Rewards

It states on the Theory of Excellence's web site that the reward for being social is greater than the reward for being a winner. A reader has contacted me to ask why.

Winning a physical competition normally requires the body to elevate internal functions such as increasing heart rate, diverting blood to more vital organs, increasing the respiratory rate to get more oxygen from the atmosphere, breaking down glycogen stored in the liver and muscle to get more glucose, whilst intelligence based tasks require an increase in brain power again requiring blood to be diverted from other areas. Although both types of activities, when done in a positive state of mind rather than under stress or through anxiety, have positive effects on the body and are essential for health living, they can also have negative effects. Preparation for competition to get in the correct state of mind uses exactly the same hormones cortisol and testosterone as our body releases when under stress. Our body actually starts the primitive reaction of either flight or fight. Exactly the same state as stress and as we all know, 'stress kills'. Stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It raises blood pressure, suppresses the immune system, increases the risk of a heart attack, contributes to infertility, and speeds up the aging process. What may not be as commonly known is that positive social interaction has exactly the opposite affect and actually promotes good health helping to extend life.

Why is this? Because, when we socialise our bodies release Oxytocin, which is the brains way of rewarding itself. Oxytocin is known as the "cuddle" hormone and has powerful, health-promoting properties. It is released when we cultivate warm, loving, intimate relationships and is most potent when we combine touch with positive interactions. Here are some examples on how you can experience the benefits of this hormone: take care of a pet; hold hands, hug and kiss more; give and receive a backrub; or go for a massage.

So, although winning gives the greatest buzz and we get a higher sense of reward, in the long term taken too seriously this is also having a negative effect on our bodies. The social reward gained from a relationship only has positive effects. But balance, as ever, is key. We all need exercise to maintain our bodies and the feeling of victory is great - but don't let winning become the be all and end all. Realise that you are competing to improve your health and not just to win. Enjoy the participation more than the result!

If you have any questions regarding the Theory of Human Excellence (THE) or anything else related to human performance, please feel free to contact me via the contacts page on the web site.

Terry Wilcox
Theory of Human Excellence

Change in the mirror

Has no one told the fashion industry that humans don't like change. Didn't they get the memo that change is difficult? If they did, they either ignored it or did not understand what it was about. The fashion industry doesn't concern itself with change, it just has faith in the power of the mirror

And 'mirror neurons' are why the industry prospers. Merely seeing someone else wearing a new style, especially someone famous or a role model, triggers the brain to copy, imitate, or try to behave the same. That's why mega brands are so keen to have super-stars wear or use their merchandise, even to the point of giving them away free. These specialized brain cells also fire when we see actions performed or emotions expressed that we automatically mimic. We are all familiar with how infectious yawning or laughing can be. This is human mirroring at work.
 
One of the key reasons the fashion industry can play on this human aspect so successfully is that it takes very little effort to keep with the latest trends or styles. New products or brands are carefully engineered so that they can be easily adopted. Just imagine how difficult it would be to start a new fashion that took 30 minutes to wear. The fashion industry knows the quicker the better; the easier to wear the more popular the item - just look at jeans. The only time-consuming, high maintenance trend that comes to mind that was a world-wide success is 'the teddy boy DA' haircut. 
However, that probably had the most famous person of all time promoting it - Elvis. And, I would imagine the men believed they would be equally attractive to women if they donned the same haircut. Sex sells. Another fashion industry corner stone, but that's for another day.

So, is change really difficult? Do humans reject new things, finding them difficult to adopt? If you ask the IT industry they say change management is 'nearly impossible'! If you ask the fashion industry they would respond 'its human nature and we have built an industry on it'. The real truth is that if you make change difficult, needing lots of effort with very little reward, then yes, it is difficult. However, if you make it enjoyable, rewarding and trendy then it is easy, it happens almost automatically.

What is human excellence?

