Awakening the Invisible

How SMART Goals, CORE Awareness, CARE Conversations, and BootLinking Activate the RAS to Transform Culture

Purpose of This Document

To provide a structured, evidence-based rationale for how BootLink activates the Reticular Activating System (RAS) and unlocks belief-based performance.

This document addresses the science behind each component: SMART goals, CORE awareness, CARE conversations, ACT transformation, BootLinking, and recognition, and illustrates how they synergize to awaken attention, agency, and cultural ownership in the field.

I. The Invisible Gap: Why Workers Miss What Matters

Despite deep research in behavioral science, most workplaces remain stuck in compliance mode. The missing piece is the activation of the mind’s awareness system, specifically the Reticular Activating System (RAS). The RAS is the gatekeeper of relevance. It tells the brain what to notice and what to ignore.

Without intentional design, workers:

  • Operate on autopilot
  • Miss hazards, ideas, and inefficiencies
  • Feel disconnected from meaning

Key Insight: The brain sees what it is trained to see.

II. SMART Goals: Setting the Direction, Not the Destination

Based on Edwin Locke and Gary Latham’s research, SMART goals work when they:

  • Are meaningful to the worker
  • Are paired with feedback and recognition
  • Reinforce team direction

Problem: Most SMART goals in the field are passive, checked off like a box. They lack energy.

BootLink’s Contribution:

  • Anchors SMART goals in a daily rhythm
  • Connects them to CORE awareness prompts
  • Uses CARE dialogue to make them emotionally and socially relevant
  • BootLinks them to management for acknowledgment and action

Conclusion: SMART goals alone do not activate the RAS. They must be embedded in a feedback loop that makes them matter.

III. CORE: The Awareness Trigger

CORE = Consciousness of Self, Others, Process, and Environment

The CORE model shifts perception from unconscious execution to focused noticing. It activates the RAS by introducing:

  • Relevance: The person matters
  • Repetition: Built into daily flow
  • Emotion: Safety, respect, and insight

Kahneman’s System 1 vs. System 2: CORE invites System 2 thinking (deliberate, reflective) into daily operations, slowing just long enough to see.

IV. CARE Conversations: Anchoring Meaning Through Safety

CARE = Check the body, Acknowledge the story, Reset intention, Enter with empathy

This model brings Amy Edmondson’s psychological safety research to life. It transforms:

  • Hesitation into dialogue
  • Blame into inquiry
  • Fear into shared understanding

Appreciative Inquiry Influence: CARE encourages inquiry based on potential, not just problems.

CARE triggers the emotional signal the RAS needs.

V. ACT Model: From Seeing to Shaping

ACT = Awareness → Connection → Transformation

This model captures how we move from noticing to organizational change:

  1. Awareness: The moment of insight or discomfort
  2. Connection: Conversation and action in the field
  3. Transformation: BootLinking it to management so it becomes systemic

RAS Impact: Each step reinforces meaning and trains the brain to expect that insight leads to action.

VI. BootLinking: Completing the Cognitive Loop

The act of BootLinking is where neuroscience meets operational culture.

BootLinking = Naming → Sharing → Leveraging

  • The insight becomes visible
  • Management is brought in with stewardship, not control
  • Feedback becomes fuel, not friction

Why this matters for the RAS: It makes contribution visible. It builds organizational memory. It transforms one worker’s act into team belief.

VII. Peer-to-Peer Recognition: Social Proof and Emotional Signal

Recognition is not a prize. It is an emotional reinforcement tool:

  • Tells the worker: “This action was meaningful”
  • Tells the team: “This is what we value”
  • Tells the RAS: “Remember this”

Triple Ripple: Recognition flows through:

  • Peer feedback
  • Supervisor action
  • Management reinforcement (via stories, publications, shout-outs)

Seligman showed that hope and agency grow when effort is acknowledged. Recognition awakens belief.

VIII. Synergy and the Frontal Cortex: From Awareness to Ingenuity

The final insight: RAS is not enough. The frontal cortex, our center of imagination, planning, and innovation, must also be awakened.

BootLink activates this by:

  • Offering safe space (CARE) for creative thinking
  • Showing that ideas lead to impact (ACT and BootLink)
  • Creating team synergy where mutual discovery enhances insight

Bandura’s self-efficacy theory: When people believe their actions matter, they act into their potential.

Core Doctrine: “You are important. You have capacity. What you notice can change the system.”

IX. Conclusion: We Train the Mind to See the Invisible

This system does not manipulate behavior. It awakens attention.

It is a structured, neuroscience-informed method that activates:

  • SMART Goals: Direction and focus
  • CORE Awareness: Sensory attunement
  • CARE Dialogue: Emotional and social safety
  • ACT Flow: Ownership and follow-through
  • BootLinking: Systemic connection
  • Recognition: Cultural reinforcement

We do not hope people notice. We train their brains to notice what matters most.

This is how we awaken the invisible and transform awareness into action, insight into alignment, and effort into excellence.

Prepared by:
John Toups
Founder of BootLink and JW Toups Inc.