Yes, we have too many rules, too many friends, too many opportunities. Do we?... really? Or is it really what we make out of our reality?This book sets out an interesting concept which provides the supporting workbench for what I consider one of the most fundamental challenges we face as professionals: break your existing paradigm and jump into a new one.
Do we dare to change our paradigm out of no reason? Of course we do not; we need a very good reason to even consider it. As a matter of fact, we are full of reasons why we do not do it; and if we run out of these reasons, we create more. An effect known as cognitive dissonance cleverly described in this book.
The book presents a well-defined paradigm as an alternative to whichever one we have chosen to live in. It is labeled the Cognitive Paradigm. In simple words, it states that humans are thinking-beings capable of self-directed action (or miss-directed action). Sounds obvious but one can get surprised to see how far from implementation it may be.
Supplementing knowledge and logic with a mode of thinking that factors the environment specific persons live in, their relationships with us and others and their personal versions or reality can add a significant dimension to our managing practices and expectations. Of course, the version of reality that we assemble is dictated by the three-pounds engine (your brain) that accommodates many interdependent variables.
This concept matches fairly well (at two thirds roughly) with a book I read previously (Iconoclasts). Perception of reality and fear to express it are a given in human nature. So it remains to be determined how the Social Networking component of an Iconoclast fits into this paradigm.
So, relationships, persuasion, metaphors and stories become an essential toolset to alter the perception of reality of someone else; and to a great extent our own. This also correlates well with concepts such as the power of Story Telling.
Under this paradigm, the understanding of concepts such as of rewarding and punishing gets weaker compared to what prevails under the traditional paradigm (Aristotelian) where we impose OUR perception of reality onto others. Interestingly enough, the starting point heading out of this stiff paradigm is the understanding of the counterintuitive meaning of these concepts.
Can you imagine a world where rewarding removes the motivation to engage in positive behavior? Or a place where punishing reinforces the behavior that you are trying to eliminate? Get ready to embrace and cope with the concepts of Neuroscience; for this is the world where you and I live in. A world inhabited by human beings.
For as long as we do what our common sense dictates, we are at the mercy of a biased approach. On the contrary, a Socratic approach where we ask others for their participation to assemble a common reality opens many doors that permit the ventilation provided by the Cognitive Paradigm.
Changing paradigms is not going to be an easy task. First-order changes (actions within a system that does not change itself) accomplish very little; Second-order changes (actions that change the system itself) are the ones that can make a difference. Provided you have the guts.
The title of the book (Management Rewired) makes it necessary to touch Management practices in the light of the contributions of neuroscience to the paradigm-related concept. The concepts presented are counterintuitive (expectedly so!!) but the whole story comes together fairly well.
The book is worthwhile reading if you can stand to go over the first few pages throughout which the intention of the overall text is not clearly defined. As you read on, case studies and very interesting pieces of information connected to neuroscience and neuropsychology add incrementally to the concept. Upon reaching the end of the book, you will have the feeling of having something under your arm at least worthwhile trying.
For my own concept-tracking record, in this book I can connect Iconoclasts, Storytelling and Applied Neuroscience.
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