Nick Tasler - The Impulse Factor: Why Some of Us Play It Safe and Others Risk It All

Advance praise for Nick Taslers The Impulse Factor

The Impulse Factor will force you to thinkand rethinkhow and why you make decisions. Nick Taslers hip and hopeful approach entertains and educates in one fell swoop.

Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind

If you thought you understood how people digest risk and spur innovation, think again. This should be required reading for any decision maker with concern for the future health of their organization, industry, or society.

Priya Patel, assistant vice president of

revenue cycles, Advocate Health Care

In todays business world, a companys competitive advantage is secured and sustained by the creative tension between its decision makers. This insightful and witty read is a playbook on how to leverage that healthy tension.

Terry Barton, vice president of agencies, State Farm Insurance

Nick Tasler is a beautiful writer who weaves his tale in such an engaging way that you cant help but hold a mirror up to yourself and ask how The Impulse Factor impacts your success and satisfaction.

Beverly Kaye, CEO of Career Systems International

and author of Love Em or Lose Em

Taslers writing is as entertaining as his insights are useful. Its an exciting ride that is sure to make you see your choices in a whole new light.

Matt Olmstead, executive producer, Prison Break and NYPD Blue

Weaving together research in genetics, psychology, politics, and Mother Natures animal kingdom, this insightful work teaches powerful lessons about how different people make decisions, and how to start making better ones. I cant wait for my people to read it!

Tom Sherrier, director of human resources, C.B. Fleet Company

THE

IMPULSE

FACTOR

An Innovative Approach to Better Decision Making

NICK TASLER

Fireside

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2008 by Nick Tasler

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Fireside Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Fireside trade paperback edition December 2009

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Designed by Jan Pisciotta

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tasler, Nick

The impulse factor: an innovative approach to better decision making / Nick Tasler.

p. cm.

A Fireside book.

Includes bibliographical references.

1. Choice (Psychology) 2. Impulse. I. Title.

BF611.T37 2008

153.83dc22 2008007825

ISBN 978-1-4165-6234-4

ISBN 978-1-4391-5727-5 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-4165-6255-9 (ebook)

To my wife, Alison

Few things in life can lead one to greatness or ruin as rapidly and decisively as impulsivity, which is why I find it strange that its so poorly understood. We all know what impulsive people look liketheyre pretty easy to spot. Most of us can even recall a time when the instincts of an otherwise rational person led them to act like a complete fool. But what made them do it? And why are some people so incredibly impulsive all of the time? There is knowledge of impulsivity floating around out therein university studies, academic journals, and the likebut theres little, if any, real-world understanding of the powerful role it plays in our lives.

Until Nick Tasler came along.

Nick is the guy youd want sitting next to you at a dinner party. Hes witty, astute, and very inclusive, sharing his passion for the way people tick in a way thatflaws and allmakes you feel great about being alive. He will change the way you view the world. Then he will change the way you see yourself. Both will be the better for it.

In The Impulse Factor, he turns a once impenetrable concept into a dazzling exploration of how things work. Beginning with a newly discovered dopamine gene that mutated some fifty thousand years agoright before humans migrated out of Africa and created music, art, and ultimately civilizationhe takes us on an incredible, page-turning journey. Through riveting tales of a harrowing escape from a Canadian avalanche, Dutch tulip madness, and even why splitting dinner tabs always backfires, Tasler illuminates the role of impulses in every facet of our personal and professional lives. The mutant dopamine gene is still around today. Its seen in around one of every four people, including kids with ADD, alcoholics, and most anywhere we encounter the tricky side effects of impulsive behavior. But not all effects of the gene are negative. The same impulsive tendencies fuel superstar entrepreneurs, avant-garde musicians and artists, and most anyone who pushes us in bold, new directions.

What this book teaches you about the world around you will be trumped only by what it teaches you about yourself. The knowledge youll gain is critical, as optimal performance is as much about perspective as it is about effort. My research has found that as self-awareness increases, peoples satisfaction with life skyrockets, and they are more likely to reach their goals at work and at home. Building your self-awareness isnt about discovering deep dark secrets or unconscious motivations, but rather a straightforward and objective understanding of what makes you tick. In the workplace 83 percent of those high in self-awareness are top performers and just 2 percent of bottom performers are high in self-awareness. The impact of self-knowledge is so profound because it ensures we adequately recognize and utilize the situations and people that will make us successful. It also enables us to understand the limiting tendencies we cant avoid, which minimizes the damage they create.

The need for self-awareness has never been greater. In The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book, my coauthor and I exposed an emotional epidemic of massive proportions. We found that just 36 percent of people possess an adequate amount of self-awareness, and 70 percent of folks are ineffective at handling conflict and stress. The popularity of that book has helped to build awareness of the problem and bridge the gap to a degree, but more work needs to be done. We still live in a society that is driven by the mistaken notion that psychology deals exclusively with problems, falsely assuming that the only time to learn about ourselves is in the face of crisis. We tend to put on the blinders the moment something causes us distress. But its really the whole picture that serves us. The more we understand the beauty and the blemishes, the more we can put them both to work to achieve our potential.