Tag: “Science”

In his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin talks a lot about the term “lizard brain” ¹ (also known as “reptilian brain”) to refer to the most primitive part of our brain, where the instincts that warn us of danger when it lurks reside. Actually, this lizard brain is a metaphor for the amygdala, the part of the limbic system which is responsible for processing our emotions.

Systems thinking tries to understand the rules that determine how different systems—some seemingly unrelated—behave, how they interact and how they influence each other.

Daniel Pink tells us in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us that working is as natural as playing and resting and that, under the proper conditions, humans will accept and even seek this kind of responsibility.

I have to say that I am finding extremely interesting the reading of Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, by Daniel Goleman. In my opinion, knowing how to pay attention where we need to do it at every moment is, probably, one of the most valuable skills today, and also, one of the most difficult to achieve. This book addresses the issue from a perspective based entirely in science, which gives the material exhibited a special relevance, well above most of the common posts and guru-tips you can find on the internet.

In this article I am not going to explain how you should make your decisions (who the hell am I?). Simply, I will present you a set of facts and theories about the decision making process. The idea is that if you know the process by which you make your own decisions, you will be able to make them more effectively. Also, let it be said, knowing how the human’s mind works in this type of processing also gives you the ability to influence others’ decisions (if you work in advertising, marketing or sales, this should be of your interest.)