“The Dux Method” is a 5-part course designed to fundamentally shift belief in 'what good looks like' and improve team and organisational performance at a cultural level
In recent years, 'Psychological Safety' has been shown in numerous 'big data' studies to be the primary ingredient behind those high performing teams, who are adapting fastest, innovating most and significantly improving £margin/profit.
This course introduces the student to the science behind the
More than just 'theory', we provide exclusive models and methods to apply this science in simple, practical, fast and effective ways... ways, which have achieved tangible financial results in a wide range of industries and environments in a matter of months, where other expensive and extensive change methods have failed to deliver sustainable change or benefit over multiple years. |
An overview
Where, Why and How
To keep the human brain working at it's best, people need to know where they are going... and why they are going there. Their brain also needs to know how they are going there, and why they are going there that way. (i.e. our brain has to develop a sense of trust and respect to follow a leader).
Risk and Motivation
Before a person can determine if a proposed target or objective is something they want to pursue, their brain needs to be able to process plans and propositions for potential risk and/or, benefit to self. To remain motivated and to sustain any change the brain has selected as 'good', it must also be able to determine a sense of progress toward personally beneficial goals.
Defence Mechanisms
If the brain cannot determine these things, it is prone to divert energy toward defensive/survival activities and tactics, which means there are reduced levels of [glucose] energy available to problem solve, innovate or 'continuously improve' self, or process. (Lean terminology - Hansei/ Kaizen/ Kairyo).
Creating the right conditions
Improving Organisational Performance ultimately relies upon leaders "creating the conditions, in which human brains can perform at their best". Integrating this 'Brain centric' world view into the brain wiring of your leaders and teams, is accelerated when we use simple models everyone can recall and rely on. i.e. If people understand and consider how 'brains' work, when making 'change' work, 'change' works better!
The Dux Method
The Dux Method training course introduces our exclusive models to become part of the everyday language your leaders employ when making plans and decisions about the conditions they choose to create.
Chapter 1: BTFA - Understand people as brain and mind
The BTFA (Believe-Think-Feel-Act) model was designed over a decade, while leading change around Europe and studying psychology and neuroscience. It takes all the pertinent points, filters out all the noise and leaves the student with a robust understanding of people and how their brain functions, before they act/react in different circumstances. Four lessons in this chapter, Belief (Wiring), Think (Firing), Feel (Chemical neurotransmitters) and Act (Behaviours), ensure leaders better understand the actual process of change being navigated in people and what their own words and actions can trigger in others. |
Chapter 2: BTFA-A3 Model - Understand Brain surviving environment
This model takes the learning from Chapter one and expands it, to consider brain performance within it's environment. We explore 5 key environmental conditions, applicable to any organisation, which leaders can choose to affect.
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These 5 environmental dynamics have a profound influence over human reactions (performance).
1. Awareness 2. Desire 3. Ability
4. Performance Opportunity 5. Tracking |
Chapter 3: A.D.A.P.T. Model - Understanding Brain change in context of environment
Change management has evolved with a strong focus on logical planning, with less concern for the transition the human brain has to navigate in times of change. This has led to 'change initiatives' developing a reputation on a global scale, for being unsustainable, often consuming excessive time and expense without delivering against expectations. At worst, many 'change' initiatives (Lean / new ERP systems etc.) are claimed to damage performance. The A.D.A.P.T. Model provides a 'psychologically aware checklist' to help leaders plan and track the key aspects of change, which can otherwise contaminate their [logical] efforts and outcome objectives. |
Chapter 4: 9-Box Alignment - Understanding horizontal and vertical alignment People respond due to their;
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Human Factors
These variable factors ensure people (brains) develop, retain and use defence mechanisms/coping strategies to support very different world views, judgement mechanisms and biases, often resulting in conflicting KPIs between functions and targets which, in turn, drive conflicting behaviours.
Designing a deployment culture
Different beliefs and behavioural drivers often result in different departments pulling in different directions, slowing progress toward organisation-wide outcome objectives. Understanding the science behind this common situation, is an essential pre-cursor to the design and development of a framework, which ensures your commercial strategy is realised at an operational level, effectively and efficiently.
