Powering Growth Through a Culture of Whole Brain® Thinking
Herrmann International’s VP of Sales, Orin Salas, provides some additional background on the CLP India case study highlighted in this month’s issue of BrainBytes™. View the video.
Want the full story? Download the case study. (PDF)
back to topCase Study: At CLP India, “Smart Growth” Takes on a Whole New Meaning
When your company provides power to the second most populous country in the world, and that country’s demand for energy is growing rapidly, every aspect of your business has to be geared for growth.
As the largest foreign investor in the Indian power sector, CLP India addressed the challenges of meeting the growing capacity demands in the country head on. Their solution was to start with a framework of Whole Brain® Thinking.
CLP knew they would have to overcome several obstacles standing in the way to growth, many of which are common to the power sector specifically, but they are often an issue in other industries as well. These included:
- Scarcity of talent within the sector and the difficulty in attracting the “best and brightest,” particularly with many jobs requiring postings in remote locations.
- Communication and collaboration issues exacerbated by a heavily silo-ed and hierarchical culture.
- Managers who, though highly skilled technically, did not have the leadership skills required to effectively manage the challenges.
- An increasingly diverse and young employee base with limited relevant experience, requiring significant time investment in training.
These obstacles would have to be addressed, but CLP also saw an additional opportunity: If they planned for it now, they could build a robust foundation for sustainable growth—developing a balanced portfolio comprising both fossil as well as renewable fuels—and become responsible and active members of the community.
Because thinking is at the core of everything we do, CLP recognized that the Whole Brain® framework could serve as the connecting thread between the organization’s issues, people, processes and culture. And by changing mindsets, it would pave the way for the behavioral change that needed to follow.
According to Prasad Deshpande, Director of Empowered Learning Systems and the lead consultant working with CLP India, the organization was extremely receptive to the Whole Brain® system because it is a validated approach based on thinking and the brain which, unlike behaviorally focused methods, was relatable, easy to understand and immediately relevant to the highly technical audience.
“There was buy-in for this approach at every level—the organization, leaders, teams and individuals,” he says.
A recent case study explains the process CLP India used and how they were able to embed the Whole Brain® approach into the culture to achieve their goals. Some of the results highlighted in the case study include:
- Increased participation and discussion in meetings—a significant change for a traditionally hierarchical company.
- Increased confidence in the way issues are addressed, which has led to faster, more effective problem solving.
- A major shift from a strictly operational, “don’t question, just do” mindset to a more collaborative, inclusive approach.
- Management tools and methods, such as Collaborative Decision Making, that are more valuable and more effectively deployed due to their grounding in the Whole Brain® framework.
- Innovative thinking that has led to CLP India’s status as one of the few power companies in India currently focusing on both conventional and renewable energy.
Prasad Deshpande notes that one of the biggest lessons of this case comes from CLP India’s buy-in to the approach and willingness to see it through. Rather than viewing this as an isolated event, they have embraced Whole Brain® Thinking as a way of doing business. They focused not just on development, but on culture building within the context of their business realities.
“Overcoming set ways is always the toughest part,” he says. By institutionalizing Whole Brain® Thinking, CLP has been able to get to the thinking and mindsets that lie at the core of behavior, easing the way for behavior change—and results—to follow.
Download the Case Study (PDF).
back to topReport from the 2011 NeuroLeadership Summit
Get the story on the latest brain research trends and how these insights are driving leadership development strategies. Ann Herrmann-Nehdi filed a video report from the 2011 NeuroLeadership Summit.
Ann was also a presenter at the Summit, co-delivering a session with Stanford’s Mark Schar that addressed the Neurobiology of Leadership Assessments. To find out more about that session and the key learnings they took away, be sure to check out Ann’s recent blog post outlining the 4 Things You Need to Know About the Neurobiology of Leadership Assessments.
