Start Thinking
A Whole Brain
Approach
Great Pyriamid of Cheops
(2,500 B.C.)

2,300,000 Stone Blocks

40 Stories

Accuracy of 0.04 inch

13 acres level within 1 inch

100,000 laborers
40,000 skilled masons
150,000 women & children
Project Goals
Cost
Time
Ref: M. Rosenau, Successful Project Management, LL Pubs., 1981
Industry Trends

Quality Management
Continuous Improvement
Process Reengineering

Self-Directed Work Teams

Corporate Downsizing
Systems Engineering



High Performing Systems

Vaill: 3 characteristics in leader/member
behavior and attitudes
 time: teams spend an extraordinary amount of
time on task

feeling: have very strong feelings concerning
the attainment of the goal

focus: tend focus on key issues and keep a
clear list of priorities in mind
Team Characteristics
Effective Teams
 High Commitment
 Innovative/Creative
 Professional objectives
consistent with project
 Members highly
interdependent
 Conflict resolution
 Communication
 High trust levels
 High energy levels
 High morale
Team Characteristics
Effective Teams
 High Commitment
 Innovative/Creative
 Professional objectives
consistent with project
 Members highly
interdependent
 Conflict resolution
 Communication
 High trust levels
 High energy levels
 High morale
Ineffective Teams
 Low Commitment
 Unclear project objectives
 Gamemanship, manipulation, hidden agendas
 Conflict avoidance
 Subtle Sabotage
 Cliques, collusion
 Lethargy
Trouble with Teams
Internal conflict
Coalitions; us vs them
Member anxiety and frustration
Time wasted on irrelevant issues
Haphazard decisions by senior people
Lack of Communication
Nature or Nurture

The Card Game

Each gets 5 cards
Swap till I tell you to stop

p. 2 Start Thinking

The brain is the source of
• Who we are
• What we do
• How we do it

The number of atoms in the known universe:
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0
00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
The number of estimated interconnections and patters the 10,000,000,000
individual neurons of one brain can make:
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00
0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
It is not nature or nuture, but always nature and
nuture!
Albert J. Solnit, M.D., Yale University
For most of us
Everyday Thinking

How does this impact our every day life?



What are the important characteristics for
buying a car?
Movies
Books
Metaphor



Metaphor is the use of one subject to clarify
understanding of another.
Metaphors can be verbal and non-verbal, written or
visual, mute or audible. They can bridge cultures,
languages, and brain dominance preference.
A product of the right brain, a metaphor can be thought
of as a translation from one mental language to another,
from the literal to the analogical. Its power is the
instant understanding it brings by reason of the
translation.
Ned Herrmann
Examples of Metaphors
“Three strikes
and you’re out!”
“You can hear a pin drop”
(with action picture)
The Whole Brain Metaphor
Premise
The Brain
Metaphor
The Whole Brain
Model
Application
A
D
B
C
The HBDI