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One Second Ahead: Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness Paperback – May 9 2016
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- Print length234 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
- Publication dateMay 9 2016
- ISBN-10134956804X
- ISBN-13978-1349568048
Product description
Review
"One Second Ahead is a timely addition to the repertoire of individuals striving to enhance their productivity and well-being in a fast-paced work life through the application of mindfulness training techniques." Manish Chopra, PhD, Partner, McKinsey and Co., and author of The Equanimous Mind
"In One Second Ahead, Rasmus Hougaard describes in layman's terms how the brain works and the impacts of stress in an 'always on' culture. The authors provide hope through easy to understand practices, anyone can integrate mindfulness into daily routines and overcome the barriers that get in the way of reaching our full potential. The combination of science, mindfulness practices and business application make this a must read for employees and leaders at all levels in organizations." Meghan Seybold, Senior Manager of Diversity Leadership Initiatives, Royal Bank of Canada
"One Second Ahead arrives at a critical time for executives and our modern workforce. Leaders and employees are struggling to keep up with increasing amounts of information and demands on their time and ultimately their attention. Here the author's practical translation of mindfulness techniques to the workplace offers us all the opportunity to bring greater focus and presence to our work life and ultimately deliver higher impact performance. If you are interested in unlocking you and your teams full potential then start with One Second Ahead." Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, the LEGO Group
"Imagine taking the power of ancient wisdom, the effectiveness of research-proven practices, and the extensive, in-depth experience of teaching these skills in a wide range of organizational settings and you have the empowering book you hold in your hands. With clarity and eloquence, One Second Ahead reveals how the training of the mind can bring any member of a corporate team to a more productive, rewarding, and innovative way of being in the workplace." Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Medicine, Executive Director, Mindsight Institute, Author, Mindsight, Brainstorm, and The Mindful Brain
"One Second Ahead is brilliant in its clarity and simplicity. Finally we have a highly usable guide to applying the practices of mindfulness at work." Michele Milan, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Programs, Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto
"Rasmus Hougaard and The Potential Project have cleverly combined two hot topics in today's work life: mindfulness and working more effectively. You can find thousands of useful books on both topics, but Rasmus has gone one step further. Putting together a great variety of work techniques with mindfulness creates an extremely powerful toolset for any professional who not only wants more from him/herself, but is also interested in own self's wellbeing." Jouni Torunen, HR Director, Nokia
"One Second Ahead is a major contribution to bringing not only more sanity and mindfulness at the work place but also a more caring and open-minded attitude in all walks of life. Highly recommended." Matthieu Ricard, humanitarian and Buddhist monk, author of Altruism: How Compassion Can Change Your Life and the World.
"In One Second Ahead Rasmus Hougaard ingeniously applies time-tested ancient methods of mental training to practical day-to-day circumstances that are regularly encountered in the business world. This book is bound to be of much practical benefit to all those who seek a more satisfying, creative, and fulfilling way of life within their professional and personal relationships." B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. Author of bestseller The Attention Revolution and President, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies
"Like many other busy professionals we at Herbert Smith Freehills face the same demands of long working hours, increasing commercial complexity, and competing distractions for our attention and for our effort. To be a globally elite law firm, we need to be focused, crystal clear in our thinking and highly effective. This book distils the essence of the Potential Project's mindfulness program. If you put into action what you learn here, particularly the daily practice, then I am sure you will gain a greater sense of who you are, and a sense of calm and perspective that will enable you to be the best person you can be at work and at home." Murray Paterson, Head of Capability Development, Herbert Smith Freehills, Australia
"A mindful organization is an organization where our leaders and employees do the right things - not just things. Through the program behind this book, we have gradually become a mindful organization." Former CIO, Carlsberg, Kenneth Egelund Schmidt
"Rasmus Hougard, Jacqueline Carter and Gillian Coutts have skillfully woven an elegant set of mindfulness tools and strategies that any professional can implement. This is a fantastic foundation for a more mindful workplace and life." Jeremy Hunter, PhD, Associate Professor of Practice Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management
"In our organization we have implemented the program of mindfulness and after completing the program the stress level have decreased significantly and our employees are more focused. But the techniques outlined in One Second Ahead are not just for work situations, they are also highly valuable in all kind of scenario - both professional and private. The book will give you better and more mindful interactions with everyone you meet." Hans Brobäck, Human Resources Director, Roche
Since undertaking mindfulness training, I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive impact the training has had on my creativity. By choosing to focus on only one task at a time, I engage in more useful conversations with my colleagues and have also found that my enhanced concentration has significantly improved my overall creative output." Nick Foley, President SE Asia Pacific & Japan, Landor
"The pace and complexity in today's organizations affects all co-workers and leaders in all aspects. Especially when the boundaries between work and 'life' becomes more and more interlinked. The decision to use CBMT as a tool in order to decrease stress levels in our organization turned out to be a real game changer for our co-workers. I can highly recommend this book because it captures all the benefits with working with CBMT in all kinds of organizations. The tone of voice is fact-driven and combines real examples from organizations backed up with theories and scientific studies." Henrik Scheutz, Function Manager HR Service Centre, IKEA AB
Product details
- Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan; 1st ed. 2016 edition (May 9 2016)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 234 pages
- ISBN-10 : 134956804X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1349568048
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Jacqueline is an International Partner and the North American Director for Potential Project - a global leadership and organizational development company focused on creating a more human world of work. Jacqueline is recognized for developing the innate potential of leaders and teams to enhance performance, resilience, and creativity through better understanding and managing the mind. Her clients include Cisco, Disney, Accenture, IKEA, and Royal Bank of Canada to name a few. She is well known for her dynamic presentation skills and thoughtful, extensively well-researched publications.
