#BookClub – Alignment for Success: Bringing Out the Best in Yourself, Your Teams, and Your Company , Part 2 –Driving Force

There were so many great nuggets of information in this book, that I decided to write a series of posts.  Last week, I talked about alignment in our organizations;  this post will deal with a leader’s overwhelming desire to be the driving force in the business.

Author Katherine Halpin believes we suffer from “drive-focused approach,” a desire to be the driving force that constantly leads us into situations where we must be on the go. She says we have developed an idea that we need to be high-energy movers and shakers and that leads to the trap of rushing through things and doing too many things at once.

Hmm, multi-tasking anyone?

Intense multitasking induces stress, impacts our ability to concentrate and pay attention. Taking quiet time to pause and reflect is not something I do very often, I’m sure there are others who feel the same way.

Halpin suggests what she calls “think time.” Think time requires sitting alone, undisturbed and unplugged from the media, with nothing more than a pen or pencil and a blank pad of paper. Schedule this time for an hour each and every week and hold yourself accountable to taking this time.

I’m willing to try.  But let me take a look at my calendar first.