Discoveries in neuropsychology prove that emotions, rather than logic, primarily drive decision-making. Advances in neuroscience have identified important variables that leaders in the insurance industry can leverage to impact and influence.
A California book publisher is offering a no-cost white paper for the insurance industry titled: “Do You Know What Your Problem Is? How Insurance Leaders Can Apply Advances In Neuropsychology.”
The white paper is designed for professionals across the insurance industry, including senior executives, insurance agents, financial planners, claims professionals, risk modelers, and service providers. The intended readers include insurance company leaders, reinsurance professionals, brokers, and vendors seeking to stay informed about industry trends and discover new science-based approaches.
The authors are former insurance industry executive and sociologist Henry DeVries, MBA; psychologist John M. O’Brien, PhD; and psychologist Steve Swavely, PhD.
The whitepaper poses the question: In these uncertain times, how can you persuade the emotional part of the prospect's brain?
The conclusion is these are emotional times, and to become influential, you need to be a persuasive storyteller with a strong understanding of neuroscience and psychology.
The research states that there is one hidden asset that will set insurance leaders apart, something nobody else is offering: their defining problem-solving stories. Science proves that human brains are hardwired for stories.
This starts with clearly articulating the problem that the person identifies with.
Discoveries in the brain science of neuropsychology reveal that the best way for leaders to motivate prospective clients, business partners, and employees is to get them to motivate themselves.
That’s the advice from neuropsychologist Swavely in his book, Ignite Your Leadership: The Power Of Neuropsychology To Optimize Team Performance.
Science has clearly shown you can’t motivate anyone except yourself, says Swavely. Motivation is an internal state that only individuals can influence for themselves.
“Self-motivation as opposed to motivation is a subtle but important distinction,” says Swavely. “As a leader, you can’t directly affect the motivation of anyone on your team. That power is totally outside your control. What you can control is the creation of an engaging environment in which your team will motivate themselves.”
Neuropsychology teaches that wired into everyone’s brain is a primitive survival decision and related behavior of approach or avoidance. When leveraged properly, this hard wiring has great power.
Workplace success is all about the work environment created by the team leader. Unfortunately, O’Brien notes the insurance industry faces a challenging world. Research proves hate and divisiveness have become more prevalent in our places of work.
“It’s as if rudeness and incivility are following in COVID-19’s wake, like a new pandemic plaguing human interactions worldwide,” says John O’Brien, PhD, whose book, Rudeness Rehab: Reclaiming Civility in the Workplace and Your Home Space is a testament to his commitment to studying human behaviors that affect all of us.
O’Brien contends that wherever there is anger and stress, incivility and just plain rudeness follow in societal interactions. Leaders need tools to deal with increasingly toxic work environments.
DeVries is the award-winning author of 20 books, including a trilogy on how to Persuade With A Story!. He is a former researcher, faculty member, and assistant dean of continuing education at the University of California (UC) San Diego.
O’Brien is a neuropsychology expert, bestselling author, licensed psychologist, professional speaker, and adjunct professor at the University of Maine at Augusta.
Swavely is a bestselling author who received his doctorate in clinical neuropsychology from Georgia State University and was the director of consulting at Truist Leadership Institute.
Henry DeVries is publisher/partner with Oceanside, CA-based Indie Books International Inc., founder of PersuadeWithAStory.com, and has spoken to insurance leaders at organizations such as AFLAC, Colonial Life, Foresters Financial, and the National Fraternal Congress of America.
Copyright © 2025 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved.
For California Business Journal Disclaimers, go to /terms-conditions/.
