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Focus
The importance of achieving focus goes well beyond your own productivity.
Deep focus allows you to lead others successfully, find clarity amid uncertainty, and heighten your sense of professional fulfillment.
Yet the forces that challenge sustained focus range from dinging phones to office politics to life's everyday worries. This book explains how to strengthen your ability to focus, manage your team's attention, and break the cycle of distraction.
This volume includes the work of:
HOW TO BE HUMAN AT WORK.
The HBR Emotional Intelligence Series features smart, essential reading on the human side of professional life from the pages of Harvard Business Review . Each book in the series offers proven research showing how our emotions impact our work lives, practical advice for managing difficult people and situations, and inspiring essays on what it means to tend to our emotional well-being at work. Uplifting and practical, these books describe the social skills that are critical for ambitious professionals to master.
Deep focus allows you to lead others successfully, find clarity amid uncertainty, and heighten your sense of professional fulfillment.
Yet the forces that challenge sustained focus range from dinging phones to office politics to life's everyday worries. This book explains how to strengthen your ability to focus, manage your team's attention, and break the cycle of distraction.
This volume includes the work of:
HOW TO BE HUMAN AT WORK.
The HBR Emotional Intelligence Series features smart, essential reading on the human side of professional life from the pages of Harvard Business Review . Each book in the series offers proven research showing how our emotions impact our work lives, practical advice for managing difficult people and situations, and inspiring essays on what it means to tend to our emotional well-being at work. Uplifting and practical, these books describe the social skills that are critical for ambitious professionals to master.
99 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Daniel Goleman
355 books4,996 followersAuthor of Emotional Intelligence and psychologist Daniel Goleman has transformed the way the world educates children, relates to family and friends, and conducts business. The Wall Street Journal ranked him one of the 10 most influential business thinkers.
Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence was on The New York Times best sellers list for a year-and-a-half. Named one of the 25 "Most Influential Business Management Books" by TIME, it has been translated into 40 languages. The Harvard Business Review called emotional intelligence (EI) “a revolutionary, paradigm-shattering idea.”
Goleman’s new book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, argues that attention — a fundamental mental ability for success — has come under siege. Leadership that gets results demands a triple focus: on our inner world so we can manage ourselves; on others, for our relationships; and on the outer forces that shape our organizations and society itself.
His more recent books include The Brain and Emotional Intelligence, and Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence - Selected Writings.
Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence was on The New York Times best sellers list for a year-and-a-half. Named one of the 25 "Most Influential Business Management Books" by TIME, it has been translated into 40 languages. The Harvard Business Review called emotional intelligence (EI) “a revolutionary, paradigm-shattering idea.”
Goleman’s new book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, argues that attention — a fundamental mental ability for success — has come under siege. Leadership that gets results demands a triple focus: on our inner world so we can manage ourselves; on others, for our relationships; and on the outer forces that shape our organizations and society itself.
His more recent books include The Brain and Emotional Intelligence, and Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence - Selected Writings.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,229 reviews
December 4, 2013
The title of this book, "Focus", surely must be ironic. It's not just unfocused, it's so unfocused that I'm not really sure what it's supposed to be about (and yes, I did read the entire thing). It's as if the author just tried to jumble together all the things he's interested in - global warming, empathy, Daniel Kahneman-esque behavioral theory, business management, etc. The problem is there's no theme that really ties everything together. I mean, obviously the theme is supposed to be focus (hence the title), but it really seems like a bunch of moderately-interesting facts collected together with no context in a book with no real purpose. And the facts themselves aren't anything new or exciting. If you've read Daniel Kahneman or Malcolm Gladwell or any pop-psych book, you won't find anything you haven't read a million times before.
November 25, 2013
This book is all about how we ... Oh look! Some interesting facts about Apple's business strategy!
Read
July 28, 2022I bought this book because I need help focusing, and I have a lot of respect for Daniel Goleman's important work on emotional intelligence.
I finished it a little bit disappointed, feeling like I knew some interesting facts about how focus works and can work, but without much in the way of useful information about how to increase my own focus.
I already knew that mindfulness is a good and valuable skill to train. I already knew that certain video games targeted at brain functions could train the brain in good ways rather than bad--I've used Lumosity, an online arcade of "good" video games since 2012 (with mixed results).
And I needed a couple of days to recover from Goleman's report of the shocking "Dunedin Study" which basically showed that without willpower, there is a very good scientific chance a person is screwed for life--poverty and depression at best, criminality at worst. Definitely plausible, but very hard to swallow as a person who has struggled with willpower for thirty years.
But perhaps that's unfair--perhaps I came to it with too much expectation that it would provide me with neatly-packaged self-help platitudes and programs. Goleman is a deep-thinker type, with his motivation for writing split--I'm speculating--30%/70% between actively improving readers' lives, and passively sharing some really interesting thoughts and research.
And some of it is indeed really interesting. The analysis of "top-down" vs. "bottom-up" brain processing is applicable many times over the course of every day. (Although it's also covered in slightly different terminology in Charles Duhigg's "The Power of Habit"). Also good--though like Dunedin, also worrisome to anyone who's not a superstar at something--is his discussion of how the value of practice is largely negated if the practicer is daydreaming or doing whatever it is imperfectly.
Finally, there is the funny meta-problem that a reviewer on Amazon rightly pointed out, that the book itself is somewhat unfocused. It seems to roughly follow a "small to large" progression, starting with the inside-the-brain processes, and ostensibly "zooming out" to look at how focus works on larger scales like person-to-person, then analyzing large data systems, and so on. But the transitions between sections are far from smooth or intuitive, and there were a couple of times when I wondered if I was still reading the same book. Then again, maybe I wasn't focusing.
And while this isn't an issue for me, Goleman concludes on a slightly political note by arguing that the highest form of focus humankind could muster right now is to stop doing things like harming the planet and increasing the wealth gap. These may indeed be very important to deal with, but it seems incongruous with a totally even-handed look at "The Hidden Driver of Excellence".
I finished it a little bit disappointed, feeling like I knew some interesting facts about how focus works and can work, but without much in the way of useful information about how to increase my own focus.
I already knew that mindfulness is a good and valuable skill to train. I already knew that certain video games targeted at brain functions could train the brain in good ways rather than bad--I've used Lumosity, an online arcade of "good" video games since 2012 (with mixed results).
And I needed a couple of days to recover from Goleman's report of the shocking "Dunedin Study" which basically showed that without willpower, there is a very good scientific chance a person is screwed for life--poverty and depression at best, criminality at worst. Definitely plausible, but very hard to swallow as a person who has struggled with willpower for thirty years.
But perhaps that's unfair--perhaps I came to it with too much expectation that it would provide me with neatly-packaged self-help platitudes and programs. Goleman is a deep-thinker type, with his motivation for writing split--I'm speculating--30%/70% between actively improving readers' lives, and passively sharing some really interesting thoughts and research.
And some of it is indeed really interesting. The analysis of "top-down" vs. "bottom-up" brain processing is applicable many times over the course of every day. (Although it's also covered in slightly different terminology in Charles Duhigg's "The Power of Habit"). Also good--though like Dunedin, also worrisome to anyone who's not a superstar at something--is his discussion of how the value of practice is largely negated if the practicer is daydreaming or doing whatever it is imperfectly.
