“Using your Brain to Win” by Holly G. Green

Kathleen Hajek: What was the driving force behind becoming an author?”Kathleen Hajek: “What was the driving force behind becoming an author?

Holly Green: “I was a reluctant author, but my clients kept pushing me to get things in one easy to use reference so they could refer to it when I wasn’t around. I have always written a lot and have been doing blogs, articles and white papers for years, so it was not too hard to put these things together. I enjoy writing. It forces me to clarify my thoughts and capture things in a way that can be understood and useful to more people, and supporting as many other people as possible in being even more successful is very important to me.”

Kathleen Hajek: You have written several successful books. What inspired you to write “Using Your Brain to Win?

Holly Green: “I wrote “More Than a Minute” in 2008, and the world kept changing rapidly. “Using Your Brain to Win” updates some of the core concepts in the first book and expands on what I found to be a pain point for so many of our clients – execution. I wanted to offer more tips and techniques on bringing to life the core concepts we use in helping others get clear on winning and get there. “Using Your Brain to Win” is a very action oriented book with 33 neuroprompts (ways to visit the brain) so that you engage your entire organization in the race you want to run. It has humorous tools to do everything from inform, inspire and engage employees to run effective meetings.”

Kathleen Hajek: What do you think are the most important things to understand about the human brain?

Holly Green: Explore and uncover how and why we think the way we do at work. There are numerous books and sources that support you in this (and, of course, the first few chapters of “Using Your Brain to Win” are all about this very area). Once you have this knowledge, it becomes much easier to manage and lead others effectively. Adult humans are fairly easy to manipulate (only for good, of course!), and learning how to do it to achieve excellence is a critical set of skills. Our brains are amazing tools AND they are also set up to do us a disservice in many ways. We have biases, assumptions, and beliefs that sometimes don’t serve us as well as they could. When we can begin to think about what we are thinking about, understand our triggers and those of others and better recognize what our own behavior invokes in others, we can be so much more effective. My mantra is pause, think, and focus. When we can build in a few moments every now and then to do so our illogical, irrational selves can usually achieve so much more!”

Kathleen Hajek: Please share a story of how this book has impacted an executive, team, or organization and made a difference in their success.

Holly Green: ” We have numerous clients who have gone from zero or negative profitability to significant profits over the course of a year. It is amazing what a team can be capable of when you define the win, clarify it constantly, talk about it obsessively, measure it, report on it continuously, reward to it, and keep it visible. Because we work with clients in almost every sector-from high tech to pest control-we know it works as long as you have adult humans on your team! An added benefit of the approach is that it is a lot more fun to win than it is to work hard and just not lose or lose. We have one client who went from 10 years of zero profits to $1M in our first year of work with them. We didn’t add equipment, machinery, or people. We worked with the team in place and they accomplished amazing results with the focus and discipline we helped them create. At the end of our first year, they were making money and working less hours! They are, of course, one of our most referenceable clients.”

Kathleen Hajek: What have you found to be the most challenging areas of development for executives to grasp?

Holly Green: How hard it is to execute consistently on winning. I often say “Being the best is hard work. So is playing to just not lose. So which would you rather invest your time and energy into?” It astounds me most days how many people work so hard but don’t hold others accountable, don’t slow down to do the right things versus go fast and do it over, don’t pause to get focused and clear on excellence before they dive in, etc. This tolerance (and even in some extremes, ignorance of) accepting mediocrity at work serves no one well.

In addition to my corporate and nonprofit clients, I have the pleasure of working with some truly elite individuals and teams including the United States Navy Seals, Top Gun fighter pilots, Olympic athletes, NFL referees, etc. These teams work incredibly hard to be amazing at what they do. There is so much we can learn and apply at work from other sectors, but most days, at work, we just stay busy reacting, responding and ‘to doing’. And our world today colludes with our bias to replace intention with busy-ness, so we find ourselves caught up in running, but without our team in the same race and we make excuses for why we don’t win or achieve excellence.

Kathleen Hajek: Are there one or two actionable steps that executives can take immediately to start reaching higher goals?

Holly Green: The first and most critical is to define winning with specificity. Make sure you minimize interpretation of any words you use (i.e. don’t say “We are going to be easy to work with.” State exactly what that means such as “we will respond to all customer inquiries within X time. We will have a mobile application where customers can place orders when they want to. We will have 24/7 customer service and authority at every level (up to $X) to make it right if there is a mistake…”). Set up all of your processes and systems to support achieving it. Talk about it in EVERY meeting (after all, if you’re not talking about winning, what are you talking about?). Adult humans are instinctively driven to win. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks “I want to go to work and just suck today.” Define it, continuously communicate it, and measure to it visibly to keep everyone in the same race.

Kathleen Hajek: What are the guiding principles of a good manager?

Holly Green: Desiring to set others up to be successful. Wanting to and seeking the definition of winning for the team and organization. Having the discipline including systems, tools, techniques and support to hold everyone, including themselves, accountable to achieve what it is they commit to. Being able to give appropriate and effective feedback. Constantly learning and unlearning. Recognizing changes in the world around them and being willing to constantly update their brain (versus relying on “that’s the way we’ve always done it…”). Believing in possibility. Demonstrating a willingness to explore alternatives

Kathleen Hajek: Can you share some advice for leaders who are developing and building teams?

Holly Green: I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record…get clear on the reason for the team and what winning is first. This provides the rally point for everything that follows. It gives the team the necessary ingredients to form and move through the phases to performing. It keeps everyone focused and aligned on the reason for the team. It helps to clarify the interdependencies of the team, a crucial element to maintaining alignment and positive momentum. Relate everything the team does back to achieving the objectives defined.

Kathleen Hajek: What energizes you outside of work?

Holly Green: I am really a nerd. I am constantly doing research and working to learn and unlearn in many different areas including the neurosciences, leadership, corporate strategy, etc. I read, on average, four books a week. Many of those are for fun. I especially enjoy mysteries and historical fiction, particularly related to strong women. I also love to travel. Although I travel for work 45 weeks a year, I still enjoy visiting places all over the world, trying new foods and drinks and learning about various culture. Gardening and food are additional passions. Basically, I love learning and exploring all sorts of things.

Kathleen Hajek: What’s next for you?

Holly Green: We’ve really refocused the business on more strategic agility work – helping companies and teams get clear on winning and get there. Minimizing some of our other offerings means I can provide more support to our client base and dive deeper in this area. I love to help others achieve even more success. It is what motivates me each and every day. The other focus area for me is keynote speaking. I have done it for years, but I am constantly working to hone my craft in this area and truly enjoy sharing about the brain at work so organizations of every shape and size can be more successful. I would like to do even more keynotes for conferences, associations and large meetings.