Many people have different ideas on human excellence.  In the East, excellence is not just being the best, the fastest, the brightest or the richest .. harmony and social success are equally important measurements of excellence in their eyes. So, we all think about excellence in different ways. Companies may think about their market share, profits, whilst there is a growing culture within business starting to take hold of having a true and valid purpose.  So, there are actually many views of excellence both personal and organisational – and we all can achieve excellence in different ways – for certain types it is through great leadership; others by being good followers; some by caring for the needy; many by being good teachers; for the creative it may be inventing a different approach or possibly developing the next masterpiece. All different types of human excellence, but how are they achieved. Is there a secret that covers them all?

Yes, the secret is the human brain. Whatever the type of excellence we are endeavouring to achieve, the results are directly based upon the way the human brain functions. Boosting the brain’s performance is the foundation for improvement in whatever areas of excellence we pursue. This is true for all human tasks, roles or processes, including sports and athletics. The brain is at the hub of the performance and determines the outcome. If it is poorly prepared due to lack of nourishment or sleep, the body will not operate at its most efficient. If it is distracted or unfocused, the co-ordination or decision process will be below standard. If the wrong attitude is used when performing a task, the outcome will be impaired. An optimised brain is the secret to human excellence.

 Fortunately, we have learnt more about the brain in the last 5 years than in the last 5,000. Neuro-science has now revealed the key aspects to the way the human brain functions, learns, decides and ultimately rewards itself for what it deems as excellence. New research has indicated that the brain is totally goal orientated and views excellence as getting the maximum reward with the least effort. This may seem very ‘self-centred or materialistic’ but this is now a neuro-scientific fact. The way we have evolved over time determines that the brain must use the least amount of effort because the human thought process is such an enormous energy drain on the body. Even though the brain is very small compared to the other body parts it consumes 20% of our energy when we are just resting. Therefore to help reduce the effort required we tend to repeat the task or practice to become proficient at the required steps or process. Once the body starts to assimilate a good technique to perform the required action, it becomes measurable so as to be able to judge the output, plus the task also becomes predictable and repeatable. It also starts to take much less energy to perform as the steps become optimised. This ultimately improves the brain’s reward to energy ratio.  A major factor in the pursuit of human excellence.

However, the amount of reward the brain provides itself for performing the same series of steps, or achieving exactly the same goal diminishes over time. Take solving the Rubiks cube puzzle. After hours of trying, you first complete the puzzle and you feel immense satisfaction possibly letting off a big ’yes’! But after solving it two or three times, little pleasure is gained. The brain does not reward you anything like as much after the twentieth time.  This demising reward drives us to take the next challenge. Or to look for ways to improve on the output. To reach out for the next goal or the same one quicker, faster with less effort. By improving or adapting is the only way we can maintain the high level of reward the brain  strives for. That’s why the human race is in a constant race – to complete the next goal, to do things better, quicker, or smarter. Our brains are addicted to adaptation. 

However, through other neuro research we also now know that the way the human brain rewards itself for performing as an individual to achieve a goal is not as strong as the reward our brains receive for achieving as a group or doing something positive for other members of the group – so ‘giving’ is actually more rewarding for the brain than winning alone. This increased social reward includes not only our direct family, friends and pets but also the environment as a whole. Consequently, the size of the reward is dependent not just on achieving the goal, but its positive impact on the surrounding social group and environment. 

Human excellence is using the minimum effort to achieve the highest reward for the group, including the environment.

 New neuro research and insights are now providing completely new ways to help improve the brain’s performance. We just need to understand more about the brain and apply these new discoveries – just like sports science did for the rest of the body.  Many of these new theories and findings have been applied within the core principles and philosophy of the Theory of Human Excellence. These new discoveries are revolutionary and have a dramatic impact on performance in all areas. The theories and techniques can help to improve focus, aid learning, supplement decision criteria or methods for the particular types of thought, and recognise areas or techniques that can help alleviate errors.  Using the Theory of Human Excellence individuals will maximise the performance of their brain function to complete tasks with improved efficiency and effectiveness so that they achieve their goals for both the individual and the group exerting the minimum energy in a sustainable manner, which is .. human excellence.