Finally, there is the funny meta-problem that a reviewer on Amazon rightly pointed out, that the book itself is somewhat unfocused. It seems to roughly follow a "small to large" progression, starting with the inside-the-brain processes, and ostensibly "zooming out" to look at how focus works on larger scales like person-to-person, then analyzing large data systems, and so on. But the transitions between sections are far from smooth or intuitive, and there were a couple of times when I wondered if I was still reading the same book. Then again, maybe I wasn't focusing.
And while this isn't an issue for me, Goleman concludes on a slightly political note by arguing that the highest form of focus humankind could muster right now is to stop doing things like harming the planet and increasing the wealth gap. These may indeed be very important to deal with, but it seems incongruous with a totally even-handed look at "The Hidden Driver of Excellence".
February 19, 2017
Turning off our smartphones once in a while. Giving our full attention when someone is talking to us. Letting the other person complete her sentence and not finishing it for her. Asking questions to show interest. Look her in the eyes. Really listen. No to multitasking. Focus on what's more important.
I thought I knew all of these or maybe I used to know but somehow lost them. So, I picked up this book one Sunday afternoon from Fullybooked The Block while waiting for my wife and daughter to arrive. It is always nice to read a non-fiction book for self-development. Non-fiction can remind oneself that there is a real world out there. That in that world, we need to work. And it working, we need to deal with people. And dealing with people can be challenging because they are different with each other. Non-fiction can also remind ourselves that there is no end to improve ourselves no matter how educated, old or experienced we already are.
This book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence is not just a reminder of the things I used to know or at least heard before. It is written by a former science journalist of the New York Times. The first chapter is very interesting as it incorporates science research into how some people can "read" minds by looking at facial expressions. Every twitch of facial muscles, how mouth opens, how jaw drops, how those eyes sparkle and how those brows raise. There is a science to this. What struck me most is that due to the overuse of cellphones, he says that millennials (young people of today) have the difficulty of reading facial expressions. They grew up playing videos and their use of smartphones is greater than having to interact with real people.
I'd like to share with you some quotes whose pages I dogeared:
1) "They (a subcontractor company doing performance appraisal for their clients!) knew that people's grades and the prestige of the schools they went to had little or nothing to do with their actual effectiveness." (p. 234)
2) "To anticipate how people will react, you have to read people's reactions to you. That takes self-awareness and empathy in a self-reinforcing cycle. You become more aware of how you're coming across to other people. With high self-awareness, you can more readily develop good self-management. If you manage yourself better, you will influence better." (p. 231-232)
3) "The original meaning of strategy was from the battlefield; it meant the "art of the leader" - back then, generals. Strategy was how you deployed your resources; tactics were how battles were fought. Today, leaders need to generate strategies that make sense in whatever larger systems they operate in - a task for outer focus."
There are many other nice quotes but typing them all here might not entice you to buy and read this book anymore. So, please do yourself a favor. If you want to make yourself better in focusing (as it it a hidden driver of excellence), please read this book!
I thought I knew all of these or maybe I used to know but somehow lost them. So, I picked up this book one Sunday afternoon from Fullybooked The Block while waiting for my wife and daughter to arrive. It is always nice to read a non-fiction book for self-development. Non-fiction can remind oneself that there is a real world out there. That in that world, we need to work. And it working, we need to deal with people. And dealing with people can be challenging because they are different with each other. Non-fiction can also remind ourselves that there is no end to improve ourselves no matter how educated, old or experienced we already are.
This book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence is not just a reminder of the things I used to know or at least heard before. It is written by a former science journalist of the New York Times. The first chapter is very interesting as it incorporates science research into how some people can "read" minds by looking at facial expressions. Every twitch of facial muscles, how mouth opens, how jaw drops, how those eyes sparkle and how those brows raise. There is a science to this. What struck me most is that due to the overuse of cellphones, he says that millennials (young people of today) have the difficulty of reading facial expressions. They grew up playing videos and their use of smartphones is greater than having to interact with real people.
I'd like to share with you some quotes whose pages I dogeared:
1) "They (a subcontractor company doing performance appraisal for their clients!) knew that people's grades and the prestige of the schools they went to had little or nothing to do with their actual effectiveness." (p. 234)
2) "To anticipate how people will react, you have to read people's reactions to you. That takes self-awareness and empathy in a self-reinforcing cycle. You become more aware of how you're coming across to other people. With high self-awareness, you can more readily develop good self-management. If you manage yourself better, you will influence better." (p. 231-232)
3) "The original meaning of strategy was from the battlefield; it meant the "art of the leader" - back then, generals. Strategy was how you deployed your resources; tactics were how battles were fought. Today, leaders need to generate strategies that make sense in whatever larger systems they operate in - a task for outer focus."
There are many other nice quotes but typing them all here might not entice you to buy and read this book anymore. So, please do yourself a favor. If you want to make yourself better in focusing (as it it a hidden driver of excellence), please read this book!
Read
September 5, 2016DNF at 50%
Book did not have enough "focus" to hold my interest.
Onward.
Book did not have enough "focus" to hold my interest.
Onward.
November 17, 2013
Wow. This book is a mishmash of ideas, jettisoning from preschool kids to million-dollar executives, supposedly linking all with the focus of focus. It didn't work for me. To me, the only focus was on the author, how knowledgeable he feels he is, and how amazing his family is. Would not recommend unless you have insomnia.
April 25, 2017
If you are looking for strategies to improve your own focus, skip this.
Everything in this review is accurate.
Everything in this review is accurate.
April 6, 2017
Daniel Goleman returned to Berkeley not long ago to speak to a large and enthusiastic audience at International House about the themes in his new book, Focus. Though he’d spent only his junior year as an undergraduate at Cal, his quips and asides quickly showed him to be fully in synch with Berkeley’s humane values. Though he never stated the point explicitly, it was also clear that Goleman saw the roots of the community’s concerns in the chemistry of our brains.
You may remember Goleman as the author of the huge 1995 bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, which taught us all that psychological factors other than IQ were better predictors of success on the job and in life. Goleman was trained as a psychologist but soon after his post-doctoral studies turned his hand to science journalism, writing about new developments in brain science and related topics for The New York Times for a dozen years and later turning to writing independently. Over the years, he has shifted back and forth from teaching and research to science writing and back again. To date, he has produced ten books. Focus is the most recent.
I vividly remember devouring Emotional Intelligence much as I would a compelling murder mystery. The book was a revelation. Focus falls far short of it. To begin with, the book’s central theme — that focused attention improves outcomes in daily life, in work, in sports, and in leadership — is no surprise at all. Many others have delivered this message over the millennia, from the yoga masters of India to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who introduced us to the concept of “flow” – the single-minded immersion that, like Goleman’s focus, enables peak performance. No doubt, Goleman’s new book updates the brain science underlying these concepts, but his repeated overuse of the anatomical labels for obscure regions of the brain would have been better suited for a professional audience rather than the general reader.
