrying as much about
consequences as a woman manager might.

Systemizing: Obsession with systems

Most men have a strong drive to analyze, explore, and construct systems. They love
to know how things work (e.g., cars, games, computers, etc.). Baron-Cohen
proposed that men be measured according to a systemizing quotient (SQ) and that
the major advantage of systemizing is increased control. [note or reference?]

Providing solutions
When facing emotional distress, men are likely to revert to cognitive empathy and a
predisposition to search for solutions, solve the problem, and fix the situation.

Power orientation
Among monkeys, 50% of adolescent males are killed in conflicts over status,
knowing their place, and monitoring others’ place. For human males, social status,
pecking order, power, dominance, and ability to climb to the top also matter deeply.

Men have larger brain centers for muscular action and aggression, mate protection,
and territorial defense. They must be strong, brave, and independent. They grow up
with the pressure to suppress their fear, hide their emotions, and face challenges
head on.

By the age of 2, a boy's brain is driving him to establish physical and social
dominance. By the age of 6, boys tell researchers that fighting is the most important
thing to be good at. They enjoy wrestling, mock fighting, and rough play with cars,
swords, and/or guns. They tend to threaten others and get into more conflict than
girls, and they are less likely to share toys and take turns.

Social position is important for adolescents, “and while not all teen boys want to be
king of the hill, they do want to be close to the top of the pecking order, staying as far
from bottom as possible. And that means taking risks that get them into trouble.”226

The inhibiting system that stops adolescents from doing things that are dangerous or
stupid does not mature until their early twenties. “Faulty brakes need parental
controls.”227

Challenges
The typical roles for males and females as just described appear to complement
each other. Without being too Manichean, we would expect organizations led by
women who are good empathizers to be more democratic. They would more easily
consult others, be less inclined to force their own views on collaborators or
employees, and more easily develop social alliances and stable communities.

240
This leadership style would complement the organizational capacity of men driven by
their systemizing mind and might attenuate male managers’ drive to play with power
relationships.

It therefore seems likely that teams would benefit from associating the two roles in
order to form a better balance. It is also probably the case that the flatter
organizations that exist now could more successfully be led by women.

Our self and identity are based on unconscious processes that are not directly
accessible. They are made up of beliefs and representations that have been
constructed over the years by our own interpretations of internal perceptions and
social interactions. They are biased and distorted by the mere fact that we are left to
our own devices to understand our internal states or interpret feedback from others.
Therapy or coaching thus has the difficult task of helping us to reorganize or reframe
our beliefs and representations.

Concerning personality, the Big Five plus one and the MBTI are useful and appear
to have some solid basis in brain science. It is also clear that there are real
differences between male and female brains, which can be good news in the sense
that men and women may present organizations with complementary abilities.

241
Conclusion
An integrated view
The main objective of this book has been to provide a broad, unified, concrete
understanding of how the brain works, how we learn and behave, and, more
specifically, how we decide and lead in the workplace.

When we practice a sport, we know the importance of understanding the workings of

our body, and we have to take into account its limitations in order to improve
performance. In the same way, we should be aware of the functioning of our brain in
order to perform better, minimize and mitigate some biases, and develop the
flexibility necessary to adjust to our changing environment.

You should, by now, realize that as a result of reading this book, your brain has been
transformed and that, from now on, you will modify your behavior in some way. It’s
too late, you are doomed!

You will likely keep in mind that, as you behave and decide, you will need to trust
your flexible prefrontal cortex as well as vast resources of which you are hardly
aware but that are in charge of so many functions---especially the way you represent
the world and construct your identity.

Hopefully, you will also regularly recall the seven main brain structures described
here, which interact together like instruments in an orchestra when you think, feel,
decide, and interact with others.

Seven characters playing in concert

The metaphor of the orchestra illustrates the way our seven remakable brain
structures “play” together. The reasoner (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) helps the
player think rationally. It is assisted by two faithful collaborators: the emotional
regulator (the orbitofrontal cortex) and the controller (the anterior cingulate cortext).
Then, at an underlying level, four associates---the alert system (the amygdala or
amygdalarm), the rewarder (the ventral striatum), the expliciter (the hippocampus),
and the curator (the basal ganglia)---are busy adding their “voices” to the music.

Being able to identify each instrument, each voice in the orchestra, should leave you
even more fascinated by the infinite variations of music that can be produced by the
enchanted orchestra that is your brain.

Finally, you should by now have a list of some challenges you may want to test in
practice. The list will vary according to circumstances, and everyone will have their
own list. Here is a list of seven possible challenges:

 Selective attention and multitasking

 Importance of habits and the paradox of brain plasticity
 Managing emotional and social intelligences

242
  Learning how to spot, name, and manage emotional and cognitive biases
 Cognitive dissonance
 Confirmation of first impressions and the halo effect
 Leadership as a discipline that has to be practiced like a sport
But to simplify the list for easy recall, we might focus on the following three:

 The importance and limits of attention

 Cognitve dissonance
 The enormous importance of habits and beliefs that govern our behaviors,
and therefore the necessity of practice in order to be able to make beautiful
music.

