Noise - Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus

Teaches managers and leaders to cut through the static and hone their focusing skills
 
In the current digital age, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to stay focused. Smartphones, tablets, smart watches, and other devices constantly vie for our attention. In both business and life, we are constantly bombarded with tweets, likes, mentions, and a constant stream of information. The inability to pay attention impacts learning, parenting, prioritizing, and leading. Not surprisingly, attention spans have gotten shorter. Already being pulled in a dozen directions every minute, managers and business leaders often struggle to address important issues and focus on everything that needs attention.
 
Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus teaches managers and leaders how to help themselves and others sharpen their focusing skills. In this follow-up to his first book Brief--the proven, step-by-step approach to clear, concise, and effective communication--author Joseph McCormack helps readers cut through the static and devote their attention to what is important. This engaging, informative book will help you:
* Apply effective, real-world techniques to hone your focus and reduce interference
* Learn the lessons taught to organizations such as Harley-Davidson, BMO Harris Bank, MasterCard, and the US Army
* Understand how modern technology can actually strengthen your focus if used correctly
* Avoid becoming a casualty of "weapons of mass distraction"
 
Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus is a valuable resource for leaders and managers seeking to develop laser-sharp focus and apply it to everything you do.

List of contents

Foreword xv
 
Preface xix
 
How the Book is Organized xxii
 
How to Read This Book xxiii
 
Acknowledgments xxv
 
Part One Weapons of Mass Distraction 01
 
1 Noise, Noise, So Much Noise 3
 
Kenny Chesney Gets it Right
 
Hearing Decline and the Loss of Focus
 
Access to Information Will Only Increase
 
Attention Spans Will Remain Elusive
 
Our Minds Will Become Anemic and Impenetrable
 
2 Huh? We're Going Collectively Deaf 11
 
So, Why Do We Tune Out? A Variety of Reasons
 
The Impact of the "Elusive 600" on Our Listening
 
How Words Become Worthless--and Triggers for a Tune-Out
 
My Mom Thought I Had a Hearing Problem
 
3 Brain Basics: Are Your Penguins Falling Off the Iceberg? 19
 
Our Brains are Changing
 
Working Memory in Decline
 
Brains are Like Computers
 
We're Losing Impulse Control
 
Our Brains Get Hooked
 
How Often Do We Check Our Smartphones?
 
4 Living in an Info Junkie Crack House 31
 
Training and Education Will Be the Gateway Drug
 
Impending Health Impacts?
 
A Potential Threat to Consider
 
Who Can Stop This?
 
More Brain Celery
 
Part Two The Big Tune-Out is Coming (Imagining The Unthinkable-Six Short Stories to Wake You Up) 41
 
5 Always Stuck at School 43
 
Serious Triggers
 
New Protective Behaviors
 
Terrified Parents
 
Disturbing Statistics
 
Our Children in Isolation
 
Is it Addiction?
 
6 A Misleading Leader 53
 
Streaming Information
 
Losing Momentum
 
Powerful Monologue
 
All Talk, No Action
 
7 The Loss of Civil Discourse 61
 
Her Civic Duty
 
Uninformed and Confused
 
No Respect
 
Tower of Babel
 
Catching Her Attention
 
8 Mind-filled Momentum at Work 67
 
Connected While Exercising
 
Last-minute Briefing
 
Driving Connected
 
Yet More Tasks and E-mails
 
Diving Right into the Weeds
 
Trying to Salvage Success
 
9 2050: A Parenting Odyssey 77
 
Technology Was Only a Mild Interrupter for Them
 
A Carefree Time
 
Deep Loss of Daily Contact
 
Struggle to Disconnect
 
Technology is with You Everywhere You Go
 
It's Just Living for Them
 
Why Did We Worry So Much?
 
Parenting without a Voice
 
Fighting a Force
 
10 Safety Briefing with Near-tragic Results 85
 
Part Three Time for You to Tune In: Awareness Management (AM 101) 93
 
11 Awareness Management 101 95
 
Lighting the Path Before Us
 
Lives Can Become a Blur
 
Missing the Moment Entirely
 
Our Minds are Spinning Beach Balls
 
The Elusive 600: Your Enemy or Your Friend?
 
Runaway Thoughts
 
Waking Your Mind from Mindlessness to Mindfulness
 
Directed, Undirected, and Misdirected
 
Commit to "Awareness Management"
 
What if We Don't Manage Our Awareness?
 
AM Pre-set Buttons
 
12 Take Aim: Set Your Sights on What Matters Most 109
 
Essentialists versus Non-essentialists
 
No More Deafening Noise
 
Pointless Routines
 
A Minimalist Decision: Keep it Simple
 
Aim Small, Miss Small--Tips to Direct Your Focus
 
Post It: Simplicity Isn't Complicated
 
To Simplify is a Deliberate Decision
 
13 Saying No to Noise 123
 
Just Say No
 
The Power of Self-Mastery
 
Overcoming

About the author

JOE McCORMACK is passionate about helping people gain clarity when there is so much competing for our attention. He is a successful marketer, entrepreneur, and author. His first book, BRIEF: Make a bigger impact by saying less (Wiley, 2014) sets the standard for concise communication.
Joe is the founder and managing director of The BRIEF Lab, an organization dedicated to teaching professionals, military leaders, and entrepreneurs how to think and communicate clearly. His clients include Boeing, Harley-Davidson, Microsoft, Mastercard, DuPont, and select military units and government agencies. He publishes a weekly podcast called Just Saying that helps people master the elusive skills of focus and brevity.
He lives in Pinehurst, NC, and suburban Chicago, IL.

Summary

Teaches managers and leaders to cut through the static and hone their focusing skills

In the current digital age, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to stay focused. Smartphones, tablets, smart watches, and other devices constantly vie for our attention. In both business and life, we are constantly bombarded with tweets, likes, mentions, and a constant stream of information. The inability to pay attention impacts learning, parenting, prioritizing, and leading. Not surprisingly, attention spans have gotten shorter. Already being pulled in a dozen directions every minute, managers and business leaders often struggle to address important issues and focus on everything that needs attention.

Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus teaches managers and leaders how to help themselves and others sharpen their focusing skills. In this follow-up to his first book Brief--the proven, step-by-step approach to clear, concise, and effective communication--author Joseph McCormack helps readers cut through the static and devote their attention to what is important. This engaging, informative book will help you:
* Apply effective, real-world techniques to hone your focus and reduce interference
* Learn the lessons taught to organizations such as Harley-Davidson, BMO Harris Bank, MasterCard, and the US Army
* Understand how modern technology can actually strengthen your focus if used correctly
* Avoid becoming a casualty of "weapons of mass distraction"

Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus is a valuable resource for leaders and managers seeking to develop laser-sharp focus and apply it to everything you do.

Product details

• Authors: J McCormack, Joseph McCormack, McCormack Joseph
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2019
• EAN: 9781119553373
• ISBN: 978-1-119-55337-3
• No. of pages: 304
• Subjects: Guides > Law, job, finance; Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management; Ratgeber Wirtschaft, Business & management, Wirtschaft u. Management, Business Self-Help, Wirtschaft /Ratgeber