Also by Andrew O’Keeffe
The Boss
HARDWIRED HUMANS
Successful Leadership
Using Human Instincts
Andrew O’Keeffe
Roundtable Press
Published by Roundtable Press
PO Box R1944
Royal Exchange NSW 1225
Australia
Phone: +61 2 8246 6363
Copyright © 2011 Andrew O’Keeffe
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.
Andrew O’Keeffe asserts his moral rights as author of this work.
Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group LLC and Alex Head
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group LLC
Proof reading by Tim Learner
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry O’Keeffe, Andrew.
Hardwired humans : successful leadership using human instincts / Andrew O’Keeffe.
First Edition
9780646551746 (hbk.)
Leadership—Psychological aspects.
Evolutionary psychology.
Organizational behavior.
658.409
ISBN: 9781742980560
Digital distribution by Ebook Alchemy
Conversion by Winking Billy
Contents
A Note From Dr Jane Goodall
Why We Behave the Way We Do
Instinct 1. social Belonging
The paradox that comes with the job of leader
instinct 2. Hierarchy and Status
Avoiding chaos in families, clans and tribes
Instinct 3. Emotions Before Reason
It’s not just for fight or flight
Instinct 4. First Impressions to Classify
Why a bank CEO got out of a Mumbai hotel just ahead of the terrorists
Instinct 5. Loss Aversion
Busting the myth that people resist change
Instinct 6. Gossip
Gossip is grooming without the fleas
Instinct 7. Empathy and Mind Reading
It’s always good to put a face to a name
Instinct 8. Confidence Before Realism
Why 155 people on flight 1549 survived landing in an icy Hudson River
Instinct 9. Contest and Display
Looking good to get ahead
Organisational Behaviours that Now Make More Sense
appendix: The 9 Human Instincts Defined
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
A note From Dr Jane Goodall
WHEN I FIRST SET FOOT on what is now the Gombe National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania it was to fulfil my childhood dream—to live with animals and write books about them. That was in 1960. I could not have imagined then that my study of the Gombe chimpanzees, now in its 50th year, would also provide information that would be used by other people writing their own books—such as Andrew’s Hardwired Humans.
So many people are obsessed with how we are different to other animals, but chimpanzees impress us with the similarities in their behaviour and our own. They have many of the attributes that used to be considered uniquely human—such as using and making tools, intellectually solving problems, expressing emotions such as anger, sadness, happiness, despair. This should not surprise us since we differ, in structure of DNA, by only just over one percent. Indeed, we are part of and not separated from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Yet we are different in one way—the explosive development of the human intellect. We are thus able to analyse those traits that we share with chimpanzees and other animals and use this knowledge to help us better understand why we behave the way we do. Based on lessons learned from the chimpanzees we can, Andrew suggests, develop strategies for successful interactions with others. An understanding of the complex ways in which chimpanzees maintain social harmony within their community can provide valuable insights for dealing with tensions in a group of humans. And this, along with an understanding of the social skills required by (in their case, male) chimpanzees to become successful alphas, will help humans to become better leaders.
As well as reading about the Gombe chimpanzees, Andrew has spent many hours watching and learning from the wonderful chimpanzee group at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. It is his fascination for these apes, the knowledge he has gained first hand and from talking to the keepers that make this a compelling book. You will get many insights into your own behaviour and that of your friends and colleagues.
Dr Jane Goodall
Gombe Stream Research Centre, Tanzania
Why We Behave the Way We Do
ON ONE SIDE OF SYDNEY HARBOuR is the city’s business district. If you started work in any of the high-rise buildings, there are some things you would want to know about your new organisation. Like who’s the big boss. That wouldn’t
