Management Rewired: Why Feedback Doesn't Work and Other Surprising Lessons from the Latest Brain Science: Why Feedback Doesn't Work and Other Surprising Lessons fromthe Latest Brain Science

by Charles S. Jacobs

How brain science can help us make smarter management decisions

Businesspeople are taught to make decisions with facts and logic and to avoid emotional bias. But according to the latest research, we almost never decide rationally, despite thinking that we do. Our experiences carry an emotional charge, encoded in the synapses of our neurons. And when we try to deny what our emotions tell us, we lose what we’ve learned from the past. That’s just one of many recent discoveries that help explain why management is so challenging. As Charles Jacobs explains, much of the conventional wisdom taught to managers is not only inadequate, it produces the opposite of what is intended. The better path is frequently counterintuitive.

For example, it turns out that pay doesn’t really drive performance. When we do work that’s inherently engaging, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released, creating feelings of pleasure not unlike a cocaine high. But when we work primarily for money, the dopamine isn’t triggered and it’s harder to stay motivated.

Once we understand the lessons of neuroscience, we can create more effective strategies, inspire people to maximize their potential, and overcome the biggest hurdle to improving business performance—making change stick.

Genres: Nonfiction, Management, Business, Psychology, Professional Development, Brain, Unfinished

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2009

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some interesting tidbits in this book, especially with respect to the whole history of how current management practices have evolved in the United States. My biggest gripe about this book is that it didn't really deliver on the neuroscience---it made the claim throughout that neuroscience says X Y, and Z regarding management and leadership. The author's links between the two disciplines were merely inferential. It would have been better if he had said that psychological studies give insight into management practices---this would have been more accurate and there is more support for making such a claim.

[Andrewpwilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Key takeaways (in progress)
- An individual's paradigm will predispose that person to interpret the world around him in a way that aligns with that paradigm.
- Stories & metaphors are some if the most effective ways to communicate

[Darryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and very informative. Jacobs uses recent studies in neuroscience to explain why the carrot and stick method does such a poor job of motivating, why emotional decisions are usually better than logical decisions, and similar counterintuitive findings. He writes in an engaging style that moves back and forth between straight information and interesting behavioral studies. Highly recommended.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really does not reveal any new or exciting discoveries about managing. I think everyone who has ever supervised anyone learns pretty quickly that folks do not base their decisions on logic but on their personal feelings. However, there were some interesting ideas for understanding the "stories" of others and how to help them understand your "story".

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some really good ideas and stories in here, it's a well researched book. However, it's a dense book, unlike most of today's business books that just have one message. While I liked it overall and would recommend it, I feel it could have been much better.

[Book · Rating 2 out of 5]

a different approach to management and leadership, employing more of the psychology and neuroscience behind effectiveness

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting, I tried to skim-read it, and I kept getting drawn in...so sad that there are still managers that believe the best way to "manage" is to threaten. My generation and before are still there in many forms, and teaching that to the future generations. True leadership manages by leading. Managers need to get rid of their egos. All jobs deserve respect. Whether you are a janitor or a CEO, all that can be asked of you is to do your best. People do their best when they are appreciated and respected.

[Andrew Hodgson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, skimmable. Just read Chapter 8 and 9 it short for time.

[bumblethunderbeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

the only reason this was unfinished is because I had to return it to the library. It's one of those books where I only want to read a bit at a time and then really think about it before moving to the next chapter. I was particularly challenged by the chapter about the value of feedback; I couldn't help wondering what that means for me as a writing instructor.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting new developments in our understanding of how the brain works to provide us with each our own unique subjective reality.

[Thomas Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very useful insight as to how neuroscience calls for leaders to do things differently from what they have been taugh for the greater good of the people and the enterprise.