Transforming Legacy Organizations

CHAPTER 6IT'S THE EMPLOYEES THAT DON'T WANT TO: THE INDIVIDUAL IMMUNE SYSTEM

Some people bungee-jump. Others play whist. Some put all on red at the casino. Others prefer 5-year flexible house loans. Some start their own company. Others choose a job with the government. In other words, there is variation in the size of the risks we are willing to take.

A recent trial, conducted by a number of researchers from Stanford University and published in the recognized science journal Nature,² revealed a correlation between risk profiles and the brain's reward system. The researchers used rats in the experiment, because their brain structures are very similar to humans, and taught them to play a simple game with a potential reward. The rats were tasked with choosing which of two holes they would stick their snouts through to get sugar water. When they put their snouts through one hole, they were rewarded with a little bit of sugar water each time. When they put their snouts into the second hole, they were rewarded with a small amount of sugar water 75% of the time, and with a large amount of sugar water 25% of the time. Two-thirds of the rats consistently went for the stable option: the continuous small amount of sugar water. However, one-third of the rats had a higher risk profile and chose to go for the hole where they could potentially receive a greater amount of sugar water. The experiment showed that the most conservative rats – those that chose the hole with the continuous small ...