Professor Spotlight: M.D. Carlos Davidovich

The UNYP MBA is an IACBE-accredited program. It offers the prestige of an American accreditation, and is designed for current and future leaders to fill the gaps in their theoretical and practical knowledge to pull ahead of the competition. The professors who teach in the UNYP MBA programs are our university’s greatest asset; their real-world insights combine with a strong theoretical base to provide a well-rounded education that goes far beyond textbooks. The UNYP MBA is one of only a few programs worldwide that offers a course of NeuroManagement, which focuses on the application of neuroscience in business. This course uncovers ways to increase managers’ leadership capabilities and prepare them for complex business environments. 

We continue the UNYP Professor Spotlight series with an interview with M.D. Carlos Davidovich (Professor of NeuroManagement for the University of New York in Prague’s MBA Program). 

Learn all about NeuroManagement studying the MBA at UNYP

Could you please tell us about your transition from being a medical doctor to becoming a business coach and an expert in NeuroManagement? 

I’ve spent 20 years working as an MD in Argentina and Latin America, combining it with work in the pharmaceutical industry, in the area of Biotechnology. In 2002, for personal reasons, I decided to move to Europe, where I was no longer able to practice medicine or work in the pharma business. I’ve had to reinvent myself – it was a hard and time-consuming process, but eventually I received an offer from a Spanish company to work on leadership development and executive coaching for organizations. I didn’t know that I was going to enjoy it so much! It was a great opportunity to finally bring together all my interests and life experiences, and in 2005 I started my Neuromanagement work.

For our readers who are not familiar with these concepts, could you please define “neuroleadership” and “neuromanagement”?

Neuromanagement is the application of the latest findings in Cognitive Neuroscience to Organizations and Businesses. It comprises three pillars: 

Neuroleadership applies how our brain works to relationships at work, and leadership characteristics in particular.

Neuroeconomics (formerly known as Economic Behavior) is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain why and how people make decisions in the financial world. It studies the drivers of our financial society.

Neuromarketing (also known as Consumer Behavior) studies consumer responses to marketing stimuli. It involves all-around marketing communication, persuasion, influence, and product positioning.

What attracted you to the subject, and what keeps you interested?

I realized that it was in my wheelhouse immediately after learning about it. Due to my education and work experiences, I consider myself “bilingual” in medicine and business, which makes me capable of building a bridge between these two worlds. On another note, I was always profoundly interested in people’s behavior and the psychological side of relationships. This field is so new that very few people are involved yet, and new information is coming in almost every day. This keeps me very active, reading about human behavior and applying it to the three areas of Neuromanagement. In the end, as Dr. Antonio Damasio says, we are not thinking machines that feel, but emotional machines that think. If our emotions lead us, then it is useful to try to understand how that works. The human brain is not prepared to make rational decisions; all our decisions involve an emotional component. For me, this is a fascinating world to discover, as well as a way to know more about myself.

How will UNYP MBA students benefit from your course?

My goal is to give them a new lens which will help them see the world differently, and closer to the way it really functions. One of my most significant achievements after eight years of teaching at UNYP is receiving their feedback. Studying NeuroManagement helps my former students to better understand their businesses, their clients, their products, and themselves. 

What would be your top tips for someone to be a better leader in 2019?

• To understand and accept that leadership is another profession that must be learned. Leaders don’t become leaders overnight. 
• Emotions are everywhere, and they lead decisions and behaviors. Know yourself (as the old Socrates quote says) first and then know your people better. Profit is to business as breathing is to the human body. If we don’t breathe, we die, but breathing is not the primary purpose of the human body. If companies don’t get profit, they die, but profit is not the primary purpose of companies. As a leader, you need to be able to define the purpose of your business. It is only purpose that generates engagement, only engaged people who create accountability, only accountable people who get results. 
• The “Your I-can is more important than your IQ” attitude is everything in life, and therefore in business. Especially so these days, where change is the name of the game. 
• Create a Growth Mindset culture in your company.
• Work mindfully on creating a psychologically safe environment in your organization. The rest will follow.