The business model that is traditional and established across most of the world is designed to fulfil a top-down management vision that empowers only those at the top of the system, and contains limitations at every level. The alternative is an equality-based system that can empower and inspire new levels of commitment and productivity from employees at all levels.

A factor that is often neglected in structuring business models is that the human brain is a social organ, connecting to caregivers from birth in order to survive. Throughout our lives, we learn and develop through our connections to others, and our working lives do not often reflect this. Introducing a business interaction system that allows our social brain to flourish can unleash a new potential for success within an organisation as well as in the whole life of each individual.

What Does A Brain-Friendly Business Model Look Like?

• A brain that is stimulated by social interaction feels valued and is able to give much more positive responses. If a business is set up to allow individuals to feel empowered and valuable, the outcome will be an increased level of commitment and effectiveness across the organisation.

• The ability to make decisions and take responsibility within the business structure is essential to the development of autonomy and value within the system. The ability to share the power and decision-making process is also seen to create more effective organisations that are more creative and dynamic.

• When the social brain is supported and nourished, as it can never be in a working environment that calls for an automaton state of reward/punishment, individuals can become vulnerable and thus develop understanding and commitment to one another and to the ethos they work within.

• The importance of the brain in the working life is explored by Guber, in The Four Truths Of The Storyteller, 2007, in which it is argued that the human brain needs to be part of a worthy cause in order to perform at optimal levels.

• Intrinsic motivation, which is of far greater value to the individual and to the business than extrinsic motivation, can only come about when the brain is engaged on many levels. This does not happen in a reward/punishment business model, which can never enable the same level of independence, commitment and input.

• The two-way dialogue within a business that is able to engage the social brain of all employees and encourage their input to the organisation will be productive and challenging. Conflicts can be positively resolved, and managers can effectively negotiate and facilitate understanding and development from and at all levels of the business.

• Leaders who are able to understand the dynamics of an equality-based model will more effectively engage the talents of their employees, support collaborative teams, and create an environment that fosters productive change.

Begin To Grow Your Business Today

Kieth Deats is a specialist in Equality-Based Practice and has committed his lifetime’s work and doctoral practice study to addressing equality at every level of society as a practitioner. He is driven to enable this with individuals, teams and leaders. He currently partners with peer practitioners and entrepreneurs, working to develop frameworks that introduce and integrate Equality-Based practices and management actions to update and evolve their enterprises. The goal is to sustain and increase rates of growth, with a determination to see each other’s success and the well-being of leaders and their organisations as a priority for Modern Enterprise.

Kieth is available to give talks, and enable the design and implementation of Equality-Based Practices in your own settings, and is contactable via www.recree8.com.