 

Terry Wilcox

Theory of Human Excellence

Theory of Human Excellence passes validation test

As part of the validation process for the Theory of Human Excellence (THE), the core concepts of Zones and Frames of Mind were presented to Johannes Walter for his feedback and thoughts. Mr Walter has over thirty years experience of instructing and consulting upon business improvement and the re-organisation of companies. He is a fully qualified Psychological Counselor and performs relationship counseling & life coaching for employees of large international companies. He also is heavily involved with providing high level consultancy on change management and organisational alignment.

Following his review of THE, Mr Walter stated “The approach and methods used within the Theory of Human Excellence are compliant with the core theories that are used in psychology. The theory is comprehensive and does indeed offers a new system to look at the human decision making process. Integrated processes in organisations are very difficult to analyse in order to work and train their people to reach certain objectives. The success of the application of theories of this nature are heavily dependent on the coach, however THE offers a very interesting tool to support the coach to facilitate change within organisations”.

The Theory of Human Excellence would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Johannes Walter once again for taking the time and effort to review the theories. We fully appreciate his confirmation that the THE principles and concepts are rational and consistent with regard to his immense expertise within the field of Psychology and organisation improvements.

The Theory of Human Excellence (THE) is a revolutionary new way of looking at knowledge and behaviour. It is founded upon the very latest neuro research covering how the brain learns, grows and formulates decisions, making it extremely natural and simple to adopt. THE dramatically increases efficiency and effectiveness, which together develop excellence in the workplace. Learn more by visiting www.theoryofexcellence.org.

Document number: MPR 2010 Aug SNE-02 D1.0

Services

The Theory of Excellence (THE) is extremely easy to understand and adopt. The basic principles can be learned and applied very, very quickly. Initially it takes a half –day session to become familiar with the core principles of Frames, Zones and the Process schemas. Once these fundamental aspects are recognised and understood they can immediately be applied in the work place within areas such as personality or role profiles, man-management and team building, improving departmental control or efficiency. Following the initial half day, dependent on the number of employees within the program, either further visits are schedules for THE clinics and reviews to reinforce the learning, or for smaller numbers, daily telephone calls are performed with less regular face to face sessions being held.

If more advanced THE principles are required, in-depth consultancy sessions can be conducted into additional specialist areas such as applying THE for leadership, motivation, change management, decision making techniques, etc. It is recommended that if possible, these sessions be incorporated into actual projects that are being undertaken. THE can then be applied to the task as part of the program or project. This ensures that there is a direct output which has an immediate impact in the required area.

Many, many organisations are utilising THE therefore availability in-line with a current program or project timeline can not be guaranteed, however every effort will be made to ensure the required services are offered at the appropriate time. Please contact terrywilcox@theoryofexcellence.org or alternatively call on +66 8170 11 315 for pricing and availability.

Why T.H.E.

The Theory of Human Excellence (THE) is based on the very latest neuro-scientific research plus some completely original thought based upon years of investigation and analysis. THE provides a new way to view the way humans think or make decisions, plus it delivers a revolutionary strategy that is use to define and control how organisations operate and improve their business. The combination of the two elements can be used to deliver human excellence at work, which increases productivity and profit. THE is unique for the following reasons:

• The Theory of Human Excellence is extremely simple to understand and apply. Unlike many other theories regarding personalities, behaviour, decision making, or business strategy THE can be adopted within minutes of learning the main concepts of Frames, Zones and Processes. A high level appreciation takes less than an hour and then just needs to be reviewed for several minutes every day for a few weeks. Once the basics are understood, anyone can start to use THE as the ‘key’ to improve themselves or their organisation immediately. THE delivers natural human excellence helping individuals bring improved efficiency and effectiveness to work.

