Productivity Killers: Ethical Myopia
by Fred Kofman
The most difficult challenges oftentimes sprout from one, hard-fixed foundation: the human struggle of balancing what we know intellectually against our natural desire for instant gratification.
Survival of the human race has depended on the instinctive response to danger or opportunity, a capacity rooted in a short circuit in the nervous system. In situations of emotional intensity, the part of the brain in charge of rational thought (which is the slowest and most reflective part), goes "offline". For example, if a truck were rushing towards you, your rational thought functions (luckily) would turn idle. The most atavistic part of your brain (your instincts) would take control over your body, guiding the organism away from the threat of pain. (And, this is the same instinct that would guide you toward pleasure.)
These survival mechanisms, however, sabotage our rationality or intellect in the workplace, especially under intense circumstances like time pressures. Because we are biologically programmed to focus on the issue-at-hand, future consequences of our actions remain "out of focus."
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