The author’s academic posturing aside, I found Focus fascinating when Goleman described the application of contemporary psychological tools to pre-school and primary education. (Parents with children in school today may find this subject all too familiar; I didn’t.) The extraordinary improvement in school performance brought about by exercises in mindfulness was startling news. And the application of similar training methods in various aspects of emotional intelligence yielded similarly impressive results in the workplace, boosting job performance, job satisfaction, and workforce morale. Clearly, there’s something truly significant going on here. I just wish Goleman had found a way to report it in a more accessible and congenial way.
You may remember Goleman as the author of the huge 1995 bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, which taught us all that psychological factors other than IQ were better predictors of success on the job and in life. Goleman was trained as a psychologist but soon after his post-doctoral studies turned his hand to science journalism, writing about new developments in brain science and related topics for The New York Times for a dozen years and later turning to writing independently. Over the years, he has shifted back and forth from teaching and research to science writing and back again. To date, he has produced ten books. Focus is the most recent.
I vividly remember devouring Emotional Intelligence much as I would a compelling murder mystery. The book was a revelation. Focus falls far short of it. To begin with, the book’s central theme — that focused attention improves outcomes in daily life, in work, in sports, and in leadership — is no surprise at all. Many others have delivered this message over the millennia, from the yoga masters of India to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who introduced us to the concept of “flow” – the single-minded immersion that, like Goleman’s focus, enables peak performance. No doubt, Goleman’s new book updates the brain science underlying these concepts, but his repeated overuse of the anatomical labels for obscure regions of the brain would have been better suited for a professional audience rather than the general reader.
The author’s academic posturing aside, I found Focus fascinating when Goleman described the application of contemporary psychological tools to pre-school and primary education. (Parents with children in school today may find this subject all too familiar; I didn’t.) The extraordinary improvement in school performance brought about by exercises in mindfulness was startling news. And the application of similar training methods in various aspects of emotional intelligence yielded similarly impressive results in the workplace, boosting job performance, job satisfaction, and workforce morale. Clearly, there’s something truly significant going on here. I just wish Goleman had found a way to report it in a more accessible and congenial way.
October 4, 2013
From Amazon:
Having been a fan of Goleman since reading "Emotional Intelligence" in the 90's, I was excited to dive into "Focus".
Goleman does not disappoint. He begins by outlining our general condition in society today as being inattentive. Our minds are in a constant state of overload and what passes for 'multi-tasking' is described as a huge productivity barrier. Finding time to decompress, or be 'fully in the moment', requires a level of Self Awareness covered in Part II. Goleman goes into brain chemistry, circuitry, and function to describe how parts of the brain can be over used, or worse, underdeveloped.
Pharmaceuticals, self-medication, and outside overload abuse and blur our minds.
This leads to System Blindness where pattern recognition is neglected in favor of shortcuts (usually technological). The story of Mau, who is one of the last practitioner of Polynesian "wayfinding". Learning how to navigate amidst a sea of distraction by focusing on subtle signs is a story for us all.
He then moves into the more conventional use of focus in improving attitudes by managing the Top-Down and Bottom-Up systems that our brains use to cope in complex situations.
I don't want to give too much away because this is a must read for everyone. Yeah, he does get political at times and ch.21 can be skipped entirely, but most academics tend that way and we all paint the house differently.
I read this twice and will probably read it as reference for years to come. It's that good.
This book has been very helpful in understanding how I can improve my own relations and focus.
Having been a fan of Goleman since reading "Emotional Intelligence" in the 90's, I was excited to dive into "Focus".
Goleman does not disappoint. He begins by outlining our general condition in society today as being inattentive. Our minds are in a constant state of overload and what passes for 'multi-tasking' is described as a huge productivity barrier. Finding time to decompress, or be 'fully in the moment', requires a level of Self Awareness covered in Part II. Goleman goes into brain chemistry, circuitry, and function to describe how parts of the brain can be over used, or worse, underdeveloped.
Pharmaceuticals, self-medication, and outside overload abuse and blur our minds.
This leads to System Blindness where pattern recognition is neglected in favor of shortcuts (usually technological). The story of Mau, who is one of the last practitioner of Polynesian "wayfinding". Learning how to navigate amidst a sea of distraction by focusing on subtle signs is a story for us all.
He then moves into the more conventional use of focus in improving attitudes by managing the Top-Down and Bottom-Up systems that our brains use to cope in complex situations.
I don't want to give too much away because this is a must read for everyone. Yeah, he does get political at times and ch.21 can be skipped entirely, but most academics tend that way and we all paint the house differently.
I read this twice and will probably read it as reference for years to come. It's that good.
This book has been very helpful in understanding how I can improve my own relations and focus.
December 4, 2013
"Understandably, we focus on the people we value most. If you are poor, you depend on good relationships with friends and family whom you may need to turn to for help--say, when you need someone to look after your four-year-old until you get home from work. Those with few resources and a fragile perch on stability "need to lean on people," says Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley.
"So the poor are particularly attentive to other people and their needs.
"The wealthy, on the other hand, can hire help--pay for a day care center or even an au pair. This means, Keltner argues, that rich people can afford to be less aware of the needs of other people, and so can be less attentive to them and their suffering.
"His research has surfaced this disdain in just a five-minute get-acquainted session. The more wealthy (at least among American college students) exhibit fewer signs of engagement like making eye contact, nods, and laughing--and more of those for uninterest, like checking the time, doodling, or fidgeting. Students from wealthy families seem standoffish, while those from poorer roots appear more engaged, warm, and expressive.
"And in a Dutch study, strangers told each other about distressing episodes in their lives, ranging from the death of a loved one or divorce to loss of a love or betrayal, or childhood pains like being bullied. Again the more powerful person in the pairs tended to be more indifferent: to feel less of the other person's pain--to be less empathic, let alone compassionate.
"Keltner's group has found similar attention gaps just by comparing high-ranking people in an organization with those at the lower tiers on their skill at reading emotions from facial expression. In any interaction the more high-power person tends to focus his or her gaze on the other person less than others, and is more likely to interrupt and to monopolize the conversation--all signifying a lack of attention.
"In contrast, people of lower social status tend to do better on tests of empathic accuracy, such as reading others' emotions from their faces--even just from muscle movements around the eyes. By every measure they focus on other people more than do people of higher status.
"The mapping of attention on lines of power shows up in a simple metric: how long does it take person A to respond to an email from person B? The longer someone ignores an email before finally responding, the more relative social power that person has. Map these response times across an entire organization and you get a remarkably accurate chart of the actual social standing. The boss leaves emails unanswered for hours or days; those lower down respond within minutes.
"There's an algorithm for this, a data mining method called "automated social hierarchy detection," developed at Columbia University. When applied to the archive of email traffic at Enron Corporation before it folded, the method correctly identified the roles of top-level managers and their subordinates just by how long it took them to answer a given person's emails. Intelligence agencies have been applying the same metric to suspected terrorist gangs, piecing together the chain of influence to spot the central figures.
"Power and status are highly relative, varying from one encounter to another. Tellingly, when students from wealthy families imagined themselves talking with someone of still higher status than themselves, they improved on their ability to read emotions in faces.
