World Without Feelings = INERT Print

Dear Visitor,

As a business author and management revolutionary, here is my "subversive" thought of the day.  Contrary to what we have all been taught from childhood onward (especially us guys) feelings are not soft or irrational.  On the contrary, nothing is MORE important than feelings because feelings drive behavior and behavior determines organizational outcomes.  The most important factor determining ones success in business is therefore how customers and employees feel about the business.  It’s impossible, I suggest, to be an effective leader, marketer, or whatever unless we understand and manage our own feelings and the feelings of those around us (this was essentially Dan Goleman's message in his 1994 blockbuster book "Emotional Intelligence").

I look at feelings as the propulsive forces that move us.  As forces, they obey the laws of emotional "physics."  My first law of emotional physics is, "A human being at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an emotional force--a feeling."  Feelings get us up in the morning, move us from Point A to Point B during the course of our day, and put us to bed at night.  It’s arrogant and ignorant to make fun of these vital and necessary propulsive forces because without them we’d all be dead, extinct!

Feelings run the show because they are proxies for our vital survival needs.  Without them we would be unmotivated to eat, drink, breathe and reproduce.  Feelings tell us what we need to survive and the rational mind attempts to fulfill these vital needs.  In other words, human beings are primarily emotional creatures and secondarily logical.  Emotions rule despite the macho posturing we have all been exposed to. 

The booming field of neuroeconomics is helping to set things straight.  Researchers are finding that all forms of reward, monetary or otherwise, are created by circuits in the basal striatum, the brain's master reward center.  Neurons in the basal striatum fire if we are rewarded with money, rewarded with food, rewarded by a pat-on-the-back from the boss, or rewarded with psychoactive drugs like cocaine or methamphetamine.   All rewards, is seems, are encoded as feelings of pleasure and pain emanating from the basal striatum. 

Even traditional economists are slowly recognizing that feelings lie at the core of economic decision making, the core of economic utility, the core of customer and employee satisfaction, and at the core of leadership and organizational excellence. If we could somehow turn off rewarding feelings by unplugging the basal striatum, all activity, including economic activity, would come to a screeching halt because the rational mind, without a feeling-based incentive-system to guide it, would have no idea what to do next (all paths into the future would feel the same--nothing).

If you'd like to explore the laws of emotional physics, you can download some free chapters of my book, "Primal Management," at www.primalmanagement.com.  If you are a budding management revolutionary, you are welcome to join my NaturalManagement twitter group (go to tweetworks.com and search for NaturalManagement).  FYI:  CIO Insight Magazine just voted "Primal Management" one of the “15 Essential Spring Books for IT Leaders.”

Enjoy the wonderful spring weather (in Wisconsin anyway)!  It FEELS great!

Viva la Revolución,

Paul Herr
www.primalmanagement.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Comments

avatar JD
0
 
 
Mr. Herr,
Is there a way to code a company's culture? For instance, perhaps a company, or even a job within a company, would be low on innovation. Maybe they would want to hire people who don't get as big a jolt from innovation as you do. What do you think?
JD
avatar Paul Herr
0
 
 
Dear JD,

Many corporations are not true social groups--and hence they don't have a coherent culture. Rather, they are collections of individuals who happen to work in the same building. I estimate that 90% of companies fall into this category. These companies are leaderless and depend upon rules, regulations and impersonal systems of control employees to get things done. These pseudo-groups are money-and-fear- driven and don't have a culture, or a purpose, or a passion. They are just big, ponderous, machines cranking out mediocre products and services. Fortunately, these machine-like workplaces are heading toward extinction because they do not efficiently tap into the energy and passion of their employees. In a hyper-competiti ve global marketplace, we need human-friendly companies run by enlightened leaders. This, I suggest, is the best way to get everybody's head-in-the-gam e. Do you work for a company with an enlightened leader, or do you work for a machine? Once I know the answer, I can better answer your question.

Best,

Paul
avatar Paul Herr
0
 
 
Dear JD,

I think you are on the right track, it should be possible to create a pleasure profile for each job in a company--perhap s based upon the ratings of the top 10 performers in each job category. A rating system like this would help employees avoid jobs that they are not suited for. Had such a system existed 20 years ago, I might have avoided getting involved in environmental consulting--whi ch I hated (lots of red tape and paperwork, and very little science). I would favor a job with a high innovation quotient.

Best,

Paul

avatar Sandi Longhurst
0
 
 
Paul,

The HR Director at the company I work for lent me your book as I apparently am a budding management revolutionary – I know there is a better way to live and work in this world and feel like I have found a kindred spirit in your work. I was interested to read about neuroeconomics in your book. It is an amazing time to be alive on this planet when these connections are studied and discussed. For my blog I coined the name recipronomics which is the reciprocity (or social effect) of economic transactions. My eventual goal is to lead meditation and strategy sessions with Executives to help them develop greater personal awareness to lead socially sustainable businesses. Thank you for the information and research which will contribute to shaping my work.
avatar Ego
0
 
 
In the work place for instance, people are motivated to do their job well when they feel they are appreciated by their superiors or bosses. This state of positive well-being makes them happy, which turns out into good work performance. I guess most people consider themselves successful not just because of a promotion but more of happiness and productivity in their career.
avatar Paul Herr
0
 
 
Dear Ego,

Yes, productivity is driven by rewarding feelings as you suggest. I've developed an intrinsic reward survey (pleasure/pain survey) to monitor these rewarding feelings in the workplace so managers can find out if their motivational engines are firing on all cylinders or misfiring. This tool is called The Horsepower SurveyTM. You can download a brochure that describes this cool, new management tool on my website.

Please take a look if you are interested.

Best Regards,

Paul Herr
Author of Primal Management and Inventor of The Horsepower SurveyTM

avatar stephenhernandez
+1
 
 
feelings are very important part of our personality and it reflects in our daily routine. Our expressions (good or sad) are the results of mixed feelings. Overall I like this article and the whole concept of neuroeconomics.
avatar Stephen Kella
+1
 
 
In my business, it is all about feelings. The deeper you touch the person, the more you earn. It is very important for me.
avatar ashish sathawane
+1
 
 
feelings are very important. they do help to make relationships better.
I was interested to read about neuroeconomics in your book. It is an amazing time to be alive on this planet when these connections are studied and discussed. For my blog I coined the name recipronomics which is the reciprocity (or social effect) of economic transactions.
Please login to post comments or replies.