From their session at the Summit, a special interest group has emerged bringing together academic and business community professionals to advance research on the neurobiology of leadership assessments. Visit the Whole Brain® blog for additional information and to learn more about how you can be a part of this group.
back to topOn-Demand Webinar: Case Studies of Brainpower at Work
Get the inside stories behind some of the world’s most successful organizations, and find out what they’re doing to outthink, outpace and outperform the competition.
In this 30-minute on-demand webinar presented by Herrmann International’s VP of Sales, Orin Salas, you’ll learn how a practical, easy-to-apply framework based on what we know about thinking and the brain is helping IBM:
- Drive leadership development and effectiveness
- Accelerate global new leader development
- Decrease costs while maintaining learning quality and outcomes
And how a major pharmaceutical company has used the approach to:
- Increase revenue and sales team effectiveness
- Reduce learning and development cycle times
View the Webinar: Case Studies of Brainpower at Work
Mark Your Calendar for These Upcoming Live Webinars!
All live webinars are held at 1 PM ET.
- THINC™ Webinars, for Practitioners Only:
- January 25, 2012: Don’t Lose Your Top Talent: How to Engage Employees Through Whole Brain® Leadership, Roger Blackstock, Founder and CEO, Peer Synergy Group
- March 28, 2012: Brain Science Goes to Work: Solving 4 Common Business Problems, Dr. Mark Schar, Co-founder and Managing Director, Three Point Solutions
- Public Webinars:
- February 29, 2012: Outthinking the Competition: How to Optimize Your Sales Organization for Long-Term Growth, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO and Orin Salas, VP of Sales, Herrmann International
Check the webinars page of our website for updated details and registration information.
back to topUpcoming Events
Getting Buy-in for Your HR Initiatives: Applying C-Level Thinking for Faster and Better Results
HR.com webinar
Presenter: Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO, Herrmann International
Date: January 13, 2012
Location: Your Desktop
Get more information.
The Mindset of Successful Leadership: Outthink, Outpace and Outperform the Competition
Presenter: Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO, Herrmann International
Date: January 26, 2012
Location: St. Louis, MO
Get more information.
Be sure to check our Calendar for the latest event news.
back to topGet a Free Consultation with a Herrmann International Expert to Optimize Your Sales Thinking for 2012
Only one month left!
Is your sales organization operating at its peak? Do you have the systems in place to ensure both short-term and long-term growth? Are you overlooking any key areas?
We’ve been celebrating our 30th anniversary with special promotions throughout the year, and we’ve saved the best for last!
For our 4th quarter special, we’re offering a free one-hour phone consultation with a Herrmann International expert to help you assess your sales operations and discuss:
- what areas you may need to pay more attention to
- where you can make immediate changes for a direct impact on results
- recommended steps for reaching short- and long-term growth goals
Complete this form to enter to receive one of five free consultations that will be awarded each month during the fourth quarter (October, November, December). Everyone who enters will receive access to a free download of Whole Brain® Thinking tools sales leaders can use to prepare for long-term growth.
Start 2012 with your sales thinking optimized for results! Enter today.
back to topRecent News on Thinking and the Brain
- Why we forget. Our memory can easily be distorted and erased, but recent brain research indicates our forgetfulness also helps us survive.
- Why do we like what we like? In this video recording of a recent RSA session, evolutionary psychologist Paul Bloom draws on the latest research from neuroscience, behavioral economics and philosophy to explore how certain aspects of the brain explain our likes and desires.
- Yeah, right. Scientists say sarcasm exercises the brain more than sincerity does, and that extra work may make our brains sharper. (Really!)
Upcoming Certification Workshops
Did you know? The Herrmann HBDI® Certification Workshop has been pre-approved for 30.00 (Specified-Strategic Business) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute.
Herrmann HBDI® Certification
December 6 – 9, Westminster, MD
For detailed location and registration information, please email service@hbdi.com or call 800-432-4234 and select option 6 for Client Services.
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