I found this book overly simplistic and relatively annoying. This tries to be a self help book ??? but some of the suggestions are a bit silly. The examples are contrived and the ???science??? is a bit half baked. Some of the ideas make sense and have some basis in neural science or common sense, but other ideas are just opinions. This is another in a recent steam of books that start out apparently as a popularized science book then switch to a book about mindfulness and meditation midway through. Mindfulness and meditation are interesting techniques that should be (and have been) objectively studied but this book seems to bend the science to promote the meditative techniques.

Awesome book ! Understanding how our brain works, makes it easy afterwards to identify what is going on in specific situations and adapt accordingly. We can feel it's based on a lot of hard science, but well adapted so that we are not overwhelmed by it.

Thumbs up :)

I'm not really the kind of person who reads self-improvement books, particularly those about work, but this one attracted my attention for some reason. I found it to be full of interesting insights about how we function, how we can control our thought processes more productively, how we can get on better with other people and get the best out of our relationships.

The book uses a series of 'before and after' stories about everyday work and social situations. In the 'before' stories, the characters get themselves into a pickle by making all the wrong choices and messing things up. They make dumb decisions and miss out on business deals, upsetting their colleagues and family in the process.

In between the 'before' and 'after' stories, our narrator tells us how we could improve this performance, by understanding how our brain works. For example, he focuses on the extent to which people are motivated by fairness, their status, and their need for certainty. If you pay attention to these things when you interact with people, you will get better results.

In the 'after' stories, the main characters incorporate these concepts into their interactions with others, and everything goes swimmingly. Their goals are achieved and everyone is happy.

Although this method of conveying these ideas verges on the comical by being a bit too good to be true, with too many happy endings, it is a very clear way to get the ideas across.

I am looking forward to trying them out, although I will probably make a complete hash of it and upset everyone! Overall, I recommend the book.

David Rock has written an excellent book that consists of solid neuroscience examples and cute analogies that is neatly tied to real world examples about how brain responds to different office situations. I have a reasonable neuroscience background and thoroughly enjoyed his description about various brain areas and how they function. With these insights it becomes much more easy to apply various strategies to excel in office environment (and school or other competitive environment). The speaker was quite pleasant to listen after initial adjustment period. A MUST listen title.

I am not a big one for self-help books, but this book is very helpful in the way it not only sheds light on the science behind brain function, but also offers useful tips on how to apply that insight on a daily basis. It keeps the science simple and the examples relevant: we all face the daily challenges that the author's principle characters encounter. He shows us why we succumb to fuzzy thinking and offers a way out of the vicious cycle of self-defeatist behavior. Very worthwhile!

Book is very well organized, pithy for the most part and the author uses mnemonics to help you retain key concepts. Some books related books are mostly an endless rehash of clinical studies findings and other people's ideas, but this book delivers value added for the author's ideas. Basically you follow a couple through several work/ family life base case situations, then the author introduces his concepts and retells the story where the characters are handling their situations better.

Different aspects of the subject matter are covered from how your brain works, limitations of your brain and re-exploring principles that we do know but that we sometimes forget to implement daily, like how our perception of ourselves and our status relative to others influences our interactions. One model that is introduced in the second half of the book is the SCARF model, Status - Certainty - Autonomy - Relatedness - Fairness. Why these concepts are important ties in with brain biology.

My husband thinks that this book is especially useful within an office context. I saw more applications and view title as being "how your brain functions" and I find that the practical advice will apply both in and out of the office, including even interaction with your family members.

This audio book is the user’s manual for the most important machine that we will ever own - the brain. The concepts are akin to a driving instructor telling you not to drive with the handbrake on – it makes such good sense once you know why. The whole book is filled with those “Ahhh! So that is why I do that!” moments.

The adjustments that the book recommends are not earth shaking or difficult behaviour changes, but are instead simple, logical and effective fine tuning adjustments that help life flow more easily and with less stress, based on concepts that are simple to grasp and obvious in effect. The examples are set in a day to day context that makes applying the concepts to real life simple and effective.

The narration is clear, accessible and engaging. The narrator’s style is a good match for the author’s sense of humour and presents a potentially dry subject in an approachable and easy to understand manner.

There is some practical advise here. I enjoyed it very much. The only audiobook I have listened to twice. It is very well formatted, blending ideas with stories to guide the listener to greater understanding. I found the information is very relevant and the listening quite enjoyable.

This book has both scientific and usable information!

I liked the reader, he does not use a lot of inflection but this helped me understand the new information.

I will listen again!

The details are based on research. The research is then presented to give the listener an understanding why some activities are difficult, and then provides examples how to change the situation to make increase the liklihood of success by simple techniques to work the way your brain works best.