The Confrontation

Clemens Huis in 't Veld, Managing Director of QNH Infrastructure, deals with a huge amount of information daily. He would like to increase his personal effectiveness, but how?

Brain expert Jan-Willem van den Brandhof helps managers to survive in the information jungle.

Huis in 't Veld: "I succeed in focusing on the main issues, but the mail phenomenon, I do not adequately control.
The number of my incoming mails varies from 40 to 100, depending on my replies.

Van den Brandhof: "I suppose your email is open all day long and you check incoming mails constantly? This is the first mistake many people make. They switch from one activity to another and do not realise that the brain works differently. The frontal lobes, where the creative thinking is done, has a lead time of fifteen minutes. "

Huis in 't Veld: "I have the feeling that there is also a generation gap. Young people seem to deal easier with communication technology. They sometimes receive information through seven different channels simultaneously."

Van den Brandhof: "Yes, but that is fatal if you really have to concentrate. Select and limit the input. Enable your brain to focus on that what is important. Research has shown that the majority of people think best before eleven o'clock, so work on that report or presentation first and open your mailbox after 11.00 AM. Using Mind Manager software can help you to deal with your workload. More than half of the Fortune 500 companies use this. "

Huis in 't Veld: "I have often doubts about taking a course in this area. But what is really advisable?

Van den Brandhof: "Think about this. The brain is separated in two parts: the left part is analytical and the right part is creative and visually oriented. In our culture, traditionally the left side very well developed. To develop the right side of the brain you could use mind mapping in order to create ‘files’ in your brain.. A mind map is a graphical schedule that departs from a central topic and branches to further items and details. It helps to separate main topics and details and order information logically. Therefore the brain is able to process the information better. As you use visual elements you stimulate the right part of the brain. Connecting both parts doubles the potential of your brain. "

Huis in 't Veldt: "And how does speed reading effect this?"

Van den Brandhof: "Speed reading is just like speed driving. Driving at 200 km / h requires more concentration than driving at 70km / h! People in an office environment easily spend five or six hours a day transmitting text into images in their brains. If you could only save one hour on this, for 365 days a year, it would bring you 9 weeks of extra time. "

Huis in 't Veldt: "My do-to list is never finished. I go for the headlines with the risk of missing important details and therefore not being attentive to what others could consider important. We founded this company three years ago and are now in the transition phase from entrepreneurial to a structured organization. How can we all get used to the new procedures? How do I delegate instead of running around trying to solve everything by myself? "

Van den Brandhof: "They say 'if you want things done, ask busy people." Most people perform best getting short adrenaline shots. The problem with this is that you process that information but don’t save it. If you work that way, you will only remember 20% of the original input after 24 hours. That’s inadequate! Your productivity will increase if you take a break regularly. Take a ten minutes break per hour and you will notice the effect. Make sure you are physically fit and stimulate your brain. This keeps you young. You will achieve more if you work smarter instead of harder. Lincoln once said: 'If I have six hours to chop a tree, then I spend four hours to sharpen the axe. "And he is right. If you apply these combined techniques then you can win 2 to 3 hours per day. "

Haitske van de Linde
Management Team (Dutch Edition), June 27, 2006