What It Really Is – And Why It Should Matter to Companies and Business
When we talk about the power of the mind, placebo, or belief, many people imagine something intangible. Something between autosuggestion, spirituality, and "positive thinking".
In business, you often hear:
"We need results, not talk, assumptions, or pseudoscience."
"Our employees are doing well, we need to lift the numbers."
"Motivation must come from achieving results."
But here lies a critical mistake.
Modern psychology and neuroscience now clearly show that expectations, beliefs, and mental mindset directly influence performance, learning, and decision-making. And not only in medicine, but also at work, in business, and in team management. Many companies on the market have already realized this key to success.
A company stands on results. But results do not appear by themselves – they are created by people.
It’s the people’s mindset that determines whether processes work or stay only on paper.
What Placebo Is – And What It Is Not
Where the Power of the Mind Begins – And Where Imagining Ends
First, Placebo = what an individual believes in = the power of the mind, conviction, determination.
So:
Placebo is not a lie.
Placebo is not a trick.
And it is certainly not "nothing".
Simply put:
Placebo is a situation where expectations trigger real biological processes in the brain.
The brain, based on mindset or conviction in a specific outcome:
- activates dopamine systems (motivation, drive),
- regulates stress response and self-confidence,
- works with neurotransmitters such as serotonin or oxytocin.
The result?
A person actually functions differently. Not because they are "convincing themselves," but because their brain received a clear signal: this makes sense, here it’s worth putting in effort.
Placebo ≠ strictly a medical phenomenon
The power of the mind ≠ necessarily "feel-good" concept
Belief ≠ necessarily spirituality
👉 Belief as a mental expectation of an outcome.
- belief in one’s own abilities,
- belief in the process,
- belief that effort is meaningful.
And this evokes a different concept than just "faith".
👉 Psychology uses the following concepts for this phenomenon:
- self-efficacy (Bandura’s model of self-efficacy)
- expectation of outcomes,
- intrinsic motivation.
In other words:
when a person believes they can succeed, their brain behaves differently than when they expect failure.
Among the experts studying this topic are researchers from Harvard Medical School.
💪 Power of the Mind in Practice (Not Just Motivational Quotes) 🧠
The power of the mind is not about someone repeating affirmations in front of a mirror.
It is about how the brain responds to training, experience, and expectations.
Research repeatedly shows that:
- Mental training activates the same neural pathways as actual activity,
- The brain learns even “in rehearsal”,
- Fear, uncertainty, or negative expectations can significantly block performance – even before a person starts.
This applies to athletes.
And exactly the same applies to employees, managers, and salespeople.
One study from 2004 demonstrates this phenomenon on physical strength.
Why This Matters for Companies and Business
Companies often invest in:
- processes,
- tools,
- techniques,
- training.
But they underestimate one key variable: the mental mindset of the people who use these processes.
This is where it is decided whether investments in development will deliver returns.
The result often is:
- training that “only works temporarily”,
- employees who know the techniques but don’t use them,
- salespeople who have a script but lack confidence,
- managers pushing for results but losing team engagement.
Example from a Corporate Environment:
A company invests in quality training. Participants leave satisfied, pass tests, and gain knowledge. But after a few weeks, most of the new practices fade away.
The reason is rarely a lack of information, but the internal mindset: "This won’t work here anyway." "My team isn’t capable." "I don’t have space to try it."
When work also addresses expectations and internal attitudes of people, behavior starts to change. Not because they learn a revolutionary topic, but because they learn it differently and their brain stops blocking the change.
There are concrete techniques to work with this.
The placebo effect and the power of the mind show that performance is not only a matter of skills but also of internal mindset.
Conclusion
Conclusion of Part One
- Placebo – mindset is not deception, but a biological mechanism.
- What we believe – mindset = expectations that influence brain performance.
- Mindset is not esotericism, but work with neurobiology.
- Companies that ignore these principles lose a significant part of their people’s potential. And with it, profit.
In the following parts, we will look at how to work with this potential systematically and practically.
👉 Next:
“Why Belief and Expectations Determine People’s Performance in Companies”