I have the privilege of sitting opposite Professor Brian Kantor, whose wisdom and passion for the South African economy I admire deeply. I feel lucky to osmose his wisdom by proximity. When he recommended that I use my time wisely during the pandemic and I do a brain optimisation coaching course offered by a company that he is passionate about, I immediately signed up. With hindsight, it was an excellent investment in my wellbeing, as well as, hopefully, in knowledge I can share with others.
The course outlined 10 drivers, which are interconnected, to optimise our brains. Our brains are hungry organs and consume 20% of our energy but make up just 2% of our body weight. It makes sense with this understanding that we should optimise our energy rather than our time. For example, if you could work more productively after exercise (which stimulates brain cell growth) wouldn’t it make sense to do that, rather than sit at your desk for hours, being less productive? Exercise also helps put us into a relaxed physiological state. If we are stressed or chronically stressed we operate from a place of “fight or flight” and we consume our precious energy quickly as well as put our health at risk. If we are able, through good habits, to put our body into a relaxed physiological state rather than “fight or flight”, we optimise our energy or use it more efficiently.
The physical drivers of brain optimisation make good common sense, such as exercise, getting enough sleep, eating well and frequently quieting the mind or meditation. Quieting the mind through breathing or meditation for example ensures that the amygdala (the part of the brain that regulates emotion) with its very sensitive emotional reactivity, is less forceful and the regulatory control of the brain remains in the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the sophisticated planner and problem-solver part of the brain that makes the best decisions. I found it helpful to understand the physiological reason why meditating was good for me when I knew it to be intuitively true through practice.
If we are able, through good habits, to put our body into a relaxed physiological state rather than “fight or flight”, we optimise our energy or use it more efficiently.
The learning I found the most interesting however related to collective creativity, which is an emotional driver of brain optimisation. We are always more creative and innovative in groups than we are on our own. This is because a variety of world views, or people with different backgrounds will bring more possible solutions for any given problem. This assumes an equal gender mix, as female brains side together (empathy) and male brains rank (strategy). Note that it’s not woman or man; a male-gendered person could think with a feminine brain. Both are important for optimisation. Diversity thus enhances group innovation and collective creativity as it brings with it more possible solutions. Collective creativity in turn enhances individual brain performance. It’s important to note that individualistic competitiveness can decrease creative collectivity.
One of the key ingredients of this driver is psychological safety. To create together optimally requires people to feel safe. Cognitive empathy, compassion and social safety have to be present for optimal collective creativity to be achieved. Understanding another’s emotional condition and accommodating this in the group dynamics enhances free turn-taking and open contribution. This promotes innovation. For me this makes increasing gender diversity and human diversity in workplaces simple good business sense, apart from a moral obligation. At Investec, we take psychological safety very seriously, and we deliberately gather and get vulnerable and share our stories to foster empathy and understanding, and connect and create safety between people from all walks of life.
I experienced collective creativity viscerally recently at Afrika Burn. Like its brother/sister Burning Man, Afrika Burn is a temporary creative community created for a week in a semi-desert environment of the Karoo. Participants have to be radically self-sufficient. For example, you have to bring your drinking water and remove all waste/rubbish at the end – leaving no trace. In addition, everyone has to contribute a gift to the collective gathering. For example, an experience, art, food, music, poetry, etc. This results in an explosion of creativity. I would argue, that with its scale, Burning Man is probably the most creative place or experience in our time. It is also a space where openness, authenticity and connection are fostered. The perfect circumstances for collective creativity.
I was in a camp that gifted a container for music. We made a covered dome structure, and brought musical equipment and created a space for people to play together. The results were astounding. All day, every day, people, often strangers, came and made the most beautiful music together. My favourite experience was a German DJ with a violin, playing with a drummer from the UK, with a South African using a klick clack (a musical instrument like a shaker), with an Italian singing (who had never sung before). It was beautiful and extraordinary, deeply inspiring and innovative. This constant creativity is one of the reasons why people return again and again, to be refreshed and return inspired.
Collective creativity is also one of the reasons why, at Investec Investment Management, all of our investment solutions are governed at a macro level by our Global Investment Strategy Group. This group of humans governs our latest risk scores and allocation to global asset classes in our funds and discretionary mandates. It is a truly global group, with participants from the UK, Switzerland and South Africa. A diverse group of male and female brains with deep knowledge and experience (including my favourite professor) who guide our capital allocations and risk allocation with deliberate and great care. Holding our client’s capital with reasonable, safe hands (and brains).
For our brains to survive and thrive, we need each other. Our ancestors lived in groups and survived together and we still do and we need to take care of each other and encourage our collective creativity.
