Make Your Brain Work
How to Maximize Your Efficiency, Productivity and Effectiveness
About the Book
Using the latest insights from neuroscience about how our mind works and what really makes us tick,
Make Your Brain Work explains how to be more effective in the workplace and to get maximum impact from minimum effort.
Author Amy Brann is an expert in brain science, and she has distilled its key findings into non-technical, practical guidance. She presents an entirely different type of training: training based on the science of the mind. Offering soft skills training through the lens of neuroscience, her engaging book helps readers discover how to function at the top of their capabilities and learn the habits, techniques and behaviors that will get positive results. Challenges addressed include: frustration with management, work-life balance, motivating people and achieving goals.
Make Your Brain Work shows readers how to leave stress, negative moods and poor time management behind and become more efficient at work.
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About the Book
Using the latest insights from neuroscience about how our mind works and what really makes us tick,
Make Your Brain Work explains how to be more effective in the workplace and to get maximum impact from minimum effort.
Author Amy Brann is an expert in brain science, and she has distilled its key findings into non-technical, practical guidance. She presents an entirely different type of training: training based on the science of the mind. Offering soft skills ...
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Authors / Editors
Amy Brann studied medicine at University College London. During her second year of medical school, she read about how the mind actually works and interacts with the body. When she also came across Coaching as a profession, she chose the opportunity to spend the rest of her life studying people, learning more about the mind and applying that to help people live more enjoyable productive lives.
Through her business, Synaptic Potential, she now works with many companies to help them better understand their teams, clients and organizations as a whole. Brann is the creator of the online community, "Neuroscience in Business."
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Authors / Editors
Amy Brann studied medicine at University College London. During her second year of medical school, she read about how the mind actually works and interacts with the body. When she also came across Coaching as a profession, she chose the opportunity to spend the rest of her life studying people, learning more about the mind and applying that to help people live more enjoyable productive lives.
Through her business, Synaptic Potential, she now works with many ...
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Press Coverage
"
Make Your Brain Work is an engaging book that is simultaneously filled with insight and application. Amy Brann not only provides us with greater understanding on how the brain works but she also gives us useful tools on how to make the brain work for each of us." --
Stephen M. R. Covey, author of The New York Times and # 1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book,
The Speed of Trust, and coauthor of
Smart Trust
"The most misunderstood organ in the human body is the brain. Amy Brann's insights will help you think your way to success instead of mindlessly doing the same old things over and over again." --
Al Ries, author,
War in the Boardroom and Positioning: The battle for your mind
"
Make Your Brain Work is the first book to take cutting-edge neuroscience and apply it to improving one's ability to be successful, and to feel successful, at work. Using a lively set of characters that illustrate not just what to do to improve the brain at work, but how to do it. Readers of
Make Your Brain Work will undoubtedly be more productive and happier at work and at home." --
Paul J. Zak, PhD, Author of
The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, Founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University
"If you are looking to master your life, you must master the use of your brain. Amy Brann has successfully put together today's easy to read and understand instruction manual for your brain. Read this book, master your brain and master your life." --
Louis Lautman, Executive Producer of The YES Movie
"
Make Your Brain Work brings neuroscience to life. Explaining how common challenges can be overcome through understanding what is really going on in your brain and the minds of others enables readers to make small changes that can ultimately make life more enjoyable. Easy to read and thoroughly beneficial to implement." --
Scott Martineau, CEO ConsciousOne.com
"[B]eneficial reading for anyone who wants to optimize theireffectiveness in both their professional and personal lives. The book provides in-depth insights into neuroscience and how evolutionary developments and chemical reactions in the brain influence an individual’s responses to situations and other people. These insights can help anyone improve their ability to prioritize tasks, learn new things, adopt healthy habits, establish a positive attitude, and achieve goals."
--Business Book Summaries"A timely and elegant reminder that the key to personal and organisational success begins with knowing one's self: Amy provides clear insight into the latest developments in neuroscience using accessible stories and examples which will resonate with all readers." --
Terry Hodgetts, Director, Centre for Executive Development, Aston Business School
"
Make your Brain Work is different! It is literally packed to the brim with insights, tools, approaches and techniques that cover a whole spectrum of areas that have helped me. If you want to massively increase your self-awareness, devise strategies for positive change and, as a result, lead a happier and more fulfilled life then I recommend that you read this book." --
Phil Ryan, MBA, CMgr, FCIBs, Managing Director, The Management Centre, The Executive Education Company of Bangor University
"This book is full of great stuff, like a delicious Pret recipe your brain needs nutritious food and new knowledge to grow." --
Ian Watson, Head of Pret Academy
"
Make Your Brain Work was essential bedtime reading for a couple of nights, and I have found the concepts genuinely very interesting and thought provoking, and a challenging read. It really does become a manual for trying to better understand what influences and motivates others, and how these issues need to be better understood and harnessed. It is not often that the concept of "overwhelm" can be introduced into morning discussions of premiership football and office politics but it is now." --
Nick Green, Managing Partner of Squire Sanders Birmingham office
"The idea of writing a book relating common workplace and leadership issues with the structure of the brain is excellent. Amy's style is punchy, readable and approachable." --
Bishop Andrew Watson See
Amy's blog post on
The International Coach Federation blog
Check out Amy's article
It's Not Too Late to Be Happy on
Delivering Happiness at Work
Online Reviews: "This book is extremely well organized with many small topic sections and it needs to be because there is a ton of information in this book - it is very content dense. The book has summary bullet points at the end of each chapter that are very well done and effectively summarize the contents and the actions you need to take. There are a large number of references to scientific research. Due to the broad range of content this book is best digested in small doses and not long reading sessions. Highly recommended."
