Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence

by Daniel Goleman

Overview

New York Times Bestseller

“A powerful guide for taking control of our attention.” —Tony Schwartz, author of The Power of Full Engagement and CEO of The Energy Project

From the author of the #1 international bestseller Emotional Intelligence, comes a groundbreaking look at today’s scarcest resource and the secret to high performance and fulfillment: attention

For more than two decades, psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman has been scouting the leading edge of the human sciences for what’s new, surprising, and important. In Focus, he delves into the science of attention in all its varieties, presenting a long-overdue discussion of this little-noticed and underrated mental asset that matters enormously for how we navigate life.

Attention works much like a muscle: use it poorly and it can wither; work it well and it grows. In an era of unstoppable distractions, Goleman persuasively argues that now more than ever we must learn to sharpen focus if we are to contend with, let alone thrive in, a complex world. Goleman analyzes attention research as a threesome: inner, other, and outer focus. Goleman shows why high-performers need all three kinds of focus, as demonstrated by rich case studies from fields as diverse as competitive sports, education, the arts, and business. Those who excel rely on what Goleman calls smart practice that helps them improve habits, add new skills, and sustain excellence.

Combining cutting-edge research with practical findings, Focus reveals what distinguishes experts from amateurs and stars from average performers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062114969
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	98,326
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Daniel Goleman, a former science journalist for the New York Times, is the author of thirteen books and lectures frequently to professional groups and business audiences and on college campuses. He cofounded the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning at the Yale University Child Studies Center (now at the University of Illinois, at Chicago).

Table of Contents

1 The Subtle Faculty 1

Part I The Anatomy of Attention

2 Basics 13

3 Attention Top and Bottom 24

4 The Value of a Mind Adrift 39

5 Finding Balance 47

Part II Self-Awareness

6 The Inner Rudder 61

7 Seeing Ourselves as Others See Us 68

8 A Recipe for Self-Control 76

Part III Reading Others

9 The Woman Who Knew Too Much 93

10 The Empathy Triad 98

11 Social Sensitivity 116

Part IV The Bigger Context

12 Patterns, Systems, and Messes 129

13 System Blindness 136

14 Distant Threats 146

Part V Smart Practice

15 The Myth of 10,000 Hours 161

16 Brains on Games 176

17 Breathing Buddies 186

Part VI The Well-Focused Leader

18 How Leaders Direct Attention 209

19 The Leader's Triple Focus 221

20 What Makes a Leader? 233

Part VII The Big Picture

21 Leading for the Long Future 249

Acknowledgments 259

Resources 261

Notes 266

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

Daniel Goleman has surpassed himself in the breadth, depth, and readability of this fascinating meditation on what is most important for human, organizational, and planetary flourishing. Focusshows us how to go about paying attention in all the ways that really matter.” — John Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction and author of Mindfulness for Beginners

“With compelling insights, wide-ranging examples, and cutting-edge science, Daniel Goleman makes the convincing case that the ability to focus is a key to excellence, in both our personal and professional lives-and also explains how to boost that focus.” — Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project

“Daniel Goleman has written the perfect prescription for today’s deficit of attention in business and life....Highly recommended!” — Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and author of Peak and Emotional Equations

“Goleman has provided a highly readable manifesto for turning our smartphones off once in a while.” — Financial Times

“I’ve been studying attention for more than a decade, but I learned something new on every page of Focus. It is a powerful guide for taking control of our attention and will lead you to nothing less than taking control of your life.” — Tony Schwartz, author of The Power of Full Engagement and CEO of The Energy Project

“Attention is so important that ordinary people take it for granted, while scientists subject it to microanalysis. Steering deftly between these extremes, Dan Goleman synthesizes what is known and what we need to know.” — Howard Gardner, John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

From the Publisher

Goleman has provided a highly readable manifesto for turning our smartphones off once in a while.

Financial Times

I’ve been studying attention for more than a decade, but I learned something new on every page of Focus. It is a powerful guide for taking control of our attention and will lead you to nothing less than taking control of your life.

Tony Schwartz

Daniel Goleman has surpassed himself in the breadth, depth, and readability of this fascinating meditation on what is most important for human, organizational, and planetary flourishing. Focusshows us how to go about paying attention in all the ways that really matter.

John Kabat-Zinn

Goleman has provided a highly readable manifesto for turning our smartphones off once in a while.

Financial Times

With compelling insights, wide-ranging examples, and cutting-edge science, Daniel Goleman makes the convincing case that the ability to focus is a key to excellence, in both our personal and professional lives-and also explains how to boost that focus.

Gretchen Rubin

Daniel Goleman has written the perfect prescription for today’s deficit of attention in business and life....Highly recommended!

Chip Conley

Daniel Goleman has surpassed himself in the breadth, depth, and readability of this fascinating meditation on what is most important for human, organizational, and planetary flourishing. Focusshows us how to go about paying attention in all the ways that really matter.

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Attention is so important that ordinary people take it for granted, while scientists subject it to microanalysis. Steering deftly between these extremes, Dan Goleman synthesizes what is known and what we need to know.

Howard Gardner

2013-08-15
Goleman (Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence, 2011, etc.) argues that the ability to focus is "a little-noticed and underrated asset" that can help overcome problems like "zoning out" and "mind wandering," among many others. The author explains that attention span can be compared with a "mental muscle that we can strengthen by a work out," with memorization and concentration being the forms of exercise that work the "muscle." Showing how much time is spent in day-dreaming and mind wandering--up to 40 percent of the day, according to some estimates--Goleman identifies the changes in psychological and mental habits and activities that he believes will contribute to effectively addressing important contemporary issues like climate change and global warming. Quick, default reactions, which focus on the short term and "favor now in decisions of all kinds," prevent concentration on the long-term objectives that such issues demand. Goleman also believes that such a transformation will require new methods of leadership working through new kinds of institutions. The success of future leaders will depend on their ability to maintain focus on long-term goals and improvements for the widest circles their influence can reach. The author supports his arguments with a psychological framework drawn from the contemporary field of neuroscience. He refers to a Nature magazine study on the ambiguous effects of playing computer games--from "Minesweeper" to poker--and stresses that "face-to-face interactions…pick up a multitude of signals which help us connect well, and wire together the neurons involved." Unfortunately, "during thousands of hours spent online," he writes, "the wiring of the social brain gets virtually no exercise." A lively personalized account of the science of attention, which "ripples through most everything we seek to accomplish."

Kirkus Reviews