The top 1% of sales professionals have long recognized that the key to finalizing a sale is based on appealing to the customer's emotions. While making rational arguments to purchase a product or service is important as a foundation to making the sale, connecting with the customer's emotions is essential to "sealing the deal". Neuroscience [...]
The Arbinger Institute's classic book, "Leadership & Self-Deception - Getting Out of the Box", is one of the most powerful leadership books that has ever been written. The authors describe how being absorbed in our own thoughts, feelings and emotions and ignoring others' humanity and perspectives is a sure recipe for disaster in organizations. Ignoring [...]
According to a blog posted by Madeline Stone on the Business Insider website, smartphone addiction is a serious problem in the United States. Stone states that so many people have become addicted to their smartphones that a new term has entered our lexicon - nomophobia (short for no-mobile-phone phobia). According to Stone, symptoms include "feelings of panic or [...]
Daniel Levitin's book The Organized Mind presents us with lots of intriguing insight into the neurochemistry of the brain with respect to the need to pay attention and focus. One chapter is titled "Too Much Information, Too Many Decisions" and describes the chaotic nature of today's information overload environment. It turns out that the brain works well [...]
Governments in the western world are constantly complaining about the lack of innovation in their respective countries. Their solution inevitably is to provide financial incentives to encourage corporate executives to invest in R&D and new product development. While these incentives might be helpful, they fail to address the major issues concerning the failure of companies [...]
Over the past couple of years I have been given mandates by a few new clients to help deal with and develop some underperforming managers. In some cases, the mandates were fairly straightforward in that the managers in question had the "right stuff" and required appropriate coaching and training. No problem. But, in several other cases, the managers [...]
Any superior salesperson will tell you that, while a rational sales pitch is important, the sale is actually made by understanding and appealing to the buyer's emotions. It is an important lesson that leaders must understand. Neuroscience tells us that the emotional brain overpowers the rational brain. The emotional brain, centered in the amygdala in [...]
Earlier this week I was a guest lecturer at a McGill University program for a group of 36 international business students who attended a university in the United Kingdom. I was facilitating a three hour workshop focused on the application of neuroscience to management and leadership. The students were in their late teens and early [...]
The Scenario Bill Wolfe, President & CEO of Fleet Industries, was chairing a meeting with his Executive team and was about to erupt in a fit of anger over his team’s inability to agree on a course of action to answer to a competitive threat posed by the company’s main competitor, Gadco. While Fleet had [...]
A note to Boards of Directors as well as Presidents & CEOs. Please get your heads out of the proverbial sands and start dealing with that toxic manager in your organization who is de-motivating your employees, causing high levels of disengagement, forcing good people to quit and reeking havoc on your company's long-term interests. Yes, this manager [...]