Jonathan Haidt’s considerations on the felicity of virtue 228 concur: “A feature of many
ancient texts is that they emphasize practice and habit rather than factual
knowledge. . . . Virtue resides in a well-trained elephant. Training takes daily practice
and a great deal of repetition. The rider must take part in the training but if moral
instruction imparts only explicit knowledge, it will have no effect on the elephant, and
therefore little effect on behavior.”

The map is not the territory

I often tell this story, borowed from Nick Obolenski, 229 at the end of my seminars:

The North American Indians who depended on buffalo for their survival had for their
young men an initiation rite. They had to go far away to hunt and bring back a
buffalo. When the young men returned defeated and empty-handed, because they
did not have the courage to venture far enough, the chief sent them to the medicine
man for help.

So, after some advice, the latter pulled out from a corner of his tepee a crinkled map
with strange markings. He smoothed the map out on the ground and gave them
precise indications on where to find the buffaloes. He gave the map to the young
men, who with renewed courage went off, galloping away and disappearing over the
horizon.

One or two days later they reappeared with a buffalo. And there were great
celebrations and recounting of the deeds and adventures they had all along the way.
Then as the old medicine man was trying to get back his map, somebody finally
found it and said: “Many thanks! Oh, by the way, the water was not here, it was
there, and the buffalo were not where you said they would be, but we found them
over here. … But what an adventure!”

The medicine man then crumpled the map and threw it in a corner of his tepee.

243
Much of what is written in this book can be viewed as a kind of a buffalo map. You
may not have digested all the information, and there may be some errors and
approximations in the concepts or descripions offered, especially because we are
just at the beginning of the brain revolution.

What is important is the encouragement you hopefully take with you to venture
beyond the limits of your territory to see things differently. Good luck in your journey
to enlage your horizon.

244
Appendix
The cast of characters
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: the reasoner
The orbitofrontal cortex: the emotional regulator. Its medial part serves
as accountant or evaluator.
The anterior cingulate cortex : the controller (as well as the conflict
detector)

The basal ganglia: the curator

The amygdala: the alert system or the amygdalarm

The ventral striatum: the rewarder
The hippocampus: the expliciter
The hypothalamus: the activator
The insula: the body sensor (the gut interpreter)

The ventral tegmental area (VTA): the sprinkler

The cast of neuromediators

Dopamine: the energizer
Serotonin: the mood regulator
Noradrenaline: the overamplifier
Acetylcholine: the learner
Cortisol: the gladiator
Testosterone: the dominator
Oxytocin: the pacifier

The cast of biases

Objectivity bias (no direct access to reality)
Threat avoidance
Loss avoidance
Immediate reward, discounting the future
Confirmation, the halo effect
Cognitive dissonance
Egocentrism and overconfidence
Anchoring
Availability
Knowledge overconfidence
Groupthink

245
Final word and thanks
What interested me most when I studied in Canada and United States was the
importance given to human relations and behavioral management in organizations, a
domain rarely mentioned or practiced in the technical and rational world that I had
known previously in France. This interest has not left me while I have been teaching
and directing management programs at INSEAD.

But my interest took a different turn when I read David Rock’s book Your Brain at
Work some years ago. David’s objective was to apply what was known in
neuroscience to the practice of management and to explore new perspectives in the
development and training of leaders. He called this new direction neuroleadership.

Things accelerated in 2012 when Philippe Mahrer, director of Collège des

Ingénieurs, Paris, organized a seminar that brought together experts from
neuroscience and senior executives as well as interested professors and doctoral
students. Neuroscience looked like an excellent topic to use to develop transversal
teaching about decision making, a way of teaching that is in line with the philosophy
of the Collège. So, thank you, Philippe, for your open-minded intiatives.

The seminar took place at ICM, l’Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (Brain
and Spinal Institute), and for 3 days participants questioned how neuroscience could
be used to explore and reinforce the understanding of management behaviors and
good practices in organizations. I would like to thank Laurent Cohen, Lionel
Naccache, Matthias Pessiglione, Richard Levy, and Emmanuelle Volle for their
stimulating presentations and the following discussions.

But the gap between the points of view of brilliant researchers and practice-oriented
managers turned out to be significant, and particiapants did not find enough new and
concrete material to apply immediately in their work settings. I have worked hard
ever since to fill that gap, and this book is the result of my efforts to bridge those
differences and thereby initiate a new teaching area.

It is now time to put this into practice, which is what I have done at INSEAD in Enrico
Diecidue’s course on decision making. Thanks, Enrico, for launching these
teachings, which I hope will continue to develop with the revolution in our knowledge
on the brain. I hope to participate to this movement by adding seminars and
networks of people interested in going further into different envionments and
organizations.

In writing this book, I had to venture into foreign territories, including some aspects of
neuroscience that I knew little about. I had to risk getting lost, and it was a long
journey, as attested to by the lengthy bibliography. I want to thank all of those
authors. I borrowed a good deal, and I am not sure I always did them justice in my
notes or interpretations.

