As I write this article, more (and more) bad/depressing news continues to surface related to wars, famines, paradigms that are disintegrating, etc. While I have works-in-progress related to these situations, I thought it made sense to start on my ‘home turf’ – that is business.
Today numerous people and corporations promote the fact they are donating money to worthy causes. Don’t get me wrong this is great and there should be more of this charitable mentality but there is a smarter way to give back than just giving money away and results should be more than financial.
Throughout my career I have touched on game theory, behavioral economics and other related areas, all of which I viewed as simply tools of the business trade that I used in a one-off standalone context. Nevertheless, they were intriguing to me and if something intrigues me I have to learn more.
The brain is made of the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. The forebrain contains the cerebrum, thalamus and hypothalamus (part of the limbic system). The midbrain, housing the tectum and tegmentum (and connecting the brainstem to the thalamus), is involved in input from senses. The hindbrain consists of the cerebellum, pons and medulla. The midbrain, pons and medulla, all together, are usually called the brainstem or hindbrain.
Today, I am thinking about the contrasts that stimulated me to write this collection of information: illustrating the disconnect of what science knows, in the context of the Business Brain Model (neuroscience, psychology and related cognitive sciences), and what business actually does in practice.
It has been more than 125 years since Benjamin Franklin died yet so many of his quotes (you remember “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” right?) resonate loud and clear today. I would fail you and me if I did not include such wisdom from the grave.
Every business has a quiver full of arrows (communications, marketing, accounting, information systems, etc.) and everyone is targeting the same game (client/customer).You need an advantage.
Now I’m not suggesting that this is some new idea I came up with. I don’t see this as the start of a new conversation. I am jumping into an existing dialogue with the hope of providing context, structure and experience to expand the dialogue.