--Book Fanatic, Top 500 Amazon reviewer
Press Coverage
"
Make Your Brain Work is an engaging book that is simultaneously filled with insight and application. Amy Brann not only provides us with greater understanding on how the brain works but she also gives us useful tools on how to make the brain work for each of us." --
Stephen M. R. Covey, author of The New York Times and # 1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book,
The Speed of Trust, and coauthor of
Smart Trust
"The most misunderstood organ ...
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Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
IntroductionHow to read this book
Meet the coach
Meet the professionals
PART 1 – You
1 Can a marshmallow predict your success?
Possibilities
Prioritization
Picturing your goal
Starting with the end in mind
Prefrontal cortex
Practical prioritization
New information
Multi or mono
Your plastic brain
Reassuringly flexible
Enriching your potential
Action
2 Is your hippopotamus under attack?
Stress: the classic culprit
Predictability and stress
Perhaps pounding the pavements is the answer
Negative connotations
Checking out of stress and into normality
Hippo attack
Mirror neurons
Possibilities
Lack of control
Stress busting
Focus
Action
3 Learning how to influence what feels out of your control
States, emotions and feelings
To know or not to know
Controlling our feelings
Controlling our emotions
Practically possible
Why anchoring is vital
About the cup
The importance of smell
Action
4 The challenge of being everything to everyone
Possibilities
Distractions
Benefits of braking
Getting stuck
Strategic planning
Getting unstuck
Decision making
Filtering incoming data
Emotional area
Action
5 Is a busy brain a clever brain?
The brain in action
In one ear, out the other
Full head
Enriching your environment
Knowledge into practice
A leopard can change its spots
A lot of hard work
Practically possible
6 Getting results easily and with less effort
The neuroscience behind habits
The reality of the chocolate habit
Reprogramming a habit
How a faulty circuit can be fixed
What is possible
Neuroplasticity and habits
‘Damaged’ as a child
Neural Darwinism
Competitive plasticity
How you create new habits
Why bad habits sometimes return
Action
PART 2 – Your Colleagues and Clients
7 Working and living in balance
Work–life balance
Expectations: theirs and yours
Conflict
Causes of tiredness
Time versus energy
The importance of control
How the mind works optimally
Action
8 Upgrading your life one step at a time
What the brain has to do with getting stuff done
Brain areas of goal achievement
Getting specific
Real or imagined
The neuroscientist’s biggest kept secret
Motivation
Your state matters
Deserving a reward
Action
9 The minefield of motivating people
Motivating others
What motivates you
Some rewards motivate
Higher purpose
Power of expectations
Motivation zappers
Power of control
Power of certainty
Power of confidence
Mood and motivation
10 Transforming meetings
Personality problems
Unfairness
The two routes of fear
Problems with meetings
Memes
Remembering stuff
Feeling excluded
Action
11 Making every presentation count
Outcome
Engagement
How to engage people
Planning
Intentions
Priming
Mental rehearsal
Mirror neurons
Stress busting
Emotion
Death by PowerPoint™ and sleep-inducing notes
Body language
12 Appearing competent to others
Insights
How to predispose yourself to having more insights
Why you forget
Real or fabricated
Episodic versus semantic
Brain areas
Working memory
Emotions and memory
Unconscious memories
Priming
PART 3 – Your Company
13 Leading with your brain switched on
Leaders today
The synaptic circle
Confidence
Understanding status
Mirror neurons
Certainty
Culture
Celebration
Control
Connection
Contribution
14 Simply authentic sales
Decision making
Intention
Identifying pain
Unique calm
Prove gain
Credibility: stories and pictures
Emotions
Congruency
15 Managing people, managing brains
Managing people – a brain perspective
Trust
Predictability and ambiguity
Fairness
Social reward
Neuromanagement
Feeling
Thinking
The evaluator
The conflict manager
Interpreting
Action
Reward
References
Index
Collapse
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
IntroductionHow to read this book
Meet the coach
Meet the professionals
PART 1 – You
1 Can a marshmallow predict your success?
Possibilities
Prioritization
Picturing your goal
Starting with the end in mind
Prefrontal cortex
Practical prioritization
New information
Multi or mono
Your plastic brain
Reassuringly flexible
Enriching your potential
Action
2 Is your hippopotamus under attack?
Stress: the classic culprit
Predictability and stress
Perhaps pounding the pavements is the answer
Negative connotations
Checking out of stress and into normality
Hippo attack
Mirror neurons
Possibilities
Lack of control
Stress busting
Focus
Action
3 Learning how to influence what feels out of your control
States, emotions and ...
Expand