About the Authors
Kate Stannard
Investment manager
Kate holds a Business Science degree – her clients are Financial Advisers who use Investec's Investment Services. Keeping abreast of market conditions and being able to communicate relevant information is an important component of her role. Kate is also a qualified level 1 Kundalini Yoga teacher.
Ewan Naude
Investment manager
Ewan is a Wealth manager for high net worth individuals. He completed his accounting articles post-university and then moved on to a global mining company where he was a coal trader for three years. His interest has always been in financial markets and, specifically, investments which ultimately led him to Investec all those years ago.
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PREVIOUS COMMENTARY FROM THE FRIDAY FIX TEAM:
14 April 2023
The Oh zone
The recovery of the ozone layer provides a lesson for what is possible when it comes to tackling climate change.
I recently read something that I found deeply encouraging, which I think is worth sharing, and that was that the ozone layer was on track to recover fully within four decades.
That’s according to the UN-backed Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances quadrennial assessment report, which is published every four years. The latest report confirms the phasing out of nearly 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances.
“If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values (before the appearance of the ozone hole) by around 2066 over the Antarctic, by 2045 over the Arctic and by 2040 for the rest of the world. Variations in the size of the Antarctic ozone hole, particularly between 2019 and 2021, were driven largely by meteorological conditions. Nevertheless, the Antarctic ozone hole has been slowly improving in area and depth since the year 2000,” the report says.
The Montreal Protocol has thus succeeded in safeguarding the ozone layer, leading to notable recovery of the ozone layer in the upper stratosphere and in the process, has helped to decrease human exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.
Apart from the good news about the ozone layer, what is especially pleasing for me is the important message conveyed – it shows how the collective spirit can achieve seemingly unattainable goals. In this context, we think of the coming global energy transition, and the associated goal of net zero carbon emissions. These seem like lofty targets now, but they may, with time and effort, become more tangible than the world currently appreciates.
The global energy transition matters. It matters because our planet can only sustain a population growing at its current rate if we are able to reduce the carbon intensity of that growth. Carbon dioxide emissions are closely linked with a warming planet and all the ramifications that go with it.
According to a new report by the Global Carbon Project, annual CO2 emissions reached 37.5 billion tonnes in 2022, a new record, and up 2% year-on-year. This in spite of a lingering pandemic in some parts of the world and moves by governments and corporates to curb emissions. To picture what this means, 37.5 billion tonnes works out at more than 100 million tonnes per day, and if one tonne of CO2 occupies a balloon with a 10m diameter, it’s enough to create a pile of balloons big enough to almost completely cover Manhattan Island.
Source: Google Carbon Project, 11 November 2022
It’s easy to see why. Coal is the culprit. In the face of elevated geopolitical strife, energy security has been prioritised over energy transition. Much of the developed world has gone back to using coal, natural gas and oil as energy sources and, just like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, developing countries have put climate concerns second to their economic growth requirements. And the situation may have been much worse were it not for China’s brutal lockdowns in the year.
Source: Google Carbon Project, 11 November 2022
Source: Google Carbon Project, 11 November 2022
We have a clear need to transition from fossil fuels. However it is unpopular in the short term among policy makers and the public especially in a time of high energy prices, as we can see. It requires some financial or economic pain, sacrifice and reduced consumption in the short term.
We have a long way to go. Arguably global energy has been too cheap for too long, fueling surplus consumption in the West.
This is why the Montreal Protocol needs to be highlighted at this time, when it feels impossible. It is a reminder that it is possible if as humans we make meaningful changes to take care of our beautiful planet. But we need to come together as a global community and we need to take a longer term view.
This is where, in our industry, I really see the benefit of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) as a framework. That as a global community we start providing better information, encourage and make each other accountable, and that we make changes with our capital allocation and help each other through the discomfort of transition. If we could invest in two companies with similar profitability in a similar industry, but where one was working harder to improve their impact, then we should reward that behaviour with our capital. For more information, have a look at our Investec Global Sustainable Equity Fund.
To this end I am really proud that Investec was recently voted the top scoring SA bank in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), scoring A- against an industry average of B-. Announced in Davos during the World Economic Forum, the CDP is a global organisation that runs the world’s environment disclosure system to assess impact and take urgent action to build a sustainable economy. The CDP scores approximately 15,000 companies on their contribution to climate change, forest and water security.
We can all start somewhere and with more information, and more intention, we can be a better global community and create much needed change.
For me, change starts within and I personally feel the best way to replenish the earth is to start with your own garden. As Zach Bush, a physician and visionary I admire says, one of the best things we can do is compost our waste and in that way replenish and restore the soil in our own backyard.
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