"Where we see ourselves on the social ladder seems to determine how much attention we pay: more vigilant when we feel subordinate, less so when superior. the corollary: The more you care about someone, the more attention you pay--and the more attention you pay, the more you care. Attention interweaves with love."
This was my favorite two pages in this book. The author summarizes some really interesting studies by other people, but then doesn't do much with this information and ends with the silly sentence: "Attention interweaves with love." The whole book is like this, and I had trouble understanding what, if any, thesis the book had.
I think the point of this book is to say that different people "focus," or pay attention to, different things in different situation. As important as intelligence is the ability to have self-control over what you pay attention to, given the context. This author would have approved of my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Jensen who forced all of the children to sit still with their legs crossed and backs straight and exercise "self-control" for 30 seconds before gym class began.
I didn't really like this book overall, because it just seemed like a rambling summary of a bunch of research. All of the research was on related topics, but the author never really tied everything together to make a coherent book. Topics include how modern technology is creating a lot of distractions, conscious versus subconscious thinking, that people with ADD are sometimes better at finding solutions outside the box, that people are happier in a "flow" state, the value of meditation/mindfulness, the value of taking a walk in nature, the value of doing what you believe in despite what others advise, the importance of nonverbal communication to show emotional empathy, the value of willpower and delayed gratification, what part of a person's brain circuitry is activated in different situations, the value of detachment for physicians, the value of empathetic engagement for physicians, global warming, the "10,000 hour rule," Larry David and the success of certain corporations and their leaders.
I guess the author feels that as a "science journalist," his job is just to summarize a bunch of scientific literature; the book doesn't really need to have a point. But I would have preferred a book that didn't just read like the notes of some guy who has read a lot of stuff and talked to a lot of people about how people think about stuff.
"So the poor are particularly attentive to other people and their needs.
"The wealthy, on the other hand, can hire help--pay for a day care center or even an au pair. This means, Keltner argues, that rich people can afford to be less aware of the needs of other people, and so can be less attentive to them and their suffering.
"His research has surfaced this disdain in just a five-minute get-acquainted session. The more wealthy (at least among American college students) exhibit fewer signs of engagement like making eye contact, nods, and laughing--and more of those for uninterest, like checking the time, doodling, or fidgeting. Students from wealthy families seem standoffish, while those from poorer roots appear more engaged, warm, and expressive.
"And in a Dutch study, strangers told each other about distressing episodes in their lives, ranging from the death of a loved one or divorce to loss of a love or betrayal, or childhood pains like being bullied. Again the more powerful person in the pairs tended to be more indifferent: to feel less of the other person's pain--to be less empathic, let alone compassionate.
"Keltner's group has found similar attention gaps just by comparing high-ranking people in an organization with those at the lower tiers on their skill at reading emotions from facial expression. In any interaction the more high-power person tends to focus his or her gaze on the other person less than others, and is more likely to interrupt and to monopolize the conversation--all signifying a lack of attention.
"In contrast, people of lower social status tend to do better on tests of empathic accuracy, such as reading others' emotions from their faces--even just from muscle movements around the eyes. By every measure they focus on other people more than do people of higher status.
"The mapping of attention on lines of power shows up in a simple metric: how long does it take person A to respond to an email from person B? The longer someone ignores an email before finally responding, the more relative social power that person has. Map these response times across an entire organization and you get a remarkably accurate chart of the actual social standing. The boss leaves emails unanswered for hours or days; those lower down respond within minutes.
"There's an algorithm for this, a data mining method called "automated social hierarchy detection," developed at Columbia University. When applied to the archive of email traffic at Enron Corporation before it folded, the method correctly identified the roles of top-level managers and their subordinates just by how long it took them to answer a given person's emails. Intelligence agencies have been applying the same metric to suspected terrorist gangs, piecing together the chain of influence to spot the central figures.
"Power and status are highly relative, varying from one encounter to another. Tellingly, when students from wealthy families imagined themselves talking with someone of still higher status than themselves, they improved on their ability to read emotions in faces.
"Where we see ourselves on the social ladder seems to determine how much attention we pay: more vigilant when we feel subordinate, less so when superior. the corollary: The more you care about someone, the more attention you pay--and the more attention you pay, the more you care. Attention interweaves with love."
This was my favorite two pages in this book. The author summarizes some really interesting studies by other people, but then doesn't do much with this information and ends with the silly sentence: "Attention interweaves with love." The whole book is like this, and I had trouble understanding what, if any, thesis the book had.
I think the point of this book is to say that different people "focus," or pay attention to, different things in different situation. As important as intelligence is the ability to have self-control over what you pay attention to, given the context. This author would have approved of my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Jensen who forced all of the children to sit still with their legs crossed and backs straight and exercise "self-control" for 30 seconds before gym class began.
I didn't really like this book overall, because it just seemed like a rambling summary of a bunch of research. All of the research was on related topics, but the author never really tied everything together to make a coherent book. Topics include how modern technology is creating a lot of distractions, conscious versus subconscious thinking, that people with ADD are sometimes better at finding solutions outside the box, that people are happier in a "flow" state, the value of meditation/mindfulness, the value of taking a walk in nature, the value of doing what you believe in despite what others advise, the importance of nonverbal communication to show emotional empathy, the value of willpower and delayed gratification, what part of a person's brain circuitry is activated in different situations, the value of detachment for physicians, the value of empathetic engagement for physicians, global warming, the "10,000 hour rule," Larry David and the success of certain corporations and their leaders.
I guess the author feels that as a "science journalist," his job is just to summarize a bunch of scientific literature; the book doesn't really need to have a point. But I would have preferred a book that didn't just read like the notes of some guy who has read a lot of stuff and talked to a lot of people about how people think about stuff.
January 25, 2014
"FOCUS" Lacks Focus (A Review of the Audiobook)
Published in 2013 by HarperCollins.
Read by the author, Daniel Goleman.
Duration: 8 hours, 8 minutes.
Dr. Daniel Goleman is best known as the author of Emotional Intelligence . In many ways this book is less of a book about the importance of focus and more of a sequel to Emotional Intelligence . It is also a anti-global warming manifesto, an education reform book, a self-help book for business leaders who want to be the real leaders in their offices and there is a little bit about how people are able to focus their attentions a bit more and get better results.
That, of course, is the problem with the book called Focus . The primary topic should be the ability of people to focus and some hints to help you focus better. The book starts out with exactly this...well, focus. We learn how a store detective is able to focus on a crowded room full of bustling and sort out the normal shopping behaviors from the actions of a shoplifter. Goleman discusses how the give-it-to-me-now world of Tweets, Instagram, instant video makes our attention span short (I knew this already - I teach high school and my kids are on their phones all day long and I see the results).
But, then Goleman leaves this area of personal focus largely unexplored and veers into the focus of whole groups of people and uses global warming as his "focus" for this section. I listened to this as an audiobook on CDs and this lasted for more than a CD - well more than an hour of discussion about a topic that is basically off topic. He throws in a suggestion that schools adopt a global warming science project that probably would not hit most state's standards, goes on about carbon footprints, promotes websites that track your carbon footprint, tells how various companies have shrunk their carbon footprints. None of this, not one bit, not one iota, not one word is described in the blurb on the back of the audiobook. I got bored and started skipping whole chunks of text. To his credit, Goleman does point out that the concept of a zero-emission car is a misnomer since electric cars are charged up by an electric grid that is powered largely by coal and coal plants do have emissions (and if you get your electric car charged by a solar panel, there are emissions associated with the manufacture of those panels).
