S9 E7: Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies

Today my guest is Paul Zak, scientist, prolific author and public speaker. Paul is - what I just love, he wrote the book, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity in 2012, and literally, he discovered oxytocin. Now what is oxytocin? This was a landmark neurochemical that he discovered was the driver of trust, love and morality. That was a key differentiation for our humanity, and so this made him very popular and he's gotten the nickname Dr. Love. Now, what does this mean for his latest book called, Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies?

As a scientist, his decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon, to research with the three-letter agencies, to the rain forests of Papua New Guinea - all in the quest to understand the neuroscience of human connection, human happiness and effective teamwork. It's through his lab and testing that he's developed and deployed neuroscience technologies to solve real world problems experienced by people, especially in this today's times of exponential technologies. What I love is that those things that we had a hunch about now, he's validating through technologies.

Now, what's this about trust? Because there's a big thing going on now that this is the most disengaged workforce in a long time. Much of it is because of the lack of trust.

So, what is oxytocin? Experiments have shown that when you have a higher sense of purpose stimulates oxytocin production, as does trust. Trust and purpose, then mutually reinforce each other, providing a mechanism for extended oxytocin release, which produces happiness. So joy on the job comes from doing purpose-driven work with a trusted team.
I could go on and on, but I want to let Dr. Paul Zak do most of the talking related to this. Because I think that for leaders, that this is super important. Leadership now, especially for many of the CIOs and technology and digital transformation leaders, the imperative for leaders today is to create this engagement within their teams and within their people. I've had a pattern now with a couple of different podcast interviews talking with people that are top in their field. Here is one of the top scientists in the this field that is talking about how to do this.

One of it is creating this peak immersion. Creating an immersion can be contagious and leaders; of course can't just bestow immersion on people. Leaders must embody it, they must be plugged into it themselves. This creates this factor, which allows an organization to take on this resonance, which differentiates you and your organization and your teams within the business and within the marketplace.

One of it is creating this peak immersion. Creating an immersion can be contagious and leaders; of course can't just bestow immersion on people. Leaders must embody it, they must be plugged into it themselves. This creates this factor, which allows an organization to take on this resonance, which differentiates you and your organization and your teams within the business and within the marketplace.

Well, I want to bring you Paul today because Paul is going to give you practical examples, practical tools and really get you thinking about this topic deeply. So with that, I want to introduce you to my conversation with Dr. Paul Zak.

What You Will Learn From This Interview

Key Factors in Motivation to Take Action:

1. Paying Attention
2. Emotionally resonant - Real caring so that it impacts the brain

• These Keys get people into a flow state in which Peak Immersion can be measured
• People are attracted to those who are engaged. Immersion is Contagious
• Leaders Must be Plugged in
• Neural Job Crafting
• How to Build a Culture of Trust
• The role of neurochemical Oxytocin
• Work-life Integration vs Work-life Balance
• Trust is a Leading Indicator of Engagement
• A high trust culture doesn't mean you don't have high accountability, daily check-ins, daily huddles, etc
• Examples of 'Whole Person' Reviews that you can use in your company
• Creating feedback loops for people
• Satisfaction vs Happiness
• High Expectations, striving for better results, Going 'all-in', complete focus is great and letting go and shedding stress is great too

About Paul Zak

Human connection. Paul’s two decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rain forest of Papua New Guinea.  All this in a quest to understand the neuroscience of human connection, human happiness, and effective teamwork.  His academic lab and companies he has started develop and deploy neuroscience technologies to solve real problems faced by real people.

His latest book, Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High Performance Companies, uses neuroscience to measure and manage organizational cultures to inspire teamwork and accelerate business outcomes.  His 2012 book, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, recounted his unlikely discovery of the neurochemical oxytocin as the key driver of trust, love, and morality that distinguish our humanity.   In another obsession, Paul’s group uses neuroscience to quantify the impact of movies, advertising, stories, and consumer experiences.  Along the way, he has helped start several transdisciplinary fields, including neuroeconomics, neuromanagement, and neuromarketing.

Here are his specs: Paul is the founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and Professor of Economics, Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. He has degrees in mathematics and economics from San Diego State University, a Ph.D. in economics from University of Pennsylvania, and post-doctoral training in neuroimaging from Harvard.  You can check out his academic lab, consumer neuroscience company, and neuromanagement company. He also serves as a senior advisor to Finsbury, a global leader in strategic communications that advises many of the world’s most successful companies.

Paul’s research on oxytocin and relationships has earned him the nickname "Dr. Love."   That’s cool.  He’s all about adding more love to the world.

Interesting facts:

Zak is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has created and voiced science dialog for movies, including The Amazing Spiderman. He is a regular panelist on the Discovery Science program Outrageous Acts of Psych. News organizations often request his expertise on neuroscience. His TV appearances include Fareed Zakaria's GPS on CNN, the John Stossel show on Fox Business, the Dr. Phil show, TakePart Live on Pivot TV, Fox and Friends, Good Morning America, and ABC World News Tonight.

The Full Transcript can be read here

Ways to Connect with Paul Zak:

• LinkedIn   
• Website – personal
• Website - business
• Twitter 
  

Resources Discussed in this Interview:

• Academic Lab: com
• Consumer Neuroscience Company: Zestx Labs.com
• Neuro-management Company: com (measuring engagement company)

Books:

• Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High Performance Companies by Paul Zak. Published by American Management Association, January 2017.
• The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity by Paul Zak. Published by Penguin Group, Inc., 2012.

This episode is sponsored by the CIO Innovation Forum, dedicated to Business Digital Leaders who want to be a part of 20% of the planet and help their businesses win with innovation and transformation.

Music provided by Ben’s Sound: http://www.bensound.com/

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Bill Murphy is a world renowned IT Security Expert dedicated to your success as an IT business leader.

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