Hacking flow: How to Make Outperformance a Habit

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

Steven Kotler is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist, and the Cofounder and Director of Research at The Flow Genome Project, a research organisation dedicated to understanding the peak human performance state of Flow. Today he joins us to discuss how to hack Flow and how it can improve business performance.

What was covered

• Understanding flow as the peak state of consciousness in human performance and how it is the signature of commitment and performance in domains as varied as business and sports
• How flow is one of the most important skills for employees to have in the 21st century, its importance in driving creative problem solving in the VUCA world, and why companies like Patagonia embed it into their cultures and processes.
• The four stages of flow, and what you can do to build it into your work and personal life.

Key Takeaways and Learnings

• Finding the ‘Sweet Spot’ – working on a challenge that is neither boredom nor anxiety inducing – and how this is the most recurrent position in which Flow occurs
• Understanding the triggers of flow and how using one or more effectively in managing yourself and employees in business can maximize Flow performance
• How each of the four stages of the Flow cycle is essential to producing flow and the emotions such as frustration are actually a sign of heading in the right direction

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Connect with Steven Kotler https://www.stevenkotler.com/
• Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal https://www.stevenkotler.com/book-pages/stealing-fire
• The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler https://www.stevenkotler.com/book-pages/stealing-fire
• Flow Research Collective https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/