UNCONVENTIONAL THINKING BLOG

We all remember the science class where we learned about the Skinner box. We watched rats run around in search of treats, the reward they gained if they turned to the appropriate dispenser.

As we observe the tiny creatures racing for a dose of pleasure, we think of ourselves as vastly superior to this lower form of life. To these virtually mindless rodents.

But I wonder: how different are we really? Yes, we create computers, the Internet, vaccines, space probes, behavioral experiments. But are we in a Skinner box of our own?

• We don’t know why we live and die.
• We have no idea where we go after we leave the living.
• We don’t understand how the universe works, how it got started or if and when it will end.

What we do know is that we want to experience pleasure and avoid pain. And we build our lives around this, running toward:

• Money
• Achievement
• Beauty
• Peace

And darting away from:

• Fear
• Discomfort
• The unknown

Let’s put this in the perspective of business. Every day, we seek out:

• New customers and clients
• Closing big sales
• Raises and promotions
• Awards

And we avoid:

• Making painful decisions
• Terminating employees
• Resigning from business relationships that are no longer respectful or fruitful
• Taking substantial personal risk

When the Skinner rats and other creatures in similar experiments understand the system, they avoid the pain and turn over and over again to the pleasure. Precisely what we, the human race, want to do.

But, and yes this is where we distinguish ourselves from these creatures, successful humans in business will move intentionally to the pain– risk, terminations, painful decisions–as a means to an end.

In OUR Skinner box, the winners do not live in a world of black and white, pleasure and pain. They navigate through a gray area en route to something far more important than a food pellet.

We think. Or is there another Skinner toying with us?

Mark Stevens

CEO
Image courtesy: Flickr

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 12:21 pm and is filed under Unconventional Thinking . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.