Then we veer into the world of ...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2014/...
Published in 2013 by HarperCollins.
Read by the author, Daniel Goleman.
Duration: 8 hours, 8 minutes.
Dr. Daniel Goleman is best known as the author of Emotional Intelligence . In many ways this book is less of a book about the importance of focus and more of a sequel to Emotional Intelligence . It is also a anti-global warming manifesto, an education reform book, a self-help book for business leaders who want to be the real leaders in their offices and there is a little bit about how people are able to focus their attentions a bit more and get better results.
That, of course, is the problem with the book called Focus . The primary topic should be the ability of people to focus and some hints to help you focus better. The book starts out with exactly this...well, focus. We learn how a store detective is able to focus on a crowded room full of bustling and sort out the normal shopping behaviors from the actions of a shoplifter. Goleman discusses how the give-it-to-me-now world of Tweets, Instagram, instant video makes our attention span short (I knew this already - I teach high school and my kids are on their phones all day long and I see the results).
But, then Goleman leaves this area of personal focus largely unexplored and veers into the focus of whole groups of people and uses global warming as his "focus" for this section. I listened to this as an audiobook on CDs and this lasted for more than a CD - well more than an hour of discussion about a topic that is basically off topic. He throws in a suggestion that schools adopt a global warming science project that probably would not hit most state's standards, goes on about carbon footprints, promotes websites that track your carbon footprint, tells how various companies have shrunk their carbon footprints. None of this, not one bit, not one iota, not one word is described in the blurb on the back of the audiobook. I got bored and started skipping whole chunks of text. To his credit, Goleman does point out that the concept of a zero-emission car is a misnomer since electric cars are charged up by an electric grid that is powered largely by coal and coal plants do have emissions (and if you get your electric car charged by a solar panel, there are emissions associated with the manufacture of those panels).
Then we veer into the world of ...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2014/...
May 6, 2014
How can a book entitled Focus be so unfocused?
Goleman doesn't seem to have anyplace he's intentionally going with his latest book. Instead, he's just cobbling together a layman's interpretation of research on attention. He clusters his topics into broader categories, but even these categories don't really seem all that meaningful. You really can't walk away with any single idea more complex than, "Attention is important," since there isn't a through-line, no particular thing he's trying to prove or demonstrate. Moreover, it's primarily not his research; it's his collection of others' work, making him more of a journalist than a scientist.
This isn't to say that what's included is bad. There's some worthwhile information in the book, but it's tied together loosely and without a single ... well ... focus. Pretty disappointing.
Goleman doesn't seem to have anyplace he's intentionally going with his latest book. Instead, he's just cobbling together a layman's interpretation of research on attention. He clusters his topics into broader categories, but even these categories don't really seem all that meaningful. You really can't walk away with any single idea more complex than, "Attention is important," since there isn't a through-line, no particular thing he's trying to prove or demonstrate. Moreover, it's primarily not his research; it's his collection of others' work, making him more of a journalist than a scientist.
This isn't to say that what's included is bad. There's some worthwhile information in the book, but it's tied together loosely and without a single ... well ... focus. Pretty disappointing.
June 15, 2020
دیشب توی خواب و بیداری به خلاصهش روی پادکست بیپلاس گوش دادم و الان هرکار میکنم یاد نمیاد که آیا نکتهای هم به گوشم اومد یا نه :|
خلاصه اینکه سعی کنین متمرکز باشین عزیزان :))
خلاصه اینکه سعی کنین متمرکز باشین عزیزان :))
July 20, 2020
Solo tengo una palabra para definir este libro. PODEROSO.
En este libro el protagonista es el cerebro, ese órgano tan pero tan potente y del que desconocemos casi todo.
Goleman logra explicarnos de forma sencilla parte de su funcionamiento, cómo nos esta afectando la sobreexposición tecnológica en la que vivimos y algunas formulas para estar más atentos.
No desaprovecha la oportunidad para hablarnos de empatía, inteligencia emocional, actitud positiva, autoconocimiento y cómo activar la consciencia de todas estas cosas nos hace personas más enfocadas y por lo tanto con mejor calidad de vida.
Que dicha haber leído este libro, quedo cuestionada, inquieta, con propósitos, motivada para prestarle más atención a lo que antes ni percibía.
Tiene capítulos muy interesantes para papás, jefes y profes pero en general es un libro que le seguiré recomendando a todos.
En este libro el protagonista es el cerebro, ese órgano tan pero tan potente y del que desconocemos casi todo.
Goleman logra explicarnos de forma sencilla parte de su funcionamiento, cómo nos esta afectando la sobreexposición tecnológica en la que vivimos y algunas formulas para estar más atentos.
No desaprovecha la oportunidad para hablarnos de empatía, inteligencia emocional, actitud positiva, autoconocimiento y cómo activar la consciencia de todas estas cosas nos hace personas más enfocadas y por lo tanto con mejor calidad de vida.
Que dicha haber leído este libro, quedo cuestionada, inquieta, con propósitos, motivada para prestarle más atención a lo que antes ni percibía.
Tiene capítulos muy interesantes para papás, jefes y profes pero en general es un libro que le seguiré recomendando a todos.
September 24, 2018
من واقعا با بی علاقگی این کتاب و خوندم. چون مجبور بودم و به مبحثشم هیچ علاقه ای نداشتم.ولی توی این مدت من بیشتر کتابهایی که مربوط به تمرکز بود و خوندم. این کتاب از بقیه بهتر بود. این جوری نیست که درس به درس توضیح بده و تمرین بده. اصلا.
در ابتدا که یه دیدگاه فیزیولوژی داره و کامل برات توضیح میده که چه اتفاقی برای مغزت داره میفته. که خیلی عالی بود. و بعد برات میگه که چه کسهایی چه کارایی کردن که باعث افزایش تمرکزشون شد. و روی مغزت چه تاثیراتی داره.
کسی که واقعا علاقه داشته باشه به این مبحث این کتاب براش کتاب خیلی خوبی محسوب میشه
97.7.2
در ابتدا که یه دیدگاه فیزیولوژی داره و کامل برات توضیح میده که چه اتفاقی برای مغزت داره میفته. که خیلی عالی بود. و بعد برات میگه که چه کسهایی چه کارایی کردن که باعث افزایش تمرکزشون شد. و روی مغزت چه تاثیراتی داره.
