What do you think?
Rate this book
Consider: Harnessing the Power of Reflective Thinking In Your Organization
There's an intangible and invisible market place within our lives today where the products traded are four attention, distraction, data and meaning. The stories and examples within Consider demonstrate that the best decisions, insights, ideas and outcomes result when we make sufficient time to think and reflect.
238 pages, Hardcover
First published December 15, 2010
6 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 6, 2024
An essential book if you're looking to improve your communication skills. Great personal development read.
My Review
My Review
January 7, 2019
The premise is interesting. The book is mostly about avoiding group think and taking time to step back, but I’ve encountered the ideas elsewhere in a more data-driven and interesting way.
March 1, 2012
Forrester sets out to demonstrate how powerful reflective thinking is in the world. He uses a myriad of real-world, practical, examples to reveal the empirical data that he has amassed in his research. Ultimately, he asserts that reflective thinking yields incredible results for gaining additional perspective, for discovering new problem solving strategies, and, perhaps most importantly, for identifying potential problems before they occur.
Forrester begins his book by describing the climate of our current social context. He accurately outlines the impact of social media and technology on the pace of our lives. He discusses the influence of email on our work schedules. Eventually, he builds a solid case for the need for more reflective think time to be built into our day. Forrester says,
There’s an intangible and invisible marketplace within our lives today, where the products traded are four-fold: attention, distraction, data, and meaning. They are passed around in a frenzied dance that can drain your senses and dilute sound judgment. In this marketplace, there are very few buyers of the more costly products: attention and meaning—especially when distraction and data are incessantly distributed to all of us for free. Yet, we rarely step back to question the pace, personal impact, chaotic information flows, unpredictability, and lack of meaning that swirl within our organizations. We collapse at the end of the day and then get back in the water the next morning. The word that describes what we are all living through is “busyness,” a non-stop state of busyness. It makes us feel wanted and useful, but at the same time we feel drained and uncontrolled. The stories and examples within this book demonstrate that the best decisions, insights, ideas, and outcomes result when we take sufficient time to think and reflect. (4)
We live in a world that values, to an ever-increasing level, busy-ness over any other criteria for evaluating work performance. What I am discovering, however, is that doing the RIGHT thing at the RIGHT time is much more critical to our success, and to the success of our organizations. Reflective thinking allows us to place the proper emphasis on our job duties, and helps us to determine the proper priorities for specific tasks.
This is an incredibly insightful book, one that will cause reflection on many levels.
Forrester begins his book by describing the climate of our current social context. He accurately outlines the impact of social media and technology on the pace of our lives. He discusses the influence of email on our work schedules. Eventually, he builds a solid case for the need for more reflective think time to be built into our day. Forrester says,
There’s an intangible and invisible marketplace within our lives today, where the products traded are four-fold: attention, distraction, data, and meaning. They are passed around in a frenzied dance that can drain your senses and dilute sound judgment. In this marketplace, there are very few buyers of the more costly products: attention and meaning—especially when distraction and data are incessantly distributed to all of us for free. Yet, we rarely step back to question the pace, personal impact, chaotic information flows, unpredictability, and lack of meaning that swirl within our organizations. We collapse at the end of the day and then get back in the water the next morning. The word that describes what we are all living through is “busyness,” a non-stop state of busyness. It makes us feel wanted and useful, but at the same time we feel drained and uncontrolled. The stories and examples within this book demonstrate that the best decisions, insights, ideas, and outcomes result when we take sufficient time to think and reflect. (4)
We live in a world that values, to an ever-increasing level, busy-ness over any other criteria for evaluating work performance. What I am discovering, however, is that doing the RIGHT thing at the RIGHT time is much more critical to our success, and to the success of our organizations. Reflective thinking allows us to place the proper emphasis on our job duties, and helps us to determine the proper priorities for specific tasks.
This is an incredibly insightful book, one that will cause reflection on many levels.
October 24, 2014
Nothing radical in this book, but definitely presented in a thought-provoking way. Lots of real-like examples of how to incorporate reflection, considering all sides of an argument, and the benefits of withdrawing from technology and work for periods of time. Written more for the C-suite than the average white collar worker, though beneficial to all.
A few of the chapters' examples were incredibly complicated, particularly the examination of the recent financial meltdown and counterterrorism techniques, and that made the overall points less effective. Also, the author used Petraeus and Mattis way too often as examples. I could have done with only one example of think time in the military. And, those chapters were both overly detailed and too vague to be comprehendible by the average American.
A few of the chapters' examples were incredibly complicated, particularly the examination of the recent financial meltdown and counterterrorism techniques, and that made the overall points less effective. Also, the author used Petraeus and Mattis way too often as examples. I could have done with only one example of think time in the military. And, those chapters were both overly detailed and too vague to be comprehendible by the average American.
October 29, 2011
These days, it's easy to get caught up in the next e-mail...
This book is about... thinking... pondering... assessing... innovating...
http://amzn.to/umVvul
This book is about... thinking... pondering... assessing... innovating...
http://amzn.to/umVvul
Want to read
September 26, 2014- think first, act second, force thinking time
- steady progress over hyperactivity
- steady progress over hyperactivity
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews