SHOW / EPISODE

Dr. Sahar Yousef, Productivity Expert & Lecturer - Becoming Superhuman: The Science of Peak Performance and Productivity

32m | Jun 19, 2020

Sean Li chats with Dr. Sahar Yousef, one of our faculty lecturers here at Haas. She teaches an extremely popular elective called Becoming Superhuman on the science of productivity and performance. Today, she shares with us how to increase human performance and improve productivity – without using any kind of “limitless” pill.

Dr. Yousef grew up in the Bay area, to parents who were recent immigrants from post-revolution Iran. She was confused about her bilingual status but quickly realized that so much of that experience is fundamental to being human – that it doesn’t matter where we’re from or what we look like, we’re all the same in so many ways. There are aspects to our upbringing and to our perspectives that become shaped over time.

Dr. Yousef always had a fascination with the concept of human consciousness and realized that everything is seen and understood through the lens of the human brain. Most of the research that she conducted during her Ph.D. studies were dedicated to enhancing cognitive performance and function. She is the founder of Stoa Partners and is currently its Managing Director; helping to make teams more productive with neuroscience.

Episode Quotes:

On how to make everyone superhuman 

“The goal is always more productivity, but not to say we should just become workhorses and work more hours. It’s always going to be, more productivity but with less hours, so that folks can actually live their lives and do what is most important to them.”

On how to avoid burnout during this pandemic

“The number one piece of advice I would want to give to anyone listening is to start to create boundaries. Not just physical boundaries, but mental and cognitive boundaries around work and home mode.”

Show Links:

Audio Player Image
Haas Faculty
Loading...