Chapter 5: Hoshin Kanri - Understanding the brain-mind aspect of effective strategy deployment
The lessons from chapters 1-4, ensure the student can understand the psychology and neuroscience behind Toyota's true north, 'Respect for Humanity'. This approach is often claimed to be the differentiator, which has seen Toyota realise global growth and exemplary performance in relation to Quality, Cost, Delivery, Cash, Growth, Safety and Morale. In Hoshin Kanri; •Ho can mean method or form, and can link to direction or distance •Shi’n can mean needle or shining needle •Hoshi’n is often accepted as compass •Kan can mean control •Ri can mean logic Kanri can mean management, control, manumission (release from slavery by a master) or ‘the administration’. |
Accepting this, Hoshin Kanri more literally means ‘a methodology which provides a sense of distance and direction to facilitate effective management for organisational control, in a way that releases people from imposed control’. (See Chapter 2, Step 4). The reason why this suits the improved performance of brain and mind and enhances a sense of psychological safety, becomes obvious to leaders who have been through chapters 1-4.
The benefit of this for leadership teams, is that human brains are preconditioned to remain congruent (reduce energy consumption rates), so, if a leader/leadership team has the language register (introduced through the Dux models and training), through which they believe in an advanced approach to management, coordination, alignment and leadership, that approach necessarily becomes second nature - BTFA! i.e. How our brains are imprinted/formed (what we 'believe'), has to determine how we act/react! It's all brain function!
BTFA - in action
It's time to 'get off the 'Process' focused hamster wheel', and do things differently! To do things that make neurological and psychological sense.
Change PRograms
For decades, industry standard support has jumped into 'solutions' at step six (e.g. Lean/OpEx tools, Six Sigma, Agile, ERP systems etc.), while article upon article from industry, academia and governments around the world, comment on low productivity metrics, blame cultures, power distance relationships and a lack of sustainability following change initiatives. These issues all, ultimately, originate in leadership beliefs and actions. Merger and Acquisition
The same issue applies to Merger & Acquisitions failing to deliver the returns predicted and national support programmes failing to improve sector performance... these challenges all have origins in the way people think and what they believe 'good' looks like, rather than it being something tools and techniques applied to process, or increasingly complex computer programs can address. What we believe, (how our brains are wired), determines what we choose to do ... and much of what we believe evolved prior to the neuroscience we now have to challenge it's efficacy. |
2020 - without Dux
In 2020, our thinking was fundamentally shifted by a global pandemic and the UK leaving the EU. In these conditions people have taken action in days and weeks that would have historically taken years... and equally, people failed to take action until it was too late.
Both scenario's are BTFA in action!
The shift in belief about the reality we live with, (Pandemic/Risk to life) changed our thinking, and our emotional state. Action followed almost immediately! Where the trading risk from Brexit failed to shift belief, and brains assumed there would be little difference, many leaders didn't look into the changes they had to make until a few weeks ahead of the deal/no-deal decision.
It is these different rates of change, based on a shift in belief, that 'The Dux Method' taps into... and it applies at Government, national, industry and business unit levels.
As a result of the global pandemic, for the first time in a long time, people came before profit in the minds of leaders, seeing nations try to protect their economies. The ways of working, in nearly all businesses on the world stage, have changed in no time at all, perhaps forever! This is something leaders of change have systematically failed to facilitate when focused on step 6 - i.e. apply antidotes in the form of skills training and technical solutions.
It is these different rates of change, based on a shift in belief, that 'The Dux Method' taps into... and it applies at Government, national, industry and business unit levels.
As a result of the global pandemic, for the first time in a long time, people came before profit in the minds of leaders, seeing nations try to protect their economies. The ways of working, in nearly all businesses on the world stage, have changed in no time at all, perhaps forever! This is something leaders of change have systematically failed to facilitate when focused on step 6 - i.e. apply antidotes in the form of skills training and technical solutions.
The Future - with Dux
The ability, to adapt, change and be resilient in the face of adversity is built into every human brain... when leaders know how to "create the conditions in which people can perform at their best", the same rate of change and improvement we saw under threat of a pandemic, can become the new normal. Continuous Improvement happens where there is no blame and we 'Drive out Fear' ... but leaders have to believe in that as an outcome objective before they'll naturally orient toward it.
'The Dux Method', on-line course, detailing the key factors leaders must know to create such high-performance conditions for human brains can be pre-ordered here - 'The Dux Method' on the Dux Academy
If you'd like to know more before the on-line course is available, or to discuss instructor led training ...
'The Dux Method', on-line course, detailing the key factors leaders must know to create such high-performance conditions for human brains can be pre-ordered here - 'The Dux Method' on the Dux Academy
If you'd like to know more before the on-line course is available, or to discuss instructor led training ...