Business Decisions: How to make them more effective
Business Decisions: How to make them more effective
Lack of any emotion means the result is worse, rather than better according to Antonio R. Damasio (at the University Of Iowa Department Of Neurology when he did the pertinent research). He first made this point in his seminal book, Descartes’ Error (Avon Books, 1994). In the text, he talks about Elliott, a patient, who couldn’t make advantageous decisions for himself because he lacked feeling. This was due to a neurological deficit after an operation to remove a brain tumor, a meningioma. The tumor pressed on both of Elliott’s frontal lobes from below and damaged them. Therefore, it had to be removed.
After the operation, Elliott appeared normal in most ways. He could talk, walk and still had his knowledge base. Nevertheless, he could not hold a job as he had before the surgery. The problem appeared to be that he could not prioritize and stick to the task at hand. What had happened to cause this was not clear. The only hint that Damasio had to go on was that Elliott confided to him that he knew his feelings were changed from before the operation to after the procedure. Issues that had once caused an emotional reaction in him now made no impact at all, either positive or negative. It appeared this is why he was unable to make effective decisions for himself. He had no feeling that the decision affected him one way or another.
This observation sent Damasio and Antoine Bechara plus others into a series of recent experiments to investigate this problem: just how important is emotion when a decision is made? They honed in on testing risk taking because that is an important factor in most decisions. In their formal experiment, the researchers used a card playing game to assess the decision making process. They compared normal subjects to brain damaged patients with an injury in a specific area of the frontal lobe that deals with emotion called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This area links factual knowledge and bioregulatory states including emotions, usually related to past individual experience. What Damasio discovered was both unexpected and dramatic.
People make better decisions when they use emotion than when they don’t.
The normal subjects responded to feedback from their body (measured by a physiological stress monitor) when they made losing choices. Then, they attenuated that behavior. The brain damaged patients, on the other hand, did not received this physiological feedback because their brains couldn’t register the emotion related to picking losing cards. Therefore, they continued the losing behavior. The investigators clarified it this way, "In normal individuals non-conscious biases guide behavior before conscious knowledge does.” This non-conscious bias is what people commonly call an intuition or a hunch. When we make losing decisions, we know it even before our intellect springs into action. Then, we have a chance to modify our behavior using this sixth sense. In other words, emotions have their place when we make monetary decisions. Without them, we can’t and won’t decide what is best for our economic future. A famous example of this is George Soros, the famous financier. His son reported that when his father’s back began to hurt after making an investment decision, Soros knew he had to reconsider. That is the ultimate sixth sense feedback.
How can we use this research to our own benefit?
It’s simple. By appreciating that our own emotions impact our business decisions and implementing that information to our benefit. As Warren Buffet says, “It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming naked.” This is analogous to understanding what part our own emotions play when making business decisions. Without this protection, we’re swimming naked in a sea of competitors, at least some of whom understand what part their own emotion plays in their business choices and use it to their advantage.
Adapted from Shirley M. Mueller's Indianapolis Business Journal article published 2007.
Business Decisions How to make them more effective - To learn more about this author, visit Shirley Mueller's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Most people think that emotions hinder rather than benefit business decisions. This common conception, though, is being challenged. Evidence supports just the reverse.
Lack of any emotion means the result is worse, rather than better according to Antonio R. Damasio (at the University Of Iowa Department Of Neurology when he did the pertinent research). He first made this point in his seminal book, Descartes’ Error (Avon Books, 1994). In the text, he talks about Elliott, a patient, who couldn’t make advantageous decisions for himself because he lacked feeling. This was due to a neurological deficit after an operation to remove a brain tumor, a meningioma. The tumor pressed on both of Elliott’s frontal lobes from below and damaged them. Therefore, it had to be removed.
After the operation, Elliott appeared normal in most ways. He could talk, walk and still had his knowledge base. Nevertheless, he could not hold a job as he had before the surgery. The problem appeared to be that he could not prioritize and stick to the task at hand. What had happened to cause this was not clear. The only hint that Damasio had to go on was that Elliott confided to him that he knew his feelings were changed from before the operation to after the procedure. Issues that had once caused an emotional reaction in him now made no impact at all, either positive or negative. It appeared this is why he was unable to make effective decisions for himself. He had no feeling that the decision affected him one way or another.
This observation sent Damasio and Antoine Bechara plus others into a series of recent experiments to investigate this problem: just how important is emotion when a decision is made? They honed in on testing risk taking because that is an important factor in most decisions. In their formal experiment, the researchers used a card playing game to assess the decision making process. They compared normal subjects to brain damaged patients with an injury in a specific area of the frontal lobe that deals with emotion called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This area links factual knowledge and bioregulatory states including emotions, usually related to past individual experience. What Damasio discovered was both unexpected and dramatic.
People make better decisions when they use emotion than when they don’t.
The normal subjects responded to feedback from their body (measured by a physiological stress monitor) when they made losing choices. Then, they attenuated that behavior. The brain damaged patients, on the other hand, did not received this physiological feedback because their brains couldn’t register the emotion related to picking losing cards. Therefore, they continued the losing behavior. The investigators clarified it this way, "In normal individuals non-conscious biases guide behavior before conscious knowledge does.” This non-conscious bias is what people commonly call an intuition or a hunch. When we make losing decisions, we know it even before our intellect springs into action. Then, we have a chance to modify our behavior using this sixth sense. In other words, emotions have their place when we make monetary decisions. Without them, we can’t and won’t decide what is best for our economic future. A famous example of this is George Soros, the famous financier. His son reported that when his father’s back began to hurt after making an investment decision, Soros knew he had to reconsider. That is the ultimate sixth sense feedback.
How can we use this research to our own benefit?
It’s simple. By appreciating that our own emotions impact our business decisions and implementing that information to our benefit. As Warren Buffet says, “It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming naked.” This is analogous to understanding what part our own emotions play when making business decisions. Without this protection, we’re swimming naked in a sea of competitors, at least some of whom understand what part their own emotion plays in their business choices and use it to their advantage.
Adapted from Shirley M. Mueller's Indianapolis Business Journal article published 2007.
Business Decisions How to make them more effective - To learn more about this author, visit Shirley Mueller's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Shirley's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 |
|
Shirley Mueller Video - Shirley Mueller speaks on Gender & Money - Why Should Women Take An Active Role? Are they up to the task?
|
|
|
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Loyalty Strategies Marketing Effectiveness Business Financing Free SEO Report Managing Customer Relationships |
|
 | ||
 |
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Top 50 Business Plans
Top Business Plan Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