کسی که واقعا علاقه داشته باشه به این مبحث این کتاب براش کتاب خیلی خوبی محسوب میشه
97.7.2
September 4, 2019
تمرکز به توان صفر
تمرکز" دربارهی یکی از مشکلات جامعهی بشری، یعنی مشکل حواسپرتی مزمن صحبت میکند"
گلمن در این کتاب، به مخاطب خود میآموزد چگونه میتواند توانایی تمرکز را در خود تقویت کرده و با این کار، عملکرد خود را در هر زمینهای، از تحصیل و کسبوکار گرفته تا هنر و ورزش، بهبود بخشد. ما در عصر اطلاعات زندگی میکنیم و هر روز، حجم انبوهی از عوامل گوناگون، ما را از معطوف کردن توجهمان به یک یا چند موضوع مهم، باز میدارند. در چنین شرایطی، بهسختی میتوان در یک آن واحد، تنها بر یک کار تمرکز نمود و از عوامل دیگر، چشم پوشید. چگونه میتوانیم در قرن بیست و یکم و در عصر سرعت و اطلاعات، از حواسپرتی جلوگیری کنیم و تمرکزمان را معطوف به اهدافمان کنیم؟
یکی از بزرگترین چالشهایی که در استفادهی بهینه از زمان با آن روبهرو هستیم، توانایی تمرکز است. وقتی در انجام کاری از تمرکز کافی برخوردار نباشیم، زمان مورد نیاز برای اتمام آن کار، چند برابر خواهد بود و در نتیجه، با احساس ناتوانی و کمبود زمان مواجه خواهیم گشت. سخنی به گزاف نرفته است اگر بگوییم، تمرکز در دنیای امروز، از هر زمان دیگری دشوارتر است. ما در معرض بمباران اطلاعات و امکانات هستیم. آموختهایم به هر گوشهای، سرکی بکشیم. دنیای امروز، این حس را به ما القا میکند که همواره از چیزی عقب هستیم. نگاهمان رو به آینده است و همزمان با انجام هر کاری، چه این کار چیزی به سادگی خوردن یک وعده غذا یا خواندن یک کتاب باشد، و چه به پیچیدگی انجام یک پروژهی بسیار مهم و حیاتی در محل کارمان، به کارهای آینده و بعدی میاندیشیم.
ارادهی همه برای تمرکز قوی نیست. اکثر مردم در طول مدتزمان کاری مشغول خیالپردازی هستند یا برای کارهای غیرمفید وقت تلف میکنند. به همین دلیل تقویت مهارت توجه ارادی اهمیت زیادی دارد. ما باید بتوانیم هروقت لازم داریم روی چیزی که میخواهیم تمرکز کنیم و حواسمان به چیزهای دیگر پرت نشود.
کارکرد بالا به پایین و پایین به بالای ذهن
(Bottom-UP & Top-Down Function)
برای تقویت توانایی تمرکز و جلوگیری از حواسپرتی، دو تمرین لازم است. این دو ��مرین از آنجا ناشی میشود که ذهن ما درواقع دو جور کار میکند. یکی از بالا به پایین و دیگری از پایین به بالا. ذهن پایین به بالا دستور کارهای خودکار را صادر میکند. سریع است و با احساسات به سرعت تحریک میشود و به آن پاسخ میدهد. به همین دلیل افرادی که با این شیوهی ذهن بیشتر کار میکنند نسبت به محرکهای محیطی آسیبپذیرتر هستند.
ذهنی که برنامهریزی را انجام میدهد و به ما کمک میکند چیزهای جدید یادبگیریم، ذهن بالا به پایین است. این کارکرد ذهن را میتوان بهصورت ارادی کنترل کرد. عده ای را در یک صف تصور کنید. بعضی از این عده ممکن است چنان غرق در افکار خود باشند که اگر کسی نوبت آنها را هم رعایت نکند متوجه نشوند. اما کسانی که روی محرکهای محیطی حساس هستند قطعاً به این کار واکنش نشان خواهند داد.
خلاصهی کتاب تمرکز اینکه نویسنده سهجور تمرکز را بر میشمرد. ۱-تمرکز درونی ۲-تمرکز بیرونی و ۳-توجه به دیگران. دربارهی اهمیت و کارکرد هرکدام از این سه نوع توضیح میدهد و متذکر میشود که تمرکز داشتن کارآیی ما را بالاتر میبرد و تواناییمان برای موفق شدن را بیشتر میکند. زندگیای که در آن توجه ما به خودمان، دیگران و محیط است، هم زندگی روزمرهی ما را بهتر میکند و هم آیندهی ما را.
علیرغم همهی این فواید تمرکز، نویسنده توصیه میکند گاهی اوقات نیز تمرکز خود را از همهچیز برداریم. به حواسمان استراحت دهیم و اجازه دهیم سیالانه حرکت کند. این کار نتایج خوبی هم بههمراه خواهد داشت و باعث میشود به چیزهایی دست یابیم که هنگام تمرکز امکان دستیابی به آن را نداشتیم.
خلاصه این کتاب را در "پاکست بی پلاس" گوش دادم
http://hosseinnorouzi.com/blog/%da%a9...
تمرکز" دربارهی یکی از مشکلات جامعهی بشری، یعنی مشکل حواسپرتی مزمن صحبت میکند"
گلمن در این کتاب، به مخاطب خود میآموزد چگونه میتواند توانایی تمرکز را در خود تقویت کرده و با این کار، عملکرد خود را در هر زمینهای، از تحصیل و کسبوکار گرفته تا هنر و ورزش، بهبود بخشد. ما در عصر اطلاعات زندگی میکنیم و هر روز، حجم انبوهی از عوامل گوناگون، ما را از معطوف کردن توجهمان به یک یا چند موضوع مهم، باز میدارند. در چنین شرایطی، بهسختی میتوان در یک آن واحد، تنها بر یک کار تمرکز نمود و از عوامل دیگر، چشم پوشید. چگونه میتوانیم در قرن بیست و یکم و در عصر سرعت و اطلاعات، از حواسپرتی جلوگیری کنیم و تمرکزمان را معطوف به اهدافمان کنیم؟
یکی از بزرگترین چالشهایی که در استفادهی بهینه از زمان با آن روبهرو هستیم، توانایی تمرکز است. وقتی در انجام کاری از تمرکز کافی برخوردار نباشیم، زمان مورد نیاز برای اتمام آن کار، چند برابر خواهد بود و در نتیجه، با احساس ناتوانی و کمبود زمان مواجه خواهیم گشت. سخنی به گزاف نرفته است اگر بگوییم، تمرکز در دنیای امروز، از هر زمان دیگری دشوارتر است. ما در معرض بمباران اطلاعات و امکانات هستیم. آموختهایم به هر گوشهای، سرکی بکشیم. دنیای امروز، این حس را به ما القا میکند که همواره از چیزی عقب هستیم. نگاهمان رو به آینده است و همزمان با انجام هر کاری، چه این کار چیزی به سادگی خوردن یک وعده غذا یا خواندن یک کتاب باشد، و چه به پیچیدگی انجام یک پروژهی بسیار مهم و حیاتی در محل کارمان، به کارهای آینده و بعدی میاندیشیم.
ارادهی همه برای تمرکز قوی نیست. اکثر مردم در طول مدتزمان کاری مشغول خیالپردازی هستند یا برای کارهای غیرمفید وقت تلف میکنند. به همین دلیل تقویت مهارت توجه ارادی اهمیت زیادی دارد. ما باید بتوانیم هروقت لازم داریم روی چیزی که میخواهیم تمرکز کنیم و حواسمان به چیزهای دیگر پرت نشود.