• THE is based on the latest neuro-scientific research on how our brain learns and grows, how we interact with people, and how we make decisions. As a consequence of being based on the basics of how the human brain works, THE is perfectly natural and will become second nature very, very quickly.

• THE is tremendously versatile.  It is a single theory that can be applied to virtually any situation. THE can be used at work to profile personalities or job roles, understand decisions criteria or define the correct strategy to ensure a process is complete and effective. THE can also be used build stronger personal relationship at work or even be practised at home to guide children. THE has many, many uses that can lead to an improved life and increased performance in whatever discipline it is applied.
  

• Although nothing covering the theory of life or business can be said to be complete, THE seems to provide a very practical and authoritative view on most aspects. It can assist in understanding why certain decisions are taken, help to ensure that processes or procedures are comprehensive in achieving the desired goals, guide organisations through change or an innovation program, or outline programs to improve motivation or rewards. THE ensures that the effort is focussed in the correct areas and that the solution to any problem or improvement is complete and effective.

• No other theory addresses so many areas of human behaviour or business in such a natural and simple way. Adopting THE will form the basis for all future learning and management thought. It will be the natural foundation that all other principles, knowledge or business strategies are built upon within the organisation. THE will revolutionise all departments approach to business, team building, or each individuals approach and behaviour to their role and responsibilities.

• Adopting THE will lead to improvements in all areas. It will lead to an increase in both efficiency and effectiveness by reducing the effort required to achieve the end goal. This will allow released resources to be focussed upon other areas or functions to improve the end output. THE will therefore deliver human excellence and increased success strengthening the purpose of the business.
  

Theory of Human Excellence (THE) is a revolutionary new management discipline that will change the landscape of personality profiling, learning, team building, general management and other areas like change management or motivation programs. It is natural, easy to adopt and has tremendous versatility which can strengthen a company’s whole approach to business.

Applying T.H.E. - Processes

Everything we do in life is a process. Processes are tasks which transform things from one state to another and are fundamental building block of organisations. They all have a start, series of tasks to be performed and then an end. There are thousand upon thousand, probably millions of different processes within the World. The Theory of Human Excellence (THE) defines and categorise different types of processes into discrete groups. All processes whatever they are fit into one group, and one group only. THE allows the process to be identified and quickly segregated into their appropriate group. Each process group has its own individual set of properties or attributes (schema) that are common to all processes within the group. THE then provides a set of solutions or techniques to deal with each of the elements contained within the common schema ensuring all relevant aspects are considered and the process is treated correctly. This ensures that the correct control systems are determined and the process can be optimised to work efficiently and effectively. THE process tools can be used for many areas like motivation, change management, decisions, feedback, rewards, and many other business aspects or issues.

The Theory of Excellence (THE) therefore provides a comprehensive structure to understand a process, identify its distinct properties, and formulate actions or control systems to ensure that the process is managed in the best possible manner.

Applying T.H.E. - Learning

The Theory of Human Excellence (THE) delivers improved performance by changing behaviour depending on the situation or environment. The first principle of THE is the ability to change the way the brain thinks, functions and learns within the workplace. Many other theories were developed when the scientific World thought the brain was fixed after about 5 years of age. We now know that the brain can change throughout life (known as plasticity). We can improve ourselves and grow our brains in virtually any area we desire to improve our knowledge, skills or management capabilities. 

THE is unique in that it guides you though understanding the idiosyncrasies of how your own brain works. How it thinks, reacts and rewards itself. THE is different in that it then allows you to take this knowledge and make changes or developments that improve you or your team in areas such as decisions, change, leadership, or team relationships.  It provides a comprehensive suite of tools that accelerate learning techniques applicable for adopting any new task or skill. THE also provides an insight into the unconscious side of learning where humans relate or interact in a particular way with each other without really knowing why. This area is directly beneficial for teams, sales, marketing, man-management, negotiating new contracts, plus many other areas. 
 