Happily, I met Philippe Damier, who wrote an excellent book on decision making and
has even made some way toward management with an MBA. Thanks, Philippe, for

246
being an attentive and generous guide in helping me to find the main thread and in
reading my writing.

I was lucky enough to know a very talented illustrator and graphic desigher in the
person of Roger Pring, who had to suffer my multiple demands and modifications but
whose creativity always rose to the challenge. Thanks, Roger, for this
accomplishment, even if the drawings in back and white do not give justice to your
color illustrations.

I would like to specially thank my students at INSEAD and Collège des Ingénieurs,
whose challenging questioning always opens up new perspectives.

Thanks also to INSEAD and, in particular, Alison James and Susan Almstead-Treffel
for supporting the projet. And a special mention to Claire Deroin and Corinne
Covalet, whose infinite patience helped me find my way in the maze of word
processors.

I thank Odile Jacob for agreeing to publish this book and for her precious advice.

Last but not least, thank you, my dear Claudie, for your presence, your help, and
above all, your patience.

247
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Dupuy, F. (2015). La faillite de la pensée managériale. Paris: Seuil.
Dunbar, R. (2004). The human story: A new history of mankind's evolution. London:
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Ekman, P. (2007). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve
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Frith, C. (2007). Making up the mind: How the brain creates our mental world.
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Gazzaniga, M. (2008). Human: The science behind what makes us unique. New
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Gazzaniga, M. (2011). Who's in charge?: Free will and the science of the brain. New
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Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. London: Penguin Books.
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. Black Bay Books.
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Goldberg, E. (2009). The new executive brain. Oxford University press. New York.
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Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships.
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Graziano, M. (2013). Consciousness and the social brain. Oxford University Press.

Grove A. (1996). Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That
Challenge Every Company. New York: Currency books. Doubleday.
Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of
modern science. London: Arrow books.
Hallowell, N. (2010). Shine Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People.
Harvard Business Review Press.

Hanson, R., & Mendius, R. (2009). Buddha's brain. The practical neuroscience of
happiness, love, & wisdom. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Hawkins, J., & Blakeslee, S. (2005). On intelligence. New York: Henry Holt and.
Hecke, M. (2010). The brain advantage: Become a more effective business leader
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Iacoboni, M. (2009). Mirroring people: The science of empathy and how we connect
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Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2002). The leadership challenge (3rd ed.). San Francisco:
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Lachaux, J-P. (2011). Le cerveau attentif. Paris: Odile Jacob.

Lachaux J-P. (2015). Le cerveau funanbule. Paris: Odile Jacob.

LeDoux, J. (1996). The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional

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LeDoux, J. (2002). Synaptic self: How our brains become who we are. New York:
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Lehrer, J. (2007). Proust was a neuroscientist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Lehrer, J. (2009). How we decide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Lieberman, M. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York:
Crown.
Lindstrom, M. (2008). Buyology: Truth and lies about why we buy. New York:
Doubleday.
Makridakis, S., & Hogarth, R. (2009). Dance with chance: Making luck work for you.
Oxford, England: Oneworld.
McDonald, A., & Hansen, J. (2009). Truth, lies, and O-rings: Inside the space shuttle
Challenger disaster. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
McGilchrist, I. (2009). The master and his emissary: The divided brain and the
making of the Western world. New Haven: Yale University Press.
McManus, I. (2002). Right hand, left hand: The origins of asymmetry in brains,
bodies, atoms, and cultures. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
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and school. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.
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Pentland, A. (2008). Honest signals how they shape our world. Cambridge, Mass.:
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Perkins, D. (2003). King Arthur's round table: How collaborative conversations
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Perkins, D. (2001). The Eureka Effect - The Art & Logic of Breakthrough Thinking.
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Pink, D. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York:
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do : Six steps to transforming performance at work. New York: Collins.
Rock, D. (2009). Your brain at work: Strategies for overcoming distraction, regaining
focus, and working smarter all day long. New York: Harper Business.
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Oxford University Press.

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Surowiecki, J. (2005). The wisdom of crowds. New York: Anchor Books.
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Macmillan.

Taleb, N. (2007). The black swan: The impact of the highly improbable. New York:
Random House.

Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2007). Mistakes were made (but not by me): Why we
justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt.
Taylor, J. (2008). My stroke of insight: A brain scientist's personal journey. New York:
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nation. New York: PublicAffairs.
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253
1
Wolpert, D. (2011, July 1). The real reason for brains. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_wolpert_the_real_reason_for_brains
2
The triune brain is a model of brain evolution proposed by American neuroscientist Paul MacLean in his
1990 book The Triune Brain in Evolution. His model is useful as a first description, but it is no longer valid
because the separation between the three brains is not that clear (as we will see in the following chapters).
3
Limbus means border
4
Hanson, R. (2014, January 14). What’s Next for Brain Science and Psychotherapy? Psychotherapy
Networker.
5
Cyrulnik, B. (2001). L’ensorcellement du monde. Paris, France: Odile Jacob, p. 76

