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Feel, Think, Act.

More on how 
the Brain works
at work ...
and why you can't use reason to reason someone out of what they didn't use reason to get into

Think. Act. Feel.

Our institutions are built around the false belief that people are capable of Thinking First, then Acting on the thought, and finally, if at all, feeling something about what we did. This devaluing of emotions led Henry Ford to fire people for telling jokes at Ford.

Feel. Act. Think.

In fact, our brains are wired to Feel First, then Act on the feeling and later think up a reason that explains how we acted. Because our brains are encased in the blackness of our skulls, it has only one way of knowing there is an outside world – by feeling it.

Feel. Think. Act.

As leaders and managers, our job largely is to get people to think before they act, recognizing that in all scenarios, they Feel first. Emotions are necessary but not sufficient information for taking action. Once you understand the way our brains are wired, it is much easier to treat emotions as data and help people make better decisions.

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