In Whatever Works, Thalma Lobel explores groundbreaking psychological research on job performance, satisfaction, and creativity. Lobel goes beyond obvious considerations like salary, title, and company culture to shed light on the hidden factors that have profound effects on how well we can do our jobs and how happy we are at work.
Did you know that just doodling in a certain way can increase your creativity? That looking at something green for forty seconds will improve your attention? That crossing your legs similarly to an interviewer could get you the job? That the mere presence of a smartphone on your desk can lessen your performance, even if it's turned off? These are the invisible factors that nudge our behavior on a daily basis, and combined, have a real and significant bearing on our success-or failure-at work.
In today's competitive market, where even tiny differences can be decisive, exploiting such factors can make all the difference. The more you know about the subtle elements that can help or hinder you on the job, the better equipped you can be to take control and navigate today's competitive work world. Helpful for anyone from individual employees to managers to leaders of large organizations, Whatever Works shares valuable insights and practical takeaways to transform your professional life.
Color and temperature, darkness and light, rough and smooth textures—all these sensations influence your inner world and your actions with unexpected power. In Sensation, one of the world’s leading experts on human behavior, Dr. Thalma Lobel, shares an exciting, completely new view of physical intelligence, or embodied cognition. She reveals that physical experiences unconsciously affect your everyday decisions and choices—with profound implications for your everyday life. That sounds like a lofty claim, but if this audiobook were ten pounds heavier, you might regard that claim as more believable. (Job seekers, take note: A resume printed on thin paper is taken less seriously than ones on thick paper.) If this copy were written Top to Bottom instead of Side to side you’d be more likely to believe it. You might also pay more attention if this were printed on red paper—although that color would seriously undermine your reading comprehension. (Test takers, beware: Exposure to the color red significantly and consistently reduces performance. But a whiff of cinnamon may undo the damage.) The more you know about how your physical environment influences your mind’s interpretation of the world around you, the better you are able to navigate tricky waters and get to where you want to go. People with a sweet tooth seem kinder than others. Clean smells promote moral behavior, but people are more likely to cheat on a test right after having taken a shower. Hard surfaces make us inflexible. Sensation empowers you to recognize these outside forces and hidden biases, and even put them to use in your own life, in order to improve every facet of your personal and professional lives. The outside world shapes our perceptions and beliefs at every moment; Sensation reveals these hidden effects and lets you take control of your place in the world.
