“Conscious thought is the tip of an enormous iceberg. It is the rule of thumb among cognitive scientists that unconscious thought is 95 percent of all thought—and that may be a serious
underestimate. Moreover, the 95 percent below the surface of conscious awareness shapes and structures all conscious thought.”

—Prof’s George Lakoff & Mark Johnson; The Embodied Mind

As the quote from leading cognitive scientists Lakoff and Johnson above highlights, decades of research from cognitive science, neurobiology and psychology show that we use less than 5% of our cognitive processing power when we solely employ everyday consciousness.  The other more than 95% of our potential lies down in the semi-conscious or unconscious workspace yet it is shaping all the conscious thought and is also the place where those magical flow state experiences emanate from.  It’s mind-blowing to consider the illusion we all subscribe to that we’re consciously making all our decisions. That it’s this 95% zone that’s actually running the show.  Yet the data shows this is where our intuition, emotional intelligence, creativity, connectivity, inspiration and ability to think outside the box resides.

Another way to think about it is that research show that our logical minds can only process 4 bits of data at a time but, while accurate stats vary, our 95% plus can process millions of times more data, millions of times faster.  These facts are often challenging since we’ve been educated to focus on the use of the narrow band of our everyday consciousness, using logical analysis and to be able to remember facts, but current research clearly shows that we actually need both systems functioning optimally to thrive.

During our evolution, that clear band of logical linear thinking kept things simple as we avoided predators, hunted for food, and looked for shelter.  But even this logic was always ultimately informed by the powerhouse of the larger consciousness operating under the hood. Anyone who hunts or knows a hunter understands that their skills mostly lies in their intuitive senses far more than their logical ones.

Our culture has mostly lost its connection to this wise underlying resource, favoring a top-down approach in our education system, and therefore in our workplace.  What is needed is a way to enhance the dialogue between both these two levels in us – to have each one complimenting and assisting the other.

Process-Oriented Leadership training is designed to enable all participants, whether they’re simply leaders of their own self system, or of a workforce of thousands, to be able to access, integrate and work with their 95% and significantly upgrade their impact in life and as a leader. Our skills and tools have evolved from decades of research into the area as they have from our own decades of facilitating leaders, teams and participants in our programs to evolve themselves into a whole new and upgraded way of functioning and thinking. 

It’s clear that the rules are being shredded these days by disruptive technologies such as AI. In order to meet these new and challenging environments we need new and better tools. Process-Oriented Coaching and Leadership Training are those essential tools for this future, and they providing the crucial and powerful edge needed to navigate this rapidly changing world with nimbleness, flexibility, and innovative responses. The ability to work with this 95% is the key to that crucial and powerful edge.