Jacqueline has written articles for a range of publications, including Harvard Business Review, American Management Association, Leader to Leader, Mindful Magazine, and Business Insider. She is a seasoned change management and organization development expert. She holds a Master of Science degree in Organizational Behavior and has over 20 years of consulting and management experience. She has supported the successful implementation of complex changes for large organizations and has held fiscal and resource accountabilities for budgets of over $60 million and teams of more than 100 people.
Jacqueline has dedicated her professional career towards understanding how organizations manage and embrace change and harness the potential of the mind at work. During her graduate studies, Jacqueline supported research on entrepreneurial organizations and how they navigate the challenging process of rapid growth and development. She also conducted research on innovation, creativity and workplace diversity.
Jacqueline worked for Deloitte Consulting for several years and was recognized as a leader within Deloitte’s Change Practice. In addition to serving her clients, Jacqueline supported Deloitte in developing tools and methodologies to support large scale change initiatives.
Jacqueline has worked in Canada, the United States, Australia and Singapore. She is passionate about both mental and physical fitness. Jacqueline currently lives in Calgary with her family.
Rasmus Hougaard is the founder and CEO of Potential Project and the author of the ground-breaking and best-selling book by Harvard Business Press, “The Mind of the Leader”. Rasmus is nominated by Thinkers 50 as one of the eight most important leadership thinkers in the world today.
He writes for Harvard Business Review, Forbes and Business Insider. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and leadership developer who coaches and supports C-suite executives at global organizations such as IKEA, Accenture, Wal-Mart, and Unilever.
His forthcoming book, Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way, will be published by Harvard Business Press on December 14, 2021.
Gillian Coutts has over 20 years of experience as a leader and change agent in the sales and operations functions of large corporations. She has worked across a range of industries including retail, government, transport, oil and gas, and human services. Gillian is a Partner with The Potential Project Australia. Her clients include Telstra, Yahoo!7, Suncorp, and large not-for- profit organizations. She also sits on a number of boards and regularly speaks on integrating mindfulness into leadership, work life, and – following her own wake-up call of cancer diagnosis and treatment – programs for post-traumatic growth.
Customer reviews
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"Thankfully, the answer is no. It is actually possible to train the brain to respond differently to today's constant interruptions through the practice of mindfulness. Simply put, at its introductory level, mindfulness means trained attention. Based on thousands of practice, mindfulness techniques enable people to manage their attention, improve their awareness, and sharpen their focus and clarity."
In essence, here's the challenge and (yes) the opportunity: bridge mindfulness and every day tasks at work. Whatever the tasks, there is a process to their completion. This is what Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has in mind when explaining what he calls "flow," a state in which one is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. Athletes call it "the zone." Tiger Woods sinks every putt, Michael Jordan makes every shot, Nadia Elena Com'neci is awarded a score of "10" on every gymnastic exercise in Olympic competition. According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate experience in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning.
However, experiencing flow or being in a zone does not last forever whereas what Hougaard is talking about can be sustained. Mindfulness is highly developed awareness. He introduces 16 techniques, eight mental strategies, and several foundational practices that will guide and inform as well as nourish that development. I view the mind as being what the brain does so I think of mindfulness as a muscle that requires constant and rigorous exercise.
These are among the several dozen passages of greatest interest and value to me in Part I, also listed to suggest the scope of Hougaard's coverage:
o Welcome to the Attention Economy (Pages 6-9)
o The Well-Trained Mind (9-12)
o The Foundation of Mindfulness, and, Two Rules of Mental Effectiveness (12-15)
o Seven Guidelines to Overcoming E-mail Addiction (19-26)
o Mindful Meetings (26-31)
o Action Addiction (41-46)
o Mindful Planning in the Present (47-49)
o Empathy and External Awareness (56-58)
o Two Sides to Effective communication (58-61)
o What Stops Us from Thinking Creatively? (63-65)
o Activating the Subconscious, and, Creativity in the Matrix (65-69)
o Understanding Resistance, and, Embracing Resistance (72-74)
o Optimizing the Change Management Process (74-76)
o Four Mindful Ways to Conserve Mental Energy (81)
o Three "Simple" Guidelines to Sleeping Better (86-89)
o Eating and Energy (93-97)
o Mindful Performance Breaks (103-105)
o The "How" of Mindful Commuting (108-109)
o Maintaining Emotional Balance (113-115)
o Understanding Work-Life Imbalance, and, Managing Imbalance (117-120)
o Work-Life Balance Strategies (121-122)
As I re-read this book prior to getting to work on this brief commentary, I was again reminded of how important it is to be mindful about mindfulness. The process of development to which I referred earlier must be taken seriously. In fact, mindfulness is itself an on-going process, not a destination. Hence the importance of the 16 techniques, eight mental strategies, and several foundational practices that will guide and inform as well as nourish the development of a source of joy and a sense of purpose as well as serenity and even fulfillment.
This is what Rasmus Hougaard has in mind when sharing these concluding thoughts: 'Mindfulness is within you ' if only you invite it. And if on your mindfulness journey, you have a story ton share, please let me know. Perhaps your story, like many in this book, will serve to inspire and motivate others on their mindfulness journey." He wishes each reader "all the best,' as do I.
Top reviews from other countries



It a beautifully written and easy to read well presented book, divided into three sections, which make it easy to dip in and out of. The first section focuses on practical techniques for the workplace, the second section details strategies to develop better thought patterns, and the final section, details two mindfulness training practices for sharp focus and open awareness, which are great for both in and out of the office.
The practical and cleverly developed tools and techniques can not only lead to greater work life success through increased clarity, focus, enhanced performance and efficiency, but also make you a happier, more relaxed, more confident person, who feels more in control of your life. One Second Ahead allows you to incorporate Mindfulness seamlessly into your work life and has the potential to make you a better person and the world a better place.