Being All You Can Be on the Job

In a world of global competition and high personal ambition, no discussion of professional development would be complete without confronting the subject of performance enhancement through technological and pharmaceutical means.  The popularity of energy-enhancing drinks suggests that the world is more psychologically prepared to embrace this concept than most people are willing to admit.  

Consider just three recent examples:

• An article in the Los Angeles Times¹ described concert musicians who take a beta-blocker known as Inderal to prevent stage fright.  Inderal controls the effects of adrenaline, so musicians can perform at their best.

• According to Sports Illustrated,² 104 major-league baseball players tested positive for performance-enhancing substances, such as steroids or human growth hormone, during random testing in 2003. 

• The Miss California committee supposedly paid for its contestant in the Miss American pageant to have breast implants for her 2009 performance.

But the business world has always seemed immune to such controversies — until now.  According to a recent article in The Conference Board Review,³ the question of performance-enhancing drugs is about to enter the corporate realm. 

In theory, corporations that want improved performance from their employees can allow them to use coaching — which is already pervasive — as well as medication, cosmetic surgery, and whatever personal productivity technology they can afford or that the company is willing to subsidize.  Foresight, a British think tank has reported on drugs that can boost scores on exams and enhance memory, and a whole new class of drugs that improve cognition is being developed.

For example, Modafinil was developed to treat narcolepsy, but also improves memory and alertness while avoiding the jittery side effects of amphetamines.  Soldiers use it.  So, why not consultants who need to pull all-nighters?  Why not give it to a design team that's creating the latest laptop?  Another group of compounds known as ampakines will increase alertness and cognition and enhance memory.

Another development promises to be even more effective — and controversial.  Direct mind-machine interfaces are not the stuff of science fiction anymore.  According to an article in the The New York Times,⁴ a c... To read the full article, you must be a Trends Magazine Subscriber. To learn more, click here