6
A sulcus is a depression or groove in the cerebral cortex. It surrounds a gyrus or ridge at the top of a fold.
7
The prefrontal cortex in humans accounts for 29% of the total cortex, in chimpanzees 17%, in dogs 7%, in
cats 3.5%.
8
Baars, B., & Gage, N. (2013). Fundamentals of cognitive neuroscience: A beginner's guide. Amsterdam,
Netherlands: Academic Press.
9
Brady, T. F., Konkle, T., Alvarez, G. A., & Oliva, A. (2008). Visual long-term memory has a massive storage
capacity for object details. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(38), 14325-14329.
10
A metaphor associates what you want to explain with a simplified and concrete analogy or experience. For
example, you may say, “He has a heart as big as Montana.” If you associate life with a journey, the metaphor
helps you understand what life is about. You learn the terrain, you enjoy the trip, and you may find nothing at
the end of the road.
11
Gazzaniga, M. (2011). Who's in charge?: Free will and the science of the brain. New York, NY: HarperCollins
(pp. 82-84).
12
This means inventing convincing explanations without a real knowledge of the situation.
13
Dodson C. S., Johnson M. K., Schooler, J. W. (1997, March). The verbal overshadowing effect: Why
descriptions impair face recognition. Memory and Cognition 25(2), 29-39.
14
Buzan, T. (1983). Use both sides of your brain (Revised and updated edition). New York, NY: E.P. Dutton.
15
LeDoux, J. (1996). The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional life. New York, Simon &
Schuster.
16
Kandel, E. (2006). In search of memory: The emergence of a new science of mind. New York: W.W. Norton.
17
Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain
science. New York: Viking.
18
Psychotherapy Networker Webcast series. (2014). Why Brain Science Matters, conversation with Norman
Doidge: http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/webcasts/brain-science-web-series
19
Taub, E., & Wolf, S. L (1997). Constraint-induced (CI) movement to facilitate upper extremity use in stroke
patients. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 3, 38-61
20
Psychotherapy Networker Webcast series (2014). Why Brain Science Matters, conversation with Norman
Doidge: http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/webcasts/brain-science-web-series
21
According to Plato, desire is born of a lack. To want is to be in want. [You should probably reference this]

22
William James was a famous American psychologist at the end of the 19th century.
23
Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science. London:
Arrow books, p.199.
24 Brizendine, L. (2006). The female brain. New York: Morgan Road Books

25
Cited by Lehrer, J. (2009). How we decide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Joseph E. LeDoux is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at New York University and the director of
 the Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety.
26
Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science. London,
England: Arrow Books, p. 17
27
Dehaene, S. (2014). Le code de la conscience. Paris, France: Odile Jacob, p. 229.
28
Baars, B. (1997). In the theater of consciousness: The workspace of the mind. New York: Oxford University
Press.
29
Dehaene, S. (2014). Op. cit. p. 228 and under p.142.
30
Dehaene S. (2014). Op. cit. See in particular chapter 3 : A quoi sert la conscience.
31
Baars, B. (1997). In the theater of consciousness: Global workspace theory. Journal of Consciousness
Studies, 4(4), pp 292-309.
32
Simon, H. (1991). Bounded rationality and organizational learning. Organization Science,  2(1), 125-134.
33
Baddeley, A. (1994). The magical number seven: Still magic after all these years? Psychological
Review, 101(2), 353-356.
34
Baars, B. (1997). In the theater of consciousness: Global workspace theory. Journal of Consciousness
Studies,  4(4), 292-309.
35
Chabris, C., & Simons, D. (2010). The invisible gorilla: And other ways our intuition deceives us. London,
England: HarperCollins.
36
Medina, J. (2008). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Seattle,
WA: Pear Press.
37
Expression introduced by Theo Compernolle. (Brain Chains).
38
Compernolle, T. (2014). Brain Chains. Compublications.
39
Lachaux, J-P. (2015). Op. cit. p. 106.
40
Medina, J. (2008). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home and school. Seattle, WA:
Pear Press.
41
Reference to David Hume, 18th century Scottish philosopher: “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of
the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them”. Treatise On Human
Nature (1738).
42
The insular cortex is the main region involved in representing and controlling our visceral functions and
internal feelings. It is the equivalent of the primary visual cortex regarding our viscera and internal milieu.
43 Craig, A. D. (2015). How do you fee?: Princeton University Press.

44
Kandel, E. (2012). The age of insight. New York NY, Random House, p. 376
45 Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science. London, England:
Arrow Books, p. 3

46
James, W. (1899). The laws of habit. In W. James, Talks to teachers (Chapter 8).
47
Cited by Lehrer, J. (2009). How we decide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 99.
48
Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science. London,
England: Arrow Books, p.26.
49
Gottman, J., & Silver, N. (1994). Why marriages succeed or fail: What you can learn from the breakthrough
research to make your marriage last. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
50
Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. New York, NY: Random
House, p.106.
51
Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. New York, NY: Random
House, pp.144-147.
52
Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. New York, NY: Random
House, prologue pp.17-19.
53
Agid, Y. (2013). L'homme subconscient: Le cerveau et ses erreurs. Paris, France: R. Laffont.
54
The thalamus is a symmetrical structure situated under the cortex, in the midbrain. It is considered a
switchboard of information that relays sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex. It also plays an
important role in the regulation of consciousness, sleep, and alertness.
55
Adapted from Table 67, p. 147, Agid, Y. (2013). L'homme subconscient: Le cerveau et ses erreurs . Paris,
France: R. Laffont.

