Posted on January 25, 2010 by kjenwws
As a person with high inituition, I have always been a fan of listening to my gut. The direction I get from my heart is statistically far more accurate and practical than when I get my head involved. Appears our gut may also be more ethical than our brains.
Chen-Bo Zhong of the University of Toronto conducted a series of experiments partnering test subjects with anonymous people. Each test subject had two options: treat their partners fairly or lie to them. If they decided to lie, they would gain at the expense of their partner.
Prior to making their decisions, some test subjects were encouraged to think rationally about the situation and ignore their emotions. 69% concluded, despite analysis, to lie. Other test subjects were encouraged to make decisions based on their gut feelings. Only 27% lied. Surprising, I’m sure but no more surprising than the fact that even though we are treated better by people who trust their feelings, we actually don’t trust them. 75% of the partners chose to deal with the “rational” test subject despite their tendency to cheat them.
These results put a new perspective on the recent financial debacle. When times are good, we may quiet our gut feelings rather than listen to their warnings. We automatically provide rationalizations for what we and others are doing. And we may only seek out information that agrees with our rationalizations. There are those within our financial institutions that had a “bad” feeling about what was occurring. We can only hope that the next time, we all listen.
Filed under: Perspectives and Trends | Tagged: ethics, intuition | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 19, 2010 by kjenwws
Recently I learned about several startling medical facts :
65% of women ages 20 to 39 have a risk for heart disease, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity or smoking (from the National Center for Health Statistics).
22% of women in their 20′s (yes, in their twenties) have high cholestrol and
68% of young women don’t get the recommended two and a half hours of exercise per week.
Whether men or women, since I suspect men’s numbers are no better than women’s, having serious medical issues so early in our lives will tend to indicate we may get chronic illnesses earlier in our lives than ever before. As individuals assume more of the cost of their healthcare, our best option may be to stay well and help our families understand why their elders say, “well at least I’ve still got my health!”
Filed under: Health | Tagged: Health, medical costs | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 13, 2010 by kjenwws
Over the last decade, we’ve unmasked people in a variety of occupations that were not what they appeared to be. Bernie Madoff and Tiger Woods are the most recent of an influential list of seemingly reputable people who have fallen from our grace. This begs a number of questions – “Did their character really change? or were we eager to look past truth to sustain a beautiful fantasy?
Perhaps the more fundamental concern is about the redemption of our souls rather than theirs. Have we become so anxious to shed responsibility for ourselves that we no longer judge the character of our associates? Perhaps character is becoming much harder to assess than it used to be or perhaps good character is becoming so scarce that we’re forced to trust more scroundrels.
Who else isn’t what they appear to be? And who are you, really?
Filed under: Perspectives and Trends | Tagged: Madoff, personal character, Tiger Woods | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 7, 2010 by kjenwws
Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves are turning the tables on current leadership thinking in their recently published Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Most noteably is their assertion that 58% of performance stems from emotional rather than intellectual intelligence. EQ not IQ.
This idea isn’t really new. But certainly the magnitude of the finding is compelling. Despite thought leaders urging transformational leadership for decades, organizations are still focused on “the numbers” rather than the people and hard skills rather than soft. Remember, doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Stop the insanity and get in touch with your organization’s heart and soul. A great resolution for the new year.
Filed under: Employee Effectiveness | Tagged: emotional intelligence, IQ | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 28, 2009 by kjenwws
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health conducted an extensive study spanning a decade that found a rather surprising and unnerving trend. The number of marijuana smokers between the ages of 45 and 64 nearly tripled from 1991 to 2001. In the more recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of recent users over age 50 has climbed to 2.65 million nationwide. Since much of this study was self-reported, I suspect the numbers underestimate the extent of marijuana use in this age group.
Granted, we are unclear the numbers of medical marijuana users are included in these numbers. Many of the participants appear to have continued smoking throughout their lifetime but a significant number have resumed the drug’s use. Although unsupported by research, substance abuse professionals feel that marriage and children tend to reduce drug use while divorce and retirement tend to increase drug use. It’s also clear that “resumers” were not drawn back to smoking by their children. Rather, users cite a desire for the calm and serenity that comes with marijuana that they didn’t experience when they were younger. They’re seeking the fabled “mellow”.
Let’s be very clear about why we point out this behavior. There are very real legal and medical consequences to drug use. In particular, the greatest danger for Baby Boomers is a fivefold increase in the risk of heart disease. A 2008 American Heart Journal study also found increased instances of cardiovascular distress and death in recreational smokers. We strongly encourage our readers to identify legal and safe ways to reduce stress and cope with the pressures of their lives.
Filed under: Health | Tagged: marijuana use | Leave a Comment »
