Ned Herrmann
William “Ned” Herrmann (1922 – 24 December 1999) was an American management educator, creativity researcher, and applied neuroscientist best known as the developer of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) and the Whole Brain® Thinking framework. He is widely credited as the pioneer of brain dominance technology in organisational and management development contexts.
Education and early career
Herrmann studied at Cornell University (Class of 1943), where he combined majors in physics and music — disciplines representing what would later become, in his own model, the analytical (A quadrant) and creative/interpersonal (C and D quadrant) poles of thinking. He pursued graduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and New York University.
Career at General Electric
In 1970, Herrmann was appointed Manager of Management Education at General Electric’s Crotonville facility in New York — at the time one of the most influential corporate leadership development centres in the world. His mandate was to design training programmes focused on productivity, motivation, and creativity among GE’s management population.
Observing the systematic differences in how managers thought, communicated, and solved problems, Herrmann began applying the emerging neuroscience of the 1970s — in particular Roger Sperry’s split-brain research and Paul MacLean’s triune brain model — to develop a practical framework for understanding cognitive diversity. In 1978 he produced the first version of the assessment instrument, the Herrmann Participant Survey Form, which subsequently evolved into the HBDI.
Legacy and recognition
Herrmann received the Distinguished Contribution to Human Resource Development Award from the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) in 1992, and was elected President of the American Creativity Association in 1993.
His work is continued by his daughter Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO of Herrmann International, which administers the HBDI and associated training globally.
Key publications
- The Creative Brain (1988). Brain Books, Lake Lure, NC.
- The Whole Brain Business Book (1996). McGraw-Hill.
- “The creative brain.” Training and Development Journal, 35(10), 1981.
- “Creative brain.” The Journal of Creative Behavior, 25(4), 1991.