کارکرد بالا به پایین و پایین به بالای ذهن
(Bottom-UP & Top-Down Function)
برای تقویت توانایی تمرکز و جلوگیری از حواسپرتی، دو تمرین لازم است. این دو ��مرین از آنجا ناشی میشود که ذهن ما درواقع دو جور کار میکند. یکی از بالا به پایین و دیگری از پایین به بالا. ذهن پایین به بالا دستور کارهای خودکار را صادر میکند. سریع است و با احساسات به سرعت تحریک میشود و به آن پاسخ میدهد. به همین دلیل افرادی که با این شیوهی ذهن بیشتر کار میکنند نسبت به محرکهای محیطی آسیبپذیرتر هستند.
ذهنی که برنامهریزی را انجام میدهد و به ما کمک میکند چیزهای جدید یادبگیریم، ذهن بالا به پایین است. این کارکرد ذهن را میتوان بهصورت ارادی کنترل کرد. عده ای را در یک صف تصور کنید. بعضی از این عده ممکن است چنان غرق در افکار خود باشند که اگر کسی نوبت آنها را هم رعایت نکند متوجه نشوند. اما کسانی که روی محرکهای محیطی حساس هستند قطعاً به این کار واکنش نشان خواهند داد.
خلاصهی کتاب تمرکز اینکه نویسنده سهجور تمرکز را بر میشمرد. ۱-تمرکز درونی ۲-تمرکز بیرونی و ۳-توجه به دیگران. دربارهی اهمیت و کارکرد هرکدام از این سه نوع توضیح میدهد و متذکر میشود که تمرکز داشتن کارآیی ما را بالاتر میبرد و تواناییمان برای موفق شدن را بیشتر میکند. زندگیای که در آن توجه ما به خودمان، دیگران و محیط است، هم زندگی روزمرهی ما را بهتر میکند و هم آیندهی ما را.
علیرغم همهی این فواید تمرکز، نویسنده توصیه میکند گاهی اوقات نیز تمرکز خود را از همهچیز برداریم. به حواسمان استراحت دهیم و اجازه دهیم سیالانه حرکت کند. این کار نتایج خوبی هم بههمراه خواهد داشت و باعث میشود به چیزهایی دست یابیم که هنگام تمرکز امکان دستیابی به آن را نداشتیم.
خلاصه این کتاب را در "پاکست بی پلاس" گوش دادم
http://hosseinnorouzi.com/blog/%da%a9...
September 17, 2015
One of the top 10 most useful books I've ever read. Mr Goleman's Social Intelligence is another on that same list. A succinct, and yet detailed overview of how and why focus builds a better brain. It has revolutionised my view and motivation for meditation over and over again, more so than any Buddhist treatise or words by one of a number of meditation teachers. This book or at least its content should be taught to every schoolgoer, and esp, every business school graduate. And anybody who cannot motivate themselves to do inner reflection or focus training. I have the utmost respect for Daniel Goleman, and hope that he continues to write, and that his books continue to proliferate to every level of society.
August 18, 2017
Really good book,but it's not for everybody. You should have either read other books concerning cognitive psychology or you should have studied some kind of social studies. In other words it's not an easy book but i recommend it if you want to expand your knowledge in cognitive psychology and neuroscience and how they can be aplied through right behaviours in society (even reach the goal to become the right type of leader)
March 19, 2020
پادکست
ناتوانی در تمرکز و دید زدن موبایل گوشی تلفن برای اطلاع از آخرین نوتیفیکیشن ها نوعی شاهد برای اعتیاد به اینترنته. عصر بمباران اطلاعاتی ما رو در تمرکز به شدت ضعیف می کنن و تمرکز کمتر دقیقا علت یادگیری کمتره و تقریبا امکان اکتشاف نکات تازه رو غیرممکن میکنه.. همین هم باعث میشه وضعمون این باشه!
برای بالا بردن قدرت تکرکز کیبایست توجه به خود، دیگران و محیط رو بالا ببرید و قدرت همدلی رو افزایش بدین.
چیز دیگه ای که تو کتاب برام خیلی جالب بود این بود که وقتی میتونین بقیه رو خوب بفهمین لزوما شفیق و مهربون نیستین!! فقط یه تواناییه همین
چیزی دیگه ای که من از این کتاب فهمیدم این بود که ارتباط دادن بین دوتا موضوع کاملا بی ربط و خلاقیت خودش نوعی از تمرکزه و من نباید فک کنم خیلی در زمینه تمرکز ناتوانم. این منو به خودم خیلی امیدوار کرد.
بیست و هشت افند ۹۸
ناتوانی در تمرکز و دید زدن موبایل گوشی تلفن برای اطلاع از آخرین نوتیفیکیشن ها نوعی شاهد برای اعتیاد به اینترنته. عصر بمباران اطلاعاتی ما رو در تمرکز به شدت ضعیف می کنن و تمرکز کمتر دقیقا علت یادگیری کمتره و تقریبا امکان اکتشاف نکات تازه رو غیرممکن میکنه.. همین هم باعث میشه وضعمون این باشه!
برای بالا بردن قدرت تکرکز کیبایست توجه به خود، دیگران و محیط رو بالا ببرید و قدرت همدلی رو افزایش بدین.
چیز دیگه ای که تو کتاب برام خیلی جالب بود این بود که وقتی میتونین بقیه رو خوب بفهمین لزوما شفیق و مهربون نیستین!! فقط یه تواناییه همین
چیزی دیگه ای که من از این کتاب فهمیدم این بود که ارتباط دادن بین دوتا موضوع کاملا بی ربط و خلاقیت خودش نوعی از تمرکزه و من نباید فک کنم خیلی در زمینه تمرکز ناتوانم. این منو به خودم خیلی امیدوار کرد.
بیست و هشت افند ۹۸
July 3, 2019
Probably one of the most ironic books ever made.
Mostly because I had a hard time focusing while reading this.
But on a more serious note, it was okay. There are some good points and nuggets to take away from this book. Some would seem like common sense (putting your phone away), but there were a few gems that definitely help - it's one of those tricks where you would know all of them, or used to know and somehow have lost them.
Overall though, it felt really drawn out for the few learning points of the book.
I should probably focus and end this review.
3.02 / 5
Mostly because I had a hard time focusing while reading this.
But on a more serious note, it was okay. There are some good points and nuggets to take away from this book. Some would seem like common sense (putting your phone away), but there were a few gems that definitely help - it's one of those tricks where you would know all of them, or used to know and somehow have lost them.
Overall though, it felt really drawn out for the few learning points of the book.
I should probably focus and end this review.
3.02 / 5
July 28, 2018
کتاب خوبی است و ارزش خواندن دارد اما به نظر من دو نقد به آن وارد است:
۱- برخلاف عنوان کتاب، نویسنده فقط روی «تمرکز»، تمرکز ندارد و در مورد موضوعات متنوعی بحث میکند
۲- بسیاری از موارد مطرح شده فقط توصیف مشکل هستند و راه حل روشنی برای آنها ارائه نمیشود
۱- برخلاف عنوان کتاب، نویسنده فقط روی «تمرکز»، تمرکز ندارد و در مورد موضوعات متنوعی بحث میکند
۲- بسیاری از موارد مطرح شده فقط توصیف مشکل هستند و راه حل روشنی برای آنها ارائه نمیشود
July 15, 2021
درباره حوزه تمرکز و توجه حرفهای جالبی داشت. و اثر این موارد رو جامعه شناسانه و روانشناسانه بررسی کرد. کتاب خوبیه ارزش یک بار خوندن داره. مخصوصا برای مدیران کسب و کار کتاب جالب توجه تری خواهد بود.
