One Second Ahead ─ Enhance Your Performance at Work With Mindfulness

Work life has changed radically over the past few decades. People used to be able to focus their full attention on each and every task. Now they attempt to concentrate on work while dealing with a constant stream of text messages, emails, phone calls, meetings, and deadlines. Faced with a relentless flood of information and distractions, our brains try to process everything at once. In other words, we try to multitask. But scientists have shown that multitasking is the worst possible reaction to information overload. According to a McKinsey & Company report, multitasking actually 'makes human beings less productive, less creative, and less able to make good decisions.' Researchers have found that modern office life is transforming competent professionals into frenzied underachievers.

What can we do? Are we beholden to this new workplace reality of multitasking, causing us to actually lose focus? Thankfully, the answer is no. It's actually possible to train the brain to respond differently to today's constant interruptions. This remedy for multitasking is known as mindfulness. Simply put, mindfulness means trained attention. Based on thousands of years of practice, mindfulness techniques enable people to enhance their performance by improving their awareness and sharpening their focus and clarity. One Second Ahead is the first book on mindfulness to offer an authentic bridge between mindfulness and work. Based on a program in corporate mindfulness designed by author Rasmus Hougaard and the partners of The Potential Project, the book provides real-world examples and lessons from organizations that have implemented mindfulness on a large scale. Thoroughly tested in a diverse range of industries, this program has resulted in measurable increases in productivity, effectiveness, and job satisfaction.

Rasmus Hougaard is an internationally recognized authority on training the mind to be more focused, effective, and clear in an organizational context. Rasmus' background combines research in organizational development with a corporate career and more than 20 years of practicing and teaching mindfulness. He is the Founder and Managing Director of The Potential Project - the global leading provider of corporate mindfulness programs. The Potential Project has helped organizations like Microsoft, Accenture, Roche, Nike, American Express, General Electric, Citrix, Google, Sony, Societe Generale, KLM, IKEA, Royal Bank of Canada, Ogilvy, Carlsberg and many more develop organizational excellence and helped thousands of individuals lead happier, kinder and more effective work lives.

Jacqueline Carter has over 20 years of consulting and management experience helping organizations manage change and achieve results. She is passionate about helping individuals and organizations realize their potential through training the mind. She is a Partner of The Potential Project International and Director of The Potential Project North America. Her clients include Google, Sony, American Express, Royal Bank of Canada, and Suncor to name a few. Jacqueline is a contributor to The Huffington Post and has appeared on Channel News Asia Breakfast Television, as well as radio talk shows.

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 Yahoo!7, Telstra, BUPA, 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.