Business as Usual Has Rewired Our Brains
The 21st-century workplace didn’t emerge in isolation — it’s the latest step in a long redesign of how humans live and think. From forager to farmer, farmer to factory worker, factory to information worker, each leap reshaped our brain’s wiring. Neuroplasticity allowed us to adapt, though often in ways that left us further from our natural environment and more dependent on systems we created.
Today’s “achiever brain” thrives on solving problems and driving progress. It also leaves us more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and disengagement. Gallup reports show only a third of employees engaged and over half seeking new roles — a symptom of disconnection from meaning.
The research of Dr. Lisa Miller points toward cultivating an “awakened brain” — a capacity for meaning, sacred connection, and perception beyond the immediate. This is not an inherited state; it’s developed through consistent practices that quiet the achiever brain and open new neural pathways.
When a company invests in the awakened brain’s practices of meaning, employee retention is greatly facilitated.
Business as usual is no longer an option. The invitation is to lead in ways that steward awareness, foster connection, and align enterprise with something greater than its own machinery. The world is already reimagining us — the opportunity is to consciously shape how we reimagine ourselves in response.
Published WorkMore Relevant Reading
Sensitivity and AI: Investing Attention Where It Matters Most
A New Currency of Business Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how we work. It scans data, drafts reports, manages tasks, and suggests creative ideas. Many, many organizations are investing in AI. Yet a deeper question emerges: Where are we investing human attention? In the rush to adopt AI, some companies treat employee attention as a cost […]
When Complexity Calls: Expanding Leadership at the Edge of the Known
A decision under smoke The call came during wildfire season. Smoke had spread into several worksites, and air quality dropped to levels considered unsafe for human health. The expected course of action was clear: carry on as usual, maintain operations, absorb the cost later if necessary. Faced with the decision, Jill Taylor, as CEO of […]
Innovation and the Walls of the City
The achiever brain naturally wants to safeguard its domain so that success can continue indefinitely. As a result, we’ve created a heavily guarded virtual wall around the city of business. Inside those walls, companies often treat innovation as something to manage. A division is carved out, R&D is siloed, and the rest of the enterprise […]