- Paul Herr
- Madison, WI
- United States
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What Does the Core of Human Nature Look Like?
David Brooks gives an eloquent description of a society that is emotionally out-of-whack. Here is a disturbing fact that supports David's core thesis: half of us will suffer from a mental illness during our lifetimes. Yikes!
The solution, he suggests, is a more nuanced and accurate understanding of our deep emotional nature. David's suggestion is "spot on" because it leads to a more promising and rewarding future where everybody benefits!
David points out that a new synthesis is congealing around the research of neuro scientists like Antonio Damasio. If you would like to explore this emerging consensus, here are some resources to check out:
1) Any of Antonio Damasio's books ("Descartes Error" is my favorite)
2) Daniel Pink's book, "Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates us."
3) Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria's book, "Driven: How Human Nature Affects Our Choices" (Nohria, by the way, is the dean of the Harvard Business School),
4) and my book, "Primal Management: Unraveling the Secrets of Human Nature to Drive High Performance."
Drive, Driven and Primal Management postulate that 4 basic human "drives" or "needs" motivate much of human behavior. One application of this evolving consensus is in the workplace. If leaders press these four motivational hot-buttons (satisfy the four core needs of their employees) employees will perform better because they experience a bigger emotional (intrinsic) paycheck.
Before I forget, Gary Hamel's book, The Future of Management, is a terrific resource as well. Hamel, as you may know, is one of the world's top management theorists and he believes that traditional, hierarchical, command and control management has to go because it coerces grudging compliance instead of motivating passionate performance. I submitted an entry to Hamel's management-innovation contest that caries David's theme into the field of management: http://www.managementexchange.com/node/14617
Paul Herr
Ed Schulte 50+
Eckaht Tolle and his A NEW EARTH sugests this as well ....to be more Specific....
he suggests we develop the "Know Who we are Beyond name and Form"
By the Bye
why is "David's core thesis: half of us will suffer from a mental illness during our lifetimes." a .." Yikes! " anyway??
This could be considered a Good and Healthy thing IF it gives reconnition to the Fear based society / attitudes as being the cause behind this "suffering""
Younus Ali
Obseving the said saying, we certainly are beyond to our materiliastic world. The core of human nature is so powerful yet pure, that if we attain that bliss, to be real and clear in minds, we are the beings that can be influence to otehrs by our thoughts, words, actions and characters :)
jag . 50+
One way is sedona method eckhart tolle books, etc
Younus Ali
Cheers
Andrea Morisette Grazzini 30+
I'd say there are important corollaries between "command and control" management in corporate settings and "command and control" of self, emotions and internal drives.
Non-biologic mental impairment tends to be catalyzed by denial of normal human emotions. Thus it's useful for each person to avoid a controlling style of self-management. And instead adapt one akin to leadership models you suggest, to see themselves as leaders of, well, themselves! Once one understands their own capacities to "lead" by engaging their own intrinsic drives they begin to understand and embrace their capacities as qualified to lead in other realms, such as work and community.
My interest is in this self-agency engaged in dialectic with, between and in concert with personal values, professional and public work. A colleague of mine (William J. Doherty PhD) relates this to "citizen professionalism."
I think of it as "triangulating purpose, passion and predicament." --
Purpose is what we value and how we choose to apply it to make our world better (public/social efforts).
Passion being those intrinsic drives that motivate our richest expressions and outcomes.
Predicament has to do with circumstances and "practical" considerations. Such as expertise, location and/or personal or family concerns and primal drives or characteristics. Ie: if I am easily distracted or negatively reactive in a certain environment, it is best to minimize my "energy expenditures" in it and invest more energies in places which spark my more constructive drives.
By seeing our purpose and passion as unique strengths to be adapted with (not railing against) our predicament(s), we can realize our successes are achieved not by "top down" (repressive) self-management but due to our integral and iterative strengths. This effect can be contagious and prone to inspire confidence of managers, employees and peers to work with us, and build synergistic momentum.
Andrea Grazzini Walstrom
Bassem Nabil
Debra Smith 200+
jag . 50+
This is what I've heard and I think it is true (even though what I think think isn't important) beccause as I've been doing inner work I'm suffering alot less.
Heres a good vid (she mentions about true nature and positively thinking): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7axzeexxgT8
If you like this theres more vids like this on my youtube playlist: http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=E2394EC7A71143D9
Philipp Teles von Hauenschild