56
The fast track and the slow track are denoted “the low and the high roads to the amygdala” by Joseph
LeDoux in his (2002) book Synaptic self: How our brains become who we are (New York, NY: Viking).
57
Gazzaniga, M. (2011). Who's in charge?: Free will and the science of the brain. New York, NY:
HarperCollins, pp. 76-77.
58
Tassin, Jean-Pol. (30-9-2011). Retrieved from http://www.universcience.tv/video-le-circuit-de-la-
recompense-4591.html .
59
Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (1997). Deciding advantageously before knowing the
advantageous strategy. Science, 275, 1293-5.
60
Damasio, A. (1999). The feeling of what happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. New
York, NY: Harcourt Brace.
61
.Ekman, P. (2007). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve communication and
emotional life (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Henry Holt.
62
The French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne (1806-1875) identified two distinct types of smiles. A Duchenne
smile involves contraction of both the zygomatic major muscle (which raises the corners of the mouth) and
the orbicularis oculi muscle (which raises the cheeks and forms crow's feet around the eyes). The Pan Am
smile, also known as the "Botox smile," is the name given to a fake smile in which only the zygomatic major
muscle is voluntarily contracted to show politeness.
63
Goldberg, E. (2009). The new executive brain. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 118-120.
64
Damasio, A. (2003). Looking for Spinoza: Joy, sorrow, and the feeling brain. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
65
Westen, D. (2007). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. New York, NY:
PublicAffairs, p. 62.
66
Westen, D. (2007). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. New York, NY:
PublicAffairs, introduction.
67
Affect heuristic in Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
p. 134.
68
Haidt, J. (n.d.). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral
judgment. Psychological Review, 814-834. (kahneman op. cited p.134).
69
Lieberman, M. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York, NY: Crown, pp. 208-210.
70
Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. New York, NY:
HarperCollins, pp. 118-119.
71
Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science. London,
England: Arrow books, p. 18.
72
Some expressions in this paragraph are borrowed from Siegel, D. (2010). Mindsight: The new science of
personal transformation. New York, NY: Bantam Books
73
Goldin, P., & Gross, J. (n.d.). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in
social anxiety disorder. Emotion, 83-91.
74
Hanson, R. (2014). Why brain science matters: Conversation with Rick Hanson (Psychotherapy Networker
webcast series). Retrieved from: http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/webcasts/brain-science-web-series
75
Grove, A. (1996). Only the paranoid survive: How to exploit the crisis points that challenge every company.
New York, NY: Currency Books/Doubleday.
76
Hanson, R. (2014). Why brain science matters: Conversation with Rick Hanson (Psychotherapy Networker
webcast series). Retrieved from: http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/webcasts/brain-science-web-series
77
Gottman, J., & Silver, N. (1994). Why marriages succeed or fail: What you can learn from the breakthrough
research to make your marriage last. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
78
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Great Britain: Allen Lane, p. 282.
79
The Wall Street Journal October 15, 2011.
80
Example borrowed from the course “Managing Decision Making” by Professor Enrico Diecidue at INSEAD.
81
Op.cited,, p. 371
82
Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual Review of
Neuroscience, 24, 167-202
83
Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. New York, NY:
HarperCollins, Chapter 6.

84
 Scoville, W. B., & Milner, B. (1957).  "Loss of recent memory after bilateral hippocampal lesions. Journal of
Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 20(1), 11–21.
85
Maguire, E. A., Gadian, D. G., Johnrude, I. S., & Colleagues. (2000). Navigation-related structural changes
in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of
America, 97, 4398-4403.
86
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Allen Lane, pp. 386-390.
87
Rubin vase: From Nava Rubin and colleagues.
88
This refers to the inserton of the face of François Mitterrand in the evening news of the national TV channel
Antenne 2 in 1988 and an advertisement prepared by George W. Bush’s team during the presidential
campaign of 2000.
89
Dehaene, S. (2014). Le code de la conscience. Paris, France: Odile Jacob, p. 109.
90
Gazzaniga, M. (2011). Who's in charge?: Free will and the science of the brain. New York, NY:
HarperCollins.
91
Clark, C. M., & Bjork, R. A. (2014). When and why introducing difficulties and errors can enhance instruction.
In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.), Applying the science of learning in education:
Infusing psychological science into the curriculum.
92
Kornell, N., Castel, A. D., Eich, T. S., & Bjork, R. A. (2010). Spacing as the friend of both memory and
induction in younger and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 25, 498-503.
93

