Viewpoint: Brain training rewards

For those who read this column regularly, you may be aware that I worked in independent practice for 35 years as a dispensing optician, contact lens optician and business manager, before changing my career to become a coach. My key drivers for doing this were to help business owners and their teams, primarily but not exclusively in the optical world, to find new and better ways to run their businesses and delight their customers.

Part of this journey involved me swapping my CET points in dispensing and contact lenses, for CPD points in coaching and mentoring. One huge moment for me was discovering a particular book entitled Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine. The subtitle of the book, ‘Why only 20% of teams and individuals achieve their true potential and how you can achieve yours’, intrigued me because during my days as a business owner having a winning team was always the goal. The book has similarities to The Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve Peters, The Source by Dr Tara Swart and other books that aim to uncover and help the reader to understand how their brain works.