The Neuroscience of Insight

Insighter Virtual Conference

Speaker: Jonathan Burman, Human Capital Investor, The Best Workplace, LLC

Insight goes by many names: Discovery, epiphany, eureka, aha … and sometimes uh-oh or D’oh if you are Homer Simpson. The meaning of the word has shifted over time from a mysterious “mental vision” to a “penetrating understanding into character or hidden nature” and now to a marketing definition, “a truth which until now has not been leveraged, but if leveraged will generate revenue” (Morgan Shorey). No matter which definition you prefer, there are challenges in obtaining personal or marketing insights that neuroscience is just beginning to understand.
In this talk, we will discuss the confounds to personal and marketing insights and how we can overcome them. We will explore the root of human decision-making called the “Motivational Triangle”, and how it creates bias/ preference, irrationality, and often blocks our ability to see things clearly. We will then discuss how we can overcome these human tendencies to become more effective at generating insights.

Key takeaways:

1. 90% of our decisions are subconscious

2. Our motivation to pursue pleasure, avoid of pain, and conserve energy limit our insight ability

3. Through focused practice we can train our brains and our organizations to become more open to insight