Graziano, M. (2013) Consciousness and the social brain. [give city/state]: Oxford niversity Press, pp. 27 & 28.
.
94
Cyrulnick, B. (2000). Les nourritures affectives [give English translation]. Paris, France: Editions Odile Jacob.
95
This ambiguous image has been created by E.G. Boring.
96
Ibid., p. 79.
97
Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. New York, NY:
HarperCollins, pp.166-168.
98
Plassmann, H., O'Doherty, J., Shiv, B., & Rangel, A. (2007). Marketing actions can modulate neural
representations of experienced pleasantness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [of the
United States of America?], 105(3), 1050-1054.
99
Brafman, O., & Brafman, R. (2008). Sway: The irresistible pull of irrational behavior. New York, NY:
Doubleday, pp. 50-58.
100
Wager, T. (2005). The neural bases of placebo effects in pain. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 14(4), 175-179.
101
You should see a dog, a dalmatian dog.
102
The Greek philosopher Plato (428-348 BCE) believed that because the information we acquire about
sensible objects is imperfect and changeable, we cannot obtain access to perfect and immutable forms
through any bodily experience. Such knowledge is a form of recollection. Our souls must have been
acquainted with the forms prior to our births.
103
Michotte, A. (1941). La causalité physique est-elle une donnée phénoménale? Tijdschrift voor Philosophie,
3, 290–328. Unpublished translation by Krista Hensley, April 30, 1993. See also Michotte, A. (1963). The
perception of causality (T. S. Miles & E. Miles, Trans.). New York, NY: Basic Books.
104
Rabin, M., & Vayanos, D. (2010). The gambler's [is “gambler’s” accurate?] and hot-hand fallacies: Theory
and applications. Review of Economic Studies, [what is the volume for this?] (77), 730-778.
105
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Great Britain: Allen Lane, pp. 216-217.
106
Rosenzweig, P. (2007). The halo effect: Free Press, p. 150
107
Taleb, N. (2007). The black swan: The impact of the highly improbable. New York, NY: Random House, pp.
116-117.
108
Ibid., p. 11.
109
You only need to unmask card 1 and card 4 to disconfirm and not cards 2 and 3.
110
Popper, K. (2002). The logic of scientific discovery. London, England: Routledge Classics (2002). (Original
work published 1935)
111
(Enron, America Online, ref?), [complete this]
112
Brooks, D. (2011). The social animal: The hidden sources of love, character, and achievement. New York,
NY: Random House, pp. 9 & 14.
113
Rosenzweig, P. (2007). The halo effect. Free Press, chapter 4.
114
George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” has been adapted as a musical “My Fair lady”, where we see the
transformation of a flower girl into a lady.
115
Manzoni, JF, Barsoux, JL (2002). The Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People
to Fail. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
116
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. Black Bay Books, p. 86-88.
117
Blakeslee, S., & Blakeslee, M. (2008). The body has a mind of its own. New York, NY: Random House, pp.
196-198.
118
Homeostasis is the ability to maintain internal stability and is at the core of the feeling of happiness
119
Hubris: overconfident pride and arrogance. The Greek myth stresses respect for the Gods’ powers. Arachne,
the talented mythical weaver, displayed an incredible amount of hubris when she boasted that she could best
the Goddess Athena in her own art. When, in their contest, Arachne’s weaving piece reflected even more
insolent disrespect toward the Gods, Athena transformed her into a spider, thus reducing Arachne’s immense
ego to a miniscule and horrific being.
120
Smith, A. (1776). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations, book 1, chapter 2.
121
Dan Ariely
122
Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2007). Mistakes were made (but not by me): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad
decisions, and hurtful acts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, p. 13.
123
Damier, P. (2014). Décider en toute connaissance de soi. Neurosciences et décision. Paris, France: Odile
Jacob, p. 121.
124
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press
125
Adapted from Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2007). Mistakes were made (but not by me): Why we justify foolish
beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, pp. 12-14.
126
Westen, D., Blagov, P., Harenski, K., Kilts, C., & Hamann, S. (2006). Neural bases of motivated reasoning.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, (18), 1947-1958.
127
Figure 1 and 2 are adapted from Damier, P. (2014). Décider en toute connaissance de soi. Paris, France:
Odile Jacob, pp. 133-134.
128
Westen, D. (2007). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. New York, NY:
PublicAffairs, introduction.
129
Achen C., & Bartel L. Working paper as cited in Lehrer, J. (2009). The decisive moment. Cannongate, NY: p.
198.
130
Heffernan, M. (2011). Willful blindness: Why we ignore the obvious at our peril. New York, NY: Walker, p 87.
131
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow: Allen Lane, p. 264-265.
132
This expression is borrowed from a presentation by David Rock (December 2009) on “Your Brain at Work.”
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJSXfXep4M
133
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. [give city, country]: Allen Lane, pp. 44-46.
134
The calculation is done by writing two equations : bat + ball = 1.1 and bat - ball = 1. By adding the two
equations we get : 2 bat = 2.1, thus 1 bat = 1.05.
135
Rock, D. (2009). Your brain at work: Strategies for overcoming distraction, regaining focus, and working
smarter all day long. New York, NY: Harper Business.
136
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1998). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. [give city/state]:
Basic Books.
137
From the course Managing Decision Making by Professor Enrico Diecidue at INSEAD.
138
Brooks, D. (2011). The social animal: The hidden sources of love, character, and achievement. New York,
NY: Random House, Slide 99.
139
Cited by Compernolle, T. (2014). Brain chains. Compublications, p. 96.
140
(Read 1995)
141
Taleb, N. (2007). The black swan: The impact of the highly improbable. New York, NY: Random House, p.
132.
142
Westen, D. (2007). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. New York, NY:
PublicAffairs, p. 35.
143
An ex-voto is an offering given to a saint or to a divinity in fulfillment of a vow or in gratitude for a miracle.
They are placed in a chapel where the worshiper seeks to give thanks. They can take a wide variety of forms
(painted tablets, texts, or symbols) and serve as a testimony to later visitors of the received help.
144
The term “silent evidence” is borrowed from Taleb, N. (2007). The black swan: The impact of the highly
improbable. New York, NY: Random House.
145
Russo, J., & Schoemaker, P. (2002). Winning decisions: Getting it right the first time. New York, NY:
Currency, p. 80.
146
Answers to questions: 384 000 km, 1869, 335 days
147
Financial Times (2002).
148
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. [give city, country]: Allen Lane, pp. 209-211.
149
Tetlock, P. (2005). Expert political judgment [is some kind of punctuation missing here?] How good is it?
How can we know? Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
150
Makridakis, S., & Hogarth, R. (2009). Dance with chance: Making luck work for you. Oxford, England:
Oneworld.
151
Abraham Maslow's pyramid of needs, proposed in his 1943 paper entitled "A Theory of Human Motivation,"
described a hierarchy of human motivations that moves from physiological needs at the base up through
safety, belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualization at the top.
152
Lieberman, M. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York, NY: Crown, p. 43.
153
Rizzolatti, G., & Sinigaglia, C. (2008). Mirrors in the brain: How our minds share actions and emotions.
Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
154
Pentland A. (2010). Kith and kin: How social networks make us smart. Proceedings of the Second
International Workshop on Social Signal Processing, pp. 3-4.
155
Lieberman, M. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York, NY: Crown, p. 26.
156
Lieberman, M. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York, NY: Crown, p. 71.
157
Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science. London,
England: Arrow Books, pp. 50-52.
158
Zink, C. F., Tong, Y., Chen, Q., Bassett, D. S., Stein, J. L., & Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2008). Know your place:
Neural processing of stable and unstable social hierarchy in humans. Neuron, 58, 273-283.
159 .
Surowiecki, J. (2005). The wisdom of crowds. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
160
Lieberman, M., Rock, D., & Cox, C. (2014). Breaking bias. Neuroleadership Journal, 5.
161
Source: Aaron Beck]
162
Sunstein, C. (2009). Going to extremes: How like minds unite and divide. Oxford, England: Oxford University
Press.
163
Janis, I. (1982). Groupthink: Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes (2nd ed.). Boston, NA:
Houghton Mifflin.
164
Surowiecki, J. (2005). The wisdom of crowds. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

