Whenever I show the ROUNDMAP™ for the first time, a person’s eyes speak volumes. Obviously any all-encompassing model, even those with just a handful of variables, can be daunting at first sight, let alone a model with hundreds of aspects. But what makes a person shy away isn’t the complexity – it is their brain.
Your brain has a very simple mechanism. It continously asks itself two questions:
- Does this help me to survive and thrive?
- Is it worth burning the calories?
DOES THIS HELP ME TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE?
IS IT WORTH BURING THE CALORIES?
Recommendations
Let me give you an example: when you start to read a management book of 300 pages that has received no prior recommendations and was written by an unknown author, your brain will most likely begin to wander after a few pages. It will begin to speculate whether the value it gains from reading the book is worth to sacrifice the energy.
Eventually, your brain will shut itself down. Meanwhile, keeping its sensors open to scan for new opportunities to thrive. However, if that same book came highly recommended and was written by a well-known author, your brain will be eager to burn its calories, because it is being presented with an unchallenged perception of future value.
Therefore, while it is easy to catch someone’s attention, to keep it, you’ll need to understand their highly efficient brain that is calculating performance (value) over cost (energy).
Thanks to Donald Miller (StoryBrand) and Chip Heath (Made to Stick) for sharing their insights.
Perception
Since the perception of future value of the ROUNDMAP™ is, at least as far as your brain is concerned, still subject to debate, your brain will start to shut down minutes after you’ve first laid eyes on it. And because of the apparent complexity your brain will expect to have to work too hard, therefore, allowing it to shut itself down prematurely.
What do you want?
The good news is: I know how I can get your brain to spend its energy: your will. If you want to understand something, your brain will be much less likely to shut down. So, whether you let your brain decide, or your will, is up to you. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to clarify the ROUNDMAP™ as much as I can, so that your brain will be more likely to remain focused.