New neuro-scientific research is providing new light on traditional areas of learning and is having a massive impact on industries such as education, marketing, man-management and general business principles. THE’s learning tools are based on these new developments and can be used at work with customers, prospects, teams, subordinates or to just to change yourself.

Applying T.H.E. - Zones

The Theory of Human Excellence (THE) uses the ‘Frame of Mind’ to describe the basic state that everyone’s mind changes to, dependent on their current situation or the environment they are in. The workplace frame of mind is just one of many. However, whilst at work the mind then bounces between different ‘Zones’ depending on the demand or task being performed at that time. It could be an important negotiating decision, it could be dealing with a problem member of staff, or it could be just where to have lunch. Understanding these Zones and the basic decision process or thought pattern that is being adopted is critical to controlling behaviour and making the correct decisions. This also makes it fundamental to management. THE helps you understand the different types of Zones, their attributes or schemas, and how they affect behaviour. By applying THE, you can  ensure  that you are in the appropriate Zone to optimise results.   THE makes sure that we can control and optimise the correct Zone at the right time and that the appropriate Zone’s properties are utilised to guide the appropriate behaviour towards delivering human excellence.

Applying T.H.E. - Frames

The unique blueprint embedded in our DNA and our previous experiences gained during life combined with the current situation and surrounding environment determines the way we  look at things, particularly at work. This ‘state of mind’ changes dependant on many factors including simple things like diet, the amount of sleep our bodies get, plus the current exercise regime. These hygiene factors influence the mood or state of both our body and mind. This has a direct affect on the way humans approach certain tasks, decisions, or interactions with other humans throughout the working day. 

Also, previous knowledge or memories also have a tremendous impact on the way we perceive the ‘situation’. This is combined with information from all the senses plus the way the mind has been nurtured through education, training or what it has experienced in the past. These thoughts or influences can have a very positive or negative effect on the way the brain remembers, thinks, reacts, or makes decisions. All these things therefore have a direct consequence on the way you think and behave in different circumstances or what strategies you use to solve issues. This is known within the Theory of Human Excellence as the ‘frame of mind’. THE helps us understand an individual’s preferred approach and frame of mind when approaching a task or  role. This allows easy identification of someone’s strengths and weaknesses when addressing business and people issues, or achieving goals. THE can also help ensure that tasks or work is inline with the individual’s natural skill set. This alignment can have a massive impact on the success of an individual or team and ultimately the organisation.
 
The Theory of Human Excellence (THE)  also helps individuals recognise, control and manipulate their state and frame of mind. This promotes the use and control of the correct frame for each situation. THE ensures that a positive energy level and the right attitude are combined with the correct thought process, which can then be adopted as the decision or behavioural foundation. By applying THE, the mind achieves maximum performance ensuring human excellence in all situations and    successful completion of all objectives, whatever the environment.

Applying T.H.E.

The Theory of Human Excellence (THE) is a fundamentally new way to approach decision making and management. It provides a whole new set of tools to help individuals deliver excellence within the work place and as a result, improve their

performance in both their business and personal lives. Although one immediately thinks of one’s body being trained, the same principles holds true for the human brain - it is also like a muscle. By learning, repeating and making certain techniques second nature in line with the natural aspects of the human mind, one can dramatically improve the brain’s performance. By a thorough awareness of the way the brain thinks and operates, a comprehensive set of new personal guidelines can be applied. The core principles that form these guidelines are a fundamental part of THE. They have been developed to optimise performance in all areas of human operation, as an individual, as part of a team, or as part of an organisation. They take account of human behaviour, decision making principles, personal attributes and interaction with other human beings, plus the effect of the surrounding environment. This new approach has then been extended into a complete suite of tools and techniques to deliver business efficiency and control. By utilising THE and training the mind, all areas of business can be evaluated to ensure that the correct strategies, right processes and complete procedures are being used. Every aspect can be considered within the THE framework, controlled and optimised to improve business efficiency.