165
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Allen Lane, chapter 26.
166
Op. cited refer to chapter 6
167
Westen, D. (2007). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. New York, NY:
PublicAffairs.
168
Dijksterhuis, A., Bos, M. W., Nordgren, L. F., & van Baaren, R. B. (2006). On making the right choice: The
deliberation-without-attention effect. Science,  311, 1005–1007.
169
Begley, S. (2011, 27 Feburary). The science of making decisions. Newsweek.
170
Lehrer, J. (2009). How we decide. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 159.
171
Simon, H. A behavioral model of rational choice. The Quarterly Journal of Economics,  69(1), 99-118.
172
Alfred P. Sloan as cited in Russo, J., & Schoemaker, P. (2002).Winning decisions: Getting it right the first
time. New York, NY: Currency, p. 38.
173
Attributed to the famous advertiser David Ogilvy.
174
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. Black Bay Books, p. 12
175
Blakeslee, S., & Blakeslee, M. (2008). The body has a mind of its own. New York, NY: Random House.
176
Klein, G. (1999). Sources of power: How people make decisions (2nd ed..). Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.
177
Klein, G. (1999). Sources of power: How people make decisions (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.
178
This is borrowed from a presentation by Tom Peters, the well-known writer on business management, at the
release of his 2003 book Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age.
179
Klein, G. (1998). Sources of power: How people make decisions [2nd ed .]. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, p.
32.
180
Brooks, D. (2011). The social animal: The hidden sources of love, character, and achievement. New York,
NY: Random House, p. 172.
181
Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. London, England: Penguin Books, Chapter 2.
182
Expressions borrowed from Perkins, D. (2001). The eureka effect: The art & logic of breakthrough thinking.
Norton.
183
Llinás, R. R. (2002). I of the vortex: From neurons to self. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, p.170
184
Sheth, B. R., Sandkuhler, S., & Bhattacharya, J. (2008). Posterior beta and anterior gamma oscillations
predict cognitive insight. Journal of Cognitive  Neuroscience,  21(7), 1269–1279
185
Kounios, J., & Beeman, M. (2009). The aha! moment: The cognitive neuroscience of insight. Current
Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 210.
186
According to Søren Kierkegaard, a 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian.
187
According to an etching by the Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya in 1798.
188
This is further developed in the book Baghai, M., Coley, S., & White, D. (1999). The alchemy of growth.
Reading, MA: Perseus Press.
189
Both expressions, forgetful management and failure management, are borrowed from Tom Peters.
190
Kounios, J., & Beeman, M. (2009). The aha! moment: The cognitive neuroscience of insight. Current
Directions in Psychological Science,18, 210.
191
Osborn, A. (1953) Applied imagination.
192
Ideo is a famous design consulting firm based in California.
193
Crozier, M. (1971). Le phénomène bureaucratique. Seuil, France: Collections et essais.
194
Teboul, J. (2006). Service is front stage. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
195
Rosenzweig, P. (2007). The halo effect. Free Press, p. 144.
196
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
197
Dupuy, F. (2015). La faillite de la pensée managériale. Paris: Seuil.
198
Goldberg, E. (2009). The new executive brain. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Chapter 6.
199
Perkins, D. (2003). King Arthur's round table: How collaborative conversations create smart organizations.
New York, NY: Wiley.
200
Bennis, W. (2003). On becoming a leader. Perseus Publishing, Introduction to the revised edition, p. 20.
201
Gardner, H. Leading minds: An anatomy of leadership.
202
Kets de Vries, M., & Miller, D. (1984). The neurotic organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
203
Lieberman, M. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York, NY: Crown, p. 273.
204

