Your Brain at Work

Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

By: David Rock

Narrated by: Bob Walter

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Emily and Paul: The parents of two young children, Emily is the newly promoted VP of marketing at a large corporation while Paul works from home or from clients' offices as an independent IT consultant. Their lives, like all of ours, are filled with a bewildering blizzard of emails, phone calls, yet more emails, meetings, projects, proposals, and plans. Just staying ahead of the storm has become a seemingly insurmountable task.

In this book, we travel inside Emily's and Paul's brains as they attempt to sort the vast quantities of information they're presented with, figure out how to prioritize it, organize it, and act on it. Fortunately for Emily and Paul, they're in good hands: David Rock knows how the brain works - and more specifically, how it works in a work setting. Rock shows how it's possible for Emily and Paul, and thus the listener, not only to survive in today's overwhelming work environment but succeed in it - and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Your Brain at Work explores issues such as:

• Why our brains feel so taxed, and how to maximize our mental resources
• Why it's so hard to focus, and how to better manage distractions
• How to maximize your chance of finding insights that can solve seemingly insurmountable problems
• How to keep your cool in any situation, so that you can make the best decisions possible
• How to collaborate more effectively with others
• Why providing feedback is so difficult, and how to make it easier
• How to be more effective at changing other people's behavior

©2009 David Rock (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Very Insightful and Descriptive

This audiobook describes the brain and how it works in a variety of settings. It also conveys how to change your brain to be more productive and successful in the workplace and in life. I recommend this book to anyone who struggles to communicate or is just looking for a better way to share ideas with others.

True to its title... work smarter

This book is a balanced blend of scientific data and storytelling. The author explains how your brain works (e.g., it's easier to drive and talk at the same time, but not read email and listen to a conversation). You learn what to do -- minimize multitasking as much as possible and don't do it at all when the two tasks rely on the same region of the brain. The author then takes you through the problems faced by two fictitious characters, Emily and Paul. The same scenes are replayed following his advice. Although the scenarios are fictitious, they represent common situations at work and how they can be handled poorly (as we react without thinking) or effectively (stay calm and re-direct it to a positive outcome). The pattern in the book of data, scene, and replay of scene reminds you to slow down and think, especially as you see how Emily and Paul in their rush to get things done, they end up doing rework to fix their problems. I think this is a book you can read again to identity bad habits you continue to do and work on those.

Pithy, practical and entertaining for what it is

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.

Fantastic!!

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 voice, ah ahhhhhhh

I feel depressed while listening to this book. The material is ok, but the voice,

Awesome Concepts and Refreshingly Practical

Part of me was expecting this book to be more of the same "just tell people to buzz off when they distract you" simplistic, common sense stuff that I've found to be disappointingly lacking in novelty from other books, but I decided to give it a listen anyway. I made the right choice!

Not only is this book well thought-out, but David Rock goes far beyond simply explaining the concepts behind the material (which are brilliant, by the way!) and gives real, practical methods of applying the material in day-to-day life.

Carried out throughout the entire book is a metaphor comparing the way the mind works to a play, which turned out to be a very smooth and consistent way of explaining neuroscientific concepts in a way that was easily understandable. Along with the play metaphor, the book also makes use of the stories of two people and their encounters with the concepts so that one can easily see the concepts play out in a use-case way, which allowed me to effortlessly parallel my own experience with the experience of the two characters.

I've been a long-time reader/listener of neuroscience, sociology, and psychology materials, and I'm familiar with many of the neuroscience concepts in the book. David Rock does a great job of explaining the neurochemical interactions of dopamine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin in everyday life--using the play analogy--that's brilliantly simple and holistic. Also inside is a fairly comprehensive explanation of mindfulness that comes across as neither too "transcendent" nor spiritual, which is an issue that I've struggled with in reading material on the subject.

Bob Walter has a brilliant voice and narrates this with great intonation and clear pronunciation which I was comfortably listening to at 1.25x speed.

After about a week-and-a-half of applying the concepts I gathered from the book I'm already happier, and it's not because I have less "on my plate" at work; it's simply because this book makes it much easier to play with the hand you've been dealt and be more efficient and effective at work with less stress.

This book delivers in every way and my expectations of a hum-drum listen were completely shattered. Well-done, David and Bob, well done.

Overall review

Great book, telling not only how to work your brain more efficiently but what parts do what and how to trigger them and watch them as they are trigger. Teaching you new tactics to help you and your relationship with others in the world.

Great "Insight"

What did you love best about Your Brain at Work?

I got a lot of good information from this book. It gives really good details and understanding into your mind and how it operates. The narrator is great and examples are good.

What about Bob Walter’s performance did you like?

You can tell him was into the book and enjoyed the reading. He spoke very clear and gave a great audible reading.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who is looking to improve there people skills and understand themselves better; I'd recommend this book.

Opinion from first time Audible Reader

Where does Your Brain at Work rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This being my first Audiobook, I can't give it a rank. But what it makes stand apart is, its now got me "Hooked" to this concept. The title, the content and also the narrator are all very good. This book, with its simple, yet engaging example, along with the tips, make it very interesting to listen. I have started to apply some of the tips mentioned here and seeing the difference in my approach.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Your Brain at Work?

..I am still listening to this book - so would come back to answer this question.

Have you listened to any of Bob Walter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"Know your Brain to use it better"

Potent!!

If you want to feel better and make better decisions in your day this book is a must.