Human excellence is therefore supported and enabled through the adoption and application of Theory of Human Excellence (THE). This provides a step-by-step guide for individuals and teams to reach excellence. Adopting the THE within an organisation enables the establishment of a constructive work environment where people are:

• Motivated to execute their responsibilities;
• Are confident about their own abilities and those of the teams they are part of;
• Recognise and control business operations and processes to produce improvements;
• Understand all elements required to deliver personal, team and business excellence.

The THE

principles can be used by an individual, team or organization and allows development beyond a traditional approach. Ultimately it helps the establishment of an environment where people are sincerely motivated to execute their responsibilities, be it for the reason that they are more confident in their ability to deliver the right quality, are more equipped to work well with other people, share a common business language, understand what is required to manage a process, task or project correctly, or more motivated with increased purpose. In order to reach maximum performance, people are taught THE as a stand-alone theory, or the core principles are  used at the heart of a domain specific course or business applications that extend these principles further within the specialised area.  THE is excellent for business disciplines such as sales, marketing, man-management, change management, motivation, installing or buying new IT systems, etc.

 

THE can also  be used for personality profiling. Using THE, interviewers can easily match

applicant profiles to job profiles. THE provides the added benefit of allowing applicants to learn about themselves as they progress through the recruitment process.   

THE provides a comprehensive and complete suite of tools, strategies and thought processes that help individuals deliver true human excellence.

Introduction to the Theory of Human Excellence

The Theory of Human Excellence (THE) is a revolutionary new way of looking at knowledge, behaviour and the how humans operate within their place of work. It is based upon the very latest neuro research covering how the mind grows, learns and formulates decisions making it extremely natural and very, very simple to adopt at the workplace. It helps boost performance and fosters growth to improve decision making; assist with the formation of strong teams; develop better leadership skills and ensure motivation and purpose are strong within an organisation. THE also assists on an operational front by helping individuals understand if all processes and systems are meeting their objectives and if not, how to make them do so. THE is focussed on the business arena and has been developed primarily to be used within this environment although the core principles apply to other areas. By applying THE, immediate insights and improvements are gained allowing individuals to arrive at human excellence within all zones of life. 
 

The human brain is a tremendously complex organ that is still not fully understood, however more has been learnt in the last five years about the way the brain operates than in the  previous five thousand years. Many of these recent neurological discoveries have introduced new and fresh u nderstanding on how the human brain develops, learns, memorises or recalls information for decision making. These finding have also had  significant consequences on our understanding of behaviour at work. New techniques such as fMRI scans enable scientists to see the actual pathways in operation within the mind whilst in thought. This has opened up a new world of discovery and has had a massive impact on the fundamentals and strategies currently used in organisations. 

THE has been developed by taking into account these new neurological findings and comparing them with traditional thoughts or management techniques to produce a comprehensive and complete set of updated business principles. THE can therefore be used as the foundation for any human orientated discipline or management theory. THE provides the fundamental rules and decision criteria that can be applied in virtually any situation to help understand, control and manage the process to improve its efficiency and effectiveness – which leads to human excellence and massive improvements in productivity. 

By learning and applying THE, you will become a more advanced learner, make improved decisions, understand success and make it repeatable. THE will allow you to  interact with other humans in a more positive manner, and understand why companies, projects, teams or people fall short of  the required standard. You will then be able to overcome these problems or difficulties to ensure the outcome is positive. You will also become a far better manager, employee, parent, husband or wife spending far less of your time trying to work out what went wrong and why!  


THE is extremely simple to understand, is very quick to apply and has numerous benefits. THE will change your career and life forever. Many people have already used THE and are singing its praises. THE is a twenty first century management theory built on the very latest knowledge producing excellent results. So, if you want to start your journey to Human Excellence contact terrywilcox@theoryofexcellence.org.