Peters, T., & Waterman, R. (1982). In search of excellence: Lessons from America's best-run companies.
Cambridge, MA: Harper & Row.
205
Reference to the change model of Kurt Lewin: unfreeze-change-refreeze.
206
Originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908.
207
Carlos Gohsn, Renault CEO addressing executives during the turnaround of Nissan.
208
This is a reference to Hernan Cortes, the famous Spanish explorer who conquered the Aztec empire where
Mexico is today with a few hundred men. He ordered the burning of the boats to cut off the retreat of his men
in 1519. They had only two choices: die or ensure victory. This was a drastic constraint that led to
unequivocal resolve.
209
Lieberman, M. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. New York, NY: Crown, pp. 77-78.
210
Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: How children think and schools should teach. New York, NY:
Basic Books.
211
Shakespeare, W. Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5.
212
Naccache, L. (2009). Le nouvel inconscient: Freud, Christophe Colomb des neurosciences. Paris, France:
Odile Jacob.
213
Siegel, D. (2010). Mindsight: The new science of personal transformation. New York, NY: Bantam Books,
Chapters 6 & 7.
214
Westen, D. (2007). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. New York, NY:
PublicAffairs, pp. 83-84.
215
Same reference as above.
216
Hanson, R. (2014, January 14). What’s next for brain science and psychotherapy? Psychotherapy Networker
Magazine Untangling brain science.
217
The peripheral nervous system has two branches: the somatic nervous system (voluntary muscle control,
touch, proprioception) and the autonomic nervous system (homeostasis and metabolic function). The
autonomic nervous system is made up of two antagonist systems: the sympathetic nervous system (fight-
 flight) and the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
218
According to Dan Siegel, if experience pushes us outside our window of tolerance, we may fall into rigidity
(depression, cutoffs, avoidance), on the one hand, or into chaos (agitation, anxiety, rage), on the other.
Within our window of tolerance, we remain receptive, outside of it we become reactive.
219
DeYoung, C. G. (2010). Personality neuroscience and the biology of traits. Social and Personality
Psychology Compass, 4(12), 1165-1180.
220
Please refer to Chapter 11
221
12 Most men have an X chromosome from their mother and a Y chromosome from their father. Most women
receive an X chromosome from their mother and an X chromosome from their father. On the Y chromosome a
small snippet near the middle carries a gene called SRY (Sex Reversal Y). The purpose of genes is to create
molecules that mediate the functions of the cells in which they reside.
222
Baron-Cohen, S. (2003). The essential difference: The truth about the male and female brain. New York, NY:
Basic Books.
223
Brizendine, L. (2006). The female brain. New York, NY: Morgan Road Books.
15 Brizendine, L. (2010). The male brain. New York, NY: Broadway Books.
224
Brizendine, L. (2006). The female brain. New York, NY: Morgan Road Books, p. 36.
225
Brizendine, L. (2014). Why brain science matters: Conversations with Louann Brizendine. Psychotherapy
Networker webcast series. Retrieved from
http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/webcasts/brain-science-web-series
226
Brizendine, L. (2010). The male brain. New York, NY: Broadway Books, p. 34.
227
Ibid., p. 48.
228
Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science. London,
England: Arrow Books, p. 160.
229
Adapted from Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership. [give city/state/country of publisher]:
Gower, pp. 199-200.