Wed, Apr 8, 2009
How Autism can Improve your Bottom Line?
Temple Grandin’s book, Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior, explores the idea that autistic individuals can better relate to and understand the way animals think and feel because of similarities in their brain development. She argues that individuals with autism cannot see the big picture. Rather, these individuals see things as segments – pieces and parts of an entire object. Grandin believes that animals think in the same way. Grandin herself is autistic, so she has a unique “view point.”
Grandin’s theory is that the part of the brain that is underdeveloped in an autistic person is naturally much smaller in an animal’s brain. In fact, she believes that autistic people think more like an animal than another human being in terms of brain development. She describes the natural brain segmentation that occurs in autistic people and explains how this segmented thought process has worked to her advantage.
Grandin’s work has revolutionized the reform of quality of life and humane killing of the cows, pigs, and chickens that humans consume. Her checklists for the humane treatment of animals are utilized by meat processing plants across the country. Fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy’s, and Burger King purchase their meat exclusively from plants that have been certified by Grandin.
In relation to business innovation, her book raises several important questions. How can you think like an autistic person or an animal to solve the problem? By looking past the big picture into the pieces and parts, can you find a better solution?
I’ve utilized segmentation in my training courses to great success. My video newsletters are an excellent example of a segmentation application. Before I began creating the videos, I struggled to find an effective means to transmit the information to the masses. Big training videos were hard to sell because they were too long and difficult to watch and absorb in one sitting.
My Sly as a Fox Video Newsletters are now 3 to 5 minute, bite-sized segments. In the videos, I make my point, offer a few relevant examples, and stop. Segmenting the course into consumable tidbits was a great solution. My clients enjoy the short video clips much more than 1-hour training DVDs.
How can you use Autism to improve your business?