April 23, 2014
Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman was chosen by Soundview Executive Book Summaries as one of the Top 30 Business Books of 2014.
THE SOUNDVIEW REVIEW:
When a pioneer in any field returns with a new piece of thought leadership, whether written or spoken, the eyes and ears of the business world instinctively turn to see and hear. Daniel Goleman, former New York Times science reporter and multiple-bestselling author, changed the landscape of management with his book Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Goleman returns now with a book that has the potential to rival his previous peak. In Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, Goleman coaches readers on the need to strengthen a trait that like a muscle can indicate just how well we can lift a figurative load. This book is now available as a Soundview Executive Book Summary.
Goleman begins Focus by helping readers understand the anatomy of attention. Of particular interest is his discussion of the bottom-up and top-down minds. The bottom-up mind works faster and is involuntary and automatic, while the top-down mind is, as Goleman writes, “the seat of self-control, which can (sometimes) overpower automatic routines and mute emotionally driven impulses.” The interplay between these two sections of the brain is critical to understanding mental toughness and, perhaps more importantly, mental tiredness.
The overarching theme that focus is a mental muscle serves as a powerful metaphor that will help the material stick with readers. Focus moves through subjects such as self-awareness, reading others, and smart practice in ways that offer new, thought-provoking views. As with Emotional Intelligence, Goleman has found a way to turn the complexity of human behavior into an engaging read with practical takeaways. Focus will help keep any executive razor sharp.
Soundview's 8-page Executive Book Summary of Focus is available here.
THE SOUNDVIEW REVIEW:
When a pioneer in any field returns with a new piece of thought leadership, whether written or spoken, the eyes and ears of the business world instinctively turn to see and hear. Daniel Goleman, former New York Times science reporter and multiple-bestselling author, changed the landscape of management with his book Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Goleman returns now with a book that has the potential to rival his previous peak. In Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, Goleman coaches readers on the need to strengthen a trait that like a muscle can indicate just how well we can lift a figurative load. This book is now available as a Soundview Executive Book Summary.
Goleman begins Focus by helping readers understand the anatomy of attention. Of particular interest is his discussion of the bottom-up and top-down minds. The bottom-up mind works faster and is involuntary and automatic, while the top-down mind is, as Goleman writes, “the seat of self-control, which can (sometimes) overpower automatic routines and mute emotionally driven impulses.” The interplay between these two sections of the brain is critical to understanding mental toughness and, perhaps more importantly, mental tiredness.
The overarching theme that focus is a mental muscle serves as a powerful metaphor that will help the material stick with readers. Focus moves through subjects such as self-awareness, reading others, and smart practice in ways that offer new, thought-provoking views. As with Emotional Intelligence, Goleman has found a way to turn the complexity of human behavior into an engaging read with practical takeaways. Focus will help keep any executive razor sharp.
Soundview's 8-page Executive Book Summary of Focus is available here.
April 29, 2017
While I was reading the book, I had doubt if I wasn't focusing with the book or it is an unfocus book despite the title and the essence of the book! after skimming through previous reviews, I saw that others too had the same impression.
The book has some useful information regarding types of focus (inner,outer,and other), and how it relates to the brain, how it relates to early childhood, focus in leadership, and other "random" information that the author tries to relate to the subject of the book.
I read the book thinking that it would give a direct road map to focusing, but I didn't end up with that. I was thinking of reading Emotional Intelligence by the same author but now I'm not sure if I should.
The book has some useful information regarding types of focus (inner,outer,and other), and how it relates to the brain, how it relates to early childhood, focus in leadership, and other "random" information that the author tries to relate to the subject of the book.
I read the book thinking that it would give a direct road map to focusing, but I didn't end up with that. I was thinking of reading Emotional Intelligence by the same author but now I'm not sure if I should.
June 6, 2018
به نظر من هنر دنیل گولمن در این هست که به جای ارائه یک جواب حاضر و آماده برای مسئله شما، چه تمرکز، چه هوش عاطفی یا اجتماعی، شما رو با ابعاد مختلف قضیه آشنا میکند که در نهایت خودتون به راه جل برسید.
به نظرم این کتاب برای کسانی که دغدغه تمرکز دارند میتونه شروع خوبی باشه، ولی نیازه کتابها یا مقالات دیگه هم مطالعه بشود.
به نظرم این کتاب برای کسانی که دغدغه تمرکز دارند میتونه شروع خوبی باشه، ولی نیازه کتابها یا مقالات دیگه هم مطالعه بشود.
November 19, 2023
Il titolo potrebbe essere forviante, perché non è un manuale di autoaiuto che contenga ricette per mantenersi concentrati e performanti. Goleman analizza invece come funziona il cervello quando ci si distrae, attraverso ricerche e studi, approfondisce il concetto dell’intelligenza emotiva, che è strettamente legata alla “metacognizione”.
May 27, 2021
Nu prea am gasit legatura titlu - continut. Adauga aici niste asteptari mari cu care am plecat la drum si vei intelege de ce nu am rezonat asa mult cu ea
October 18, 2020
Podia dar 3 estrelas, mas dou 2 pela desilusão. Mais de metade do livro é sobre a personalidade de gestores de empresas estadunidenses, martelando o tema do foco que supostamente une o volume. A primeira parte tem interesse, mas não sei se compensa o resto. É o mesmo que ler um volume da coleção HBR, o que não tem mal, mas gostava de ter sabido disso antes de empreender a tarefa.
March 31, 2024
This was better than the last professional "focus" book I read for my work book club. A few good sections with case studies which I appreciated, however I fear this will become forgettable over time.
December 10, 2013
I have to agree with some of the other reviews; for a book that's called "focus" it's terribly unfocused. It felt like the author did a Google Search for the word "focus" and then tried to write a book about everything he found.
Also, I'm pretty allergic to people who try to put up a scientific or authorative facade but don't really back it up in any way. For instance, he writes "muscle builders know you won't get a six-pack belly by lifting free weights - you need to do a particular set of crunches that work the relevant muscles".
Such claims, which are accepted as false to those even slightly into fitness, undermine his credibility. This is just one specific example, but others are prevalent in the book where I feel he makes a lot of sweeping generalizations that he doesn't really back up.
Not worth the read.
Also, I'm pretty allergic to people who try to put up a scientific or authorative facade but don't really back it up in any way. For instance, he writes "muscle builders know you won't get a six-pack belly by lifting free weights - you need to do a particular set of crunches that work the relevant muscles".
Such claims, which are accepted as false to those even slightly into fitness, undermine his credibility. This is just one specific example, but others are prevalent in the book where I feel he makes a lot of sweeping generalizations that he doesn't really back up.
Not worth the read.
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